It's Time We All Learned To Talk To Strangers Again

2020 really did a number on us.

The pandemic itself was bad enough. Then came lockdowns, two-metre gaps, Zoom quizzes, banana bread and an alarming period during which “You’re on mute” became one of the most uttered phrases in the English language.

But the implications went far beyond those strange months indoors. The way we work changed. The way we communicate changed. The way we build businesses changed. And six years later, we’re still figuring out exactly what we want the “new normal” to look like. At Wenta, we’ve decided to take the bull by the horns.

We’re getting people back into rooms.

Remember talking to strangers?

Over the past year, we’ve steadily rebuilt our programme of face-to-face business support across Hertfordshire.

Earlier this year, our AI Roadshow took digital experts out to venues across Stevenage, St Albans, Luton and Watford.

Then, in July, we went bigger. Our AI Unleashed event at the btc in Stevenage attracted more than 150 registrations for a day dedicated to answering one enormous question: what on earth are we all supposed to be doing with AI?

Since then, we’ve continued filling rooms.

We’ve brought aspiring entrepreneurs together to explore becoming their own boss, welcomed businesses to our Back to Marketing Basics event and continued running workshops and networking opportunities across our centres.

And people are turning up.

Because while virtual business support is brilliant (and we offer plenty of it), sometimes you simply need to be in a room with other people. After all, trust is built through human connection, and your next big business relationship might just start with a conversation across the room.

Business can get lonely

Running a business can be remarkably isolating.

You might be the marketing department, finance department, salesperson, customer service team, IT helpdesk AND the person responsible for remembering to buy the milk.

Technology means you can start a business from your kitchen table, build a website without speaking to another human, ask AI to write your marketing plan and sell to somebody you’ve never met.

That’s extraordinary.

But sometimes, you still need to get in a room with somebody and say: “I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing with this bit.”

Usually, you’ll discover three other people have the same problem.

That’s where the magic happens.

Business support should be about people

Through programmes including Get Enterprising, Wenta provides fully funded support to entrepreneurs and aspiring business owners across Hertfordshire.

And the numbers tell quite a story.

Get Enterprising has supported more than 3,600 clients, delivered 17,500+ hours of training and over 4,400 hours of one-to-one support, helping create hundreds of businesses and jobs along the way.

But behind every statistic is a person. Someone who asked a question, met an adviser, made a connection or finally said their business idea out loud.

That’s difficult to replicate through a screen.

And yes, I know the word networking can conjure images of name badges, lukewarm coffee and someone cornering you beside the pastries to pitch their revolutionary CRM system.

But good networking is just conversation.

Your next customer, supplier, collaborator or mentor could be standing beside you holding a slightly overfilled paper cup of coffee.

You’ll never know if you don’t say hello.

So, we’re putting the kettle on

At Wenta, we’ll continue bringing businesses together through events, workshops and networking, alongside our webinars, one-to-one advice and online support.

Technology has transformed how we do business, and we’re certainly not suggesting we switch off the Wi-Fi and go back to 2019.

But perhaps the future isn’t about choosing between digital and face-to-face. It’s about recognising when we need the convenience of a screen, and when we need to get out, grab a coffee and have a proper conversation with another human being.

Because it’s high time we got good at talking to strangers again.

After all, one of them might just change your business.