What is the Best Way to Build an Effective Network?

Guess what—you don’t have just “a network”, you actually have many networks! And believe it or not you’ve already started to create yours. Think about the people you’re connected to and have some type of relationship with, for instance:

• your family
• friends
• colleagues
• clients
• vendors
• classmates
• your neighbors
• religious affiliations
• even those in your hobby clubs

They all constitute the various spheres of influence that make up your network. I’ll bet you hadn’t realized the important role these individuals already play as part of your networking and relationship-building! And when you recognize how many connections you have currently established, and the opportunities that are currently available right in front of you, this will help you build on it.

Now, what exactly prompted you to inquire about strengthening your network? Is there something specific you desire, for example, are you starting your own company, or looking to advance in your career? To begin, you must understand the reason behind why you want to do this, then you must be committed to forming the right relationships.

Part of this commitment is getting in the proper networking mindset, and making this mindset a habit. But an even bigger piece of your commitment is understanding how beneficial the relationships are that you are building. You can do this by first realizing your own value and determining how worthy your skills or experiences can be to someone else; consider that a task or situation that comes pretty easy for you could be a challenge for them! And if you can provide something of benefit to help, you’ve already formed the foundation for a relationship.

You can’t foster strong connections by always asking favors of other people and never offering anything in return. And if you don’t know how valuable you can be to someone, simply ask them! You’d be surprised at how far saying, “And what is it that I can do for you?” really goes.

There really is a science and art to networking; I would encourage you to enroll in our Get NetWorkWise Certified online training course, which immerses you in the fundamentals of relationship-building. If you’re interested in nurturing your network to help you find a new job, we also offer the course Careers Through Connections, or if you’re looking to learn how to maximize your time at a networking conference or event we even offer the Conference/Event Playbook course.

Make it a great day! And remember to always NetWorkWise.

This article was originally published on Quora.