Haveo · How to prepare for a networking event when you have social anxiety
Do you actually have to network?
No, not in the form you are picturing. What you cannot skip is being known by a few people who do what you do — and a room full of strangers is only one way to get there, and not the most reliable one.
What it is actually for
Almost every useful thing that comes through people comes through someone who already knows roughly what you do. Jobs, clients, advice, a name passed on.
The room is a means to that, not the goal. Confusing the two is why "networking" feels both compulsory and pointless.
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The versions that work without a room
- One conversation at a time. A specific person, a specific question, twenty minutes. Far more effective per unit of effort than an evening of small talk.
- Doing visible work. Writing, building, answering questions in public. It brings people to you, and it is the only version that works while you sleep.
- Staying in touch with people you already know. The most underrated one. Your existing contacts already like you, which is the hard part solved.
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When a room genuinely is the right tool
When you do not yet know who to talk to. A room is a way to find out who exists in a field, quickly, and that is hard to replicate.
When the industry runs on one annual event and everyone is in the same building. Sometimes that is just true.
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If you do go, go smaller
A workshop or a small meetup where there is a shared activity beats a large mixer, because the thing you are doing supplies the conversation.
Volunteering at an event is the cheat code: you have a role, a reason to talk to people, and something to do with your hands.
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Rehearse it before you walk in.
Haveo builds your intro, lets you practice out loud with an AI coach, and keeps your notes one tap away in the room. Free on iPhone and iPad.
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