I love everything Kat Vellos does, but in particular her posts on “Alternatives to How Are You” was really helpful in setting up meaningful ways for people to connect in group settings. https://weshouldgettogether.com/blog/how-are-you-alternatives
I printed relevant questions from her list (and others we made up, like if you could change one thing about your role what would it be?” or “you have a magic wand - make one improvement to your collaboration technology!“, laminated them, and handed a few out to each attendee when they walked in.
The cards also had a link to that post and Kat’s social handles on the back.
I got great feedback that they helped people feel more comfortable approaching strangers, and really cut down on awkward small talk because you can jump to meaningful topics immediately.
