If you’re concerned about this happening at your next business conference, you will have to take a proactive approach to ensure everyone has a positive experience and can come away from the event having made some valuable new connections.
Colour coding is essential
The biggest barrier to meeting new people is not knowing who to approach. By giving your speakers, delegates and staff different coloured Tyvek wristbands, you can not only keep track of the numbers at your event but also help them to connect with other people. Speakers might find it valuable to know who else is speaking on their panel, or delegates might find it easier to track down the speaker after a keynote if they are wearing a specific wristband.
Lanyards as ice breakers
If your delegates are wearing lanyards that clearly display their name and the company they work for, it will make them much more approachable to fellow conference attendees. Some people will have particular people they wish to speak to, so having everyone wearing lanyards will make life easier and encourage mingling. It also prevents any potentially awkward situations when trying to remember a lot of new names at once.
Mix up the events
Although your keynote lectures and roundtables are important, you should also schedule breakout events such as and masterclasses. These smaller events will give people an opportunity to speak to each other and contribute to the discussion. If you’re providing food, it should always be in a buffet format to ensure people have a chance to chat in an informal setting. And finally, there should be a central hub where people can congregate between events, this will prevent people from disappearing off site between events.
Provide attendees list
Make it easier for people to identify who they need to meet during the conference by making the attendee list available to download on the day. This is the easiest way to make sure there is plenty of mingling going on on the conference floor. A popular alternative is to create a mobile app which contains all relevant information, and a list of the attendees which is only available for the duration of the conference. While some people might not mind their contact details being made available in this way, it is safer and advisable to do this on an opt-in basis to protect everyone’s privacy.
