LinkedIn introductions and what we're all leaving on the social media table

my favourite LinkedIn introduction

Yes, for you Americans that is how we spell ‘favourite’ :)

We’re all guilty of it, sending generalized LinkedIn invitations to people we, at some level of interest, want to connect with. I get one of these almost everyday. Some are from people I know, some are from people in the same field of work, and some are completely random…

I ignore all of them.

My eyes glaze over.

I have no emotional reaction (except annoyance),

and I am certainly not incentivized nor compelled to respond or engage.

what did you expect?

Seriously?

When do we act like this in person?

When is the last time you went to a networking event or a dinner party and saw someone you really wanted to connect with – and said…

“Hi,

My name is tyrell, I would like to add you to my professional network as you are a person I trust.

Goodbye.”

Promptly proceeding to turn around and walk away.

I’m guessing none of us have ever done that… Yet, this is what we are doing everytime we click send on that templated Linkedin Invitation. When we spend absolutely no time, energy, or emotional investment to meaningfully connect with that person on the receiving end.

Let’s flip this around for a second – what is your typical reaction when someone sends you that 1 line invitation? Compare that to a passionate and heart felt communication you have received in the past… There likely is a profound difference in your overall interest and emotional engagement to these two.

how we show up when it matters

Here is my guess guess at what really happens at the networking event, or the dinner party. You identify someone you are truly excited to connect with, and you initiate a deep and meaningful conversation, possibly even exploring potential ideas or opportunities together.

Or,

You do nothing at all.

You don’t waste your time (or their time) introducing yourself to the 95% of the room that you have no interest authentically engaging with.

the bottom line

It’s pretty simple.

The amount of time, energy, and emotional investment we put into ANY interaction is what we should expect in return.

The deeper you are willing to go, the more you can cultivate an authentic emotional connection with whomever you are connecting with… Well, expect this to be reciprocated too!

And Voila! The beginning of a meaningful conversation, the most effective vehicle to building valuable relationships and communities!

“cultivating meaningful conversations is the most effective vehicle for building valuable relationships and communities online” tweet this quote

I’d rather build my community 10x slower with one genuine conversation and connection at a time, versus having a large un-engaged community that will only ever know me as that Linkedin “person of trust”.

P.S – I know there is now a function on Linkedin that sends an automatic generic invitation without any prompt to personalize it.

This is neither an excuse nor a limitation.

Here are some suggestions/work-arounds: send them a tweet, send them an email, comment on one of their blog posts, call their office, and if you want to really have an impact –

write them a letter. Yes, a hand-written letter.

How much does it really mean to you?

P.P.S – While Linkedin is a great example of what we’re leaving on the table, this applies to all relationships, communities, and opportunities in our lives.

I will leave this with you to ponder.