You spot him across the room and you know you just have to talk to him. Yet you’re paralyzed with fear and worse, can’t think of anything of value to say. Palms sweaty you take a deep breath, collect yourself and begin to make your way towards him. But when you look up, he’s already gone! Rife with disappointment, you contemplate another missed opportunity.
Yes…conferences can be stressful affairs, particularly for young professionals, inexperienced at networking. However, they can also be extremely valuable; not just for networking, but also for business development, learning new subject matters, participating in discussions with engaged individuals from various sectors and industries, and perhaps even making new friends. Below, FLiP offers eight tips for a successful and stress-free conference experience. And – dare I say it? – you might even have a good time.
Before you go…
1) Set a goal
Determine your objective for attending first: are you going to learn about a topic that particularly interests you? Meet a certain individual? Network with people from a particular industry? All of the above? Decide what you want to get out of the day and set goals accordingly. Be ambitious! Don’t just plan to give your business card out to ten people; instead, set your sights on having ten meaningful conversations with targeted individuals.
2) Know your audience
Most events will give you some sense of who will be attending; this could be as detailed as bios of everyone involved. Pour over the website or any pre-conference materials and, as part of your goal-setting exercise, figure out who you want to meet and why. You will get a lot more out of the day if you are prepared for who the crowd will be: for example, your strategy for interacting with development officers will be different from corporate grantmakers or corporate executives.
3) Dress the part
Young professionals are young by default – but many conference attendees and speakers are not. Fair or unfair, young professionals often face an additional hurdle: convincing people that you’re worth taking the time to talk to, even though you might be under 35. While you can’t overcome all biases, you can ensure that you look as professional as possible. Take care that your appearance reflects the type of person you want to portray: young, yes, but professional, motivated, and a person worth knowing.
While you’re there…
4) Break the ice
An acquaintance recently told me that if he arrives at a conference early (when people are mingling before sitting down), he pulls out his cell phone and pretends to talk to himself to avoid the inevitable awkwardness of that first conversation. This is something we’ve all done, but not something I would necessarily recommend. The first few minutes are always awkward – but remember that they are awkward for everyone, not just you. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there; take advantage of the fact that a conference is one of the few situations where it’s perfectly acceptable to go up to a perfect stranger and start a conversation. Some simple, but tried and true conversation starters: compliment the person (their shoes or their work), discuss the upcoming speech, or talk about the food. If you bomb, move on to the next person. Just don’t stand in the corner and talk to yourself.
5) Move beyond networking
It took me over a year to realize that networking is not a dirty word. It’s part of the nature of the conference environment that you will have totally forgettable conversations with many people. As I noted above, try to talk to as many people as possible. But I am also of the belief that having a few significant conversations is much better than partaking in lots of meaningless ones. Don’t be in a rush to leave a great conversation because you set a goal of giving out 30 business cards. The people who will remember you the next day will be the ones with whom you exchanged something beyond banalities. And those are the ones most likely to keep in touch.
6) Don’t focus only on speakers or panelists
On that note, everyone wants to have a meaningful conversation with the keynote speaker or the panelists – they are the rock stars of the day. But keep in mind that they are likely to meet ten times as many people as the average conference-goer – more often than not, your name and your card will get lost in the crowd. Instead of waiting in line to get in less than five words after they speak, try to talk to them later… or not at all! A follow up call or email that details specific questions about their talk, for example, will be much more likely to generate a response.
Afterwards…
7) Track who you meet
A critical step that is often forgotten is to write down information about everyone you meet as soon as you get back to the office. Keep a spreadsheet and update it as soon as possible after the conference. Include names, titles, contact information, as well as anything you might remember about your conversations. These little hints will come in handy when you follow up (see below) and it is always helpful to have a consolidated list in one place.
8) Follow up with something meaningful
Following up with the people you meet at the conference is a given – but how you follow up is not always so clear. Email is common, quick and easy, but don’t underestimate the power of a handwritten note. Regardless of your communication vehicle, it’s the content that really matters. Make sure there is something in your follow up that will encourage the recipient to get back to you: a question about them, their work or their speech, or an offer of lunch (include an actual date – say, “would you be free to have lunch next Thursday?” not “we should have lunch some time!”). Include or attach an article that was related to something you talked about with them, and ask their opinion. Many cards will just be added to a pile and discarded – make sure yours isn’t one of them!
This post comes at such a great time - I am a few days past one event so I'm going to try #8 this afternoon, and just a day from another event so I'll aim for #4 and #5. I think I actually implement additional aspects of this 'working the room' idea every time I have an event to attend. Practice makes perfect, right? Thanks, Alisha!
Posted by: Katrice | October 16, 2006 at 03:28 PM
#3 in particular speaks to me because I'm always so aware of how young I am in comparison to others that I meet in conferences. I've always been a little bit self-conscious about it and that's usually what will stop me from trying to engage in conversation with people. I'm keeping your advice in mind, Alisha. Thanks!
Posted by: Divine | October 16, 2006 at 10:53 PM
Wow! I just came across your site. Great stuff!
Posted by: Guy-Renaud Kirouac | October 20, 2006 at 11:05 PM