Summary: Synopsis<br> It’s <a href="http://internationalnetworkingweek.com/">International Networking Week</a>! In honor of the event, Dr. Misner is sharing 5 ways to be a better networker. Dr. Misner <a href="http://ivanmisner.com/the-top-characteristics-of-a-great-networker/">surveyed 3400 businesspeople around the world</a> and asked them what makes a great networker. Here’s what they said you need to do to.<br> <br> * Be a good listener.<br> * Develop a positive attitude.<br> * Collaborate to serve others.<br> * Be sincere and authentic.<br> * Follow up.<br> <br> Each of these characteristic ties into the idea that networking is about farming, not hunting. Only when you build meaningful business relationships will you be a great networker.<br> You’ll be hearing more about this survey in future episodes. Meanwhile, share your ideas for top characteristics of great networkers in the comments.<br> Brought to you by the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCavppwZDxSx_PbqWoG9leXw">Networking for Success YouTube Channel</a>.<br> Complete Transcript of Episode 493 –<br> Priscilla:<br><br> Hello everyone and welcome back to the Official BNI Podcast, brought to you by the Networking for Success Channel on YouTube, which features Dr. Ivan Miser and many other networking experts. I am Priscilla Rice, and I am coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, California. I am joined on the phone today by the Founder and the Chief Visionary Officer of BNI, Dr. Ivan Misner. Hello, Ivan. How are you and where are you?<br> Ivan:<br><br> Hello Priscilla. I am at home in Austin, Texas this week. I try not to travel during International Networking Week. This is, everybody hopefully knows, International Networking Week. I try not to travel because I do a lot of live Skype presentations during the week.<br> If you didn’t know that this is International Networking Week, please go to InternationalNetworkingWeek.com and find out about it. International Networking Week was created by BNI. I, along with a number of Directors 10 years ago, started International Networking Week. It is now done globally.<br> I thought it would be really good today, since it is International Networking Week, to talk about five ways to be a better networker. Many people including me offer advice on what it takes to be better at networking, but one thing that is often left out of the equation is that networking often involves interacting with others. So it is really worth asking what the average person believes it takes to become great at networking.<br> If we want to make the kind of impression that works to build a powerful personal network, we have to be cognizant of what other people’s expectations are and then adjust out behavior accordingly. So I recently gathered over 3400 survey responses from business people all around the world. I listed roughly 20 different characteristics and asked respondents to pick behaviors that they most like to see in a great networker.<br> So for this sample in my podcast today, I am going to identify the top five characteristics. I will give them to you in order of the survey answers that the survey respondents gave me. So the number one characteristic that people felt was important in being a good networker -I did a survey of 3400 people all over the world. By the way, it wasn’t just BNI members. It was open to the public. The number one way was being a good listener, the number one characteristic. Being a good listener.<br> I think our success in networking really depends on how well we can listen to others. The faster you and your networking partner learn what you need to know about each other, the faster you will be able to establish a valuable relationship.<br> You have heard me say a number of times on this podcast that a good networker has two ears and one mouth and should use them both proportionately.
