How comfortable would you feel if we asked you to walk into a crowded room and find someone to strike up conversation with?

Most of us can relate to feeling stressed by networking events where the focus is on meeting new people. A media that thrives on headlines that accentuate difference and division doesn’t help. Which is perhaps why we were so captivated by the themes discussed by Joe Keohane in his book, The Power of Strangers.

As more and more organisations concede hybrid working is an inevitable part of 2020s work life, how we spend our time when we are together becomes ever more crucial. We need gatherings that build connection, trust, goodwill and community. In this podcast conversation, Dom and Cat chat with Joe to find out what he learned as he researched his book and what we, as internal communicators, can learn about the benefits of creating connection with strangers.

Joe Keohane mini-biography

I’m a veteran journalist who has worked as an editor at Medium, Esquire, Entrepreneur, and Hemispheres, and the author of The Power f Strangers, and co-author of The Lemon, which we're currently developing for television. My writing—on everything from politics, to travel, to social science, business, and technology—has appeared in New York magazine, The Boston Globe, GQ, The New Yorker, Wired, Boston magazine, and The New Republic. Born in the Boston area, I currently reside in New York City with my wife and daughter.