Who's in the room makes or breaks an event. Curate the guest list carefully and pick a venue with character over the default ballroom.
The idea
Whatever you host goes on the permanent record of your relationship with every guest, for better or worse. Two levers matter most. The first is the people. We've all sat next to someone and fought off an hour of awkward silence, and a better guest list would have prevented it. Some people are simply not good guests, and you're better off seeing them one on one. The second is the setting. Derek Coburn, who co-founded the Cadre community, has a firm rule: "We never use hotel ballrooms." He books comedy clubs, piano bars and theaters, so guests feel they're taking part in an experience. And whatever you do, I beg you, don't create yet another "networking event."
How to do it
Decide the shape first: one conversation around one table, or several tables. That sets your headcount.
Shake up the guest list. A room of one profession talks shop; mixing worlds sparks conversations nobody would have sought out. Jon Levy's salons work almost entirely because of the range of people he brings together.
Think about pairings. Do you want the prominent executive seated next to someone hunting for a job?
Pick a venue that couldn't be in any city: a rented loft with a private chef, a theater, somewhere with a story.
If details aren't your strength, get help from a teammate or an event planner.
Example
At one networking event I attended at a swanky bar, there was no private space, so I never knew if I was talking to a fellow executive, someone from a different conference or a traveling consultant. Compare that with a Savannah Bananas game, where my whole family sat transfixed for four hours. The Bananas asked why baseball had to be boring. Ask the same about your next event.
Uncommon Commonalities: Seat guests next to people they share a surprising, non-obvious overlap with, found in advance, and invite your closest people first.
Manufacture Shared Experiences: A slightly intense shared experience bonds people faster than polite chat, and even an event that goes wrong becomes a story you share.
Death to Empty Networking: Drop transactional, card-collecting networking, invest in the relationships that matter, and stay good at what you do.
Passion Prospecting: Host regular events around something you genuinely love, like wine or golf, to attract clients and prospects who share it.