Opinion
UK – DK Trade: Relearning to meet people
Gareth Garvey
This article is more than 2 years old.
We have all been part of the ‘Future of Work’ experiment for two years. As we, at least in Denmark, return to physical meetings, conferences and events, it is a time to reflect on what we each have learned from the process.
Poor form at the forum
While we have quickly adapted to the time, travel and business attire-saving world of Teams and Zoom and attended many online meetings, many of us picked up several bad habits.
Ask yourself the following questions. How many meetings and webinars did I sign up for but not attend? Did I send my apologies? When I attended online meetings, was I present or was I multitasking? Did I make the same contribution I would have made at a physical event? What did I miss?
To attend or not to …
We are relieved we can now hold physical meetings again, but it is an excellent time to take stock and learn from the experiment as individuals and organisations.
Ask yourself if you need to attend. Think about what you expect and want from the meeting, event or conference. Is it about exposure to ideas and learning something new? Is it about meeting some new people and building your network? Is it about profiling yourself or your business? People who do not need to participate should have an opportunity to excuse themselves without losing face.
Focused BCCD events
At the BCCD, we hold many events. It is great to see a long attendance list and meet people we have not met before.
However, it is even better for everyone if all attendees are genuinely interested and are engaged in the discussion. Committed attendees improve the quality of the networking afterwards.
Our events have therefore become more focused. We continue to learn from the ‘Future of Work’ experiment. Check us out.
About
Gareth Garvey
Gareth (gareth@bccd.dk), who has a passion for creativity and innovation in business, has been the CEO of the British Chamber of Commerce in Denmark since the start of 2017. Gareth has a background in management consultancy working for Price Waterhouse, PwC Consulting and IBM, and he also teaches at Copenhagen Business School.