Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
If you’re an event professional there’s a big chance you’re an extrovert. But how about your target audience?
Yes, I know it’s not nice to generalize, but sometimes you have to – and one of those times are when you design your event to match your target audience.
challenges of an introvert
Introverts often struggle at meeting and events where you are supposed to mingle, network, and be actively involved, and meeting planners/event professionals need to take this into consideration when designing an event. We want to engage our attendees, but if we overstep their boundaries it has the opposite effect of what is the purpose (i.e. to enhance learning and create connections).
It’s all about knowing your audience. And if you know that you are dealing with a lot of introverts, it is important that you accomodate them when planning active involvement. It is possible to plan activities that do not require presentations in front of the whole group, being put on the spot, or too many fast changes to the program (introverts are usually more reflective than extroverts).
introvert-friendly design
However, there are things that you can do to make your event more agreeable for the introverts.
For example, you need to make sure that there is downtime in the program in order to accommodate the introverts’ need for reflection time. The extroverts won’t be bored, they will just find someone to talk to in the meantime. If you need input on this, read the blog posts From networking to soulworking and Meetings unplugged: Chill zones.
You can also make it easy for the prospective participant to know if he/she knows who is attending by showing the list of participants on a website or app or by adding the possibility of interacting in advance on social media. Most people feel more comfortable if they know other delegates.
Moreover, it’s very important for both meeting planners and the introverts to understand that is is completely OK to say no thanks to teambuilding, coffee dates, networking sessions, etc. … to joining the ’fun’!
considerations will remain
These days, more and more groups of people with different needs emerge, and players in the meetings and events industry will have to accommodate these neurodivergent groups. If we don’t learn and adjust accordingly, we risk losing a group of people later on as they will opt out of events if their needs aren’t taken care of.
How do you (plan to) accomodate the needs of your participants?
