Mindful Connections combines meditation, metacognition, and active listening for centered, purposeful networking. Guided meditation with singing bowls promotes relaxation and focus, followed by metacognitive and active listening exercises to enhance one’s learning of conference takeaways and build genuine connections with attendees. Participants leave refreshed, centered, and with new connections!

Conferences provide an exciting and valuable opportunity to reflect on key takeaways with other participants and form meaningful connections and a community of practice through networking. However, in the hustle, bustle, and excitement of the conference environment, it can be challenging to slow down, reflect, and foster grounded, purposeful connections with others. Mindful Connections addresses this challenge by drawing from meditation and active listening practices for a more centered, purposeful networking approach. The session begins with a guided meditation from an experienced meditation facilitator and instructional designer that is designed to help attendees reflect and relax after the other sessions. This meditation includes the soothing sounds of singing bowls, which encourage renewed concentration and a peaceful mindset. Participants are then led through a brief metacognitive exercise intended to help them reflect on their conference experiences, including key takeaways from other sessions and insights learned. Metacognition, is “planning, monitoring, and assessing personal awareness and understanding cognition and thought processes” (Lumpkin 2020). Metacognition helps one comprehend, retain, and apply what they learned (Hartman 1998). This exercise is designed to help participants more effectively integrate the insights from previous sessions, in a state of enhanced relaxation. Following these reflections, participants are guided through an active listening and networking exercise that begins with the simple question, “What is on your mind?” The exercise is based on research about active listening. One attendee goes through several rounds of answering the question while another attendee listens; then they switch who is the designated listener and who is the designated speaker. Then, they move into freeform conversation and reflect on the insights gleaned from the exercise. While traditional networking methods often start with surface-level introductions and encourage immediate responses (a “what can you do for me, what can I do for you, let’s identify it right away and move on” approach) this active listening exercise encourages deeper connection based on listening, reflecting, and shared insights. Sometimes when networking, people aren’t sure how to begin, but beginning from the same prompt and having material to reflect on from the metacognitive exercise creates a shared starting point for meaningful reflection - whether it is key takeaways from the conference sessions, or something else. Furthermore, the structured active listening and reflecting helps create genuine connections rather than putting pressure on the immediate response in a conversation. After relaxing and refreshing from the guided meditation and metacognitive activities, this portion of the session is a space for genuine and meaningful interactions - a grounded moment during the hustle and bustle of the conference space, and purposeful time and space to reflect, connect with others, and integrate conference takeaways. It is highly interactive, with participants sharing their insights in small groups/with a partner. Participants will walk away with a sense of relaxation, renewed energy and focus, cemented learning from previous conference sessions, and meaningful connections with other conference attendees. The room needs to have chairs set up in rows or at small tables. No other materials or previous experience with meditation, metacognition, or active listening is needed. References: Hartman, H. J. (1998). Metacognition in teaching and learning: An introduction. Instructional Science, 26(1/2), 1–3. Lumpkin, A. (2020). Metacognition and its Contribution to Student Learning Introduction. College Student Journal, 54(1), 1-7.