December 2024
On October 29, 2024, nearly 200 construction industry professionals gathered in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia to build support systems and inspire the next generation of leaders at the Construction Association of Nova Scotia’s inaugural Stanhope Simpson Insurance Women in
Construction Forum.
The theme was Connect. Support. Inspire.
The program created a space for forging new connections and highlighting the unique experiences and perspectives of women in construction.
I was thrilled to support this first-ever event by facilitating two customized networking sessions for participants. The energy in the room was palpable! It gave further evidence to my belief that people will engage with enthusiasm if you create the conditions for meaningful conversations.
The stand out activity for me was our second facilitated networking session. I asked participants to silently consider the following question and print their response on a small index card:
Think of a question you’d be comfortable asking someone you’ve never met and that you’d be comfortable answering yourself.
Participants then moved into a dynamic networking conversation, where they used their questions to spark conversations. And they swapped index cards when prompted. Just to switch things up!
Following the event, I noticed that the tables were littered with dozens of these index cards. All with brilliant networking questions! So, with the design support of Barefoot Facilitation’s Joss Pirker, we’ve synthesized, themed and summarized them into a practical tool we’ve titled Building Connections: The Ultimate Networking Checklist for Women in Construction.
Building Connections_Networking Checklist
And if you work in other industries my bet is that you’ll find a few juicy questions to help you master your next networking experience!
Interested in hosting a customized networking session at your next event? Email me at gm@trybarefoot.com and let’s start planning.
Gerard Murphy
Founder and CEO,
Barefoot Facilitation Inc.