Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections. An Interview with Gisele Marcus and Michael A Forman
- mforman521
- Jul 4
- 26 min read
📍 📍 Welcome back to Networking Unleashed, building Profitable Connections. I'm your host, Michael Forman, speaker, strategist, and believer that the right conversation can change your future. Today's episode is a game changer. If you've ever felt awkward walking into a room full of strangers and unsure of how to make the first connection, this one's for you.
My guess is a true master at taking the fear out of networking and replacing it with a simple, powerful, practical step that can move you towards your next I. Whether you're, that's a new opportunity, partnership, or breakthrough. Get ready for real talk, actionable advice and the kind of insight that turns handshakes into high impact connections.
Let's dive in. Giselle, how are you today? And welcome to the show. And if you don't mind, give us a little bit about your background and what you like to talk about. Sure. Michael, thank you so much for having me. Glad to be here. A little about my background. I grew up in New York City, raised by a my parents separated when I was single digits forced.
I was single digits, so I was primarily raised by my mother and my grandmother. In New York City, in Harlem, the old Harlem, not the new. And my mom always had me reaching for excellence, right? So everything I'll never forget, like growing up, if I would get a hundred on a test, I would be able to go to this little store in our neighborhood and get like a little prize.
And even once she took the incentive away, I still wanted, to be a superstar in terms of whatever it was that I was doing. And. When I, after college and all the things, she would always tell me, when you go to work, keep your head down. Be the smartest person in the room.
This is how you get promoted. And I was like, I get that. And then out of college I go and work at what was Anderson Consulting at Accenture now. And I never forget the first time when I saw a networking opportunity, someone had wheeled out like a bar. After work. It's like a Friday, and I was like clutching my pearls.
I was like, oh my God, people are drinking at work. I can't be seen doing that. So I'm like trying to be on the peripheries so that no one sees me and I'm trying not to be seen with a drink in my hand. And then also numerous occasions where employees would say. Hey we're going out after work. You wanna join us?
I'm like, no. I'm so busy. I have so much to do. I can't, I don't have the time. How do they have the time for this? I just didn't see it was important. And then over time, Michael, I learned that what my mother told me wasn't exactly accurate about, you get the promotion by keeping your head down, doing the work.
I was like, I saw a lot of people getting promotions, but I didn't see them having their head down necessarily. So just on my career journey, I learned. That networking is not a bad word and that it can help take you from here to there, but I learned it at a late, I feel like a late age by the time I was 39 is like when it really cemented in.
And because of that, I enjoy sharing what I've learned with others. I have a TEDx on the topic called Networking Made Easy, and I just figured, Hey, I'm gonna spread good cheer like you do. In regard to the hows of networking with practical tips that people can use to really take the stigmatism and the fear out of it.
It's fantastic and I can understand, first of all, I come from New York, so I understand it, I come from Rockland County, it's about 30 miles north of New York City, and and I spent my life, I moved down to Georgia about seven years ago. It's a whole different life down here but I find that the networking that you were talking about, it's true.
Your mother was right. Okay. To a certain point she was to get you started, to get you into the business world. But knowing what we know, it's the social activity. Also keeping it in check, but that's what helps get you ahead. So let me just start off by asking, what's the most unconventional networking strategy you've ever used that actually worked?
Unconventional that actually worked. I would say question the most unconventional is recognizing people by doing something different about birthdays. What I mean by that, with social media now your birthday is everywhere, Facebook, LinkedIn, et cetera, to the point that it's almost overwhelming, right?
That I can't even keep up with it all. And what I came up with, I was like, the field is really crowded. So I started doing these half yearly birthday acknowledgement. So if your birthday's in December, I'm reaching out to you in June and I'm saying Happy half yearly birthday, Michael Foreman.
And when you do that, all of a sudden it's unconventional because first of all, Michael, who's doing that? So it gives you the opportunity to actually stand out and if you can be consistent in doing that, people come to expect it, and it's a way to submit yourself into the minds of others and then to actually help make that automatic and automated.
There is a this app application that I use called Send out cards where you can actually program it. To send cards, you don't even have to touch, you don't even have to think about the day. It just does it automatically for you. So I think also some people sometimes forget that networking, is not just the physical, but sometimes you can use automation to help you as well.
I love that you use send out cards. I used handwritten.com. It's the same concept, but handwritten.com is one that I use for my thank you notes, and I always use a thank you note for every event coordinator or something else, because that gives that homey touch. That's part of my follow up that I always suggest because I have a secret sauce for the follow up and I tell everybody what it is, but I raise the.
Possibility of getting a response positive or negative. But I raised the possibility of a response to about 75%. Yeah. So it's really incredible. So we'll go over the secret sauce afterwards. Lemme ask you another question. How do you recommend people overcome their initial networking anxiety or fear of rejection?
Sure. This is what I tell individuals because sometimes I, and this can be some, I, it's what I tell introverts, but it works for anyone. And one way to overcome the fear is to set a goal in mind. I happen to live here in St. Louis. It's a very generous region, so we have a lot of. Meal events, dinner events, receptions on the front end.
And people always gathering. And sometimes it can be overwhelming when you see groups of people that appear to know each other that are chatting it up and then you're like on the outside looking in. And what I tell people in that situation to take the fear out, find someone like yourself, right?
So the other person that's in the room who isn't talking to someone. Is thinking the same thing. You're thinking, oh my gosh, don't wanna do this. Fearful of doing this. But when you are approaching someone that's in the same situation, it's not as difficult. And I can understand how it's difficult to approach a group of people who seem user-friendly with each other.
So that's one thing that I, that I would suggest. The second thing is, in these type of situations to take the fear out, give yourself a goal, and maybe that is you meet two people. Three people and that's it. And once you've done it, be done with it. And then you can just check the box and enjoy the rest of your evening the way that you want to enjoy it.
But I think the important piece about that is if you focus on that two or three, then what's going to be important? Is what you were getting into before we were talking about handwritten.com, is to make sure that you keep connected with that person somehow. We can talk about strategies to do that because once you've made that introduction, once you've broken that ice, do not be a one hit wonder.
Make that work for you. And I feel if you do that at every event, you know you'll build up a network, particularly if you follow up with them. That's very true. And I always feel that the follow up is probably more important than even meeting the person. But it's how you follow up. So when you first approach that person in the networking event, that's like you.
Think about something other than the networking event other than, oh, something, Giselle, that's a beautiful blouse you have on. Say, oh, where'd you get that? And just break the ice that way. And you'll have a small talk, a laugh and say, hey, who are you looking for around here?
Oh, I'm just looking for X, Y, Z. What do you do and have them start talking about themselves because you and I both know that people love to talk about themselves, and I have a very I have something called FORM that I remember whenever I'm trying to build rapport with somebody. It's family, occupation, recreation, and a message.
I just think of that word form, so I always, and it goes with foreman. Isn't that interesting? And it goes with Foreman. That's right. So it's very easy for me to remember. Okay. So how about first impressions, what are your top tips for making a memorable first impression at networking events? So one of those it gets back to what you're share sharing that people like to talk about themselves.
So one way to make an impression, if you're at an event where, because sometimes this does happen where they give you a list of the people that are gonna be there, right? So one way to make a great impression is to take that list and see if there's someone that you're interested in meeting.
Then do what I call double click on that person. Go to the internet is our friend. There was a time when we didn't have this, but now that we do use it to your advantage, so I'll go there, find out information about the people that I wanna meet. So maybe I picked three or four and I make sure I have their photo, look for them and introduce myself.
And individuals love nothing more. Then to know, something about them, what a way to make an impression. 'cause you've actually done some homework. So I would say, that's one way to make an impression. The other is what you were saying Michael, in terms of when you meet individuals, I like that form.
The family, occupation, recreation message. And what was the m for message? A message that you can message get onto the same level as that. Correct. So what you wanna do is we, surprisingly, you'd be surprised that you very likely have something in common with the other person. It's just a matter of actually uncovering what that is.
So to your point about the first impression and having these, what I call conversation starters, so to speak, and one thing you have in common, you're at the same event, right? So what brought you here? So that's somewhere something that you can talk about. I like the recreation part. What types of things do you enjoy?
And once you know these things about other people, it then allows you to focus in on that thing and ask them particular questions about that. Make them know that you are sincerely and authentically interested in them as a person. I think that is a good way to make an initial impression. 'cause people will remember that.
Oh, I am, into working with youth and sports, for example, and if I had a conversation with you about that, you'd probably remember that. And people are being bombarded with so much information today. So in order for you to break that ice and make that impression, it needs to be something that they're going to remember.
And it's more likely they're gonna remember something related to something that they enjoy and that they love. And if you're on the same page. That's very good, very astute, very good. I have to tell you, when you brought up you with sports, that's usually what I try to get to people, depending on their age, what I get them to, because I was a baseball manager for 16 years.
I. I was an umpire for three years. I coached three years of football, basketball because for my children I did that. So if I can get them to the youth sports, I can have them talk all day long and I can give them something intelligent, but that's what I try to do. And one other thing that you said was you have to be authentic, right?
Because what happens if you meet this person three months from now? In a different environment. Are you the same person? Are you as authentic? And if you're not that just shoots you in the foot right there. And that all again goes to your follow-up and how important it is and how you, you do it.
Let's move the conversation a little bit to online marketing. Or online networking. How has digital networking changed the game and what are some best practices for virtual connections? So it's changed the game in that it helps you connect with people faster. I. Than you could in person, in terms of like volume.
So that's the plus. And it's so great you're asking me this because we were, we just did a podcast. I'm in higher education and at my institution, we just had a session about networking specifically related to online. So I'm so glad you're asking this question. And one way so it changes the game in that it increases the number of people you can get to know.
However, let's go back to your word, authentic. Is it authentic If you're going after quantity and you don't know the people that you are connecting to, I would suffice to say that it's not necessarily an authentic connection, and if you saw that person walking down the street. Would you be able to have a dialogue, know something about them?
You probably wouldn't. And I have to say what gets my goat is this LinkedIn is a platform that many of us use. People I subscribe. Whenever you connect to someone, send them a note If you don't know who they are, because it happens to me all the time, people will get linked, send me a note, I say, oh, not even just say connect.
And then I look and I see, oh, they're connected to 20 people that I know. So in my head, I'm thinking. Maybe I know them, don't remember them and I don't want to say something, that might turn them off. So then I go to two or three people shared contact and I say, Hey, Jim Smith, reached out to me in LinkedIn.
Tell me how you know them, or how do you know them? 'cause maybe that's how I know them. And they say, oh, I don't know that person. That is not helpful at all. So I pride myself. On in LinkedIn, I would say a good 95% of the people I'm connected to, I'm going to know something about them beyond the fact that I'm connected to them.
And let me tell you a secret, Michael, you can't tell everybody, but let me tell you, you and your listeners giving you this for free, and that is what I do, is I always make sure in that first LinkedIn connection that I talk about how we met. For example, I just finished teaching an executive education class earlier this week.
So there were people who just linked, and I remembered them. So when I responded, I accepted and I said, it was so great having you in my, inclusive leadership course in executive ed yesterday. So at least that starts with whenever I have to go back to that person, I know how we met. Then I look and see who else do we have in common?
Ah. I see, so and so I know them this way. So just trying to further solidify and then I often add. Based on what you are, what you do, let me know how I might be helpful. I'm in the higher ed space, I work in inclusive leadership. However, I come from corporate Fortune two 50 companies, being a p and L owner, where I ran businesses up to $800 million.
So there's anything that I can do to help you let me know. Or if there's someone in my network who can be helpful to you, let me know. So it might be that, or depending on if it's someone who I wanna further advance the relationship with, I may say, how about a virtual coffee? Or how about, a virtual tea, whatever your favorite daytime beverage is.
So that's how I believe that the online networking kind of changes the game, but I think it's up to us. It gets you so far, but I think it's up to you to make sure that relationship is authentic and to make sure that everyone that you add to your network. You are adding value to them as well.
It's really all about a two-way relationship. Any relationship. That's one way. You can't use the word relationship because it's not. That's true. And you keep going back to the follow up of the person and we keep stressing that the follow up is just as important. And here's a little tip that I give my listeners probably every other podcast, but at a networking event, when you finally get their business card on the back of their business card, write down the date, the name of the function, and something you talked about.
Because that will help you in your follow up. Now, I was in the mortgage industry. I used to go to networking events. I used to come with a shoebox filled with business cards. I. I said, look how good I did. And I'm like, I didn't do well at all. Okay. But now if you go to a three or four hour networking event, come on with about 15 or 20 business cards.
But those are actually people you connected with that you're gonna follow up with. And when you follow up using LinkedIn, I'm a big LinkedIn user, but you always, find an article or something and attach it and then say, look, I felt you might be interested. So anyway. I love that. Yep.
So that falls right into my next question of follow up strategies. What's your foolproof method for following up after making a new connection? You went into that, but go into dove into a little bit further. Sure. So this might be considered old hack. What I'm going to say I do, and I welcome you or any other listener to tell me how I could be more efficient doing it.
So what I do, because I know if I don't calendar it or write it somewhere, it's not going to happen, right? So what I do, I actually keep an Excel spreadsheet and as I'm, as I meet individuals, I create a cadence. In terms of how often I'm gonna get in touch with them. So say, I say I'm gonna touch, touch base with this person quarterly.
I'll put that in my spreadsheet and then I'll even when I first meet them, talk about how I'm gonna do that. So therefore I don't have to think about it when the time comes. So maybe, when I get in touch with them three months from now, it may be that I know something that they're interested in.
And like you and you mentioned the article, that's another thing I like to do too. Google can be your friend or any other type of search engine, and you can put in whatever that thing is. Like I had a mentor who was into like triathlons, so I would put, and he would do them all over the world. So I would actually put that into a Google search and then have it let me know about these triathlons that are going on to places around the world.
And then I would just put myself a note to say, if I haven't gotten any lately to just go online and see are there any going on abroad? And then I can just submit know, say, Hey, I see this is going on in Spain. Are you participating? So that might be the first. The second might be the half yearly birthday, right?
The third may be, how about you pick up the phone? I recognize that it's so easy these days to text to email, but I do believe that nothing replaces just a voice. And even if you leave a a voice note by way of text, it's a little different. So something a little bit different, just say, Hey, I was thinking about you.
Hadn't talked to you lately, and then maybe that fourth one is a virtual coffee. So I always just try to lay out a cadence in terms of the how, so that when that time comes, I'm like, oh, what do I do? What do I say? What have I done in the past? Then I have a record also of what I have done. Have you looked at CRMs?
I have, but I haven't found one that I feel is simple enough. Talk to me, Michael. I use HubSpot. I. Okay, now they have a free version so you can get used to it and see all the makings of it, but look into HubSpot because that's what I use and it serves me pretty well, and that serves me well. Because of my follow up, okay.
And how I follow up with the people and it has tasks so that I set a task. So all I do, the first thing every day is I go and I set, I see all my tasks that I have to do for that day. It just keeps going and going. So that is one that I would strongly suggest. You heard it here first, listeners.
You heard it here first. Okay. Quality versus quantity. How do you balance building a large network with cultivating meaningful relationships? I get the word would just be intention. So I feel that if you have quantity, it's difficult to be intentional because it's too many people with which to keep up with.
So the quality component comes out of the, I would call it the care and feeding that you actually give to your network by ensuring that they see that you see them. So to speak quantity, if you are going for quantity, I guess there, there are ways that you can make that work. So say for example, if these individuals are all interested in a similar type of pastime, maybe something like a meetup.
Where you invite these individuals and add others. So maybe so I think from getting at big groups, if you find something that everyone has a commonality around and structure something around that could be a way to get at quantity just based on a factor or two of interest. But I would suffice to say that's still a form of quality.
You're actually giving them something of value, I think the quantity it's, I haven't seen someone, you tell me, Michael, of how you make quantity successful in terms of networking. Quantity really goes I equate that to customers. Okay. I have three widgets. You should buy them.
You bought them. That's a customer. Okay? Ever since the pandemic, we've gone to relationships rather than customers. So that's where my mortgage thing was I came back with a shoebox full of cards. That was the quantity. Now the quality is where I've evolved to, and that's the 15 or 20 business cards.
And I think you'll get so much further when you go quality over quantity. Now for, that's not for everybody, but for a regular sales per people salesperson that sells X, Y, or Z quantity, that's perfect. But qua something for you and I quality is a whole different ball wax. I. Okay. Let's go a little bit to personal brand.
How important is personal branding in networking and how can one effectively communicate their unique value? Good one. Personal branding is also important. I think if we go back to your question before about making a memorable impression, branding is one way by which to do that. So for example, I'm admiring.
You're a tagline. Building profitable connections, for example, I'm like, oh wow. I can actually, I'll remember that, right? If I need something or a service that would align with that. I worked with a marketing company to help me with my branding, and when I think of all the things that I've done and how I combine, what I do around inclusive leadership at work, pulling in this networking expert piece as well. At first I thought they were so diametrically opposed oh, it's two different things. And by working with a marketing person, she helped me see a way to pull it together and came up with the tagline. I make organizations hump. And I said that's perfect because it align aligns with inclusive leadership at the office.
It aligns with my TEDx on networking and it aligns with when I think about when I was in corporate and I've been like a five time general manager running businesses and my, I had a lot of success around turning around failed relationships. So I make organizations hum fits there. I. In higher education, I teach all about inclusive leadership belonging.
Again, that's really, it's people, right? That make organizations work. So again, I make organizations hum. So when I meet individuals and they, you introduce selves, so I say, I'm Giselle Marcus. I am in higher education. I teach around inclusive leadership and also I. Networking is something that along the way, I've learned and I have a TEDx on that topic.
And really I work at the intersection of, inclusive leadership and networking, putting the two together. And my tagline is, I make organizations hump. And oftentimes people say, oh, I really like that. If you go to LinkedIn, you'll see that there as well. I think it helps you be memorable, so it's important to brand yourself.
It's important to have that 32nd pitch so that people can understand what it is that you do, and they can help identify how they can help you, and vice versa if they have a brand as well. That's very good. And the 32nd elevator speech. Now, when I lived in New York, I had two networking groups that I created.
I created two. One in New York, one in New Jersey, and both had about 30 businesses in each. But the whole idea with that branding with your elevator speech is to not say the whole thing. All at once, say the first half and just make the other person say, what do you mean by that? Or. What about that? And once you get them into the conversation, then you can expand your 32nd speech and go into further what you talk about.
So that's all it is. You're just trying to grab the attention of them and have them ask you a question. Once they ask you a question, you really have them. Yeah, I like that. Because really what you're saying is you're able then to make it more of a dialogue than a monologue. Absolutely. Absolutely. Okay.
Networking mistakes. You ready? Ready. What are some common networking mistakes that you've observed and how can listeners avoid them? One of them is asking people for things and you don't know them from a can of paint. And if you don't know what I mean by that means if you don't know the person.
You probably shouldn't be asking them for a favor, right? So sometimes people have not yet done what we're talking about, developed an authentic relationship, right? So let's say for example someone wants to get their child into some esteemed private school, right? And you know how hard that can be, right?
The list along and you meet someone who has their child at school, you just met that person. And you grab their card and you know you're on the fly at a networking event. You reach out to them afterwards and you say, Hey, you know I met you at X, Y, Z event. Hey, I love, I know your kid is at such and such.
I'd love to get my kid there. Can you help me with that? Do not ask people for favors when you don't know them. So I think that's a networking mistake because if you do that, I'm looking at you with one raised eyebrow. So I think that's a networking mistake. The other networking mistake is when you're reaching out to people that you don't know.
If you don't give them a reason to grab onto why they should be interested. I think that's a flaw. If you're gonna connect with someone, tell them why. And it could just be something complimentary. Hey I see that you and I are have a commonality in terms of we like purple elephants.
Give them something I saw you speak at and I thought what you had to say was amazing. Give them something. So those are the two what I would call, no, add one more three. The threesome here. The third one is just trying to collect as many contacts as you can. This speed dating, I would call it right speed dating where you're just gathering information but you're not doing anything with it, and then six months later you decide that you're gonna open the shoebox with all these cards in it.
Not knowing how you know this person and just aimlessly reach out to them not knowing how you met them. So I think those are three fatal flaws of networking. Michael. Very good. And I've, there are so many points in all of those mistakes which I've made. Okay. I've made all of those same mistakes and I've learned from them and I've learned what not to do.
But there is so much I can't even go into it now. Go. But we're gonna save the listeners' time right by telling Oh, we're gonna save the listeners' time. Okay. Because it's, there's way too much for me to say. Can you share a specific example of how networking led to a significant professional milestone for you or a client?
I can. So this is, yes, this is, wow. Every time I think about it, I get goosebumps. So when I was working at Johnson Controls, I was a general manager and I was so interested in, I wanted to work abroad because I had an interest to be a general manager running like a large global business. But I knew my company wasn't going to allow me to do that if I could not evidence that I'm able to work outside of my home country successfully.
So we went through this whole diatribe where they were like, Hey, you're going to London. And it was like, you're going to Egypt. And both of those things fell apart. Then Hey, you're going to South Africa. And that one actually stuck. Stuck. So I was like, okay, great. But what I started thinking about was and this is supposed to be a year to 18 months.
So I was curious about, okay, so I have to give up the role that I'm in now to take on this role. So that's one thing. But when I get back. How would I be edged back into a role? 'cause clearly I can't go back to what I'm leaving because they're gonna put someone else in this role and then they're not gonna say, Hey, we're just gonna keep your seat warm while you're gone.
So I was just curious. I went to my HR person, I said, how would I go about finding getting reoriented back into the company? I said, because I'm a little concerned about that, but, I wouldn't wanna say that out loud to too many people. So I was hoping and saying that to the HR person. She would give me some nuggets that I could hold on to.
And she, her answer was, she's you probably need to talk to Ian Campbell. And Ian Campbell was this amazing leader in my business who reported to our business unit president. He was the person that signed off on all the expat assignments. I came to know him because he was the I. He was the sponsor of one of our employee resource groups, so I knew of him just that way.
She said go talk to him. She said he could probably give you some advice. So now I'm like how do I ask this question? Because I don't want him to think that, I don't know. I just didn't want him to be negative. I didn't want him to feel that. I was worried, though. I was worried, and he's very high in the pecking order in the company.
So I go in and meet with him. And I, tell him about where I'm going. And he's yeah, I know. I'm excited. 'cause South Africa is one of, he's from the UK and he said South Africa's one of the favorite places for him and his wife. So that was a good opportunity to have some great dialogue.
So then I said to him, I said, yeah, I said, I was thinking about, when I get back, how's the best way for me to position myself? I said, I think about companies like ge. 'cause traditionally a GE would tell you, you're gonna have this role. Then you're gonna have this role. They could give you two or three roles forward.
And in my organization, we didn't necessarily do that. I said, so what would you advise? I said, because I wanna make sure that I position myself well when I return. He said, ah, so glad you asked. And he told me a story, Michael, of someone talking about mistakes. He told me about someone who went on an expat assignment for three years to Europe, came back.
Three years later, years leadership had changed. People had pretty much forgot that he was away, so they had to scramble around When he got back to find him something, he had to kind, had to wait until something was found. So it's somewhat uncomfortable, and I was like, oh my gosh, I really don't want that.
So I said, how can I avoid that? So he said what you should do, he said, 'cause it's really e things change quickly. He says, you wanna keep yourself in front of leaders. He said, so come back every quarter. Make sure that you talk to your mentors and your sponsors. He said, then he said, of which I will be one.
So he gave me the opportunity for him to be a sponsor, which is amazing. That's a whole nother podcast, right? So I said so I said, okay, I'm going to do that. So I did what he asked me to do, and then I knew back to networking. He's someone that loved he tri, he's a triathlete. Every time. And then he loves South Africa, so every time I would come back, every quarter, I would bring him something like a water bottle.
About South Africa. Their FIFA was in South Africa the year I was there, so I brought him like a t-shirt back from that. So just things that would resonate with him. And he was reminding me, he said, and then when you get, when you know, six months in advance when you're coming back, let me know. He said, because we need to start thinking about roles for you.
He says, A lot of times we'll have things in incubation. And we could start saying, Hey, we know Giselle's coming back. So I said, okay, great. So I did all the things he asked me to do. So that's the other thing I would say in relationships, follow people's instructions, right when they give them to you. And what happened, Michael was amazing.
I was concerned about having a single job. When I got back, I actually had 11 internal offers for roles. That's nice. That's very nice. And it's so much more comforting when you know you have something to come back to. Correct. Because you can very quickly, especially in the corporate world, you can be forgotten about and you don't want that ever to happen.
So look very quickly give me three actionable steps our listeners can take today to improve their networking skills. Gimme three quick ones. Sure. So the first one I would say is make a plan in terms of how you are going to follow up with your network, your general plan, how are you gonna make it happen?
I would start with that. Second of all, I would think about what is your goal or goals? So that you can then start to think about where can I find individuals that can assist me on this journey? That might be organizations that might be different geographies, et cetera. And number three, I would say, begin to think about the network you already have.
So for example, if you have an undergraduate degree. Those alum, that's a network for you. Think about networks that are already easy for you to actually get into. It could be if you are in a, for example I am in like a national black MBA association, for example, and they have 33 different chapters around the country.
So if I wanted to expand knowing people in that industry in a particular segment, I could use that organization. So use what you already have. First, that is absolutely fantastic. You are such a great guest, Giselle. If somebody wanted to get hold of you either for a talking a speech even for you to coach them, how would they get hold of you?
Sure you can find me on LinkedIn at Giselle Marcus, G-I-S-E-L-E, Marcus, M-A-R-C-U-S. And I also have a website, www giselle marcus.com On Facebook. I am. I am Giselle Marcus. See you there. Alright, that's good, Giselle. I'll speak with you soon. Look forward to it, Michael. Thanks for having me. This was awesome.
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A huge thank you to our guests for sharing such incredible insights today, and of course, a big shout out to you, our amazing listeners, for tuning in and spending your time with us. If you're interested in my digital courses being coached or having me come and talk to your company, just go to MichaelAForman.com and fill out the request form.
Remember, networking isn't about being perfect. It's about being present. So take what you've learned today. Get out there and make some meaningful connections. If you've enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to subscribe. Leave us a review and share it with someone who could use a little networking inspiration.
Let's keep the conversation going. You can find me on Apple, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, or my website michaelaforman.com/podcasts.
Michael is a business networking expert specializing in enhancing professionals' networking and communication skills to drive profitability. As a leading authority in this field, he is highly sought after for his dynamic presentations and workshops. His extensive experience has consistently led to significant improvements in corporate profitability by empowering individuals and organizations to connect more effectively and efficiently.
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