Closing Keynote Speaker at Supernode 2023

Last updated: March 27, 2024

Early February 2023, I received an email from one of the thousands of people who attended one of my events, Sean, and invited me to speak for the conference that he’s running called Supernode.

They hired me because they need help in setting the stage for a fun casual conference by sharing some advice for “working a room” and being a great “party guest.” During a conference, attendees are about to hear a bunch of business-y talks and I helped them remind the attendees that Supernode is all about the PEOPLE and making connections.

They did a post-attendee survey and I was one of their favorite speakers!

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For booking, email to [email protected] or call/text me at +1-917-635-9967.

Keep reading for information about me, topics of discussion, sample event information, agenda, photos, and more.

Topics of Discussion

Here are three main topics that I can speak about:

  1. A Step-By-Step Guide on Hosting Events: An organized framework tailored for your members to utilize for office gatherings or casual social meetups.
  2. Building Significant Connections: Strategies for establishing meaningful relationships and engaging with new individuals in an intriguing manner.
  3. Tales of Entrepreneurial Triumph: Personal accounts of challenges faced and lessons learned in the journey of nurturing two multi-million dollar enterprises.

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They gave me 30 mins to do my presentation before the lightning talks.

I did a slideshow presentation and facilitated lightning talks. This helps the attendees to pick one or two people that they found interesting after sharing a quick introduction about themselves and build connections

About Nick Gray (that’s me!)

Read these 4 interesting things about me:

  1. I’ve founded and successfully exited two ventures, Museum Hack and Flight Displays Systems. For more details on my entrepreneurial journey, feel free to explore this section on my website.
  2. I wrote a book called The 2-Hour Cocktail Party, a guide that teaches people how to host their own events. My book was chosen as an Editor’s Pick by Publishers Weekly as part of their BookLife program and got a Kirkus Star.
  3. I coach business owners on cultivating genuine connections and networking in an authentic manner.
  4. I have a dynamic presentation style. I seamlessly blend the informative nature of a workshop with the lively atmosphere of a happy hour.

Crossbeam’s Supernode Conference

This was a fun conference and it was an honor to talk to them about networking. One of the most surprising things for me was that my books were taken within 45 seconds from the whole conference. They had purchased about 80 copies of my book and literally before I could even get back there, they were all swooped up by the audience. That must mean that I was doing something right!

Through my speech, I was able to talk about networking, hosting events, and do some live demonstrations on how it works. The rewarding part for me was seeing the new connections and relationships happening at the happy hour later that night.

Watch the full behind-the-scene video I filmed here:

Lightning Talks

This was the first time that I had worked in collaboration with someone who was taking live notes on the screen.

In this instance, Supernode host genius, Sean Blanda, was on the laptop and live transcribing each of the participants. Why this worked well was that he knew their names and names of companies and the buzzwords that they were each using.

This was hugely successful, I believe, and helped many people create some new connections for networking.

Activities and Interactive Discussions

My objective is to encourage the attendees to strike up conversations with individuals they haven’t yet connected with.

After my presentation, I did the lightning talks. I emailed a bunch of people who signed up as an attendee for the after-lunch networking session the night before.

I asked if they were up to speak on stage to introduce themselves and what their business is.

Sean Blanda from Crossbeam asked me to address their attendees. The main goal was for me to facilitate connections between their attendees and people they wouldn’t often interact with.

Testimonials

“More direct networking like Nick Gray facilitated (not knowing WHO to talk to was a challenge until that activity!)

Conclusion

Thank you to the Supernode team for inviting me to be your closing keynote speaker.

It was an honor to mix and mingle and network with everyone.

More Speaking Experience

I’ve been the keynote speaker at several other conferences and events, including:

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