The gist: Most events are terrible for introverts. These insights will help you create better events for introverts or choose better events to attend if you are one.

For five years, I had the privilege to be behind, in front of, on top of, underneath and around the scene of The World Domination Summit. Our small core team watched the event blossom from just a seed of imagination to an event for over 3,000 people.

During my tenure, I was regularly amazed by the people I worked with. More though, I was amazed by who showed up year after year: introverts. My inside joke is that I loved planning WDS but I wouldn’t attend because I’m too introverted.

Really, though, I would attend WDS. It’s one of the only events I would go to—whether 100 people or 10,000.

We were far from perfect, but something we got right from the beginning, and have got right all along, is making an event where introverts feel at home.

I’m proud of that because many events do an extraordinarily poor job creating a comfortable environment for people like me. They assume we don’t want to go to events or that there’s nothing they can do for us. Both assumptions are, of course, wrong.

WDS is a haven for introverts and extroverts alike, and that’s not by accident. I sat down recently to think about decisions we made over the years that have created that welcoming environment. There were a few key decisions and actions that helped cultivate it.

My goal sharing this today is twofold:

1. I hope it equips others creating events—from dinner parties to conferences—with some tools to make their events better for the 50% of the world they may be underserving.
2. I hope it helps introverts like me—who enjoy big events but are easily overwhelmed by them—pick better ones to attend.