Recently, I had the pleasure of attending the Mid-Atlantic Society of Association Executives (MASAE) 2017 Annual Meeting. Lowell Aplebaum, CAE the CEO of Next Connextion delivered an engaging and interactive keynote on the power of conversations and innovative networking opportunities for association conferences.
Some of the most valuable takeaways our attendees can get are the relationships they build and the information and insights they share with their peers at conference. You can’t put a dollar figure on the value this kind of peer-to-peer interaction can have for attendees as they learn from each other, share their real-world experiences and challenges and build their professional network.
However, as Lowell pointed out, these peer-to-peer conversations don’t always happen organically. Associations need to develop a strategy to put their attendees in a position to succeed when the opportunity to strike up a conversation presents itself.
Think back to a time when you attended your first conference. Perhaps you were attending solo and didn’t know anyone else at the meeting. Perhaps you were new to the industry and hadn’t had the chance to build relationships. You walk into the conference networking reception, grab a glass of wine and some hors d'oeuvres and look around. Where do you start? Who do you introduce yourself to? What questions can you ask without appearing to be a novice? How do you get the conversation started?
Now think about your own conference attendees. Chances are they’re having these same feelings of anxiety or being overwhelmed with how to get the conversation started. With a little bit of planning, there are ways we can create a space where our attendees can get the most out of their networking experience.
Here are a couple of examples of structured networking activities that Lowell demonstrated which cost little to nothing to implement.
- Solution Circles
Set up four to six corners of the conference space as topic circles. For each circle provide a topic that will be discussed (examples: membership growth, annual meeting growth, social media marketing and chapter development). Anyone interested in that topic joins that circle. Each circle spends about 15-20 minutes where participants ask for help solving a problem they’re having pertaining to that topic. The conversation will take off from there as people jump in to share their own experiences and offer solutions.
- Playing Card Table Topics
Pass out decks of cards and have each attendee take one card. Then, direct all attendees with the same card to move together to certain tables. Once grouped together, have one person at the table throw out a challenge they are facing in their business/industry. The rest of the table jumps in with feedback and proposed solutions. Allow time for each person at the table to have their issue discussed for 2 - 3 minutes. Chances are a new idea or solution will be shared that benefits the entire table.
There are many great examples online for networking activities. Take some time to think about how you can create some quick and easy activities at your next conference to help your attendees get the most out of their networking experience.
