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10 Ways To Make Your Next Conference Better
Before your next conference, consider these 10 simple things:
- Scour the web (technorati and Google Blogsearch) to see who’s coming, and reach out to people you want to see.
- Schedule meetings with people on day 1, as soon as you can, because time runs out.
- Drink more water than you normally do, and wear VERY comfortable shoes.
- Pack business cards. Tons of them. But get theirs, because then YOU can ensure a reply.
- Have a really simple, brief sentence to answer: “What do you do?” “What are you working on these days?” “What brings you to the conference?”
- Blog a VERY RECENT photo of yourself so that people know who they’re going to meet.
- Check Upcoming for related events and parties. Attend a few.
- Take some pictures of you and some folks you meet. Post them with links to the people, if you can find such.
- Never assume people are better than you, or that you’re somehow not good enough or important. You are. And if people don’t know you yet, go in like they know you reasonably well anyway.
- Don’t hide behind your laptop, BlackBerry, camera. Step out and be brave a few times. It WILL pay off.
Would you be willing to add YOUR advice to the comments? I know you’ve already thought of something I’m forgetting on this list. Help us out, okay?
