Networking training Rothera Sharp Solicitors

This was a series of two hour session’s over two days, as I was tasked with delivering to a solicitors firm in round-table, interactive styled sessions, which included the below topics and practical exercises, with an interactive approach from start to finish, allowing all involved to take part, ask questions and contribute ideas and feedback.

Topics covered included; Presenting Your Business- Elevator Pitch, Top Tips for Networking - the basics everyone should know, Networking Etiquette, Conversation Starters & Exit Strategies, Social Media- How to incorporate face 2 face and online networking & Business cards-Practical /creative session-How to leave an impression.

Networking training Marketing Jump-leads

I have on more than one occasion been invited to guest speak and facilitate a training workshop as part of the Marketing Jump leads round table sessions to their members in both Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire.

Topics covered were surrounding event management with the specific topic ‘ Events: How to fill a room’ which were well received and evoked many questions and conversations.

Workshop delivery ‘Work the Room like a Pro’ for Personal Development Week @ Nottingham Business School

January 2023

I was asked to once again head up the ‘Build Your Network’ session for Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University as I delivered a keynote on the topic of ‘strategic networking’ to undergraduates before releasing them into the room to practise their newfound skills with Alumni Fellows who kindly gave up their time to support the evening event.
Topics covered included;

💬Mastering your mindset & preparing yourself mentally for new opportunities.
💬Practical preparation techniques for networking & having a strategy.
💬Networking etiquette- the do’s & don’ts!
💬Body language - what to look for in order to manoeuvre conversations.
💬The power of the handshake
The art of conversation
💬Creative conversation

It was great to be asked to deliver my creative communication workshop to the administration team at Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University titled ‘The HOW… of communicating effectively’…

The two hour session covered;
💬Communication in all its forms - identifying the differentiations, preferences & why.
💬Language- both verbal (deep diving into greetings, sign offs & introductions), & body language from handshakes to stress signs & even how to spot a liar!
💬The art of conversation
💬Creative questioning
All of the above had the intention of assisting in maximising time when speaking to other people, identifying challenges or issues quickly in order to manage effectively & making yourself stand out & be both approachable & memorable.

Feedback from Ben one of the head administrators post session: “Thank you for that Fiona, I’ve never seen our team so collectively engaged before! What else do you do?”

‘Work the room like a pro’ workshops - Personal Development Week @ NTU

JANUARY 2022

I was once again delighted to have been invited back to be involved in ‘Personal Development Week’ 2022 at @nbs_ntu to deliver two of my networking skills training workshops back to back throughout the day to two super engaged, eager to learn groups of postgraduate students…

Topics covered included;

💬Mastering your mindset & preparing yourself mentally for new opportunities.
💬Practical preparation techniques for networking & having a strategy.
💬Networking etiquette- the do’s & don’ts!
💬Body language - what to look for in order to manoeuvre conversations.
💬The power of the handshake
💬To pitch… or not to pitch
💬Your WHY & Building your story
💬Creative conversation

Both December 2019 +2021 saw me facilitate and deliver networking training to first year students as part of their two day residentials for Nottingham Business School.

The most recent in 2021 was ran over two days and topics covered included;

💬The networking journey
💬Networking etiquette
💬Conversation starters & exit strategies
💬Creative conversation
💬Storytelling Vs Pitching
And lots more…

A networking event was hosted for the students & business people were invited along for them to practise what they had learnt in the sessions & though inexperienced & apprehensive, the students were so engaged and receptive to the discussions & interactive exercises I set them & I’m so proud of them for taking themselves out of their comfort zones to try new things.

Feed back from the students was extremely positive.

Networking Training Videos commissioned by NTU

DECEMBER 2021

I was commissioned by Nottingham Trent Business School to record four video masterclasses for around various topics in relation to networking.

The masterclasses were uploaded onto the student support online portal for them to access in their own time, with the aim of assisting in their communication development now & beyond graduation, in scenarios such as when out business networking at events, in meetings or at job interviews.

Each video covered:

💬Networking Etiquette
💬Creative Communication
💬Pitching Vs Storytelling
💬Maintaining Business Relationships at a Distance

My first workshop of 2022 was back in the room and this one was a ‘train the trainer’ session, which saw me deliver an interactive session on networking and communication to student mentors of the Nottingham Business School.

Around thirty attendees took part and were given various interactive exercises to complete and to take away with them to assist in their mentor sessions with their own mentees.

‘Effective Ways to Network’ workshop- Personal Development Week @ NTU

JANUARY 2020

This workshop was for the personal development week at Nottingham Trent University, whereby I was invited to share my expertise on the topic of business networking to business students in the form of an interactive workshop, which covered networking etiquette, conversation starter and exit strategies and a section on building your story.

The workshop proved to be so popular that my class was full and I had to deliver the exact same workshop again to another group straight afterwards, making it a full day of back to back student training, which was very well received in both instances and I have since been invited back to deliver it in subsequent PD week’s.

Business networking ‘Round table series’ University of Nottingham

Being an honorary Entrepreneur in Residence at the Ingenuity Centre, University of Nottingham, I am regularly asked to deliver guest lectures as part of their round - table masterclass program.

This particular class covered the topic of ‘Business networking: Maximising your opportunities’.

Other topics I have covered as part of this series include, ‘creativity in business’ and ‘business networking online: 7 steps to success.’

Sessions have taken place both in-person and online.

The Power of Storytelling… in Business

I delivered my brand new workshop ‘The power of storytelling...in business’ for the first time to over 60 Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University as part of January 2021 ‘Personal development week’.

Students from all around the world, joining us live from not only the UK, but India, Spain, Portugal & more- the power of digital!

Key areas covered:

📚 The science of storytelling
📚Creative writing
📚Building your story
📚Creative conversation
📚Creative communication

My workshops are always interactive and fun, so it went without saying that participants didn’t have a choice but to get involved & I even managed to incorporate a pineapple into the session 🍍😊

Creativity in Business

My first time delivering my brand new interactive online workshop: ‘Creativity in business’ was to a screen full of innovative businesses & creative agency CEO’s, as part of the D2N2 Growth Hub UpScaler project, in collaboration with East Midlands Chamber & Nottingham Business School.

The jam-packed 2 hours covered;

✏️Mindset for creativity
✏️Creative writing
✏️The science of creativity
✏️Thinking differently- train your brain
✏️Idea generation tools & techniques

During the session, one participant; Liz the leader of the project, said she had two ‘light bulb moments’ and as such implemented her ideas following the session, both of which are currently in development process, including a business boost wellbeing event, she has since asked me to speak and contribute to.

Making the most of your networking experience

This was a great morning spent delivering an interactive webinar/workshop on business networking for students of The Sheffield College as part of a joint project with Sheffield Chamber of Commerce

I was asked to represent the ‘business networking’ segment of the series, which encompasses many other key skills & useful topics such as leadership, creativity & innovation, growth mindset, resilience and more, with one month and one guest speaker representing each topic.

We covered the following:

🗣The 3 key elements we should be focusing on right now to stay connected.
🗣Networking online: 7 steps to success.
🗣Creative conversation.
🗣Building your story.

Networking for Success Nottingham Business School

I was asked to create, host and facilitate Nottingham Business School's very first online hybrid networking training session & event ‘Networking for success’ in November 2020 and then again in February 2021 following our successful debut.

Business students from all over the world connected through the screen, most admitting they were nervous to begin with having never attended a networking event before. I ran a poll at the end of the session & 100% stated that they couldn’t wait to start their online networking journey following the event

We plan to roll this event out at part of a series both online and offline.

Business Networking Online: 7 Steps To Success

This lunchtime session was a combination of networking training and networking for WREN Property Network, as I hosted and facilitated networking in break-out rooms on Zoom, following my talk on the topic: ‘Business networking online: 7 steps to success’.

Topics covered:

• Preparation techniques

• Communication

• Etiquette

• Practicalities

• My golden nuggets

Participants had the chance to ask me anything during the Q&A afterwards and I shared a copy of my new e-book titled the same as a free gift takeaway of the session.

Creativity in Business condensed workshop- Roundtable series - The Ingenuity Lab, University of Nottingham

Here I was asked to deliver a condensed version of my brand new workshop- ‘Creativity in business’ as part of the roundtable series for The Ingenuity Lab - Haydn Green Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship tomorrow, where I am a proud member of their Entrepreneur in Residence scheme.

This session was for both creative people and those who don't think of themselves as creative.

For those who wish to ignite their creativity and to learn how to use creativity to approach business development.

We discussed the importance of integrating creativity into business and I shared some of my tips & techniques on idea generation and how to achieve that 'light bulb moment' 💡