Connectivity [noun] (British English): the state of being or being able to be connected

Last week, the Lisbon Web Summit brought 71,000 people into town. It’s been growing at the speed of light, and the post-pandemic frenzy seems to have heightened the desire to meet people face-to-face, to attend mingling events, and also to reconnect using all senses beyond a little window on our screens.

I find myself observing how people move around, what their body talk mirrors while they interact face-to-face. How present are people when they meet full body? Do expectations and conversations change in comparison to what would happen online? How are natural introverts finding the re-adaptation to offline meet & greets? Are conversations more connected, or have we forgotten how to do this? ... have we consciously thought about this at any stage?

As a lucky natural talker, I usually thrive on seeing the whole of a person. At the same time, I find 1-to-1s more engaging than bigger groups (in which I usually revert into the quiet listener), and would always notice the background noise, rather preferring soft music or birds humming – a wonderful common feature if you live in a place like Lisbon.

I am also generally brave enough to be a ‘gentle curious’. No, I am NOT good at lots of direct questions to get to know someone - something my home education (AKA cultural framework) has taught me as invasive. But I’ve historically had lots of attention for detail, which generally offers me reasonable information on the human being standing in front of me – where their hands are when they talk, in what direction their eyes are gazing, how they’re using their personal space and distancing/closeness, use of voice, etc. – and that often provides clues to ask myself if I am really willing to connect by sense of empathy and searching for minor commonalities which would help strike a slow paced conversation.

We all know the basics: a conversation involves a speaker and a listener taking turns in those roles whilst keeping the active non-verbal listening switch on. It also requires the actual willingness to get to know the other person and/or their views in further depth than the visual input we receive just by looking. In my world, a conversation is the desire to connect with another person as well as an opportunity to expand myself a little further.

How are you connecting to people in 2022?