Events - addressing loneliness through connection and community

It’s no wonder so many people are experiencing loneliness.loneliness

We’ve been locked down, shielding, socially distancing, masking up, self-isolating and staying away from connecting with other humans.

A lot of people have started to write about this, talk about this on podcasts and the Mental Health Foundation have chosen loneliness as the theme for Mental Health Awareness Week in May 2022.

What are communities and events really good at?
Could these things combat loneliness?
How can we curate our events and build our communities with ending loneliness in mind?
What micro-decisions can we make about the structure of events that can enable people to connect?

So let’s look at what communities and events are really good at:

More and more of us are figuring out that ‘we are hardwired for connection’ as Brené Brown says. It is essential to our survival.

We exist in many different communities simultaneously, just thinking quickly, I can name: university friends, work colleagues, football parents, basketball team community, scouts community, my football team supporters community on Twitter, book club, running buddies, walking friends, cold-water swimming, my friends who watch Great British Bake Off, (basically I’m just reeling off my WhatsApp groups here – note though, I’m NOT part of a cold-water swimming group! 🥶 )

These communities allow us to chat, connect via message, gifs (if you prefer!), see each other in person, exchange help and support, lifts to sports clubs, food when we’ve recently had a baby, you get the picture. This builds us into a unique group who support each other in a certain way. Often these are life communities we find ourselves in, they can lead to events and bigger gatherings.

Good events, the ones where we leave feeling good, allow us to take some time and space out of our regular weekly schedule to connect with others, learn, be inspired, give something of ourselves, serve people, share our journey. They are a unique moment in time.

Designing your event

Enable connection at your events to combat loneliness

There are so many different types of events and gatherings, there must be something for everyone. Often, we end up connecting with people who may be part of the same community but we’ve never physically met before. This is the energising aspect of events which keeps us coming back for more.

Have a think about what communities you are a part of? What do you bring to that community? What do you gain from it? One of the number one ways of stopping ourselves feeling lonely is to do something for someone else, it helps both parties and builds trust, friendship and a potential support so we don’t feel so lonely.

No-one enjoys feeling like they’ve just been talked at, or been pounced on by a sales rep, so when organising an event make sure you make the programme contain lots of opportunities to take part, debate, contribute and explore. Consider how people can connect at your event, whether it’s face to face, virtual or hybrid, how can you create experiences that enable connection that’s not awkward or embarrassing?

Also be clear about the boundaries, what won’t happen, what is in place to keep everyone safe and ensure a good experience? This information is reassuring and lets audiences know they can trust you to make sure they enjoy their time with you.

Facilitating connection

Can you set up a Slido poll or a survey to gather insights form your audience about what they want to do or hear about before the event, so they shape the programme? For virtual and hybrid events, make sure you use a platform that enables people to approach each other, gather on virtual coffee tables, meet in structured networking. Staff your chat function to ensure lots of discussion and feedback from your audience, brief some of your team who are attending to get things going.

For business events, think about how you can leverage LinkedIn to enable connections during the event that go on to be part of attendees digital business network. Does anyone use a business card now? “Let’s connect on LinkedIn!” is what often happens instead.

For face to face events, how can you build into your attendees journey through the event, micro conversations and micro interactions with other humans, creating shared experiences instead of individual ones?

Most importantly though, make sure your pre-event comms clearly communicate your intentions for the event, how you plan to enable connections, and all the practical steps you’re taking to make it inclusive and the steps your attendees can take to get the most out of the event. Be intentional in enabling connection – your attendees will gain so much more from the experience.