A useful piece of client feedback I received recently was that they wanted “a little less of me”.
Last week, I hosted my second event for ForrestBrown at Lady of the Grapes, bringing together around 20 of their clients for a tasting based on innovation in wine. They had loved the first event, but this group usually sees one another through a screen. When they had the chance to spend proper time together in person, they wanted as much space as possible to talk.
I listened.
Changing the format
I would normally introduce four wines separately, speaking for around five minutes before giving the room 15 minutes to taste and chat.
This time, we served the final two reds side by side. I only needed to bring the room together three times, and the guests had longer to compare the wines, debate their favourites and continue their own conversations.
Why it worked
It worked brilliantly. There was still enough structure to keep the tasting moving, but once the room was full of conversation, I didn’t need to keep interrupting it.
My role was to help everyone relax, give them something interesting to talk about and then let them enjoy being together.
Sometimes, good hosting means knowing when the room no longer needs you.
