Traditionally, networking was intended to allow us to stay in touch, not lose valuable contacts and friends, and build new relationships.

The Pandemic has forced us to find new ways to network other than face-to-face contacts. The new norm is virtual networking, and it is already clear that solid connections can be gained even faster, in some cases, using this approach. The isolation that people find themselves in is a highly effective motivator to get them to reach out to make contacts. The duplicate vital contacts that used to be so hard to fit in a short meeting seem more willing to have a new face to talk to online. Zoom and FaceTime seemed to have opened some doors. It is stressful to live without human contacts, so we often push ourselves to connect in whatever way we can, primarily virtual.

Now that we are forced to find a virtual way of networking and, in many cases, surprised by the new relationships we have seen, the challenge will be to nurture these contacts and not lose them going forward.