Events: A time for introverts?

Extrovert – an outgoing, socially confident person

Introvert – a shy, reticent person

Which one do you think is happier and more confident when it comes to ‘events’?
Has the events industry always/mainly catered for the extroverts?
Meeting new people, public speaking, mixing with unfamiliar people has always been the mainstay of events. I can’t recall the number of times (loads) I’ve read during the pandemic that as a species, we’re desperate to socialise and do what we love – meet again, face to face.
Now, let’s be clear, I’m definitely an extrovert. I love public speaking. I love going into a room full of people I don’t know and walking up to a stranger and introducing myself. I’m a little goofy doing it. I usually say something random that is embarrassing to my wife/children/colleague. I can’t recall the number of times we’ve left a party and a member of my family has said: “that was totally embarrassing”.
But there is a method in my embarrassing…ness. It gets people talking and I make new connections. Job done…at the expense of me (and my poor family).
But what if you’re the opposite of me?
What if you’re an introvert?
Does the idea of going to an event fill you with dread?
Does the idea of a mass gathering office Christmas party just make you want to cringe?
Maybe the event industry should embrace the introvert?
We’re kind of being forced to anyway, aren’t we?
Small is now good.
Small and focussed – Targeted – Specialist.
Maybe we, as an industry need to think creatively and move away from big is good/better.
Maybe the new normal will see the rising of the introverts and maybe we will learn to embrace them as much as we used to embrace the extrovert?
How about we think creatively and engage an audience that has never wanted to be engaged before?
Creative event designers and thinkers out there – do your thing.