Get Connected at Your Meeting

Millennials, the generation born between 1981-1999 love working in teams. They love connections. They have grown up working in teams and learning that way, whether it is soccer teams or group projects in school. They are a generation where their parents have been very involved in every aspect of their lives and are constantly connected to their friends and family through the many electronic devices that they own.

In today’s world of social media, connectedness is more important than ever before. The younger set attending your meetings and working for your company is the ones who thrive on connectedness more than anyone. Therefore, it’s important that you make an effort for find ways to generate opportunities for those attending your event to connect to each other, professionally and socially, digitally, and in person.

One way to create connectivity at your meeting is cultivate situations where attendees listen and learn from each other. Millennials love direction and guidance and interaction from the older generation. Additionally, Millennials love to have their voices heard and respected in turn. Discussion groups and teams should include a mixture of generations who can learn a lot form each other.

Millennials are a group that is eager to learn and grow. They are want to to be a part of meaningful experiences and exchanges that broaden their horizons. Changing up the traditional conference experience to include new and different curriculum and technologies is appealing to this group and they demonstrate to your audience that you are a forward-thinking enterprise, not stuck in the past.

Consider having a part of your conference be an area for hands-on learning of new technology and tools. Millennials will love how this area gives them a chance to play with something new, and it will be an organic gathering spot for attendees of all generations. It’s a great place for conversations to spark and new connections to form.

Of course, the social component of any conference, anything from a happy hour to a big party, is a great way to bring people together. But the key is, like everything else, to make it organic. Provide a fun activity or creative setting that naturally encourages interaction instead of forcing it. Millennials yearn for connections, but they are savvy as well, and know when they are being manipulated. Great relationships aren’t forced. But you can use these tips to create the right circumstances at your next meetings to form new relationships.