English 302 – Networking Activity: Social Engagement
Bob Corey (bccorey@iastate.edu)

This impetus for this idea/assignment comes from a grad class taught by Iowa State Univeristy Professor Dr. Rebecca Burnett. This activity provides students practice in presenting themselves to others in a social setting.

Situation: You are attending a social occasion (something such as a conference, trade show, dinner party, or after work function). Because you are an intern, new employee, or job seeker, this occasion is a wonderful opportunity to network and to let others know what type of person/worker you are. A colleague/friend of yours approaches and introduces you to someone who could potentially help you in your career: i.e. your new boss, a potential boss, or other influential person.

Prepare three responses a 15 second, 30 second, and 1 minute “presentation” you would give when introduced to this person. Remember, you are at a social event and this person may or may not have much time to talk to you. Think about what you want this person to know about you in 15 seconds, then prepare a 30 second response – elaborate on the first response or expand to a new idea, then prepare a one minute response – this could include responses to multiple questions. You might also seek to find common ground on which you could build further conversation.

Break up into groups of three and rotate the roles of 1) “influential person”, 2) friend/colleague introducing, and 3) job seeker/intern/new employee. We’ll select the best responses from the groups and discuss the merits of each.