The Organizational Network Fieldbook: Best Practices, Techniques, and Exercises to Drive Organizational Innovation and Performance

Chapter 16. CONNECTING THROUGH IMPROVISATION

Christiane Frischmuth

Networking is the art of building relationships. It requires self-awareness, an understanding of the general patterns of interaction, and the ability to react, in the moment, to both the expected and the unexpected. It requires improvisation. Most of us respond to the ever-shifting nature of human interaction instinctively, with little awareness of how we are doing it. Sometimes our habitual, unselfconscious behavior helps us build productive relationships; sometimes it does not. If we develop an awareness of how we respond to others and how they respond to us—an awareness of the emotions and reactions that people bring to relationships and how we build on them—we can demonstrate ...