Speak Easy Note #21 - Reaching Out

• Recently, I was searching for some needed information in my old “sent” email list and saw a name of a business colleague whom I haven’t been in touch with for a couple of years. I decided to reach out and say hello to reconnect. The email response I got back said, “It is amazing that you contacted me at this moment because I had just been thinking of you; someone has just asked me to recommend a good communication coach.”

• I set up a meeting last week with a former co-worker I hadn’t seen for ages. In this meeting we talked about an old colleague that we both liked and respected tremendously. This person we discussed was a favorite executive I hadn’t thought of or spoken to for many years. The coworker was able to provide me with the email address for this dear friend and I am so pleased to be able to reach out to a key person in my professional history that had somehow completely slipped off of my radar screen.

• In two weeks, a friend I grew up with in Virginia, now living in North Carolina, has invited me to a Sunday brunch gathering of eight women who grew up in my home town and who all went to some portion of school together growing up. One of these women was in my first grade class with me and attended the same schools as I did from kindergarten through our senior year in high school. Some of these women are an actively important part of my life today and are truly like sisters to me. Some of these women I haven’t seen in many years. One of these women was a good friend in elementary school and lived on the same block as I did and I have not seen her since sixth grade.

• Several years ago, I was in California, sitting alone having dinner and reading outside at a restaurant in Old Pasadena. A lovely young woman at a table along side of mine noticed my book and started a conversation with me about it. We became quickly aware of the passion we share for reading and by the end of dinner, we had exchanged business cards and have been connected from East to West coast ever since. At one point we talked about starting a virtual book club and decided that the formal structure and the obligation to select, read and discuss specific books would not be for us. We’ve ended up sharing our lives, our favorite recipes, photos of our families and most importantly the books we are currently reading and love ever since.

As they say, it really isn’t what you know; it’s always WHO you know, that makes a difference in this world, in this life. And so, it’s always important and beneficial to reach out to people. This applies to every facet of personal and professional endeavors. In particular, in this very difficult economy and job market, with the highest numbers of unemployed workers that most of us have ever experienced, the most highly valued activity we can incorporate into our lives is to reach out to those we know and to expand the quantity and quality of our relationships. The success and satisfaction of our lives will be directly proportioned to the quality of the relationships we create and nourish.


In “SPEAK EASY, The Communication Guide for Career and Life Success” available for purchase through Word Craft Press, I cover a wide range of key elements for successful networking. Instead of including excerpts from this chapter, I have decided to provide the summary and review section found at the end of Chapter 9:

Speak Easy Rules
Review and Summary
Chapter 9 - Expanding Your “Who You Know” Quotient


- See NETWORKING as research and relationship building.
- Include solutions when discussing your challenges.
- Believe you have or can access the right contacts.
- Share what you know when asking important questions.
- View NETWORKING as more than spreading your name.

I encourage you to read this chapter in SPEAK EASY so you can elevate and enhance the way you reach out and build relationships.

Until next time,
The Wordsmith