A couple of weeks ago I went with two of my colleagues to an event called "Empowerment Hour." We all thought we were going to take a two hour break from our daily grind to watch a presentation. While there was little description, the title of "Empowerment Hour" was certain to get us inspired. Imagine our horror when we realized this was going to be a networking event. In other words, we'd have to step outside of our comfort zone, meet new people, and talk about ourselves. Yuck.
It's not that we are terribly shy. We all hold positions which require us to have decent communication skills. But who wants to be put on the spot to talk about yourself? With energy and charm? Maybe guests of Jimmy Fallon. But probably not most people.
The organizer of the event was pretty clever in keeping the agenda ambiguous. There was a solid attendance.
We convened in a lovely party room in pastel shades with large windows to let in the sunlight. There was pretty fruit and fancy cheeses that everyone was reluctant to eat for fear of messing up the aesthetic, or dribbling on themselves I suppose. We broke up into small groups, introduced ourselves and were asked various questions to answer. We switched groups a few times which was nice because some of us were more verbose than others. And the questions?
Tough! Here's a sample:
- What's your superpower? (Who wants to sound braggy? My first thought was to mention my ability to get blood stains out. But that might've led to some dark assumptions.)
- What's one thing you need help with? (Help? I don't want to ask for help! Unless of course it's asking my hubby to open a jar of pickles with his brute strength.)
- What's your secret dream? (Not sure I could handle the reactions by admitting my dream to be an actor on SNL.)
