Use the following best practices to keep building relationships in a continuous, effortless flow.
Listed are some ideas from which you can pick and choose:
PINGING #
Pinging is a quick outreach to a contact via some electronic means, usually in order to remind or alert of something
Examples: Email: Set aside 5-10 minutes a day to do outreach via email, Text: You can make it as substantial or as trivial as you want, Phone: pick up the phone and say hello
GATHERING #
A Gathering is a wide-angle touchpoint: you and many people in the same space—think Speaker Series; Conferences, charity galas, open-house receptions, or any event you host or attend
GIFTING #
Gifting is about giving something thoughtful (tangible or intangible) that shows you’re paying attention to the other person’s interests and achievements.
Examples: Send articles of interest, Nominate people for awards or accolades, Send cards,notes
GROUPING #
A Grouping is a small-batch experience crafted for depth. You intentionally bring together multiple people in a small group.
The intimacy sparks richer conversation, faster trust, and meaningful new connections among all participants. Different from “Gathering”, “Grouping” is deeper and more intentional.
Examples: Activities that are naturally communal: Golf, Dinner parties, Book Clubs, Thanksgiving-X-12: Hold a dinner party the third Thursday of every month.
BLENDING #
Blend two parts of your life (could be personal & professional Activities, social, philanthropic etc) ● Examples: “Run” your own Meeting: Turn a workout into an opportunity to meet, Own a Holiday: Have a big annual party that allows you to touch base with everyone, Day at the park: Plan a day with the kids, If you like to ride bikes, get out on the bikes together
STACKING #
Instead of treating each opportunity as a one-off, look for ways to stack multiple touchpoints or connections into time you’re already committing. ● Leveraging your existing schedule, rather than spreading them out and stretching yourself too thin. ● Examples: Schedule 2–3 back-to-back coffee chats on the same morning, If you’re writing one relationship-reconnect email, send 5 while you’re in that headspace, schedule a 1:1 before an event
FILLING #
“Fill” your empty minutes with pings/ quick outreach (waiting for a meeting to start, standing in line)).
BLINDING #
Blinding is doing something that someone else can’t or doesn’t necessarily see ● Could be as simple as talking favorably about a person when they’re not around or putting in a good word for someone