Networking. It can either be a fantastic source for new business leads, a great opportunity to test your message and provide an enjoyable few hours with other professionals. Or, it can be a painful experience where you’re forced to chat with people you don’t know, you don’t want to know and who have no relevance to your business.

I started networking with the latter view but over the years my opinion has shifted and I’m now a compulsive networker. If I’ve learnt one thing over the years about networking, besides never to forget business cards, it’s to ensure you make the effort to speak with everyone in the room - as you never know who may be a potential customer. Besides this, networking should be viewed as an opportunity to help others, as well as trying to help yourself. You should never be too quick to discuss yourself, as I was once told, you have one mouth but two ears for a reason.

Networking comes in various forms, from the organised ‘speed networking’ where you’re given 30 seconds to pitch you business before being moved on, to the more relaxed pub/bar type events. My favourite revolves around speakers and some of the best are organised by larger institutions, such as the British Library.

Speaker based networking ensures those who attend have a similar interest to you. It means you can enjoy a speaker you would like to listen to and guarantees an immediate source of conversation after the event.

At a recent event I attended I was fortunate enough to listen to one of the founders from the male grooming company Bulldog. As well as taking part in an interesting and lively debate, a Bulldog product was placed on the seat of every guest. With an audience of approximately 300 this was a fantastic way of not only generating product awareness, putting a human face and a personality to the brand and communicating key corporate messages, but it also allowed several hundred people to take the brand home with them and sample the product.

For every good networking experience there is also likely to a bad one and in the past few years one instance sticks in my mind. At one event, the marketing director of a large UK consumer brand appeared on a panel ‘under the influence’.

After several members of the audience walked out and several others who were asking questions were informed their questions were ‘not up to standard’, the evening was called to a premature halt.

Some events will be a success, others won’t, but networking along with other marketing communications tools, can be highly valuable within a marketing communications campaign.

Simon Corbett is managing director of Jargon Public Relations . He’s contactable at simon.corbett@jargonpr.com , or on 020 7873 2156