Boost Your Annual Meeting's Impact Through Learning Circles
How can you get your annual meeting attendees to interact, network, and share ideas more, especially those traveling solo or who aren’t naturally social? The “Learning Circle” concept creates an enjoyable, productive conference experience that can make people more inclined to return in future years. Plus, it requires little investment.
The Learning Circle concept brings together a random group of people for a unique educational journey. In it, fellow attendees help each other explore and process the conference content and expand further on the topics being presented. What may start off as awkward introductions soon evolves into a social group that by the conference’s end is happily moving their meet-ups from the hotel lobby to the local restaurant. Learning Circles offer a place for everyone—introverts and extroverts alike—and provide a great opportunity for professionals attending alone to connect with others.
How to facilitate learning circles for your next conference:
Secure a group of circle leaders. These leaders can be identified in advance by tapping into some of your most active members or conference veterans.
Communicate the plan. Invite conference registrants to sign up for Learning Circles so you have a sense of how many circle leaders you’ll need. (But be prepared for no-show and unexpected participants—some people may not formally sign up but be invited along for the ride by another enthusiast.)
Hold an initial meet-up. Set a location, date, and time where interested parties will go to be assigned a group. You can create groups through table seating areas, hand out group numbers, or just point and say for example, “you six are in a group with Marielle; you six are with Arjun,” etc. Encourage employees from the same company to split up since the goal is to meet new people.
The circle leader has everyone introduce themselves and collects contact information. The leader then explains that the group will meet at least once a day for 30 minutes to share what they’ve learned. A time and location is agreed upon before everyone parts ways.
Getting into the sharing groove is simple and rewarding. In a small group it’s easier for everyone to talk. After the first meet-up, attendees may well find themselves running into their circle members in various places. As the conference goes on, they’ll end up chatting at receptions and perhaps connecting for meals or gathering at the local watering hole. Soon a large conference feels more welcoming and friendly in an unexpected way.
We all crave connection—that’s a big reason we go to live meetings. With relatively little effort, Learning Circles can give your annual meeting attendees a deeper, richer experience that will stay in their minds when they think about registering for next year.
