How to Prepare for a Networking Mixer Part 1

have you ever walked into an event looked around and said to yourself who planned this what separates a smooth event from a chaotic mess I'm Jana Hennemann and today we're talking about the importance of zening a room before and during your event this is important because if you navigate this crucial step you're setting yourself up for Success especially with all of your events here's the thing the setup of your event is not just about Aesthetics it's also about functionality the way a room is arranged it impacts attendees how they feel how they engage and how they interact during the event if the space feels cluttered or cramped you're setting the wrong tone before the event even starts but if the room feels intentional and organized you're sending the message this event matters and so do you zening a room starts by getting there early personally I like to be at one of my events around 45 minutes to an hour before it actually begins just so I can get things set up and also not feel rushed this gives me time to make the space my own and ensure every detail is just right also there's always someone that comes a little early you don't want them walking in 15 minutes early and you're still setting up so let's start with registration this is the first thing in attendee sees so we want to make it a seamless experience number one you're going to need a designated person to run it preferably with a smile on their face whoever's running registration these are the people that meet every single person that attends they are your attendees first impression your registration professional has to look professional this is not an option I even settle for smart casual but personally I like business attire for anyone who's running registration and personally if I'm running registration at one of my events I like to talk to the people coming in I ask them how'd you hear about the event thank thank you so much for showing up oh what business are you in who are you looking to meet tonight I also make sure I always get a business card and I also let them know what to expect for example at our business mixers I like to tell them hey the food was sponsored by Fillin the blank I also inform them that while food is free if they want an adult beverage that's on their own dime and I also let them know what time announcements are made during the announcements we always do our giveaway and then I also mention the giveaway sponsor spor yeah that's right I usually have around two sponsors minimum for a business mixer one to pay for the food one for the giveaways and a personal note the giveaway should not be like a branded notepad they need to be something of value like gift cards Electronics gift bags valuing at least around $50 or more and then I like to have anywhere from three to five giveaways as well I tell them what time the announcements are to make sure that they stay for the announcements you can't win a giveaway if you're not there and like I said I'm always collecting that business card right at registration it usually goes right into a bowl and then after announcements are done when we're doing the giveaways we pull business cards right out of the bowl but moving on you also are going to want your registration table to look neat and tidy you don't want papers all over the place you don't want purse belongings paperwork it sounds small but having a tidy registration it's a big deal I've been to events in the past where there were uh used plates on the registration table that's not a good look for people coming in that's their first impression is ooh there's papers all over the place there's purses and then there's empty food plates that's weird right we want to keep it neat and tidy additionally on the registration table I like having a code of conduct on a stand I want all of the attendees to know the rules of the game usually at a business mixer I want people to know how to conduct themselves we've had to ask people to leave in the past and now we make sure that we have that code of conduct out at all of our events let people know what you expect out of them and more often than not they will meet your expectations make sure you have that code of conduct out so I keep digressing a little bit but your goal is when someone walks in they go wow this event sure is organized many people are going to start judging the moment that they walk in have your professional that's running registration look the part heart make sure they're smiling make sure that they're asking questions of everyone Gathering that business card and make sure that they let people know what they can expect throughout the event so your attendee they've gone through registration they're walking past the registration table what is the first thing that they see hopefully an open space for people to stand and network you can have a couple of cocktail tables out but make sure that there's plenty of space between them especially at our mixers there's going to be times when people want to mingle and when they want to go grab some appetizers or Tapas and then go sit down and eat take a rest any eating tables that we have any sit down tables that uh people want to go and sit down and have their food we like to push to the sides of the room this leaves a big open space in the middle for people to mix mingle and shoo I also like to align the chairs at those tables slightly outwards so it's easy for them to come in and sit down I know it seems kind of small but it's these little details that make a really big difference at an event and again when you're when you push those tables to the side so people can go they know where to go to sit down and eat you're making that space more open they intuitively know where to go they know oh okay if I want a drink I have to go to the bar over there oh the food's over there and the tables are up against the wall okay I'm going to go grab some food go sit down and kind of people watch for a minute then when I'm done I'm going to get up and go to the open space to network another thing pushing tables to the sides of the room it helps helps with any tripping hazards you don't want your attendees tripping over chairs or having to squeeze through narrow spaces it's a simple tweak but it makes a massive difference there's also the lighting you want to strike the right balance you don't want it so bright that you feel like you're getting interrogated um but you don't want it too dim either it should feel bright enough that people feel energized but soft enough to keep the room comfortable next music music is key at our mixers we prefer slightly upbeat music and this adds to the Ambiance but we do not put the volume all the way up the last thing you want is to be standing right next to someone trying to have a conversation and you're having to yell at them and finally cords if there are cables running across the floor tape them to the ground or tuck them away nothing kills a professional Vibe or an attendees mood like tripping over loose wires the last thing we want is people feeling embarrassed or leaving our event feeling embarrassed and I speak from personal experience on this it was a hard lesson and it happened at one of my own mixers and I was the one who did the tripping you know those awkward things that keep you up at night years later it's still plays in my mind from time to time tuck away the cords tape down any wires the point is this when you take time to Zen a room the difference is immediate attendees feel comfortable they feel welcomed and they're ready to focus on the event not the distractions around them also a small caveat when you have announcements at a networking event keep keep it under 15 minutes in fact I like to keep it under 10 if possible the reason why is if people are coming to your business mixer they are there for themselves they're there to meet other professionals they're there to meet Circles of influence that's what they're there for they don't want to see anyone standing up there droning on and on for 45 minutes that's not why they're there this isn't an educational event this is a networking event if you're announcements goes over 10 minutes 15 minutes you will lose the room people are going to turn they're going to go back to the are they're going to talk to other people you're going to lose the room you need to hold that space know your crowd know why they're there in the first place and respect their time in the next video we're going to talk about our template for announcements again we try to keep all these videos around or under 10 minutes long so be sure to tune in next week for that template thank you so much for tuning in please like follow subscribe um and then after this video there's going to be a QR code where you can sign up for our newsletter I'm Yan Henman and I will see you this time next week [Music]