We're living in a time where we've never been more connected with others than we are now. Yet most of us feel pretty disconnected from our personal and professional networks. Why? Because we were not hardwired for digital connection. We are wired for face-to-face connections. Maslow Had It Wrong: Connection Is A Primary Need You’ve probably heard of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It’s a psychology theory that states people are motivated to achieve five basic needs. It starts with … [Read more...]
Creating a Hosting Mindset is Actually Easy
On a recent visit to a nice resort in Santa Barbara, I was struck by how friendly and helpful the staff was. It was evident from the moment I stepped out of the car and encountered the first employee in the parking lot. He welcomed me and asked how he could help. Being An Ambassador Of Goodwill After several hours of experiencing this amazing feeling of being welcomed by long lost friends, I asked a young chipper 24-year-old bellman what motivated him and his coworkers to provide such … [Read more...]
Delivering Community And Connections at Conferences
Does your conference have connexity? Not sure what that means? Or even if your conference has it? Well, the success of your face-to-face meetings depends on it! Connexity Happens When… Connexity happens when community and connecting collide! In a good way of course. Your attendees crave these two things: They want to connect with others (and learn from and with each other). And they want to belong to a community. When you blend connecting with community you create … [Read more...]
Defrosting New Conference Connections
“It was awkward and painful,” my friend said. That’s how she described attending a professional meeting where she didn’t know anyone. She was at a loss for how to melt the ice and warm up to others. Especially professionals she perceived to have more experience and knowledge than her. Sound familiar? Here was someone who has so much to offer anyone lucky enough to engage in conversation with her. Yet her reluctance to initiate interaction caused her to avoid eye contact and miss out … [Read more...]
Smarter Attendees Make a Smarter Conference
We have known for a while that networking is one of the top reasons people attend conferences. But who knew it actually makes them smarter? According to a new study published by Scientific American on 5 ways to Maximize Your Cognitive Potential networking was cited as one of the best ways to expose yourself to new ideas, perspectives and knowledge that results in cognitive growth or becoming smarter! Grow Your Attendees’ IQ Conferences offer attendees the opportunity to meet new people … [Read more...]
Maximizing Attendee Trust, Mining Weak Ties And Conference Marketing
Here are more tips on how weak ties make strong conferences from VCC’s VP of Connexity, Sarah Michel. Note: She recently wrote about how weak ties can make conferences stronger, connexity and speed networking tips as well as has her own series called Perfecting Connecting. Maximizing Trust Between Conference Attendees One way to maximize trust between conference attendees is to encourage attendees to pair up with a learning buddy who they don't know. Then give them time to connect one to … [Read more...]
Weak Ties Make Stronger Conferences
Think about who connected you to your current job? I'm willing to bet it was a weak connection; someone you just met, didn't know very well or hadn't talked to in years. The facts are that when it comes to looking for information, opportunities and connections, weaker connections are more helpful than our strongest ones. Why Weak Ties Are More Helpful Why are weak ties more helpful? Because typically our strong ties (close friends and family) are living and working in the same spaces, … [Read more...]
Conference Networking on Steroids
If you’re like most people, you probably do not know how to network effectively. Yes, that’s right; most of us do not network correctly. Put us into a large intimidating conference setting and our abilities are really tested. However, ask any attendee what they really want out of their time and attendance at your live event, and they'll tell you networking. They want networking, but they’re not so sure how to make it happen. That's your job as a conference organizer—to foster networking … [Read more...]
