Napkin Sketches and Networking

Networking in person is all about good conversation but sometimes in that critical moment when we get to say what our business does, we struggle to find a meaningful explanation.

For our February event, in addition to re-running the elevator pitch workshop, we decided to reach for napkins. This time we began to draw out what we do, by sketching. And after that, we used the pictures to get talking - here is Ursula Schweiger at work.

Members' described their understandable fear of drawing " I'm embarrassed to show my results" but this was the only real negative. On the plus side, comments illustrated that informal sketching can help to:

• focus and make you think clearly about your business
• be specific, less general
  
• made talking more relaxed
  
• more fun
• more creative
• more associative (a trigger for new ideas)
• helps simplify technical processes

Memory: perhaps most important of all, when members were asked what they remember about each other, images it seems, are easier to recall than words.

We'll post a gallery of sketches so that you too can see the range of specialist business operating from Sligo in the North West of Ireland - each drawn on one side of a napkin.