Where’s the networking?

I came to a networking event to network!

This statement came to my attention recently at our last event.

And it got me thinking - how much time is enough?

At our events, the first 15 minutes are always open for free networking. Most people arrive at least 5 minutes earlier, so that means, say, 20 minutes. We have a 5-minute break for people to mix and mingle after the group photo—that brings it to 25 minutes…. We often finish 5 minutes early (well, we did that time ), so that’s 30 minutes from our 2-hour event for networking … which equals 25% or one-quarter of the time.

I’ve been to events where every minute is accounted for, and you're networking before or after the time on the ticket (if you are aware). I’ve been to others where the whole time is networking, and what happens is all the people who know each other catch up and are not open to meeting new … what’s the right balance?

We’ve never said we were non-structured meeting group

We always allow everyone to have 1 minute-marketing, which means you know who is in the room

If we have a speaker, many come for them

A roster with everyone who attends is handed out for people to reach out

I’m curious: what do you deem enough time to network at a 2-hour event? And what does “networking” look like for you?