Come early. Stay later. Experience it all.
Make the most of your Connect IRL experience by coming before or staying after the featured event. Grab a drink or snack at the bar. Participate in engagement activities curated to the evening's theme. Take a moment or two and connect with a stranger at our Conversation Station.
Main Stage Event
Hear from leading thinkers and writers on the value of social connection and community.
Engagement Activities
Put connection into action with activities and workshops that explore the evening's theme in fun and interactive ways.
Conversation Station
Take a seat and share a moment or two with a stranger. Guided prompts are available to use for the conversation.
Follow your interests, not your feed.
Connect IRL for a series of events, workshops and activities where people become your best recommendations.
The Experience
Event
Say Hello to Connecting ft. Nicholas Epley|Gillian Sandstrom
This evening will explore "the liking gap" - the idea that strangers would like us more than we think if we tried to connect.
Main Stage Event: Explore the science behind the “liking gap” and discover how simple conversations with strangers can build connection, boost well-being, and enrich everyday life.
Engagement Workshop: A playful, no-pressure social experiment that will help you discover how easy and rewarding it can be to connect with new people.
Conversation Station: Step into a transit-inspired setting where prompts help spark conversations with strangers.
Event
Friendships and other Complexities ft. Roger Berkowitz
This evening will explore the challenge of staying connected across our differences, through the friendships of Hannah Arendt.
Main Stage Event: Explore how friendships across differences can strengthen community, and what it takes to stay in meaningful dialogue with people whose views challenge our own.
Engagement Workshop: Discover how well you know your friends or partner in a fun challenge that celebrates friendship and connection.
Conversation Station: Discuss the friendships that have shaped your life through conversations about connection and disagreement.
Event
The Connection-Oriented Leader ft. Jody Wilson-Raybould
Spend an evening rethinking what leadership looks like when it's built on connection instead of hierarchy.
Main Stage Event: Explore how leaders can foster connection, navigate disagreement and build unity without sacrificing diversity in workplaces and communities.
Engagement Activity: This will be announced at a later date.
Conversation Station: Explore what helps us stay connected across differences through meaningful conversations with strangers.
Choir! Choir! Choir!
This evening will explore the “the liking gap” – the idea that strangers would like us more than we think if we tried to connect.
Main Stage Event: Explore the science behind the “liking gap” and discover how simple conversations with strangers can build connection, boost well-being, and enrich everyday life.
Engagement Workshop: This workshop will be announced at a later date.
Conversation Station: Step into a transit-inspired setting where prompts help spark conversations with strangers.
A recording of this event will be available soon.
Robert Coplan
Spend an evening rethinking time alone in a room full of other people, as we explore the theme of “good solitude” and how alone time makes togetherness possible.
Main Stage Event: Explore how healthy solitude differs from loneliness and why intentional alone time can strengthen well-being and connection with others.
Engagement Workshop: Create and illustrate a postcard for someone you've been meaning to reconnect with.
Conversation Station: Connect with a stranger in a low-sensory space designed for meaningful conversation.
A recording of this event will be available soon.
Mark your calendars and reserve your free tickets on Eventbrite.
Advance ticket reservations are required for the events and workshops, and seating is limited. Tickets are available on TPL's Eventbrite channel. Please don't print your tickets. We're trying to reduce paper waste for events, so we will either scan your ticket on your smartphone or quickly find your name on our tablets and check you in.
Go Beyond Connect IRL
Carefully curated books and videos to help you dive deeper into the importance of connection.
