I love the buzz of holding live events. I recently held my Mid-Year Mastermind in London and we’re currently busy planning this year’s Youpreneur Summit. These are big events and they take a lot of work to put together. But it’s worth it to see everyone talking, sharing ideas, and building new relationships.
I held my first live event in 2010 and it was 11 of us sitting around the table brainstorming. It made me realise the power of bringing people together. Nowadays with social media people say you don’t need to meet in real life anymore. You can talk to anyone, anywhere from your computer. I disagree. There is nothing, nothing, like getting together with people face to face.
This is where the magic happens at live events. Those chance conversations with someone you’ve just met at your table or while you’re grabbing a coffee can lead to deals and projects that would not have happened if you hadn’t been there at that moment. That’s why I don’t offer virtual tickets to my events. You have to be there to get the full experience.
The power of community
Why are live events such a powerful draw for your community? We all want to belong. That’s what a community is. The opportunity to be with people who get who we are and what drives us. Holding a live event enables your fans to meet each other. It doesn’t matter if your event is a meeting over a coffee, a workshop, or a conference, bringing people together who have a shared love of what you do for them is a very powerful experience.
Your community gets your vibe and they will love getting together with others who feel the same way. Humans are social. We need to talk, share stories and learn from each other. This year we’re going to be holding our 3rd Youpreneur Summit and the community has grown so much over the years. Connections made at the event have gone on to produce awesome collaborations and friendships.
I create my relationships through handshakes, high-fives, and hugs. Meeting people face to face and taking time to get to know them is very important to me. You want to be helping people in your community build genuine relationships the same way. By creating that opportunity, you are giving them an incredibly valuable experience.
[bctt tweet=”We all want to belong. It doesn’t matter if your event is a meeting over a coffee, a workshop, or a conference, bringing people together who have a shared love of what you do for them is a very powerful experience. #Youpreneur” via=”no”]
Create opportunities for people to connect
As an event organiser you want to put on a top class experience for the people coming along. If you are hosting a conference then your attendees are giving up a week of their lives to be there. Think about it: they need to prepare, travel, stay over, spend time at the event, then there’s following up with all the people they have met, processing everything they have learned, and planning how they are going to action that.
You want top quality people on your stage who can give your community plenty of knowledge bombs. Your speakers will also bring the right people into the room to be together. When you are putting together a speaker line up, you’re connecting communities together. This is your opportunity to curate the room and bring the right people together at the right time to forge new relationships.
When you’re planning the day, make sure you are giving people plenty of opportunities to mix with one another. Make it really easy for your attendees to strike up conversations. Help show people where someone they might have a common interest is. If it’s a small event, you can do this by introducing them, which is a really nice personal touch.
But if it’s a larger event or you’re unable to go round to each person, mention topics and make it easy for people to see others who are experiencing the same thing or have worked through a problem. One way to do this is by asking people for a show of hands so others can see them. I often do this at my events.
Helping people develop
An event does not have to be big to be of value to your community. As I said, my first event was just a group of us masterminding. Events like this can really help move the needle for people. Whatever your community is about, from business to baking, running a small event where people can get together with like-minded individuals, learn from one another and share ideas, can be huge.
If you enable someone to make a breakthrough on something they have been struggling with and make a new friend in the process, you have created the magic of live events right there. You’ve given them a great experience they won’t forget and which they will go away and talk to people about.
Hosting a live event is a huge commitment. But the benefits for you and your community will be worth it.
