You may recall we experimented with this riff on a classic Stage 32 event a few months ago. The impact of the “Introduce Your FRIEND Weekend” has been astounding! I even received this very lovely “thank you” message from one of my new friends and previous networking buddy:

Thank you, Kimberly! Now that summer is here, productions are up and running, forward momentum is paramount! Pun intended. There is no better way to get energized than to grab a friend to help you meet new friends!

To help show you how to participate in Stage 32’s monthly online networking event, I have selected a friend to join me as a networking buddy. One of the benefits of working with a networking buddy is getting to know your buddy that much better! Today, we discuss - getting over perfectionism, writing in other mediums which inform your scripts, getting notes from Writer’s Room members (thanks, Noel!), sharing loglines, and preparing for the inevitable conversations during pitches (sign up for your Pitch Session here!). The big takeaway? Don’t count yourself out! Keep the momentum going with those first few steps!

I hope you enjoy getting to know my friend, Kelly Shanley, a comedian, writer, and actor whose Medium humor column is going swimmingly and recently completed her first stand-up gig since the lockdown. You can join the introductory posts we started here and here. She is looking for producers and actors to help film a few of her concepts. They may even find a home as a web series or podcast!

If you’d like to skip our pre-game discussion, you can jump to 13:20 if you want to know more about how to post and connect on the Introduce Yourself Lounge. You may also enjoy a quick list of resources we discussed:

• Search Loglines on Stage 32
• Pitch Sessions with Stage 32 Executives
• The Writer’s Room (link for your first month free!)
• International Women’s Day Panel Recording
• Introduce Yourself Lounge

So, here’s my “Summer Fun Challenge” for you, my Stage32 fam! Grab a friend, carve out an hour or two, and super-charge your summer energy with ten new friends!

Click Here to Watch My Video with Kelly Shanley!

Here’s how the “Introduce Your FRIEND Weekend” expands on RB’s original five steps:

1. Jump on a Skype or Zoom call for Pre-Game Prep

• Catch up, confirm what you both are working on, what you each would like to be working on, and who you both want to meet
• Discuss what kind of ice-breakers do you wish to employ. What could you talk about that isn’t business and how could you work that into your “online conversation”?
• “Check It Before You Wreck It” Your profile, your bio, your links - have your buddy review anything before others see it. Refreshing your information gives you a fantastic confidence boost before networking!

***After doing this a few times, I’ve combined 3 Steps into 1 “Pre-Game Prep” so you and your buddy just have one get-together.

2. Post in the Introduce Yourself Lounge

When you do this, you can also introduce your friend! Try to keep it to three sentences or less as your friend can follow up with a comment to continue the thread. Also, think of how you would introduce someone in real life – how you know them, what they do, what they’ve done recently, or what they’re interested in doing are all great ways for others to relate!

3. Respond to at least 5 other posts

When you do this, you can also introduce your friend! Try to link why you think they’d enjoy meeting your friend to help start their conversation. If you cannot tag your friend with an @ symbol, definitely leave a link to their profile so they can follow up with a direct message.

4. Invite at least 10 people to your network (click that plus!)

5. Pay it forward by inviting at least 5 others to join Stage 32!

6. Pulse Check

Check in with your buddy to see how they think it went! Maybe even get some feedback on how your approach worked (or didn’t) and what you could do next time. ***This could be done a day or two after the event, so that you both have a chance to respond to comments over the duration of the event.

How did enlisting the assistance of a networking buddy help you? What are some strategies that worked for you? I’d love to know who you invited, what your approach was, and what you learned. SHARE BELOW!

Let’s share the love and let others know where they can build the most uplifting and empowering relationships in the business! Take a screenshot of you and your buddy, add the hashtags #IntroduceYourselfWeekend #IntroduceYourFRIENDWeekend #Stage32 and #NetworkingBuddies , then tag @Stage32 @rbwalksintoabar and @k.osswrites on Instagram for epic reposts!