42. Gathering with Purpose: Dr Sarah McLusky on making events actually worth showing up for

View the full show notes, including a summary of practical tips on the Amplifying Research website: https://www.amplifyingresearch.com/podcast/42-sarah-mclusky 

 

Be honest: how many meetings, workshops, or conferences have you attended that felt like a waste of your time? Dr Sarah McLusky argues that most academic gatherings fail not because of bad content, but because no one stopped to ask why they were bringing people together in the first place.

Sarah is a research communicator, facilitator, and host of the Research Adjacent podcast — and she's spent years helping teams design gatherings that build trust, spark collaboration, and leave people feeling their time was genuinely well spent. In this episode, we unpack how to move beyond inherited templates and create in-person experiences that actually achieve what you need them to.

"What makes people turn up in the room on the day is the agenda, the talks, the subjects they're interested in — that's what gets people through the door. But actually what people remember afterwards, what they take away from it, is the people that they met." — Dr Sarah McLusky

Sarah brings extensive experience helping research teams, charities, and other organisations design meaningful in-person experiences — from stakeholder engagement workshops to patient involvement sessions to team away days. She's particularly passionate about creating spaces where different voices can genuinely be heard, and where power dynamics don't shut down the very contributions you're trying to invite.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone who organises meetings, runs workshops, or plans events — and suspects there might be a better way. Whether you're rethinking your team's regular catch-ups or planning a major stakeholder engagement session, Sarah offers practical wisdom on making gatherings that genuinely matter.

 

Find Sarah online:

• LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmclusky/

• Newsletter: Gathering with Purpose — https://sarahmclusky.com/gathering-with-purpose

• Research Adjacent podcast — https://researchadjacent.com/podcast/