IF you thought that networking was all about making polite conversation over tea and biscuits in bland function rooms, it may be time to think again. In the past few years there has been a transformation in the type of events on offer.

As Britons finally throw off their inhibitions and embrace the American concept of talking to strangers, you can now network over dinner, with high-profile speakers in private clubs, and even at high speed. What’s more, many of the new-style events are free.

Every month Oli Barrett, an internet entrepreneur, hosts a free speed-networking event somewhere in Britain, when 40 people are given just three minutes to chat to someone before a whistle is blown and they must talk to someone else.

Barrett said: “One of the things I found frustrating about the business networking events I went to was that they were too industry-specific. When you are starting a new business you need all sorts of people to make it work — you need lawyers, accountants, investors, customers and PR people. The other thing that annoyed me about the events was that they were far too stagnant. I thought they needed mixing up a bit.”

He deliberately invites a wide range of people to the free events, in the belief that diversity is more likely to spark off interesting conversation.

“In my experience the best ideas come when people from very different backgrounds mix together,” he said. People who come wanting to do a specific deal go away disappointed, but people who come seeking new ideas and fresh perspectives from interesting people really enjoy it.

“My experience is that almost everyone secretly wants to do something else one day and my events are often a chance for people to explore what that might be.”

At the other end of the scale, Duncan Cheatle runs the Supper Club, a members-only club that arranges small private dinners once a week for eight like-minded entrepreneurs with a turnover of at least £1m. He decided to start the club two years ago after realising there was a gap in the market for a different way of networking.

A lot of networking events suffer from having quantity over quality, said Cheatle.

“Organisers want the room to be full because it makes it look to sponsors that they are getting more value for money. So it ends up being full of people who are thinking of becoming entrepreneurs and people who are life coaches or consultants or accountants and lawyers — the sort of people entrepreneurs are not in the least interested in meeting.”

His Supper Club meets once a week at the Adam Street members’ club in London. All conversation is confidential and is conducted cross-table so that people do not get stuck talking to the same person all night. Members, of whom there are now more than 100, pay an annual fee of £450, and then £35 plus Vat for each dinner they attend.

Cheatle said: “The club is for people who are running exciting businesses and who are really inspiring to other people. They should also be doing something different — a new product or service, or taking an existing product or service and delivering it in a new way.”

He said that entrepreneurs in Britain were slowly but surely realising the benefits of networking.

“If you are running a business, it can be quite lonely. Many of the issues you can’t discuss with your spouse or friends, or even your board of directors if you have one. Networking is a great way of trying out your business pitch and of building your confidence.”

He plans to open five more Supper Clubs across the country this year.

Also at the Adam Street club — fast becoming a hub for entrepreneurs — Charlie Hoult runs the Mandrake Club, a networking forum started by Luke Johnson, the entrepreneur and chairman of Channel 4.

The club, which is free but by invitation only, holds meetings once a month, with a speech that is followed by informal conversation. The club has 600 members, and each event tends to attract about 60.

Hoult said the aim was to create a salon atmosphere: “The Mandrake is aimed at people I would describe as go-getters. We have entrepreneurs, interesting people from corporate firms, freelance people, but not lawyers or bankers. We are interested in a kind of open-your-mind eclecticism. The aim is to get people who have made it to inspire and encourage the next generation of people who are interested in doing the same.”

Past speakers include Gerald Ratner, the jeweller, Karren Brady, managing director of Birmingham City Football Club, and Oliver Letwin MP.

Hoult said that entrepreneurs were fast realising that networking could be a powerful tool for their business. “The dividend from the dotcom boom is that Britons have taken networking to heart,” he said.

“People have no shame any more. Go-getters travel in hope and optimism. For an entrepreneur, networking is priceless because you meet people who have the same problems and you can learn a lot.”

Comparing notes pays off

JAMES HIBBERT founded Dress2kill, a bespoke-suit company and beauty-treatment studio in Waterloo, south London, seven years ago. Over dinner at the Supper Club he met jewellery designer Gracia Amico, and by dessert the two had decided to spend a day observing each other’s companies at work to see if they could suggest ways of improving efficiency. Hibbert said: ‘We learnt masses from the exercise because we do things in a different way. I am very big on time management and I write down everything in a day book, so I suggested Gracia do that too because she was going at her business in a scatter-gun approach. On the other hand, she was very helpful in getting me into the corporate market because she holds corporate jewellery fairs.’

For further information visit the website at supper-club.net. You can also e-mail oli@olibarrett.com and charlie.hoult@loewygroup.com