“What I often share with people is that oftentimes at a party, we're doing things together, but separately. Like there's this story we tell ourselves like, "Oh, I'm United with everyone around me," but there's actually very little eye contact. There's very little touch. There's very little attention that we put on each other in these maladapted party environments. So yeah, creating more of that sense of unity and belonging and seeing each other is something that, yeah, I'm obsessed with. And that's why I have like a toolkit of hundreds of games and songs.” -Jacques W Martiquet

In this episode of Control the Room, I had the pleasure of speaking with Jacques W Martiquet about his time working as an International Facilitator who designs belonging experiences for people-first companies and unusual events.  He shares why it’s ironic that the more he learns about facilitation and human connection, the less he identifies with the word ‘party’.  Later, Jacques explains why his work as an EMT and obsession with public health, and specifically, the health benefits of human connection lead to his current career.  We then discuss a few of his favorite terms like ‘fun quotient and the ‘threshold of acceptability.   Listen in for inspiration on how to host your own events that put human connection first.