On your Marks, Get Set, Connect, 3rd edition

75 minutes of uncomplicated and unobstrusive games for networking

Abstract

An hour of connecting games - somewhere beyond superficial ice breakers but without the menace of having to bare your soul or look silly.

\"Do you prefer cats or dogs? Do you jump up in the early morning full of energy or do you revel in the atmosphere of evenings and late nights? And what do the people at your table have in common with you?\"
The hour is comprised of a sequence of 5 moderated, low key games aimed at creating an opportunity to get to know and connect to the 5-6 others seated at your table - with no goal other than connecting and having fun.
Do you remember the last time you met a stranger and you connected – totally unexpectedly and with no hidden agendas? Maybe it was on the subway… maybe at lunch break – but it made your day magical.
This session is not about learning new techniques and practices – there are all the other sessions for that. It’s also not about just another icebreaker activity. It is also not about another one of those techniques to build trust and enhance team work.

So, take a step back from the bustle and join us for an hour of discovering differences and similarities - of laughing and being surprised - of seeing and being seen.

Audience background

none

Benefits of participating

•- fun
•- opportunity to connect and get to know people
•- a few games

Process

This session is comprised of a collection of low key \"games\" and \"activities\" meant to give people at conferences a chance to connet with people and get into conversations.
Of course the breaks at confernces give opportunity for this - but they are often short -and people tend to talk to those they already know - or wander around. So the idea is to offer the opportunity for those who want it, to take a session and use it to connect.
It is devised from the perspective of an introvert - who does not like a lot of the typical mixing games... it starts off with games that are rather low key and as the course of the games go, the level gets a little more personal while allowing people to stay at the level of confidence they feel comfortable with.
There will be around 5 games in the course of the session, they are timeboxed for around the same times each - although the times might vary - sometimes they also vary for different table groups.
I have added a schedule of the games that was used in 2016 (Spa 2016, Agile Coach Camp 2016, Socrates 2016) as a PDF to make the content of the session clearer.
Fabian and I are devising a few other games at the moment for the session, so they would not be the exact same games, but the overview should give a good picture.
In the previous presentations the participants all felt it was a valuable opportunity, but should be scheduled more at the start of the conference than at the end for most value.
We know this is a rather unusual session proposal - especially as the main benefit is not some skill that people can take away with them. But we think that it can be a valuable session to offer at a conference - since conferences are not only about sharing knowledge and experience, but also about networking.
Certainly these games can be used as icebreakers in breaks or at evening events - but the previous experience also seem to indicate that it was particularly effective to have it as a session maybe because then the people who came, had taken the decision they wanted to be there, talking to people.
This session has been held with different games at previous Spa conferences - with success. The fact that the games will be different,helps it not to be a simple Repetition.

Detailed timetable

There is no real detailed time table here - there will be around 5 games to get to know several different aspects of the participants.

History

Spa 2015
Spa 2016
(Agile Coach Camp 2016: - is an open space conference, so maybe does not count, none the less, the session was held there)
(Socrates 2016 - is an open space conference, so maybe does not count, none the less, the session was held there)
NDC London 2017

Presenters

Marina Haase
independent