The human side of networking

People sometimes tell me I’m a good networker. I’m never entirely sure what that means. I suspect that, like me, most people aren’t trying to collect LinkedIn contacts like stamps or glide around conferences with business cards at the ready.

What actually matters, I think, is being genuinely curious about people, reaching out from time to time, and keeping the conversation alive. It’s less about working the room and more about finding the people you’d actually want to sit next to in it. And who you’d like to see succeed, and who in turn cheer your successes.

The word networking has always sounded slightly clinical to me, like a verb invented by someone who never quite got the hang of small talk.

Curiosity beats strategy

In truth, the best connections rarely happen through strategy. They start with curiosity. A simple message that says, “I liked what you said about…” or “Would you be up for coffee sometime?” Nothing complicated, no hidden agenda, just an honest bit of interest in another person’s world.

Those small moments often lead to the best ideas, the most surprising opportunities, and the occasional lifelong friendship.

A constellation, not a network

Living in Basel has reminded me of that. It’s just the right size for chance encounters to turn into something more. You meet one person for coffee, they mention someone else you should speak to, and before you know it, you’ve built a web of people you actually want to know. Not a network in the formal sense, but a small constellation of humans you trust. It’s slower, more deliberate, and frankly much more enjoyable than the manic click-fest that passes for networking on LinkedIn.

And truthfully, I just enjoy a good chat over a cappuccino in a lovely café. There’s something about the hum of conversation, the sound of the cup hitting the saucer, the simple act of sitting across from someone and seeing where the talk takes you. It’s not transactional, it’s just… human. And that’s where the real value lies.

Good communicators understand this instinctively. Connection isn’t something you manage, it’s something you nurture. It doesn’t need a funnel, a framework, or a performance review. It needs curiosity, time, and perhaps another cappuccino. That’s it.

So perhaps instead of calling it networking, we should call it staying interested. It’s quieter, more human, and it leaves room for surprise. In a world obsessed with reach, it’s nice to remember that real connection still begins with a single, simple conversation.

The offer’s open, let’s grab coffee…