Networking

After our visit to CASS and Andre House, we travel to our final location. Here we unpack and create a sitting area with our blankets. I had intended to keep the location's proximity to the Youth House secret to prevent people taking a bunch of trips there, as it was about half a block away down an alley. Alas, John could not be fooled. He's visited the house 200 times in a year and coordinated extensive repairs.

After settling in, we went on to our third talk of the day: Networking. John had been chosen to give the presentation. His networking skills have transformed the house from a disaster to an inviting home. He also has an admirably professional attitude that when taken with his creative initiative means he gets stuff done.

Unfortunately, the lighting was very poor for John's talk, so again we must rely on notes.

John defines a network as a social structure with common interests. Networking is developing and utilizing this structure. He insisted that we think of ourselves as people with something to offer and that we should strive for two-sided compromise.

Practically, start small. Tell your story. John also emphasized the importance of the Elevator Speech, a 30-seconds to one-minute pitch for Stand Up For Kids. He suggested that we practice them out loud and that we try to be memorable (maybe even funny). He also encouraged the use of mixed media. Ideally, use three types of media to create a network connection.

"Don't fear the big shots," he says. "Have no fear - get over worrying about rejection."

After his speech we crafted elevator pitches and gave them to each other.