10 Things We’ve Learned About Virtual Events & Networking

Since the start of the Coronavirus crisis, Citysocializer have hosted close to one thousand virtual social, fitness, wellness and learning events, for groups of 6 to 60 people each time. So we have found ourselves, very quickly, becoming experts in this, still, new and burgeoning networking medium.

We have been gathering research around the virtual experience both from the host and the consumer side, and continue to do so, but here are ten things we’ve learned so far:

1. People are kinder, better behaved, more tolerant and better listeners virtually than in person.

Virtual events require people to take turns to speak and this not only forces us to listen more, but it also requires us to be more thoughtful and disciplined about when to respond or jump in and this fosters tolerance and respectful interactions.

Plus, there is no option to have a quiet little chat with the person next to you while someone else is talking so people are listening more “actively”. And when we listen better, we understand each other more and this creates greater connection and empathy which promotes kinder behaviour.

2. But…. It only takes one person to ruin the party.

Whether it’s that person who dominates the conversation, jumps in at every single pause, interrupts others, talks incessantly about themselves or something else, it only takes one person doing just one of these things to kill the vibe and ruin everyone else’s experience.

Most people have the self-awareness not do these things but when it does happen, excellent people management skills are needed to deal with these situations swiftly and where warnings are not heeded, decisive action needs to be taken to remove them, subtly, from the event (which is far easier virtually than in real life) and follow up with them later with feedback.

3. People are more comfortable and “themselves” at virtual events.

Research has shown that more than half of us (59%) find online networking a more relaxed environment to socialise in, over the traditional face-to-face format and that’s easy to understand.

Being at home, in our own environment, is more relaxing, versus a public and unknown setting surrounded by people you don’t know. This sense of comfort leads to people being more themselves which leads to deeper and more authentic connections being made.

4. Virtual events create more camaraderie and friendship between attendees than IRL.

With people having to behave cohesively as a group, taking turns to talk, to listen to each other and subsequently learning and empathising with each other more, feelings of inclusivity and togetherness are heightened and this collective group experience inspires the kind of camaraderie that most of us last felt back at college or university, and is a major bonus of attending virtual social and networking events.

5. Socialising virtually is easier and more enjoyable for introverts.

The idea of walking into a bar or room of people and starting conversations with people you don’t know (yet) is something even the most confident of us can find daunting. But if you’re an introvert then it’s truly an anxiety inducing way to network.

Remove social pressures like approaching and greeting new people or making small talk, however, and most of us would feel happier. Introverts excel in individual conversations and in intimate environments where they feel more comfortable and, where virtual events are restricted to smaller group numbers, this opens up a much more accessible way for the more socially anxious to network and meet new people.

6. Zoom events are a hyper-efficient way of meeting new people.

This one’s simple. You can get to know a greater number of new people, authentically, in one go. In real-life, talking to one or two people at a time, it’s impossible to get round to everyone.

7. Virtual social and networking events attract a more diverse group of people.

As well as attracting more introverted people to join, because location is no barrier, virtual events also provide unique opportunities to get to know people who, because of proximity, you wouldn’t usually meet and this means the attendees tend to be more diverse.

Greater diversity gives rise to more enriching encounters, and the chance to hear and learn new things, first hand, about other people’s experiences and ‘every days’ around the country or the world, along with discovering our similarities, makes the world feel like a smaller, more reachable place heightening attendees’ sense of ‘oneness’.

8. You talk to people that you wouldn’t approach in-person and surprise yourself with how much, in real life, you judge a book by its cover.

Our expectations of others are triggered by not only how they look but how they present themselves overall. This wouldn’t be a problem by itself, however, if it weren’t also true that we’re often more influenced by our own biases than we are by actual evidence.

At IRL social and networking events, these pre-conceptions stop us from approaching and talking to people who we might otherwise have formed a great connection with.

Virtual events, however, provide a level playing field where everyone gets to know everyone at the same time in exactly the same way. When one person is talking, everyone is required to listen and subsequently you get to know, and form connections with, a much wider variety of people that you would not have made attending an IRL event.

9. Hosting virtual events requires a whole different set of skills.

The core skills in hosting real-world events tend to be centred around logistics, guest list management and networking. The skills to host virtual events are a whole different kettle of fish, more akin to the media and MC skills needed to produce and host a live radio show or podcast.

Once “on air”, a virtual event host is required to work intensively throughout the event, watching and listening without distraction for cues to bring people into the conversation, subtly guiding or switching the conversation where needed, managing disruptive behaviours with grace, maintaining the ambience and momentum of an event, all whilst coordinating technical aspects from slide shares and screen shares to audio playing and breakout rooms!

Certainly, to host a successful virtual networking event requires great skill, authenticity and focus. The quality of an attendee’s virtual event experience is 100% determined by the skills of host. The better and more experienced the host, the better the experience.

10. Virtual events and networking are no way near to being as weird or as awkward as we thought (pre-pandemic) they would be.

Not at all, in fact they’ve been rather lovely and surpassed our expectations. Not only have virtual events allowed us all to stay connected through the pandemic, the hidden benefits we’ve discovered when using it to network and meet new people means that, for Citysocializer certainly, they are here to stay and will enhance our real world offering once the world returns to it’s new normal.