Letter from the Board

Joshua D. Lorenz

Thanks to everyone who came out to attend our Pre-Pride Happy Hour with OUT and Bill Kaelin Marketing last Friday. It was a great time at the Wet Bar inside the W Atlanta Downtown — perfect for unwinding after a long week.

I have personally made it to two Out on Film screenings so far in the last week — I hope you were able to attend as well. There may still be some tickets left for the closing film tonight, so call and check while you can! A huge shoutout to Jim, Craig, and the entire Out on Film team for putting on another fantastic festival. We thank all of you for your contributions!

We are excited to introduce our SECOND monthly networking lunch on the Third Tuesday of each month. This lunch starts this month and will be held at Ri Ra Irish Pub monthly. Full details are in the side content bar and you can email riralunch@maapatl.org to RSVP for the lunch each month.

I hope you have a safe and enjoyable Pride weekend in Atlanta! There will be plenty to do. We'll see you on Oct. 20 at Loca Luna for our monthly networking mixer.

Warm Regards,

Joshua D. Lorenz
President & CEO

• Find the lone wolf in the crowd. They need and want to talk normally. 
• It's okay if you don't talk to everyone in the room but leave the networking event with at least one meaningful conversation by the end of the night. 
• Find common interests professionally and personally. Individuals engage more and trust you more if you can relate on multiple levels. 
• Follow up with questions once the other individual is done talking. This shows interest in the conversation and that you were an active listener. 
• Always make eye contact. There is a such thing as good and bad eye contact. My rule is make eye contact at least 30 to 60% of the time during a conversation. This is also very important when the other person is speaking. Five to eight seconds of continuous eye contact is good. Any more than 10 seconds of continuous eye contact and you have reached creeper status; this can easily damage the conversation.  
• If you find it hard to network or talk to people at events, try to be one of the first people to arrive. Arriving early gives you the upper hand and makes it easier to generate conversations without pressure or distractions around you. You can also meet key individuals involved in the organization, such as board members. This will help make you feel more involved in an organization. 
• Come prepared to share your contact info with everyone you meet. 
• Always have some type of 30-second presentation about who you are and what you do in your back pocket (symbolically speaking). You never know who you will meet and how that person could grow your career.