We’re in one of the “big event” seasons of the year: conferences, galas, summits, webinars. Maybe it’s the back-to-school energy that makes everyone want to get together and learn something? Either way, my extrovert, people-loving personality LOVES it. So many people, so many opportunities for connection, so many ways to make new friends.
Last week, I was a panellist at Thriving Through Change – Small Business Week 2026, put on by the Coalition of Black Small and Medium Enterprises (CoBSMEs). When I walked in, I saw someone I’d served on a board with, and he immediately said, “Talitha, you’re everywhere!” (Which isn’t true, but would be an incredible superpower.) He asked what I’m up to these days, so I told him about the variety of things I get to do to build a more global community of marketers through impact work and relationship-building. He said, “So you go to lots of events and are friends with people?”
“That’s quite literally how I describe my job!”
Then this past weekend, I went to Love Affair, a fundraising gala at the Mackenzie Art Gallery here in Regina. I was a last-minute guest, so I wasn’t with my “safe people” (you know the ones). But that same extrovert energy carried me. I hit up every activation (sometimes solo) and connected with people at every turn.
One event had me up front with a microphone, and the other had me wandering in with a mocktail and no plan. They felt completely different, but the responsibility was the same: be a good guest.
This is lesson two in this little series before I say farewell for maternity leave (lesson one was about saying thank you). So much of partnership work means showing up in someone else’s space, whether that’s their panel, webinar, summit, Slack, or a gallery full of strangers. How you behave there says a lot about what kind of partner you’ll be.
It’s their house
Someone at Love Affair had sat around a boardroom table in a “sky blue” meeting and dreamed up every part of it. There was an Elvis impersonator, a secret love letter station, custom cocktails, wine tasting, a silent auction, a live art auction, non-stop bits and bites of local culinary goodness, a photo booth, an art exhibit, a huge cake, and a DJ with a dance floor. So many picture-worthy moments, and every one of them was a decision someone made, probably while worrying whether anyone would show up or even notice it (I DID!!).
Being a good guest meant being part of it all. It meant writing a love letter, getting in the photo booth, and staying wayyyyy later than I thought my pregnant body could handle on a Friday night. It wasn’t about the event being “useful” to me. It was about showing the people who built it that their effort landed.
The gala wasn’t a partner’s event, but the same rule applies when it is. When a partner invites you to something, whether to attend, speak, or just support, you’re stepping into a room they built. They know the people in it, they’ve thought hard about the experience, and they’re nervous about whether it will go well. You’re not simply there to collect leads, hand out cards, or turn every conversation into your pitch. You’re there to make the room better.
The same goes for the panel. CoBSMEs built that room for their community, and I was lucky to be invited into it. My job wasn’t to promote Growclass. It was to be useful to the people in the room.
Show up like the guests we love
When I’m the one hosting, I notice what makes a room feel alive, and it’s rarely what’s on the run of show. It’s people sharing comments in the chat. It’s people taking part in every little activation we dreamed up. It’s guests appreciating the (extensive) charcuterie our team assembled for our Growclass homecoming, which was, frankly, our pièce de résistance.
Every one of those things tells the host, We see what you made, and it landed. So when I show up at someone else’s event, I try to be the kind of guest I love having at ours. Join in. Say something in the chat. Try the weird activation. Notice the effort, and say so.
Talk to people (yes, really)
At the gala, the whole point was talking to people. Without my usual crowd, I had two choices: hover near the art for way too long, or introduce myself to someone standing alone. (I did both. The art was excellent.)
And my biggest piece of advice? Be curious, not strategic. Most of the good things that have happened to me in this job, like partnerships, friendships, and opportunities, started with a conversation that wasn’t trying to be anything.
(That’s also what my friend at CoBSMEs was getting at. “Going to lots of events and being friends with people” sounds like a joke, but it’s a pretty good partnership strategy.)
If you’re the speaker, you’re still a guest
At Growclass, we strictly believe in no gatekeeping, and that doesn’t switch off when I’m a guest in someone else’s room.
At the CoBSMEs panel, someone asked a very specific question about how to build something that creates impact without being a nonprofit, which is a tension we know well. I could have given a polished, safe answer. Instead, I shared the honest truth, which is… you need to collaborate and be friends with people (obviously with much more strategy and detail that I don’t need to include here). Afterward, multiple people came up to thank me.
That’s what speaking at a partner’s event is for: not protecting your expertise, but being useful to the people in front of you. The most generous thing a guest with a microphone can do is answer the real question.
Same energy, different room
Yesterday, I spoke at a virtual Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan (WESK) event, and I showed up in their space the same way I show up in ours: with energy, camera on, and emojis out. I watched and read the chat, asked fun questions, and did what I could to make it feel safe for people to jump in.
Virtual rooms are easy to treat like a one-way broadcast. It takes a few people being slightly more enthusiastic than feels necessary to change that. So if you’re joining a partner’s virtual event, use the chat, the breakouts, and the “stay a few extra minutes” moments. It honestly means the world and, if you’re us, we talk about it extensively afterward with so much gratitude and love!
A tiny practice for this week
The next time you attend a partner’s event, do three small things:
- Say hi in the chat, or to someone nearby, before the session starts.
- Ask one question or share one thing that made you think.
- Send the host a message afterward with one specific thing you loved. (See, you’re already practicing lesson one.)
That’s it. You’ll be amazed how much it changes the room.
Until next time… waving,
Tal
