Eyes on the person, not the screen

Ten events so far this year.

Six of them hosted by our team.

Events and forums are a new part of work since joining business development — and one I’ve come to enjoy more than I expected.

A few things I’ve been noticing.

Every host has a style.
There’s a lot of thought behind each event, and it’s fascinating to see how different organizations approach hospitality.
One recent event stood out — the host set aside 20–25 minutes for group discussion on the topics that had just been shared.
A small choice. It led to deeper conversations, and deeper learning.

Eyes on the person, not the screen.
There’s something rare about sitting or standing across from someone with no screen between you.
The headline topics are work.
But there’s almost always room for a human moment.
I mentioned once that I’d been imported to Japan by my Japanese wife — and the person across from me had been imported to Japan by her husband.

Connecting the dots.
B2B relationships have many stakeholders.
I’ve learned that the same message — in a different tone, to a different person — slowly builds momentum.

After presenting an ongoing project, a customer who’d been in the audience came to find me afterward to say they were interested. (Deeper interest compared to the other time I mentioned same project to other stakeholders of the same customer)

The one downside.
The food looks beautiful. Delicious.
And I’m usually too busy connecting to eat any of it.
(Though my waistline suspects this is the real upside.)