I did a double take when I saw a backwards clock at the Binfield slow networking event at the Stag and Hounds on Friday.

All became clear when I discovered it was part of a five minute stress busting presentation by meditation teacher Tom Evans.

He encouraged fellow networkers to cast aside their frenetic lives for a few moments and take part in an exercise to calm the body and energise the mind. He runs an ecourse around this entitled Living Timefully…

There was also a presentation by Michelle Heywood who describes herself as the chief archer at a business sales and development company called Quivr.  The unusual title is only one of the off the wall techniques the Managing Director of the Best of Windsor has, for standing out from the crowd.

Typically of a good networker, she willingly shared success secrets and won a new bunch of admirers along the way.  I didn’t get the opportunity to speak to her personally as she was in demand.  But with luck, I will get to talk to her next time.

That’s the beauty of slow networking – time to digest what people are telling you and time to make lasting business contacts over the course of a few meetings instead of fleeting and superficial acquaintanceships associated with speed networking.

It certainly made a welcome change to settle myself into an easy chair and try to calm my fevered brain during the meditation session. Fellow networkers also delighted in telling me about the history of the pub which is believed to have once been the haunt of Henry VIII.  It is suspected he brought a mistress or two to the location in Windsor Great Park.  I lapped up the information because I was new to the area and adore history and new pubs and restaurants to try.

Although networking is about building a trusted network, it is also about connecting and discovering the wide ranging expertise in the area. It is about making lasting contacts and growing a vibrant business community and building businesses.

The pub meeting was a different kind of experience from the group networking I have experienced at the business park in Maidenhead called Foundation Park.  The marketing suite has been made available for the monthly sessions on the last Friday of the month and on the whole, networkers have mingled in larger groups than I encountered in the pub.  There has been a range of different people every month since the Foundation Park networking began.  They are a lively and interesting bunch of people who come from unusual backgrounds – great fodder for the radio programmes I present weekly on Marlow fm.

The pub introduced me to a completely different range of people and it will be a pleasure getting to know them too.  I don’t know what the Ko Karting will be like but that will be a novelty I haven’t experienced before and I look forward to it on August 8.  I have yet to discover the Wokingham set up at the Ship Inn, Wokingham.  Once again I anticipate it will be a refreshing change.

I revel at meeting new people, filming unusual presentations for the Berkshire Blog and interviewing potential radio guests and business leaders for my blogs etc.  I also anticipate helping newcomers to be a success at networking – learning from years of experience running and being involved with business events.

Carla Delaney Communications
Business Writer of the Year Award Winner
01628 526456