There is an old saying that states, it s not what you know, it s who you know . As far as old sayings go, this oldie rings quite true. While knowledge, education, and experience are all great assets that can set you apart from the competition, whether you are seeking a job, or a sale, there is something about knowing someone on the inside track that gives a tremendous advantage. This inside track can come in many forms – a personal recommendation from a trusted source, a pre-existing relationship, mutual shared connections, or, I don t know, say someone you used to babysit when you were a teenager and who is now a wildly successful start-up founder making more in a month than you have made in the last decade. Sigh. Sorry, anyhoo, where was I? Right we were talking about how since it s not what you know, but who you know, this is why networking is such a critical piece of business, albeit one that can be anxiety-causing for the less extroverted folks.
Event planners know that networking is a necessary element of any corporate event. They also know that for every networking pro who sashays into the room looking flawless and completely at ease in a room full of friends-they-haven t-met-yet, there are ten others who absolutely dread networking. You ll find them hanging in the dark corners of the room madly scrolling on their phone. So, the challenge lies in providing networking opportunities in an accessible and creative manner that will appeal to the less seasoned networkers on your invite list. Here we share eight creative networking ideas for your next event.
Social Curiosities. Or Instagrammable Experiences
We almost went with alcohol as our number one networking party starter, but moved it down the list. Curate a social experience or curiosity for your guests off the bat. Give them a reason to get together and mingle. Have scenic or backdrop elements that are no-brainers for guests to get their cameras clicking, or better yet, have a photographer pulling groups together for entrance shots and initial mixed mingle groups. What else works? This is one that we LOVE here at Decibel. Close up magic. This is one of the best ways to get disparate groups together- all watching in awe of some slight of hand. And it gives guests a talking point from then on, or showing playing cards with signatures, etc. This is something you only need to seed at the start of a function- for the first hour or two and will pay dividends.
Alcohol. Serve Alcohol. And booze-free spirits.
In the words of M. Night Shyamalan, what a twist! Okay, perhaps this is not an entirely revolutionary new concept, but definitely a must-do. This is the lowest of the low hanging fruit. For those who shudder at the thought of networking amongst a roomful of strangers, a bit of the ol giggle juice may be just what is needed to relax them and infuse some bravery. It s called liquid courage for a reason, after all.
With that being said, more and more guests are choosing to go booze-free at these functions and we encourage that as well. But don’t leave those guests to just club soda. Curate a booze-free cocktail menu. This will be talked about and shared by guests, and non-drinkers will have fun and different glasses and drinks to walk around with as well. We are seeing these more and more with the advent of Seedlip and other non alcoholic spirits. The sky is the limit.
While serving alcohol at corporate events is a fairly popular decision, it s not without risk so make sure to plan accordingly. This means:
- Potentially limiting the number of drinks available per person through drink tickets or ensuring the catering staff is responsible for cutting off guests;
- Consider foregoing hard liquor in favor of beer, coolers, and wine;
- Having food on hand to help slow the roll of some guests, and so they are not drinking on an empty stomach; and
- Make easy or even free arrangements for alternative transportation (like taxi or Uber vouchers) for anyone that has had any amount of alcohol.
Incorporate Gamification
Gamification has exploded in the live and virtual event space alike in recent years. When it comes to the world of events, gamification basically means that participants are somehow incentivized to play and compete against others while learning and socializing. Some examples of event gamification in action includes:
- Encouraging attendees to upload photos from the event and rewarding attendees for the most impressions or engagement in their posts;
- Awarding points to attendees for attending sessions, visiting specific booths at the show, participating in networking activities, and just for generally being active in the event community;
- Using gamification to encourage participants to ask questions; and
- Offering valuable rewards such as special speaker access for winners, product offers, and/or discount codes for ongoing attendee participation.
Intelligent Match-Making
Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to break ground in the medical field. And in autonomous driving. And in speech recognition and generation. And, believe it or not, in matching up kindred spirit attendees at events.
Pheedloop is one such company that is using AI to play matchmaker with their event attendees. Their attendee matchmaking feature is available for hybrid and virtual events and involves having attendees complete a customizable matchmaking survey. Then voila, thanks to Pheedloop s algorithm madness, attendees are then given a list of their top 50 matches. All without one single stilted and awkward conversation about the weather.
Have Them Say Cheese
Between LinkedIn, Google Meets, and that dreaded my camera is off because I am working on something else that is more important while you drone on telltale photo on Teams, a nice and professional headshot has never been more necessary. So why not bring the head shot to your guests by setting up a photo station with a professional photographer, and providing them a complimentary head shot. Play some fun music and hire a photographer with attitude to up the authentic photo shoot feel. Maybe channeling their inner Heidi Klum will help break your guests out of their shell.
Speed Networking
Speed networking, based off the concept of speed dating, came to the corporate world in the early aughts. Whereas with speed dating, participants are looking to connect with a suitable prospective mate, during speed networking the goal is to encourage participants to create as many relevant connections as possible. This dynamic style of networking offers members the opportunity to quickly establish whether there is a mutual interest without the need for unnecessarily lengthy conversations. Rapid networking eliminates awkward exits due to time constraints, meaning no need to look for a way to gracefully exit a conversation, thus increasing the number of potential new encounters. This fast-networking model is often used at alumni group events, chambers of commerce groups, professional association gatherings, and university or corporate events to promote relationships among participants.
Get Your Guests Playing With Their Food
Sure, food stations might be right up there with the what a twist! ingenuity of alcohol, but it can t be understated: people love to eat. And even more, people love fun and off the wall food stations. So, skip the standard cheese and cracker platter and veggie dip fare in favor of a crepe station, or a donut wall, or a dim sum station, or a food art dessert bar, and really give your guests something to talk about.
Introduce an Ice-Breaking Game
There is no shortage of creative ice-breaking games that could be easily incorporated into an event. Here are a few suggestions:
- Name tag confusion: at registration, each attendee gets someone else s name badge, and they must then embark on a quest to find the person to return it to (and to also find their actual name badge)
- Tabletop quizzes: these work especially well for events where attendees are seated at round tables have the quiz align to the theme of the event and set a timer for the table to work together to come up with the best answers
- Human bingo: hand out bingo sheets with human characteristics (for example, find someone who has traveled to Asia, find someone who has met a celebrity, find someone who has two brothers), and the first person to get a blackout bingo card wins a prize
- Map yourself: post a large map in a central location with markers and ask guests to identify on the map where they were born, where their parents were born, and one place that they would love to travel
- Paper airplanes: have guests write an intro about themselves on a piece of paper (or you can make it even easier by having them answer a list of questions, have them fold the paper into a paper airplane and let it soar then everyone picks a plane and introduces the person who made and threw it
Networking is an invaluable and inexpensive way for event attendees to expand their connections, discover new business opportunities, meet potential partners and new clients, and access reputable resources or suppliers that can help their business. So, the onus is on event planners to deliver. If you are looking for ways to up the networking factor at your next corporate event. Decibel Events has you covered.