From Networking to Meaningful Connections: Learning Together

Professional development isn’t just about the content - it’s about the people.

Whether it’s a quick follow-up question, a shared takeaway, or an invitation to debrief, connecting with others during a learning event can spark fresh ideas, deepen your understanding, and expand your network in a meaningful way.

In this episode of the Practicing Connection podcast, Coral and Jessica explore how connecting with other attendees - or even speakers - can transform your professional development experience. 

Jessica shares a simple, low-pressure practice for starting conversations, learning collaboratively, and expanding your network in ways that feel authentic and focused on shared learning. 

Whether you’re attending in person or online, discover practical ideas for reaching out, sharing takeaways, and creating spaces for meaningful dialogue.

Links and resources from this episode:

• Join our LinkedIn group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12879756/ 
• Send us a message: practicingconnection@oneop.org 

OneOp Academy is a free online series designed for anyone interested in positive change, whether you're an educator, community leader, student, or just passionate about supporting families.

This year's Academy spotlights the unique challenges facing military connected youth, from mental health to resilience education to community support.

 Explore the 2025 OneOp Academy and register today at oneop.org/series/2025academy

Transcript

[00:00:00] CORAL OWEN: Hey there. Thank you for listening to the Practicing Connection Podcast. I'm Coral. Today we'll be talking about making the most of professional development opportunities through connecting with other attendees, or even the speaker, and my co-host Jessica, will be sharing a practice with us. Hey Jess. How are you today?

JESSICA BECKENDORF: Hey, I'm doing pretty great. I've been kind of in the spirit of our topic. I've been noticing lately that I've had a lot going on in my head, and typing out my to-do list and thoughts weren't actually helping much. So I actually have more than one journaling app. There's generally one that I use only, but I have a journaling app and I have different to-do list apps as well that I like to test out. I'm kind of a productivity tool nerd. But the typing it out wasn't helping me very much. I go through periods where typing helps and sometimes it doesn't.

And I'm in a period right now where typing isn't helping me at [00:01:00] all. So, I've taken up daily pen and paper journaling again, and pen and paper list making, pen and paper journaling is a practice that I've actually kept for a long time, but I'll sometimes go like a few days, weeks, or occasionally months without doing it.

And when I'm not doing pen and paper journaling, I'm generally doing some spotty typing out of my journals. So I thought I'd bring this up because today we're talking about connecting with others, and this practice helps me connect with myself. And I've learned a long time ago to kind of let go of, “I don't have to do things one way all the time.”

And I've noticed that there are times when my pen and paper isn't fast enough for me, and so I need to go to typing. And then again, I've noticed times when the typing isn't helping me ensure things get done, or it's not helping to really get everything out of my head, and so I need to go to the physical writing. And so it, I really have to just be in tune with myself on that.[00:02:00]

CORAL OWEN: I'm chuckling over here because that, it's very much been my experience too, as someone who, you know, kind of is, has one foot on either side of these generational lines of tech and then also pen and paper. And yeah, it's nice to have a format for whatever the situation is feeling like it, you know, necessitates, not requires necessarily. But yeah, I love that. That's a great reflection too on being able to connect with yourself and just figure out where you're at before you turn around and make those intentional connections with other people. I love that. Thank you for sharing. We'd also love to hear what's inspiring our listeners, so please do drop us a line at Practicing connection@oneop.org.

We see and respond to every message, and we can't wait to hear from you.

- break -

Alright. Let's learn more about the power of connection when it comes to making the most of our professional development. Jessica, can you tell us a little bit more about the practice you'll be sharing today and [00:03:00] why you chose it?

JESSICA BECKENDORF: Yeah, of course. I chose this particular activity for two reasons. First, if we're looking for things like what's lighting a spark in us, which is what we talked about in a previous episode, or if we're looking for ways to connect with someone, then that means that we are fully present, we're in the room even if that room is virtual.

Second, I chose this because seeking to connect with someone who is co-learning alongside us, or seeking to connect with the speakers, is one way to deepen our learning and to expand our professional network. And you're expanding your network in a way that centers the connection on your learning, not on the things that usually make people feel a little icky when networking.

CORAL OWEN: Oh man. Jess. I know that's gonna resonate with a lot of people. I feel that pretty deeply and yeah, having something to center that connection around, I know it's going to be helpful for a lot of folks. So can [00:04:00] you go ahead and walk us through on how we might get started?

JESSICA BECKENDORF: Yeah, absolutely. This actually might be one of the simplest practices we've shared. The only step, the first and only step is to reach out to a fellow participant, instructor or colleague. So you can do this well in multiple ways, but I'm going to give you three ways and three reasons for your reach outs.

So you might ask them a follow up question during the session. You can ask the speakers or one of the participants who shared something in the chat, just ask them a follow-up question. That's all that one is. 

Another way that you could reach out is, share a takeaway. This is a really low pressure way to open dialogue. For example, during a virtual learning setting, you might put this in the chat. You could say something like, “One thing that really sparked my thinking today was..” fill in the blank. “I'd love to hear what stood out to others.” You could also do [00:05:00] this in a LinkedIn group or thread.

Make sure though to tag the speaker or the organization who hosted. They will really appreciate it. And then the third way that you could reach out to a participant, instructor, or colleague, would be to invite connection. So you could invite some colleagues or others to a short debrief conversation or create a shared file for an idea swap where you all share one idea that you plan to try.

That is one way I've actually gone back to some of those documents where someone decided to create one for everyone who was in the room and say, “Hey, here's a shared document that I created with my idea. Go ahead and add yours.” 

I've actually gone back to them months later too, to try something new.

So that's it. You just reach out to a participant, instructor, or colleague.

CORAL OWEN: Good deal. Simple is easy. Love it. Awesome. Well thanks so much for guiding us through, and yeah, that's it for this episode. 

So thank y'all for joining us, and if you did enjoy this episode or [00:06:00] find this practice helpful, click the share button in your podcast app to share it with a friend or colleague.

Till then, we'll be back next week with a new episode, and be sure to keep practicing. 

CREDITS: The Practicing Connection Podcast is a production of One-Off and is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, US Department of Agriculture and the Office of Military Family Readiness Policy, US Department of Defense under award number 2 0 2 3 4 8 7 74 3 3.