Networking Training: For People Who'd Rather Do Anything Else
Early careers edition – visit https://luma.com/anderstrue.co for other levels.
Everyone else in the room already seems to know each other.
You've been told to network since before you started your role.
Except nobody has ever told you how to actually do it.
"Best networking session I've ever done." –Therese, attendee
My beta workshop filled in 24 hours.
Here are the results from the first full-day workshop:
Self-rated confidence jumped 44%. From 6.0 to 8.7 out of 10 – in one day.
Every person left with a concrete new skill. Top of the list: entering a conversation and exiting one gracefully – the exact thing they'd named as their biggest dread going in.
The magic ingredient: psychological safety. A safe space to make mistakes, fumble, get silly, try again, and really practise.
Live practice, not theory. Something you can't get elsewhere.
Real appetite for follow-on sessions.
"I learnt how to network effectively in a very human way."
–Hatty
"Susi demystifies what real networking looks like … and provides practical tools."
–Roselyn
"…even when we were doing some really uncomfortable role plays, it felt safe."
Networking is a skill. And like any skill, it can be learned.
Early in your career the advice is relentless. Go to things. Meet people. Build your network. What nobody explains is what you're supposed to do once you're standing there.
So you go. Everyone else seems to already know each other. You find the person you came with and stay put. And underneath it all is the thought – what have I actually got to offer these people?
That thought is wrong. It's also the single most common thing I hear, from people at every stage of their career, including some very senior ones. It just lands hardest when you're new, because you haven't yet built up the evidence to argue back with.
This workshop is for you.
What this is
A full-day, in-person workshop in the heart of Central London. All built around one idea: you learn to network by networking.
Not by perfecting your elevator pitch. Not by learning scripts. Not by pretending to be someone you're not. By practising getting comfortable with discomfort, in a room designed to make it safe.
We work through the seven self-limiting beliefs that stop clever, capable people from networking well. We practise breaking into conversations, excusing ourselves gracefully, and talking to strangers without a plan. We work with your nervous system, not against it.
This isn't a seminar or a motivational speech. It's a rehearsal.
What you'll walk away with
The ability to break into a conversation
Graceful exit lines
Somatic tools for calming your nervous system in the room – subtly enough that no one will notice
A different relationship with mistakes
Something to say when someone asks what you do
A framework for networking as a long-term skill, not a one-off performance
Who this session is for
Every workshop is grouped by experience level, so you're practising alongside peers.
This one is for people early in their careers – roughly your first seven years.
You'll recognise yourself if:
You've been told to network for years and nobody has told you what to say
You go quiet in rooms where everyone's more senior, because you're not sure you've got anything worth adding
There are already little groups formed by the time you arrive, and breaking into one feels impossible
You go to the bathroom on arrival. You don't need the toilet. You just need somewhere to be
You'd rather keep your mouth shut than say the wrong thing
You're still working out where you're heading, and it's hard to talk about a direction you haven't picked yet
This isn't for you if you're after a polished elevator pitch, a scripted opener or a personal-brand session. This is a rehearsal room.
A small group, all at the same stage, all finding this hard. You get time to arrive and settle before anything is asked of you. Nobody performs.
Not your level?
My other cohorts are pitched further along – mid-career on 24 November, and senior sessions after that. Follow the Anders & True calendar to be first to hear when tickets go live.
And if we get on your prep call and I think a different session suits you better, I'll say so and we'll move you.
The day
Friday 23 October · 9.30am–4.30pm · Fair Shot, Covent Garden
Lunch provided.
12 places max.
Pre-workshop preparation
There's a 45-minute video call before the day – just you and Susi. She'll explain the workshop content and answer any questions you might have. Then she'll ask you some questions about your experiences, specific fears and goals so that the content is as tailored as possible to your individual situation. These questions will also help you prepare your thoughts in advance, ready to make the most of every activity.
It's important that you know that these conversations aren't a test: they're designed to help every one of you make individual progress together as a group. There's no perfect or expected answer. The only thing you need to do? Answer truthfully for yourself. And you don't have to share any of your answers with Susi – or the other participants.
She'll be using a platform like Fathom/Otter/Wispr Flow to record the call and then tools like ChatGPT and Claude to analyse your conversation and capture themes and patterns across all of the participants. This is in accordance with the Anders & True Privacy Policy. Susi will obtain your consent at the start of the call. You can request to have your data deleted at any time.
Pricing
These are founding prices, and 2026 is the only year they exist. From 2027 these workshops cost considerably more.
What I ask in return:
Frank feedback
Be kind – to yourself and each other
Be there for the whole day
You agree to have photos and videos (without sound) used by Susi in future publicity
Fair Shot is our venue host.
Fair Shot is a social enterprise cafe and registered UK charity. They transform the lives of young adults with learning disabilities and/or autism through coffee beans. 100% of their sales goes back into training their learners and empowering employers.
3 Slingsby Place, London WC2E 9AB
An enormous thank you to Rich Ward and the Engage Works team for backing our pilot workshop. "A hotbed for innovation, insights and technology" – AV Magazine
Go and see the space for yourself: www.engageworks.com
About your host
Susi Castle is a marketing consultant, Anders & True founder, and AI trainer. She's spent 20+ years in business and 10+ in marketing, working with SMEs who need senior strategic thinking without the full-time price tag. She's a three-time Marketing Week Mini MBA graduate, a WACL Talent Award winner, Bloom's Ally of the Year 2026, and an Advertising Week Future Is Female Award Winner 2026.
She built this workshop because she's done seeing the same faces in every room – and because 20+ research interviews have shown her that most networking training completely misunderstands why brilliant people struggle.
Questions: hi@anderstrue.co