“Meet Greet and Prosper”, Roy Sheppard, Centre Publishing (www.royspeaks.com), £6.00

Thomas Power, founder of ecademy, said recently that "networking is the basic skill of our age." But despite plenty of evidence that it is a skill that can be learned, rather than an inherent aptitude, it still surprises me how few business people have taken up even the simplest principles. Perhaps Roy Sheppard can help?

Roy Sheppard is passionate about developing an "effective and ethical approach to relationship building in business". I attended one of his seminars a few years ago and to be honest it was life changing (those of you who know me will realise that I not prone to such outlandish statements). This book provides a firm structure to the "art" of networking, with practical tips on creating conversation opportunities, how to listen actively, and how to establish and continue a mutually rewarding relationship.

Roy stresses the positive ethos of networking. It isn’t the hard sell approach or stuffing your business card into someone’s hand the moment you are introduced. In fact it is about giving out to receive back and building a network of contacts, of people, with whom you can share ideas, knowledge and sometimes opportunities. Anybody who believes otherwise is probably seriously p*****g off most people they meet,

What are his pearls of wisdom? Of course they are often the obvious things……but the things we all often fail to do. Be interested. Ask questions (and there are plenty of "ice breakers"). Show up!.

This is a powerful book. You can read it in half an hour or so and I often flick through it before going to a meeting, a conference or a presentation, just to instil some extra confidence.

You can even borrow my copy if you want!

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