In-House Counsel

Public Storytelling Is The New Networking For Lawyers

Effective networking today requires us to tell our stories in various forums, from social media to speaking engagements to blogs and beyond. 

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linkedin-logoI tell a lot of stories everywhere I go and especially on LinkedIn. One of my recent posts explained that if you and I ever have a meal, I will likely follow you wherever you want to go. Unless we are in Manhattan, where I’ll say, “Let’s go to Tony’s.” 

The post then explains what makes Tony’s so special to me. It’s a story about making decisions, large and small, and how your personal and professional lives intertwine to shape who you become. 

Public storytelling is how professionals network in today’s interconnected world, especially as the boundaries between our personal and professional lives continue to blur. An interesting human being exists behind every professional bio and social media profile. A person with a history of experiences and passions — someone likely to share a story or idea if asked. 

That someone is YOU! But why wait for others to ask you to tell your story? Why not just start? You must put yourself out there to be found. 

Networking has gone from mingling in crowds at industry events to purposefully expanding your presence in your field to drive your career forward. Effective networking today requires us to tell our stories in various forums, from social media to speaking engagements to blogs and beyond. 

Embrace Social Media To Build A Robust Network Via Storytelling

With so much of our lives online today, embracing social media can help you build a robust network of colleagues and friends. 

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Don’t try to build a large presence on every platform immediately. Start in a forum where your clients, friends, and supportive colleagues are. For lawyers, that’s often LinkedIn, though many lawyers feel more natural on Twitter or Instagram. Others feel they belong on Reddit or Medium. Some blockchain and Web3 enthusiasts flock to Discord and Telegram. 

Start where you are genuinely interested in the shared experience. This is how you wind up in the right place at the right time to build authentic relationships and find the right collaborators. 

You can always expand into other areas when you’re ready. (Or, be daring and push yourself out of your comfort zone before you think you’re ready!)

5 Tips For Sharing Engaging Stories

Whether online or in person, sharing personal anecdotes that show your humanity is much more engaging than reciting dry facts and figures and listing accomplishments. You genuinely connect with others when you share stories demonstrating your values, beliefs, and experiences.

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  1. Start with a compelling hook such as an intriguing quote, bizarre juxtaposition, or unusual fact. Evoking curiosity is a great way to keep people’s attention. (I purposefully didn’t share why I love Tony’s so much above. I wanted to ratchet up your curiosity. You can find out here.)
  2. Use as few words as possible. Relentlessly cut tangents and excess details as appropriate for the forum (e.g., in-person presentations are often longer than a LinkedIn post, which is longer than a tweet). 
  3. The heart of each story should be a lesson relevant to your audience. Share one, three, or five relevant life or work lessons, depending on the forum. As interesting as someone’s breakfast foods may be to them, most of us don’t want to hear about them unless it leads to an eye-opening or life-confirming insight. 
  4. Be humble. Don’t brag or try to make yourself look superhuman (i.e., avoid appearing on this Twitter account). True humility comes across as authentic and trustworthy. Stories about overcoming challenges are especially effective. Stories about growing from failure are even more powerful.
  5. Encourage engagement. One of my favorite ways to end a story is with a question about the reader’s perspective or experience. You can direct readers to another story or ask them to contact or follow you.

Are you ready to share your stories and use networking via storytelling to transform your career? Visit LinkedIn to connect with me on this and other legal career growth topics. (See how I did that?)

Olga MackOlga V. Mack is the VP at LexisNexis and CEO of Parley Pro, a next-generation contract management company that has pioneered online negotiation technology. Olga embraces legal innovation and had dedicated her career to improving and shaping the future of law. She is convinced that the legal profession will emerge even stronger, more resilient, and more inclusive than before by embracing technology. Olga is also an award-winning general counsel, operations professional, startup advisor, public speaker, adjunct professor, and entrepreneur. She founded the Women Serve on Boards movement that advocates for women to participate on corporate boards of Fortune 500 companies. She authored Get on Board: Earning Your Ticket to a Corporate Board Seat, Fundamentals of Smart Contract Security, and  Blockchain Value: Transforming Business Models, Society, and Communities. She is working on Visual IQ for Lawyers, her next book (ABA 2023). You can follow Olga on Twitter @olgavmack.

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