Networking: a personal touch on tackling social anxiety & introversion

Tips from one our communications ambassadors, Rhys White, a PhD candidate in the Beatson Lab & The Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, The University of Queensland.

All of us face networking opportunities throughout our careers. From institutional social mixers to (inter)national conferences, symposia to workshops. In most instances, building networks can be crucial and even life changing. Don’t panic, I don’t know anyone who finds networking easy! Yet, introverts are repeatedly told to act like extroverts?!? Hopefully this blog post will come in handy at your next networking opportunity.

From reading this blog, I’m hoping that you’ll be able to take away these key messages:

·       Judge the situation you’re in and let that influence how you engage with people.

·       Find common ground in your conversations – show your personality and passions.

·       Presenting research doesn’t always have to be nerve racking!

Hot tip: All across Australia there are ‘café’ or ‘pub’ style microbiology meet ups that feature relaxed ‘chilled out’ presentations from local scientists. Start informal before going formal!

·       Think about getting involved with social media and science communication.

·       Prepare a little if you want to talk to someone specific at a formal event such as a conference.

ABOUT ME

I'm originally from Wales (UK) where I completed my BSc. (Hons.) degree at Cardiff University (2016). I joined the Beatson Lab in 2017 and started my PhD in Microbial Genomics. The biology I'm most interested in is Pandemic Enterobacteriaceae and my favourite food at UQ is the New Mexico at Burger Urge, with a pale ale. Want to know more, check out My journey into STEM: from primates, to parasites, to pathogens.

Hey Presto! Welcome to my network – literally it can be as simple as that.  

TALKING ‘SHOP’

This may come as a surprise to you, or it may not. Who you’re interacting with, and where (the kind of event it is), should influence how you engage with people. For example, if you’re going to a faculty of science student symposium then there is no point talking about your high-resolution phylogenomic investigations into specific clonal lineage designated XYZ to a chemist who’s working on finding new catalectic reagents (sorry, I’m not a chemist). Great conversation starters don’t always have to be research related. Believe it or not, most people in academia prefer talking about things you have in common. This is a great way to really get to know someone with a naturally flowing conversation before you introduce your research fields.

Speaking from personal experience. I attended and presented a poster at The Australian Society for Microbiology 2018 annual conference in Brisbane (see below). As I was leaving on the last day, my supervisor A/Prof. Scott Beatson and I went to grab a quick drink before heading home. While at the pub, we bumped into Prof. Michael Wise from The University of Western Australia and ended up having dinner together. He asked me what my researched focused on. This is someone I have never met before, so naturally being the eager student that I am, I whipped out my poster and gave the 3-minute elevator pitch AT THE PUB. If you’re looking on expanding your #scicomm skills then you should have a look at the Five simple rules for science communication by Melinda Ashcroft.

My poster at ASM’s 2018 conference in Brisbane. Presenting research doesn’t always have to be nerve racking!

SOCIAL MEDIA

A number of researchers take to social media to communicate their research to a wider audience. It’s free, accessible, and can be fun! This can be a very powerful tool, particularly with integrated translators that we are now seeing on Twitter. Social media can be an essential part of a great conference experience, as is the case with Belinda Fabian and her 15 tweets for a better conference experience. While on the topic of conferences, it’s worthwhile checking out the delegate programmes before you attend. Check out their university or industry website, ResearchGate profile, OrcID, and even google scholar! This will give you a head start on getting to know who you may be interacting with. Just be weary that sending an email, message, or LinkedIn invitation before you’ve met someone may give off them opposite impression of what you’re aiming for. This links back to the paragraph above: (i) find common ground in your conversations; and (ii) don’t force conversations (you risk sounding like a robot). Hey if all things go well, you can send them a more personalised LinkedIn invitation.

Short, snappy, and hopefully informative for those of us where being a social butterfly doesn’t come naturally to us.

 Twitter: @RiboRhys

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhystwhite/