You’re probably familiar with the Myers-Briggs personality test, right? The one that determines if you’re an ESTJ or an INFP or another combination of those letters (each standing for a different dichotomy). The E and I stand for one very important dichotomy that can greatly affect your professional life: are you introvert or an extrovert?

Introverts aren’t necessarily quiet and shy, and extroverts aren’t always raucous and crazily talkative. The terms derive from where you get your energy. Do you thrive off crowds and other people, or do you value “alone time” and need a peaceful environment to recharge? For example, despite being fairly talkative, I loathe crowds and need to take time alone to get energy.

For other introverts and myself, networking events can be a real headache. There are few things I dislike more than being thrown into a group of people I don’t know and having to “network.” And small talk? Making it is a skill I most definitely have to work hard at.

So, since networking and “putting myself out there” can be challenging, here are a few tips for my fellow introverts looking to improve upon their skills and make networking events less of a chore.

1. Prepare questions ahead of time, such as “what are you most passionate about in your career?”. Just as you prepare for meetings ahead of time, there’s no shame in having a few items as your go-to questions.

2. Don’t stand with your arms crossed, in a corner, waiting for people to come to you. Trust me – they won’t. So smile, and, while you don’t necessarily have to throw yourself into middle of things, think about ways to look more approachable.

3. Don’t go it alone. Bring a friend who can help break the ice.

4. Brush up on current events. Referencing an article you read recently or what book you’re currently reading is a great conversation starter.

What are your best networking tips?

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80.
Henry Ford

It’s a bit of a cliché (OK, a lot of a cliché) to talk about how important is to be a “lifelong learner.” But truly, I think our education doesn’t end when we move the tassels to the the other side of our graduation caps (whether it’s a high school diploma or a college degree). A formal education is a wonderful thing, but I’m sure most people would confirm that they learned more “real world” skills from their first few jobs than from high school or college.

Beyond the skills we learn at work and the experience we gain on the job, I think it’s important for all professionals to proactively further their own interests and cultivate new ones, as well.

Read books (novels, not just nonfiction). Take classes that interest you, even if they’re not related to your career (calligraphy! tennis!). Volunteer with an organization that supports a cause you believe in. Do something that scares you (skydiving! giving blood!). Every experience makes you a stronger person. Every book you read makes you smarter and increases your vocabulary.

Of course, professional development never hurts — and don’t overlook the power of basic, “in-real-life” networking. The Internet is great, but nothing beats a good old-fashioned face-to-face conversation. If you’re just starting out in your career, don’t be intimidated. (Yes, I need to follow my own advice.) Everyone was just starting at some point, and the only stupid questions are the ones you don’t ask (generally speaking). In fact, I bet most experienced professionals would be thrilled to share their knowledge and experience with someone who’s just beginning their journey.

Continuing to grow your skill set and knowledge will keep you from getting stuck in a rut and offer more opportunities down the road.

What is your biggest piece of advice for a professional (of any age), with regards to continuing to learn?

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Free food? Networking with other association professionals? A conversation about association technology basics, and how organizations can benefit from a simplified tech strategy? A chance to win an awesome, exciting prize?

Although I’ve written about this a bit, I wanted to remind all association professionals in New York about the new Lunch with MemberClicks program. We’ll be there on Wednesday, May 19 at Mustang Harry’s to give a short presentation about how technology can benefit associations.

We’re really excited to meet with association professionals (especially those of you at small-staffs!) in the tri-state area. (The best part? Mustang Harry’s is super close to Penn Station, so if you’re coming from Long Island or New Jersey, you won’t have far to travel in the city!)

Everyone who comes will receive a complimentary lunch and have the opportunity to meet with other association professionals in the area. Plus, every attendee will be entered in a raffle to win an awesome prize. (In Washington, D.C., we gave away an iPad and in Atlanta, we raffled off Braves tickets!)

So, if a free lunch, networking and some exciting tech talk sound like fun, we hope you’ll join us!

Click here to register. See you in a few weeks!

Happy Friday! It’s finally starting to fee like spring here in Atlanta; now if only those annoying rainstorms would quit. I’m so ready for spring: more daylight, outdoor eating, baseball, the NFL Draft, flowers … it’s pretty perfect. Speaking of more daylight, don’t forget to spring your clocks forward this Saturday night before hitting the sack. Losing an hour is the only downside of the beginning of Daylight Savings Time — I’m really looking forward to longer days.

With many people attending the Great Ideas Conference, there was some great stuff in the association blogosphere this week, but not every post highlighted the conference.

1. Wes Trochlil shared some tips for organizations converting their data to a new database. There are some great reminders here, such as to stop keeping track of data you don’t need or use, keep your legacy database for future reference and only convert the data you need. Wes’ database tips always spot-on.

2. One of the newer-to-me blogs I’ve discovered recently is Ellen Behrens’. She writes the aLearning blog, and her post this week on exit interviews for members was fantastic. Members who don’t renew often have powerful information that would be beneficial to the organization, so definitely take a look at this post.

3. I read a ton of blogs, and they’re not all association-focused. This post, though, from the Six Pixels of Separation blog, discusses mobile technologies: “The Lines Continue to Blur (at Breakneck Speeds).” This one’s a great reminder about how much the use of mobile technology is increasing — and that it’s not just kids who are using it. Are you ready?

4. Lynn Morton wrote some awesome posts about Great Ideas this week, but here’s her takeaway post. From the more casual (use Emergen-C if you’re sick!) to the more serious (the spirit is there, the content is not), Lynn shared her thoughts from ASAE’s conference and encourages others to push the envelope a bit more.

5. Maddie Grant also had a great collection of takeaway and links post-Great Ideas. Her main takeaway was the concept of “autonomy,” which was discussed during Dan Pink’s closing general session. Control leads to compliance; autonomy leads to engagement.

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Don’t forget to set your clocks forward!

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The Membership Marketing Benchmark Survey results were released this past weekend at ASAE and The Center’s Annual Meeting. The white paper, which is available as a 40-page PDF here (registering to get access to the PDF is easy), is the result of a nearly month-long survey conducted this spring. My first post concerning the results deals with the best marketing tool for associations.

“What do you believe is the TOP REASON members join your organization?”

Page 17 of the white paper deals with this question, and I found the results intriguing. The top response was Access to Specialized Information (23%), which makes sense. Coming in at numbers two and three were Network with others in the field (22%) and Connect with others in the field (12%).

The fifth most popular response seemed significant to me. Learn best practices in their profession received 8% of the vote. I understand that an association’s main purpose should be to connect people (hence the popular responses given above), but shouldn’t an association provide valuable resources as well? It’s interesting that the top response was Access to specialized information — and maybe it’s so closely tied to Learn best practices in their profession that this doesn’t matter.

However, coming in with 10% of the vote was the response, Other. Other? What does this mean? The fact that Other received more votes than Learn best practices in their field completely mystifies me. There are many reasons to join an organization, but their foremost purpose should be to connect people with similar interests, goals and professions. Not just to network with others (anyone can do that on LinkedIn), but to create lasting relationships. Offering great professional resources will only get your association so far — if members aren’t engaged with each other, then what’s the point?