If your guest is greeted with a happy gesture, they are more likely to feel happy. Encourage other members of your group or office to greet these new people with a smile, as well.
You might say something like “Hi, my name is Rebekah and I’m the Treasurer of this organization. What’s your name?” Try to get to any newcomers as quickly as possible so they are not walking around aimlessly with no one to talk to.
You might say something like “So what’s your name?” and when they reply ask “How did you hear about our organization?”
Choose games that most people enjoy and that are quick and easy to play. Make sure any and all pamphlets that you have are up to date.
You can also tell them to reach out to you on social media.
Ensure that you have one concise website rather than multiple. The same goes for social media, as well.
If they are at your organization’s meeting, you might ask “So what brings you to us today? What are you hoping to gain from this experience?” If they are new to your office or friend group you could ask “What kinds of things are you interested in either professionally or personally?”
You might say something like “Hey Karen, I wanted to introduce you to Jorge. This is his first meeting. Jorge tells me that he’s an attorney, too. ”
You might say something like “Yeah, speaking of technology, Ada just showed me her new phone. It’s definitely one of the coolest I’ve seen. ”
Perhaps you want to do a fun icebreaker or play a card game.
Say something like “Mary, thank you so much for coming tonight. And thanks again for that fundraising idea. I would never have thought of that!”
A more formal way of collecting this information from newcomers is to do an assessment and have them fill it out. It can have questions like “On a scale of 1 to 10, how much did you enjoy tonight’s event?” Make these surveys confidential.
Don’t try to make them stay if they have decided to go. Don’t try to sign them up for anything that they are not interested in. Don’t make them talk, especially if they are shy.
