This week I had the pleasure to attend the Workhuman*Live conference.
I’d never been before, but I’ve been following this particular event since it started (as “Workhuman by Globoforce” if any of y’all remember that!?), and I’ve always wanted to attend. I bought a ticket to this one mostly because my friend Jason was speaking and the hotel wasn’t too far from my house so I could easily go back and forth.
I of course love speaking at conferences (it’s most of my job these days), but if I’m being totally honest, I’m almost always disappointed with attending conferences. Maybe this is simply an artifact of being a speaker — I’d much rather be on the stage than in the audience. (This same phenomenon is true for me as a musician, as well; I love music more than just about anything, but I don’t see much live music because I just don’t like being in the crowd… it always reminds me I’d rather be on the stage.)
So, maybe it’s just that aspect that leaves me wanting when it comes to attending conferences.
But I suspect there’s something else, too.
Because the truth is, I ended up having a blast at Workhuman — but it wasn’t because of Workhuman (sorry organizers).
It was because of the people I got to be there with.
It all started because Jason had a whole posse of people he knew that were coming, and was kind enough to invite me into a text thread so we could coordinate a dinner and subsequent get-togethers. This started everything off on the right foot, with a wonderful small group lunch and a delightful dinner the first day.
Then, starting the second day, I ended up randomly running into some of my favorite people: a good friend who just moved back to Denver, a local buddy I hadn’t seen in forever, a fellow Impact Eleven speaker, an amazing colleague from California. I didn’t know any of these people were going to be there, so it was such a treat to find them, one after the other.
It was one of those experiences I could not have crafted or planned in advance, the definition of serendipity, and honestly felt a little cosmic. “What!? Is that you!?” I found myself saying over and over in the hallways, amidst intense throngs of strangers rushing to get to their next session.
In hindsight, it seems clear to me that, despite all the conference I’ve attended over the years, I had been missing something that now seems quite obvious…
These things are way more fun when you do them together with people you like.
I’m aware that some people might completely disagree with me, by the way. If you’re on the more extroverted side of life, you might love coming to these things solo, which is totally cool, and frankly, we’re not worried about you. 😉 But for any of us on the introvert-to-ambivert side of life (I’m solidly ambivert if you’re curious), I bet you know exactly what I’m talking about.
And I think there’s something most conference organizers could learn from this, too.
I should also say I know organizers aren’t blind to this need — conferences like Workhuman*Live have things like a “Community Builder” feature in their app, I presume to help with the “conferences are hell for introverts” problem I am describing — but I’m not convinced it’s really succeeding yet.
What could be done differently?
My Workhuman experience gave me an idea…
I think conferences should go out of their way to help introverts find their people BEFORE the event starts. These events can be massive, and most are utterly overwhelming for anyone on the introvert/ambivert side of the “recharge spectrum” when we get there. So, what if conferences did more to help people find each other before the event, so they could arrive having a group of people in place?
Here’s why I think this might be a special kind of magic…
Honestly, I didn’t even end up going back to my group much throughout the conference after that first day. But it was so psychologically calming to know they were always there. It was a kind of “social safety net” for me. If I was ever bored or lonely I knew I could simply send a text and meet up with someone.
I really do believe that my random meetups weren’t plan-able, but, I suspect, having my group there also played a part in helping me find them. Let me explain…
Knowing I had a fall-back group actually helped me to be in a confident and calm mindset, which then allowed me to be open and aware enough to where I could keep my head up and spot my unplanned friends…!
Meaning: had I felt compelled into full introvert mode (as often happens if I go to these things solo) by not having my group to fall back on, I would have likely just holed up in a corner somewhere between sessions with my laptop or phone, and I likely would have missed seeing my other friends entirely.
So, could this simple idea revolutionize the way introverts and ambiverts experience a big conference…?
I know pre-grouping people would be logistically tricky.
But I bet if people had a group to start with, they might find the entire thing a lot better.
I know I did.