Connection before content. This is an approach we deeply believe in when it comes to putting together a programme agenda for any type of gathering. If you want your gathering, be it a meeting, seminar, workshop, or conference to have a transformative impact on those attending, prioritising opportunities for people to connect authentically with each other is the best strategy you can have to make your content land.
Relationships enable everything else
You see, at the heart of it, connection builds relationships, and by extension, trust. And as we know from Daniel Kim's Theory of Success, the quality of results (in a team) is influenced by the quality of the relationships. Esther Perel goes even further by saying that the quality of our entire life is determined by the quality of our relationships. If we apply this logic to organising and designing a gathering, the more you allow attendees to build relationships at your gathering, the better your results might be.
“The quality of our relationships determines the quality of our lives.”
Now of course we're not saying that every event should be geared towards lifelong friendships, but there is something to say about the missed opportunity for authentic connection currently in the world of gatherings, especially when there is such a great need for it. Research on the rising levels of isolation and loneliness has been published even before Covid-19 which only introduced a daily schedule of back-to-back online meetings that seem to put a bigger spotlight on how disconnected we actually are from one another.
Connectivity vs. connection
This need for connection probably explains why the world could not wait to get back to doing things in-person, while paradoxically many individuals and teams also expressed a clear desire to be more selective about how, on what and where they spend their time, prioritising work from home options, and pushing back against unnecessary meetings. Simply being in the presence of people, or having a full calendar of meetings, does not automatically lead to connection or meaningful impact.
More meetings do not necessarily lead to more connection. Instead, we need fewer, but higher quality gatherings. Gatherings that leave people inspired and re-energised. Meetings that support the work we want to do, instead of standing in the way of it. Events that put participants first, and our presentations second.
Questions to consider when planning your next gatherings:
How can you create an opportunity for people to share something about themselves in an appropriate and authentic way towards the start of your gathering?
Where your team or organisation has recurring meetings, what rituals can you build into the agenda to ensure connection as well as efficiency? This might be a quick pair conversation on a group-sourced question for 5 minutes at the start of the meeting, or switching the place of the meeting once a month to an unusual spot that holds value for a team member.