Why facilitated networking is the key to making sure no-one feels left out at your event
When was the last time you attended an event where you didn’t know anyone? (For me it was last Friday) And do you remember how it felt walking into that room? Wondering where to go and what to do, scanning the room for a familiar or friendly face, feeling awkward or self-conscious? We’ve all been there, but somehow we think everyone else has it figured out.
A tale of two networking events
I was at two networking events last week. One of them I organised – a networking event for research professionals. The other was an in-person meet-up for a business development programme that I’m part of. The difference between the two was striking. At my event I made sure that all the guests had the chance to say hello to everyone and have a good natter with at least half of the people in the room. At the second I spoke only to the people I randomly sat next to and I can only remember two people’s names. It felt like such a missed opportunity.
The real difference is that for my event I was deliberate about building connection and community. In the second event, the organisers just assumed we’d be able to figure it out ourselves – they didn’t even give us name badges.
A room full of strangers can be the loneliest place
This is why most people ‘hate’ networking. It feels awkward, random and forced. There’s nothing quite like the loneliness you can feel in a room full of strangers. But I genuinely believe that, in a world of home-working and AI, we are all craving genuine connection. And then there’s the fact that research is becoming increasingly collaboration-focused. Strong interpersonal relationships are proven to be the secret sauce that makes collaborations work.
How to help people have conversations that turn into connections
So here are my 3 top tips (all of which I used at my event) for helping people have more worthwhile conversations.
- Good old-fashioned name badges (NOT lanyards – I’ll probably write a rant about why I hate lanyards another time) or, my go-to, just stickers which people can write their choice of name on. Why? Learning and using someone’s name creates instant connection but most people have a poor memory for names, especially when meeting a lot of people at the same time.
- Give people something to talk about – a discussion question, a game, a mission, a suggested topic. It helps get over the awkward small talk.
- Deliberately mix-up groups – so that people meet someone new or unexpected. Be warned – people won’t like it at first, especially if they are already sat down. But, trust me, they will thank you for it afterwards.
At the end of the day we are instinctively social – we genuinely want to connect with other people. We just need a bit of help to actually do it sometimes. And for an in-person event to be worth the travel and time commitment, you have to offer people something that they can’t get from staying home online.
What I’ve described above is what I call facilitated networking and it is one of my favourite things to do because I can see the difference it makes to a room. I can come in and run a facilitated networking session for you (get in touch to find out more) or give it a go yourself. If you subscribe to my newsletter I’ll send you a printable and editable version of my go-to activity, networking bingo.
Get those conversations started!
