What changed
The room forced me to explain design in plain language and outcomes. Once I stopped talking in creative jargon, the quality of conversations improved immediately.
What worked
Specific examples landed best: what was broken, what I changed, and the business result. People can refer you faster when they understand your process in one minute.
What I am keeping
I now treat networking like design strategy: clear message, consistent positioning, and proof points that are easy to repeat. Better fit clients came from that shift.