Maritz设计策略师在IMEX America谈社交酒会为何让参会者焦虑及替代设计思路

Skift Take

Planners often treat networking as time to fill. A design strategist argues it’s a job to be done, and that the fix is giving attendees a reason to talk that isn’t networking.

When Claire Lester asks professionals what they think about networking, she always gets the same response: They hate it. “It feels inauthentic and like we’re trying to gain something,” Lester, the senior design studio strategist at Maritz, said at IMEX America. 

Networking does often aim to gain something such as a new connection for business or a potential job opportunity, which is exactly why it feels so stressful. Will they be rejected? Will they be able to feel like themselves? Will they seem smart enough? Lester traces those concerns to a fear of social exclusion. “It’s almost a caveman-era sense that threatens your survival,” she said.

The fear feels heightened in the traditional networking environment. Attendees walk into a crowded room full of groups of people who already know each other from past events. The lights are bright. The music is loud. It all adds up to a sense of cognitive overload, according to Lester. 

She has worked with clients to reimagine networking and has even stopped calling it networking. Instead, she opts for names such as “Collaboration Corner” and “Meet Your Mentor” on the program. Lester also highlighted the importance of designing a format that creates “inescapable conversations.” For example, placing question prompts on tables offers a starting point for attendees, and those don’t have to be big-picture sophisticated questions about professional responsibilities. Instead, they can be talking points about what attendees do away from their jobs. 

“People connect quicker if they talk about something that’s low risk,” Lester said.

Giving Attendees Something Else to Do

Beyond removing the risks associated with networking, Lester recommends adding another element: movement. Instead of one-on-one meetings, she encourages one-on-one walking appointments. Walking and talking reduces the pressure of maintaining direct eye contact, and it’s probably going to create more interesting chats, too. Research from Stanford University has shown that creative output while walking increases by an average of 60 percent versus sitting down. 

Not every venue has enough room to walk, and not every attendees can. For those settings, Lester pointed to opportunities to activate a “shared sense of play.” For example, stations for creative expression with painting or drawing offer a chance for attendees to channel a sense of childlike innocence. That can make a big difference because, as Lester pointed out, making friends on a playground can feel much more natural than meeting business partners at a formal dinner. For Lester, it all comes back to a need to shift the focus away from networking as an objective so that attendees can feel more comfortable. “Make networking the secondary component to something else,” she said. 

Embracing the Role of ‘Conversation Designer’

Ultimately, Lester believes that meeting planners must reframe their role in helping attendees connect with each other.

“What we really need is a shift in our thinking,” Lester said. “Instead of looking at networking as a space to be filled, it’s a job to be done. Think of yourself as a conversation designer.”

And at the end of each event, it’s essential to figure out how those conversations went. 

“Measure the scale of success in your post-event surveys,” Lester said. “On a scale of 1 to 5, what level of belonging did you feel at this event?”