Why Small Groups Make A Big Difference

A Simple Way To Create Intimacy Within Any Large Conference Or Event

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I’ve been running Responsive Conference for 4 years and designing experiences for teams for nearly 10 years. Every time I run an event, no matter how large or small, one of my goals is to improve on my previous events.

A common theme that I have noticed at events with over 30 people is a lack of intimacy among attendees. Generally, the most boisterous and talkative attendees dominate, and the more introverted attendees struggle to feel comfortable. I have organized un-conferences and smaller workshops within a larger setting to mitigate this, but last year we tried something new, which fundamentally changed the nature of our large conference.

I first came across this idea at Culture Conference, run by my dear friend, Jenny Sauer-Klein, in 2018. She had all 175 attendees break up into what she called “small group huddles” twice over the course of the 2-day event. I have since replicated that at my own Responsive Conference and will be using this format going forward!

How To Run Small Group Breakouts

The structure is simple: in any group, there are going to be a handful of people who are going to prefer to interact in a quieter setting rather than a large gathering. Small Groups provide them the opportunity to do so!

Start by isolating some of the core interests or themes among attendees. What are attendees there to learn? Each day of your event, have your attendees break out into Small Groups based on topics of mutual interest, consisting of 15 people or fewer. At Responsive Conference, we take this a step further and assign a skilled facilitator to lead each of the Small Group discussions.

The impact we have seen from these Small Groups has been incredible. Many attendees from the 2018 Responsive Conference reported these breakout sessions as their single favorite aspect of the entire curated 2-day event. While the logistics of breaking down an event with several hundred people into groups of 10 can be complicated, it’s important to remember that many people attend events for the individual conversations and people they meet. Providing attendees the chance to spend quality time with people they might not ordinarily meet is a huge value add, and I highly recommend including Small Group breakouts into your next large event.

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Interested in learning more?

Responsive Conference is an immersive 2-day experience about the Future of Work. This year the conference is taking place at Zappos HQ in Downtown Las Vegas.

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