I was offered, and accepted a two-part talk to fully address LinkedIn best practices by a well-recognized educational organization. The title, summary, and intended message were all squared away.

Then, they asked, can you broaden the scope a bit and include paralegals, a new vertical they were aiming to draw, in addition to attorneys?

Hmmmm, I never spoke before paralegals before, although I am quite sure some were in earshot of mu 1:1 coaching or group training sessions I presented in the past. But to mix their needs with lawyers’–well, that’s a new challenge.

I have been asked before to speak to eclectic groups, like a national association meeting of Women in Auto Care. Or a regional group of independent exterminators just learning about branding. Yup. After a while, you get to appreciate that there is a professional group  for everyone.

Yup I’ll do it. Why not address the LinkedIn needs of paralegals? So I accepted, and am in the process of writing, the 2 courses for this cohesive group of legal professionals. because they need one another in the office and they need to know how to best tell their why. But I need an insider, an experienced paralegal,  to bounce some talking points and associated ideas.

So in a quick search of first level connections in whose search terms identify them as a paralegal, I found an old friend clear across the country to approach and to pick her brain.

I wondered, “Will she help me? Am I appearing to take advantage of her expertise after being out of touch for so long?”

It’s been a few years since we have been communicated but in a Linkedin message I explained how I envisioned she might help me, with the intent of gaining her insights into the specialty she practices, and how else she could better appreciate the power of LinkedIn, with my guidance.

She immediately agreed, and we set up a zoom chat for this week. The years of silence fell away and she openly accepted my “ask.”

That again makes me realize that time and distance are merely distractors within the “lizard brain” as Seth Godin calls it, not the  benefit of the heart-mind combination that makes us succeed.

Once again, LinkedIn is the conduit for accessing the professional expertise of those we surround ourselves with, for the best access to their unique points of view.

I’ve repeated my reliance on LinkedIn, as an avid believer. Once again.