Traditional networking events have a problem: everyone knows the drill, and it usually kills the conversation before it starts. Name badges, business cards, a room full of people quietly working out who’s worth talking to. It’s transactional by design, and that’s exactly why it so often falls flat.
Fintech Wales already do networking differently. Their monthly events have always had a different feel to the usual circuit – less performative, more genuine connection between members. So when we suggested taking that a step further and moving it outdoors, they didn’t need much convincing. It was a natural next step for a network already built on real relationships, not just business cards.
We took the group out of the room entirely, and up a mountain.
What is Netwalking?
Netwalking is networking without the barriers. Instead of standing around a room performing small talk, the group walks together…outdoors, at a natural pace, with no agenda forcing the conversation. Strip away the formality of a typical networking event, and something interesting happens: people relax, guards come down, and the conversations that follow are simply better.
How the day unfolded
The Fintech Wales group joined us in the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) for a morning that started, sensibly, with coffee and bacon butties, with a view over the Swansea Valley to go with it. No standing around with a coffee cup as a prop; people were already talking.
From there, our Senior Leadership Coach, Lynda Campbell, took the group through some early findings from Call of the Wild’s latest research into what different generations actually want from their workplaces and leaders. It’s a topic that tends to divide opinion, everyone has a theory about “the generations”, and it sparked exactly the kind of debate we’d hoped for.
That conversation didn’t stay in the room. As the group set off up Cribarth Mountain, people kept talking…discussing points from the session, comparing notes on their own teams, picking up threads they might never have raised over a formal coffee break. By the time we reached the top, the “networking” part of the morning had long since stopped feeling like networking at all.
Why a Netwalk beats a traditional networking event
A few things make the difference:
- No performance, just conversation. Walking side by side removes the eye-contact pressure of a standing conversation, so people talk more naturally and for longer.
- Shared experience builds trust faster. A shared view, a steep bit of path, a shared joke about the weather – small moments that traditional networking simply doesn’t offer (it’s been great seeing everyone who joined us connect on LinkedIn and continuing their conversations!).
- Content sparks conversation, rather than interrupting it. Starting the morning with real research findings gave people something substantial to talk about… not just “so, what do you do?”
- People remember it. A glorious morning on the mountain is memorable in a way that a hotel conference room rarely is.
Fancy a Netwalk of your own?
We’re always keen to talk to organisations curious about the research behind the day, or interested in running their own Netwalk. Get in touch – we’d love to get your team out on the hills.
Call us: 01639 700 388
Email us: info@callofthewild.co.uk
Call of the Wild are experiential leadership and team development specialists based in the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons), Wales.