Best networking advice: “quality not quantity” – Mikaela Dragon
Mikaela Dragon at MAD//Fest, on her best networking advice: quality beats quantity every time.
Can you actually be yourself when you network – or do you have to put on an act?
Last year I did a ton of market research to inform my training, and one theme came up again and again: people want to be themselves while networking. We don't like feeling as if we're acting, or masking, or pretending. So when I went round MAD//Fest asking people for the best networking advice they'd ever received, Mikaela Dragon's answer landed straight on the money. It’s gorgeous in its simplicity (which is something I'm rarely capable of): focus on quality, not quantity. And there couldn’t be a better role model for advice like this, because Mikaela makes every moment count.
“Focus on quality, not quantity.”
But while quality not quantity sounds obvious, how do you make it work for you?
My tip is to focus on presence – being properly with the person in front of you.
That’s exactly what Mikaela embodies: being herself, being present and feeling comfortable to leave when she’s had enough.
Presence is one of the "three Ps" I teach, and it completely elevates the kind of interactions you have. It’s also the antidote to what I call the “Shoulder Monster” – those horrible experiences you have where the person in front of you is scanning the room for someone “more important”. It feels rubbish to be on the receiving end of that treatment, but it’s also quite easy to slip into that behaviour yourself. So, treat the person in front of you as if they’re the only person in the room. I promise you, based on experience, that you’ll both enjoy your time together so much more.
On being yourself in the room
Being yourself in public can feel vulnerable. But with practice you learn that everyone feels that way, and you can gradually get comfortable dropping the mask.
I only came across neuroscientist Ben Rein this week, and he arrives at the same idea from a different direction: trying too hard to present a more acceptable version of yourself can get in the way of connection. When people sense you’re acting, rather than showing up as yourself, trust can fall way. Which is exactly why Mikaela is such a gift to be around – the way she shows up invites anyone who meets her to relax and be themselves too.
How you get there
If this feels like a step too far for you now, chances are you need practice. Presence, practiced, on purpose. Exactly what I help people get to grips with in training.
Mikaela Dragon is a freelance creative and design director. She’s the former Co-President of SheSays, where she founded the ongoing Night School project, and is a fellow 2026 UN//SCENE Festival speaker. A WACL Talent Award winner, she has worked both in-house and agency-side with brands such as Amazon, the United Nations, Rakuten, McCann, and Publicis. You can see more of her brilliant work at https://mikaeladragon.webflow.io/.
Full transcript of Video 6 – Interview with Mikaela Dragon · Freelance Creative and Design Director
Susi: So what's your name and what do you do?
Mikaela: Hi, I'm Mikaela Dragon. I'm a freelance creative and design director.
Susi: Tell me, what's the best networking advice you've ever received?
Mikaela: Focus on quality, not quantity.
Susi: Love it. And why is it important to learn how to network properly?
Mikaela: Otherwise you just go, and then you are overwhelmed by so many people, and eventually you forget why you're there. I got a Dorito bag and I completely forgot why I'm here.