The National Association of Home Builders hosted the International Builder Show in February at the Las Vegas Convention Center bringing in nearly 77,000 registrants. Photo by Oscar Einzig

Networking, as Columbia University Center for Career Education describes it, is the process of making connections and building relationships, which can be a source for career advancement.

As valuable as that may be, in-person events offer much more than that. Interpersonal relationships are, after all, fundamental to human nature, and in-person events allow those who are there to connect on a one-to-one basis. Friendship, education, commerce and a sense of belonging are all potential long-lasting benefits, but perhaps clarity of communication might be the most significant.

Everyone at some point has experienced the discomfort of having something they wrote in a text message or an email entirely misinterpreted — or on the flip side, misconstruing a message received.

“Great!” can mean, “Yay, that’s awesome.” Or it can mean, “Oh, no, what a disaster.” In print, it’s the same word with potentially antithetical meanings, the sense of which can only be ascertained either through typing back and forth, a phone call or clarifying it in-person. There are online meeting platforms, of course. During the pandemic, almost everyone pivoted to relying on technology in an attempt to continue to convene.

Lindsay Muniz, who plans and executes five member conferences a year for the Colorado Bankers Association (CBA), says that in the beginning, the sheer novelty of the medium resulted in reasonably good interaction during virtual meetings, but gradually it evolved to be just a speaker on screen and mostly black screens with names attached as attendees.

“People had gotten screen fatigue; they were checked out. The live-feed of the speaker would be playing in the background, but people were doing other things. As a group, we were disconnected,” Muniz says.

Online participants can type comments during virtual meetings, but these do not provide crucial information — tone of voice, facial expression or body language — to put the typed words into context. There is no ‘reading the room’ because there’s no single room for people to gather.

In-person meetings, on the other hand, “provide the opportunity for people to immerse themselves in the content and really focus,” Muniz continues.

As Director of Education for CBA, the conferences she develops have a critical function beyond networking. Banking is a highly regulated industry with a complex overlay of state and federal statutes that in some cases conflict. It’s also an ever-changing landscape, making it crucial for bank administrators to keep current with existing regulations. To address this need, Muniz hosts a legislative session every year to recap and update members on bills that have passed or are being considered.

Getting to know other members remains important, of course. “Not only is it networking,” says Muniz, “but it’s fostering relationships that members have already built,” and she programs her conferences to attract repeat attendees in support of that goal.

Relationship building and connecting with mentors has been particularly important for women in this industry. Because historically it has been a male-dominated field, CBA hosts an annual women-in-banking conference to help level the playing field. The initiative Colorado banks are taking to recruit, promote and develop the best people within banks, including women, has made a difference, adds Muniz.

Geoff Cassidy, chief revenue officer for the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), who leads a team that stages the annual International Builder Show (IBS), describes the power of in-person communication succinctly. “There’s no such thing as having a virtual beer.”

Although he is quick to point out that he can’t take credit for originating the quote, he agrees with it. Not only is the intent of the message more clearly conveyed in-person, but the person speaking can see the hearer’s reaction immediately, and if necessary, adjust the message appropriately. The hearer can also see the speaker’s dedication, passion and commitment firsthand. And because of that human interaction, the energy in the room is completely different. People have the opportunity to see one another in the same space and collaborate on issues, and do things that are harder to do virtually.

“There are simply things that you cannot accomplish virtually or over the phone, and those things are what makes the argument for the critical nature of in-person events,” Cassidy continues.

He definitely has enough experience to know. Until recently, he was vice president of exhibitions and meetings for NAHB, and although his title has changed, he says, “I still manage the same things I managed before, just more on top of that, but IBS is my main responsibility.”

As shows, go, IBS is a monster. Held this past February in Las Vegas, there were nearly 77,000 registrants. But that’s just part of the story.

Since 2014, IBS has been co-locating with the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show, making for a combined total of 2,400 companies exhibiting and over 100,000 registrants. Together, the two events used over a million net square feet of show floor, taking up almost the entire Las Vegas Convention Center, and since both shows also have outdoor exhibits, overflowing into the parking lot. In addition to the multiple aims of the co-located shows, commerce is a prime objective.

“An exhibit floor and trade show component of a conference isn’t something anyone has figured out how to replace digitally. We all experienced that during the pandemic. There was a great deal of effort to try to create something that would fill the gap when we couldn’t get together in person, but my impression has been that nothing has succeeded in replacing the in-person aspect of the trade show relative to product. To be able to actually put your hands on a product, see it, pick it up, heft it. Those are simply things that you cannot do virtually,” he says.

Demonstrating a product in person makes a difference even for something like software. Software is available for every industry, Cassidy says, and building is no exception … software to help builders be better businessmen, manage all aspects of their work and assist with project design.

“Sure,” he says, “Someone can talk a potential user through a demo over the phone, but there’s nothing quite as effective as having an expert from the software maker demonstrating it in person and giving a potential user a better idea of all that product can do.”

No matter what the product is, Cassidy believes that buyers also often want to get a sense of the individual and the company who’s making and selling a product, because that’s who will need to stand behind the sale.

“If I just look at a website and look at products, flat imagery or even a video of that product, I don’t often have the opportunity to connect the dots between that product and the people who are telling me about it and pledging certain things relative to it, such as warranty or service, and that’s where the in-person interaction is superior,” he says.

Buyer convenience is also a significant value-added component of a trade show, Cassidy adds. “You can walk three booths down and have another company show you their competing product.” Although NAHB and CBA’s conferences couldn’t be more disparate in size, Cassidy and Muniz strive to make their events indispensable, and they both recognize that networking is a critical aspect of what they are providing.

IBS has such huge attendance that it’s “networking times 10,” as Cassidy puts it, and he and his team seek to facilitate that by making it easy for people to find others with aligned interests, and foster beneficial interactions. In service of that goal, they have created what they call “Centrals” — lounges dedicated to particular segments of IBS, for example remodeling, custom building or multi-family building and others.

In conjunction with the Centrals, IBS also offers about 120 educational programs throughout the course of the three-day show featuring speakers in more theater-like settings, each located in close proximity to the appropriate Central.

The adjacency makes it easy for those working in a particular building niche to go back and forth between the educational presentation and the relevant lounge where they’ll have an opportunity to not only meet others in the same segment but talk to featured speakers. The length of the show also encourages attendees to socialize after show hours, have dinner or an actual beer . . . rather than try to attempt a virtual one.

Cassidy also points out that besides the measurable benefits of trade shows, the whole really is greater than the sum of its parts; there’s a kind of electric energy that shows radiate, a liveliness and feeling of being where the action is. Whatever the industry, conferences and associated trade shows also engender a sense of belonging, being a part of and doing work that matters in the world.

In addition to IBS, Cassidy and his team host regional and local conferences where among the goals are education and sharing best practices. Both of those agenda items are also major priorities for Jayne Ayers, director of meetings and logistics for the Club Management Association of America (CMAA).

Founded in 1927, and with 7,800 members from more than 2,600 countries, golf, athletic, city, faculty, military town and yacht clubs, CMAA is the largest professional association for club management professionals.

Each year, CMAA stages their World Conference with more than 4,000 attendees and over 200 exhibiting companies. The location of the conference travels. This year, it was held in Las Vegas; next year, it will be in Tampa, and the following year in Anaheim, but it could also be held outside of the U.S. since there is a sizeable contingent of international attendees.

No matter where the conference is held, education is an important component. In addition to working professionals, students are also invited to attend, and a lot of them do. “It’s the perfect opportunity for them to learn from professionals, be mentored by those with successful careers and learn about potential internships or post-graduation jobs,” Ayers explains.

The most exciting part of the conference, Ayers thinks, is the “Idea Fair.” Each year, CMAA solicits proposals from its members to share insights, best practices and new concepts. From 350 to 400 submissions are vetted by CMAA, standardized in format, printed as posters and put up at the World Conference so that club professionals and students alike can study them and learn from each other.

In addition to its World Conference, CMAA also hosts 25 or more topic-specific meetings around the country: Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlantic City, Milwaukee, Atlanta, Houston, Boston, Jupiter, FL and many other locations. Topics have included, among others, food and beverage management, relevant legislation, challenges and opportunities for general managers, communication and cybersecurity. Temptingly, CMAA has a wine society, and unsurprisingly, the wine tastings, wine pairings and wine blending sessions are quite popular.

Who says conferences can’t be educational and . . . almost literally . . . fruitful? Cassidy, overseer of the enormous International Builders Show, sometimes wishes he could attend a pizza trade show. Guess what, they do exist!

At the end of the day, networking at in-person events is not only educational and fruitful, it is important for both personal and professional growth. | AC&F |