Forget Networking--It's About Human Connections

As I prepared for the 2025 FUTURE NOW Media & Entertainment Conference, I worried about how to approach networking, given that I had never been to a conference before. Attending a major professional conference for the first time can be anxiety-inducing. Luckily, my fears were addressed in the first meeting of the conference. 

The conference began with a pre-conference networking skills session at Roku. At this session, Amanda Lutton, one of the speakers and the outreach coordinator for new employees at the company, repeatedly emphasized the importance of human connection. She encouraged me and my fellow attendees to focus on connecting on a human level instead of stressing about connecting on a business level.

The leaders of the Roku session gave attendees several examples of conversation starters to begin this human level of connection, such as, “I noticed you reading that book, how are you finding it?” While this may not seem revolutionary, I found it very helpful to be reminded of the importance of demonstrating personal interest when forming new relationships with people within the media and entertainment industry. 

Amanda’s advice applied to every part of the conference. I recognized its importance the most on the last day of the conference when I was on a media tour at The View. During this tour, I connected with an attendee while waiting for the tour to begin.

We discussed our interests in the industry, where we were from, our opinions on our schools, and even the types of television we watched on ABC. What I didn’t notice at the moment was that this effortless, stress-free conversation was built upon the basis of human connection.

For the first time in the conference, I didn’t need to use a pre-prepared conversation starter because I was simply interested in connecting on a genuine human level.

As we continued to chat while waiting in line, we discovered that we had intersecting career interests. This led to a discussion about how our individual perspectives could help inform our understanding of our interests. I was able to gain important insights into the media industry while also building a friendship that I hope will last beyond the FUTURE NOW conference. 

My new friend and I used our networking skills and the advice we received from Amanda when talking to another member of the studio audience. We discussed our previous exposure to The View and what brought us to the audience today.

We learned that the person worked in collegiate sports personal relations. This was a part of the media industry that my new friend and I were previously discussing. By forming a human connection, we were able to network outside of the conference attendees and learn more about the industry.  

As I reflect on my time at the FUTURE NOW 2025 conference, I realized that I already had the skills to network, like active listening and relationship-building. That shift alleviated my anxiety and allowed me to build relationships that can extend to an industry context in the future.

Now, I am excited for the next opportunity to build more human connections.