Networking is team building for people that don’t work together.
At Transform 2024, the my favorite experiences were facilitated networking
Why?
It's more productive than your average "Let's throw 50 people in a room with wine and see what happens" type scenario
This was intentional guided dialogue with prompts to get the creative juices going
I'm seeing more of this in the networking space in general and it's not surprising since the hope is to have a lot of impact and connection in a short amount of time, so why leave it to chance?
So how does this apply to team building?
Think of the variety of team building events you’ve done- Most of them are free range.
Happy hour, games, and even volunteering can be energizing and enjoyable, yet the interactions between people aren’t designed to connect. You are hoping for randomized collisions to help people connect.
Facilitated events creates those collisions and harnesses them to create connection with intent.
Here is a basic formula you can use for a facilitated team building event.
➕ Have a matching process -Get people in pairs, trios, etc…
❓ Provide a thoughtful prompt - Something everyone likely has an opinion on and will stoke curiosity.
⏰ Give time for the discussion, but not too much (Start with 5 min)
🧩 Rotate in some way and repeat with a new prompt
This might sound simple, but it ensures for lively discussion, multiple touch points, and a good amount of connection.
Honestly, this isn't too different than our team buidling events, except we share in larger groups and add in LEGO bricks! (Contact me to learn more!)
Here's a question to get you started -
What are you most excited about, right now!
How about you? Do you prefer facilitated networking or free range?
