In 2002, researchers and doctors at Emory University in Atlanta conducted the first MRI study of “real time” social interaction (scans were taken during mental and physical activity, as opposed to just having participants look at images or listen to recorded examples). A group of young women participated in a laboratory game called “Prisoner’s Dilemma,” and brain activity was measured in the women as they played this game together, with each participant choosing from a number of selfish or cooperative strategies in a bid for monetary gain.

The Emory researchers initially set out to show that a woman’s brain reacts the same way each time it strives for a goal, no matter what the plan is for achieving that goal. What they discovered was quite surprisingly the opposite. When a participant’s chosen strategy for increasing her money reflected a selfish or greedy premise, a small region of the brain showed activity. But when cooperative alliances were formed with other women toward the same goal, the brain not only lit up like a Christmas tree, it radiated in regions that scientists know to be directly related to reward behavior… the same areas that respond to chocolate cake, sex, beautiful pictures, and other assorted delights.

Even more interesting, it was the perception of bonding with other humans, not the money, these women responded to. When participants played the same game against a computer, the reward behavior regions were significantly less responsive.

Is it any wonder, then, that our eyes glaze over at the thought of having to attend yet another networking event? Here we are seeking the reward of human bonding when the strategy of the networking game is “He Who Has the Most Business Cards Wins.”

When you genuinely connect with someone, you grow as you learn about them, and are inspired by their stories. They in turn learn about you as a person and what you have to offer in the professional world. You develop a level of trust, support, and loyalty, creating a strongly woven tapestry of relationships.

The near warp-speed evolution of technology is making our small world spin a little faster each day – voicemail, fax, email, video conferencing, the internet, wi-fi communication, to name a few. Less and less time is available for old-fashioned ‘crowded-room shindigs,’ and as the line between our personal and professional lives is increasingly blurred, the strength of the fabric in our individual tapestries is more important than ever.

The next time a networking event takes place in your area, try something new. Pick up the phone, call a colleague, and ask her for the name of a business acquaintance she thinks you would enjoy meeting. Make a date with both of them for dinner and, on the night of the event, spend time getting to each other over a great meal in a nice restaurant – while everyone else is down the street doing the “Network Shuffle.”

Which do you think will be more productive… and fulfilling?

“You can make more friends in two months by becoming more interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you.”
- Anonymous