Even as a host of events you should start to think further: Do not simply assume that it is enough to fill a room with people, place them at a buffet and book a lecture. A heated room, a few seats and free alcohol were enough when we were teenagers. Today we expect a little more.
If you want to have successful events, your main task is to connect your guests well. A good event is the one that turns strangers into acquaintances. The art is to create an invisible temporary network in a room with 50 or 500 guests. You can recognise a temporary network by the fact that the members trust each other, the distance seems to melt away and you feel like you are among friends.
We have all experienced this at concerts or sporting events: in the stadium we are family. Outstanding examples of really successful temporary networks are Woodstock, the Loveparade (when it was still in Berlin) or most of the Catholic Church Days. Suddenly strangers smile at each other, share food, drinks and cigarettes and feel close to each other.
This is exactly the secret of good networking events: If you succeed in establishing a temporary network for the duration of the event, i.e. close links between the participants, you will be a good host and everyone will be happy to come again. If you even succeed in establishing long-term, lasting relationships between people, you will be a
