As Cannes Lions once again prepares to welcome thousands of marketers, media executives and creatives to the Croisette, much of the conversation will focus on networking, visibility and influence. But according to motivational speaker and bestselling author Seb Terry, many attendees may be approaching those goals in entirely the wrong way.
Terry, who will be appearing at New Digital Age’s Panel Power event in Cannes, has built a global reputation around helping people find greater purpose, meaning and connection. His journey began after the death of a close friend prompted him to create a bucket list and radically reassess his priorities. Since then, his experiences, which have included marrying a stranger in Las Vegas and helping deliver a stranger’s baby, have inspired audiences around the world and formed the basis of his work on human connection and personal growth.
While Terry is quick to point out that he is not a marketing industry insider, many of the principles that have shaped his life have direct relevance to Cannes and the increasingly relationship-driven nature of modern business.
For Terry, one of the biggest mistakes people make at industry events is confusing visibility with genuine presence.
“Being present and genuinely curious” is what people respond to most, he says. In an age where many professional interactions can feel transactional, particularly in networking-heavy environments, he believes there is enormous value in simply giving someone your full attention.
Drawing on his experience as an Australian living in Los Angeles, Terry notes that it is often obvious when conversations are being treated as stepping stones to something else.
“You can see when people are looking over your shoulders,” he says.
Instead, he advocates approaching conversations with a genuine desire to learn rather than simply extract value. In his view, the ability to be fully present has become something of a rare commodity and one that people increasingly appreciate.
That philosophy also extends to the way people think about career progression and professional influence.
For years, Cannes was often viewed through the lens of proximity to power. Success was associated with exclusive parties, high-profile panels and photographic evidence that you had been in the right places with the right people.
Terry believes a more valuable question is not what attendees can gain from an event, but what they can contribute.
“Contribution is always an important thing for people to take into account,” he says. “As opposed to what can I take, I think it’s what can I give?”
Whether that contribution comes in the form of expertise, introductions, support or simply being fully engaged in a conversation, Terry believes it creates a more meaningful and memorable impact than any carefully curated personal brand.
His perspective is particularly interesting at a time when traditional markers of authority are becoming less influential. Senior job titles alone no longer guarantee attention or respect. Instead, authenticity and openness are increasingly valued.
Terry challenges the very idea that some people are inherently more “worth talking to” than others.
“We’re all humans,” he says. “There happens to be a lot of money and a lot of potential business to be done together. But everyone is worthy of a conversation.”
That mindset has shaped his own experiences at events around the world. While many attendees arrive with highly structured meeting schedules and specific targets, Terry believes there is equal value in remaining open to unexpected opportunities.
Some of the most important relationships in his career have emerged not from formal meetings, but from chance encounters and spontaneous conversations.
“It’s everything that happens in between,” he says, referring to the moments outside official programming.
According to Terry, meaningful networking is less about volume and more about quality. Rather than measuring success by the number of business cards collected or meetings completed, he encourages people to focus on the quality of the interactions they have.
Showing up fully in each moment, he argues, creates the conditions for authentic relationships to develop naturally.
That long-term perspective is something Terry has seen play out repeatedly throughout his own career.
As Cannes fills social feeds with selfies, hot takes and endless LinkedIn updates, Terry also warns against becoming distracted by comparison and fear of missing out.
Large industry events can create pressure to attend every gathering, meet every important person and maximise every moment. Terry believes that approach can be counterproductive.
Instead, he encourages people to pay attention to their own energy and focus on the experiences, conversations and opportunities that genuinely resonate with them.
For Terry, success comes from balancing intention with openness. Having a goal matters, but so does being willing to embrace unexpected opportunities along the way.
It is a philosophy that has guided his own remarkable journey and one that may prove particularly valuable for anyone heading to Cannes this year. In a festival built around connections, Terry’s message is refreshingly simple: the most meaningful opportunities often arise when people stop trying so hard to create them.
To register for the Cannes panel, click here.
