Networking events are one of the most fantastic, not to mention useful, ways of meeting new people and making new business connections in an entirely professional context.
If your company specialises in organising and hosting such an event, or else you have your own business and want to establish yourself as a communicative and collaborative brand by hosting your own networking event, then you have certainly come to the right place. Continue reading for some top tips for hosting your very own outdoor networking event.
Drinks Are a Must
Whether you want to provide some light nibbles during your networking event is obviously entirely up to you, but you simply cannot expect professional business people to take a few hours or more out of their busy schedule to attend your event and not provide them with drinks.
Indeed, it is logical to assume that the vast majority of, in fact probably all, the attendees to your networking evening are over the age of eighteen, and if the venue you have chosen has a liquor license, it is advisable to allow them to sell drinks throughout the evening.
Provide an Indoor Space
The Great British weather is, at best, somewhat unpredictable, even in the summer months, and as a result, if you do not want your networking event to be both a metaphorical and quite literal wash-out, then you must provide an indoor space that is strong, sturdy and durable enough for the number of invitees.
Additionally, if you have hosted an outdoor event in the past, be that one that centred around networking or another type of event entirely, you will already be fully aware of the importance of using temporary flooring at your event.
Layout and Logistics
Another important element to consider when planning to host your own professional networking event is the layout and logistics of the set-up of the venue itself.
The best way to plan where things are going to be situated and the general floor plan of the room in which the guests will be spending the afternoon, or evening, is to visit the venue beforehand and take detailed photographs of each element in the room. This will also help with the coordination of parking spaces for the invitees, trucks with any equipment, and any other extras you want to organise.
Icebreakers
Even if the types of professional business people who you have reached out to and invited to your networking evening are in the business of regularly communicating and conversing with large groups of people on a regular basis, having a few general and relaxed icebreakers at the beginning of the evening is highly advisable.
Such icebreakers for your networking event could include one or more of the following:
- Shared storytelling in small groups
- Audience polls with humorous questions and answers
- Getting to know your introductory sentences around the group
- Unstructured time just to mingle and chat beforehand
- Competitive networking such as collecting ten business cards within an hour
- Connecting different attendees through LinkedIn and other professional social networks
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