Hello, and welcome back to this episode of the Awfully Quiet Podcast. I hope you're feeling energized and enjoying your summer, beginning of August. And you will have just listened to the episode on Leo season last week. It was my birthday. It was the 40th episode of the Awfully Quiet Podcast. And I shared five signs you might be an introverted Leo like me.

If you feel like you're in a little bit of a summer slump. That episode might be for you because it's all about how we're embracing this season, how we're making sure that we're taking in some of that, you know, powerful Leo energy and how we can use it to show up more confidently, more courageously to do the things that we We really want to do in our careers now for today.

I have a topic for you that, I've recently thought about a lot and I've recently done in my corporate job. And that was to help plan a huge company gathering. We did a, an all associates conference at the beginning of July, and I was part of the planning team for that. And. There are so many learnings that I've taken away from this experience and from how these couple of days went that I wanted to bring this to you because I know that huge company gatherings are often something that we struggle with as introverts.

And I struggled with that as an introvert to a certain extent, but I've also taken away some insights and learnings that I just want to make available to you and I just want to give you for when you attend events like this for when you consider, you know, being part of the planning team, raising your hand, putting your head in the ring for potentially being part of, that group that brings these things to life in your company when, when you do things like that next.

So. That's what today's episode is all about. And without further ado, let's dive into number one. And it's a very simple and straightforward one, but you will have not thought about this yet. And I've just said this, it's to be part of the planning team. It's to raise your hand. Whenever there's a huge, you know, a company event, networking event, a huge meeting come up in the, in, in the workplace, and you just kind of feel like, Oh, I'm not the best at those events.

I don't thrive when I'm, you know, in a huge crowd of people. And I completely get that. I am the same, but this is a hack for you. It's an introvert hack. Raise your hand to be part of the planning team, because not only do you have the ability to help shape this event into something that more introverted personalities will appreciate to, but you can also be in a role that is indirectly visible without having to be.

Out there and super visible and in front of the crowd and networking and socializing. Let me tell you why. So being part of the, the planning team and the team who runs the sessions, it gives you this unique opportunity to be out there and still be mostly within your comfort zone. Like, I'm just going to bring you to the first day of the event.

that we were there as a planning team and we've had people join the conference and people came in and were being welcomed and then there was, there was a networking lunch. Like, I, I don't know about you, but I cringe when I hear the, the word networking lunch. I'm like, Oh my God, how, you know, how awful it must be to come to an event.

And then the first thing you need to do is. have food and talk to people at the same time. And you don't know that this is going to be people that, you know, it might be people that you just kind of loosely know, and then you have to make conversation while eating lunch, standing up. And it's this whole sort of thing that makes me personally really uncomfortable.

But I wasn't really part of that networking lunch because. I was in charge of welcoming people and giving them their name tags and, you know, giving them their gift bags and, you know, saying hi to them. And that was the most introvert friendly thing for me on that day, because I greeted everyone who came into the event.

I talked to everyone very briefly and said, hi, welcome. How was your trip? How, you know, how did travel go? And then I gave them their name tag. I give them a beautiful gift bag. I was there with a couple of people on the planning team to do this, that I knew very well at this point and that I could interact with, in between people coming in, had my coffee, I knew what to expect and so got to greet everyone.

But then, you know, send them off on their way into the networking lunch and off to the next person. And. I tell you, this was the, you know, this was perfect because again, I was out there. People saw me. I got to say hi to everyone, but it wasn't that I had to make conversation a lot and that kind of.

repeated itself throughout the, conference throughout the two days that we were there, because there was always something that I was part of planning or preparing or organizing. So there was never this awkward feeling of, Oh, I need to go out and speak to people. Now I, every once in a while, obviously I did join some of the groups for lunch.

I did have conversations here and there. But there wasn't a lot of pressure on that because again, I was part of the agenda. I was part of the planning. I had jobs to do and to a certain extent, it gave me a feeling of belonging that I never feel when I'm at these kinds of events. I always feel sort of awkward, out of place, you know, I'm not really belonging here.

I'm not really thriving here. But just kind of leveraging my strength as an introvert, as somebody who likes to plan, as somebody who brings the J from my INTJ profile, it felt perfect. If you are somebody who likes to plan who likes to organize, that could be something to consider next time. for us, it was like every year they ask at the beginning of the year, they ask, who is, you know, eager, keen to help plan the event as like, and of course, like a little bit of an extracurricular thing.

Apart from your day job and I raised my hand for that. So if that's a situation for you, or if you know the kind of people who are planning these events in your company and your workplace, just reach out to them and ask them if they need help the next time they're planning things like that. And I think it can be, again, a really introvert friendly way to stand out.

but also not be in the spotlight all the time. So that's number one. Number two is to plan in some workouts or early morning walks. This is something that I feel has personally changed the way I travel for work. And I've done this ever since the beginning of the year that whenever I was out traveling for work, I was in London a couple of times.

I was in France. Now I was at this. All associates conference. And what I do is I look for a fun workout class that I can go to in the early morning before the event starts or before the meeting start. In London, I did a couple of berries classes this year, which were absolutely fun. I don't have a berries in the city that I live in.

I go a lot to Rose cycle, which is our, you know, cycling club from. The Netherlands, actually, that they've opened a couple of locations all throughout Germany and they have a location. In Cologne, luckily, and I've talked about this plenty, so you'll know all about it, but berries I don't have. So that's what I would do when I'm, on a trip in London.

It's, you know, it's, it's very full on with like work meetings throughout the day, then dinners at night. It all sounds very fun, but you know, it's not introvert friendly. So that one hour, that's six o'clock. Workout class, high intensity is where I thrive is what I feel like I'm doing just for myself. I go out there.

I feel like I'm, you know, I feel like I'm part of the local culture because nobody else there is traveling. Everybody else is just, you know, going about their normal day. And it just feels like it's grounding. It's fun, exciting. I get to be around people. But at the same time, I don't have to socialize because everybody is just focused on what they're doing and clearly with a Barry's class surviving.

So that's what I recommend you to do. And you know, it doesn't have to be a high intensity class. It could be a yoga class. It could be Pilates. It could be going for a walk. It could even be going for a walk with. Some of your close work colleagues, if you're at an event like this. So when I was at the all associates conference, I went to a row cycle class in the morning.

and it was a total game changer for me. It at first, it feels like, Oh my God, I'm already planning this thing. I'm already involved in so much of the hustle and bustle of the day. Do I now need to also go push myself to go to a workout class? But again, it just feels like it's something that you do for yourself, something that takes you and your brain out of this event for a good 45 minutes.

And it feels so rejuvenating. It feels so energizing that this is a bit of a hack that I would, That I would ask you to consider whenever you are at a big company event, a gathering, a two, three day kind of thing, or work trip works wonders. Now, number three is prioritize one on one conversations rather than engaging with big groups.

Like we've talked about this before when it comes to networking. And if you were to walk into something of like a networking lunch or any type of conference situation where. You know, people are there to chat with other people and that's absolutely fine. And you should be, you should be, but it can be extremely tiring to talk to many different people at once, or to even talk to, you know, a huge number of people to do quantity instead of quality.

And I urge you to do things the other way around. Look for one to one conversations. That you want to have look for somebody, or even think about this beforehand, you know, if it's a company gathering, you will know people there and there will be people that you have, you know, only interacted with loosely before, but you would love to know more about them.

You would love to work together more closely. It is an opportunity to connect on a personal level. and there are always things that happen face to face. It just can't happen on a team's call. So take these people, like you can be strategic about it. There's nothing wrong with that. Take them and go to them and have one to one conversations, stand with them during networking lunch.

Go to them, you know, when it's, you know, dinner time or when there's drinks, like half the conversation then and go deeper. Be genuinely interested. Maybe you even think about a couple of questions. You want to ask them beforehand. I know that keeping up a conversation with somebody you don't know all too well is can be, can be tough.

So there's nothing wrong with preparing a couple of questions or just having something in the back of your head that you want to ask them or that you could potentially be talking about. But what I often find is that those one to one conversations again, can give you energy back. Do re energize you as an introvert.

They certainly re energize me and they just kind of help you sustain your energy and your headspace throughout, you know, being at huge company gatherings for two, three days. Hack number four is also something that I did for the very first time while I was out on this conference in July. Is small group dinners.

You know, when you're at these big company gatherings, it's mostly, you know, pre organized dinners for, you know, hundreds of people, and it's very intense, uh, and you're at a table with people who you may not know, you know, sometimes what, you know, organizers will do for this event is just kind of randomly mix up people who don't know each other to make sure that.

People get to mingle and network and build new connection, this type of stuff. But, what I did actually prior to the event is I went in early as part of, you know, the planning committee, we met up a day early, we went to the location and so on, all, all these, kind of things. But then I went out to dinner with two people that were, that are on the, on my same team.

That I don't know super, super closely, but obviously I've seen them during, you know, team meetings and so on. So, it wasn't uncomfortable for me, but it was actually beautiful to have that dinner out just with, you know, as a very small group, tightened group of people that I got to connect with. on a deeper level that I got to, you know, learn new things about, there's always a bit of, you know, chitchat talk and, you know, just the kind of conversation that you wouldn't have again on a team's call.

And this felt very energizing for me. It felt like, you know, it was something that was new, it was something that was not kind of put on me. It wasn't something that I had to do. It was my choice. And it was actually one of the, you know, one of the best dinners I had. In that week, not because of the food, not because of the drinks, they were both excellent, but it was just because it was really good company.

And I enjoy really good company. I enjoy great conversations. I enjoy speaking, you know, to other people. And I just need to remind myself, you know, whenever there's a small group dinner opportunity, take it and appreciate it, embrace it. Because at the end of the day, that's, what's going to sustain you through this company gathering.

If all of the dinners are pre planned. For, whenever you are away for work, you could do a, you could do a breakfast. You could make it like, you know, meet up with two, three people for breakfast or again, go for a walk, whatever this looks like. And then hack number five is not really a hack. It's a necessity.

It's to plan for quiet time afterwards. Like you can do. So much to help sustain your energy, to stay energized, to, you know, kind of do things for yourself, like the early morning workouts, like, you know, being part of the planning team, interacting with people one on one, but at the end of the day, Especially at the end of two, three days out with, you know, the whole company, your energy is going to be low.

You're a social battery. You will be all out of energy out of your social battery. And it's perfectly normal. It's how it is. So what I want you to do is be mindful of that and plan for that to happen with quiet time, all for yourself. Sometimes this can be travel time. Like for example, I went to this event, by car.

It was out in the Netherlands. So it was like a good two, three hour car drive for me. And I went back on a Friday. It took me a lot longer. I spent a lot of time in traffic on that Friday, but just kind of following the event being. In the car all by myself going through the whole set list of the eras tour.

I was still preparing for the concert at this point and, just kind of being by myself, singing in the car, you know, listening to something that you really enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. And just kind of being in your own energy, I think something that is really, really needed. And if you are, hardcore, like me, hardcore introverted, like me, you may just want to take the whole weekend.

I did not make any plans for that weekend following the conference. And I was just kind of like, again, planning in workouts, planning in time with my, With my partner, making sure that I get this downtime and I get to replenish and re energize is something that, you know, is an absolute non negotiable for me.

And I'm sure it is for you. So whenever this happens, plan for downtime. I even mean things like, you know, if you run a big workshop or if you're part of a big session at work, plan for downtime afterwards, plan in, you know, block an hour for it to take a walk, to take it outside, to listen to a podcast, whatever.

Do the same after a busy day at work, do the same, especially when you are at. Company gatherings, at town halls, at conferences, whenever you are surrounded by a lot of people, whenever you have a lot of social input, plan for downtime, make sure that you get that time with yourself, by yourself, order in, in your hotel room, watch a series, whatever it is that, you know, replenishes some of that energy and gets you back.

to normal. Now, I'm going to recap those five Tips for you to tackle a company gathering as an introvert. Number one, be part of the planning team. I love this for you. And it's unconventional. It's not the usual kind of tip that you would hear, especially for introverts, but it's a game changer. So raise your hand, put your head in the ring.

It's going to be feel so rewarding and you're going to belong so much more. So definitely want you to do that. Number two is plan in workouts or early morning walks. Use that Barry's class, go to cycling, yoga, Pilates, whatever works for you. Number three is prioritize one to one conversations and one to one interactions over You know, quantity when it comes to networking and these events, number four is whenever you can connect with small groups of people, go for dinner with a small group of people, go for breakfast, whatever it can look like for you.

And number five is plan for quiet time afterwards.

Now, I hope that there's something in there that you can take away from this episode. I know that, company meetings, company gatherings can be tough. And like I said to you before, I always cringe at things like, networking lunches or networking opportunities, or just kind of dinners and drinks. And, Having to socialize, but it is so, so important.

We do it regardless of how we naturally feel about it because there is so much opportunity in these types of events. And what I want you to look for is the genuine connection. If you haven't listened to my recent episode with, Ellie Kugling, I definitely want you to go back to episode number 37 to look that up for a second.

And because we talk all things, you know, networking for introverts, building meaningful connections, one to one conversations, conversation starters, et cetera. So that's definitely an episode for you, but it'll also give you some other reasons whyconnection and networking to a certain extent is so important because you never know what's going to come for it.

If you go to these events, you're being closed off. You try to avoid people at all costs. It's not going to be a great experience for you. It's not going to help you. But if you go in open for, you know, connections, genuine connection, expressing genuine interest in other people. And I say one to one.

Doesn't have to be, you know, large groups of people. You never know what's going to come from it. You never know the conversations you're going to have. You never know the opportunities that are going to arise. You never know the job offers that are going to be on the table a year down the line. You never know the opportunities, the projects.

There is always something in there for you. And if you go in it with an open mind,

I'm sure it's going to return back tenfold and it's going to be something that you end up enjoying and that you, you end up, feeling prepared and equipped for, thank you so much for tuning in today, and I can't wait for you to tune in next time to see you there.