"Networking." Ugh. What is it about the word that makes women squeamish? We say we don’t have the time, we don’t know how, or we just plain don’t want to. Yet study after study has shown that interconnecting, meaningful relationships are crucial to our professional and personal success. And here we are, fabulous at forming social networks with family, friends, and even neighbors, but suddenly possessed with stage fright when it comes to building the networks we desperately need to reach our business goals.

Table Talk is not a one-size-fits-all networking book. It’s specifically tailored to women and our unique concerns, obstacles, and lifestyles. With its real world tips and best friend style, Table Talk teaches women to use the skills we’ve got to build the relationships we need to move ahead in both work and play. It introduces a lifestyle and language about creating connections that will change the whole landscape and have everybody talking.

Diane K. Danielson, a former attorney and vice president of marketing for several professional services firms, is the president of DWC Services Inc., a business development consulting firm in Boston. She’s also the founder of the Downtown Women's Clubs in Boston and Washington, D.C., and leads seminars and workshops on networking for organizations and private companies

Rachel Solar-Tuttle is the senior staff writer and creative strategist at Bishoff Solomon, a public relations firm in Boston. She’s written on a variety of topics for publications including the Pennsylvania Gazette, Harvard AIDS Review, the Boston Globe, the Boston Business Journal, In Style, Appeal, and the National Law Journal. A former attorney, she’s also authored the recently published novel, Number 6 Fumbles (Pocket/MTV 2002).

Not at all. Think about it. These different behaviors go back to our early years. As children, girls tend to play together in small intimate groups, generally choosing games and activities in which they take turns in order to build friendships. Competition? Not our thing. For boys, on the other hand, competition is the thing. Boys prefer activities where large-scale battles are waged on playing fields against friends and foes alike. Capture the flag yes; hopscotch, no thanks. Moreover, following a controversy, girls tend to opt out of the game, rather than risk a friendship; boys, on the other hand, insist upon "do overs," or even make up new rules in order to ensure that ultimately someone will emerge victorious.

And these differences linger. After we enter the workforce, men and women are still on separate planets when it comes to how we play the advancement and networking game. Many of us remain uncomfortable waging war. And anything that smacks of that turns us off.

Sooo, what to do? We can't throw up our hands and just leave the fruits of career-driving competitiveness to the male species. Forget about it! Instead, Table Talk serves up an alternative to traditional networking -- designed specifically for the nonwarrior. It takes relationship building out of the large, overwhelming group setting and scales it back to the smaller, more intimate venues we like. For women who choke on the words "networking cocktail party" or "elevator speech," we offer "table talk" -- the mutual sharing of information and support through collaboration. Finally, building relationships and achieving personal and professional goals gets comfortable.