6 tips to network like a pro at conferences
Networking can be a scary thing for many of us, but there are a few easy ways you can break those fears down and start to increase your LinkedIn following once and for all.
I’ve done 100s of events over my career, but this year, particularly due to the crypto conference circus, I have been prolific in events across the globe. Having met such a variety of people, and tried many different strategies to create great connections, I decided I should share some of the most effective ways to maximize events and conferences.
1. Use body language to your advantage
Body language is incredibly powerful, and there are two types I use in networking situations:
- Open
- Closed
Open is when your body isn’t directly facing a person, and you’re keeping space for another person to enter the conversation. This is useful if you want to bring others in, or don’t feel like talking too much with whoever you’re with. With this style, you’ll want to scout for other people walking around to bring into the conversation, so eye contact should be fluid.
Closed is when you want to engage deeply with the person(s) in front of you. Networking events are about mingling, and you are inevitably going to get people to come and join your conversation, as they should. But sometimes you’ll want to nurture a particular conversation. Closing your environment up can help you avoid those pesky minglers!
With this style, you’ll want to be focused and attentive to your opposite, so keep eye contact locked in (but avoid falling in love).
The open style presents more space and opportunity for others to enter, while the closed style does the opposite.
2. Have something passionate to talk about
You’re going to meet people there about a particular topic of industry, so besides being relevant, have something that you want to talk about ready to go. I’m passionate about the impact of Design and I’ll always have that in my back pocket.
This will be key to helping you captivate your audience. Your energy will be felt and it will keep people engrossed, instead of being another person that swung by. Trust me, you’ll meet hundreds of people that just swung by.
3. Get the reps in
Volume is everything when it comes to connecting with people. The more you do, the easier it becomes next time, and the more comfortable you get.
Embrace the fact that not all conversations will be great and memorable, but over time you’ll get better at filtering out less synergetic ones and become comfortable with moving on to other people. Try to speak to as many as you can at the beginning and then naturally you will pick up on things that worked or didn't, and what you should say or shouldn't.
4. Make notes
Here’s the thing about note-taking. Once you write something down, you can effectively forget about needing to store most of it in your brain, and instead, just re-read your notes when you need to. This drastically reduces cognitive load, increases important information retention, and just makes you so much more polished as a professional. Note-taking is one of the best skills one can have.
I used a Notion table (DM me for the template) with a template that was ready for whenever I wanted to make notes on someone noteworthy:
There’s no point going to events and networking if you’re not going to do anything with the connections after. So you need to store the important information from your conversations, which will make you more empathetic in them, and showcase you as being more empathetic after them when you…
5. Nurture the great connections
It’s important to have volume, but when you find a great vibe with someone you meet or a strong potential for working together then make sure to note down their personal details and follow up after.
At the end of the day, if we don’t act, nothing will change. So do something with your connections, and avoid point 3 biting you in the ass. I met with Uddhav from Friktion a few weeks after Consensus.
And remember…
Take the leap, because no one will remember you in 48h hours.
My friend Timothy Armoo inspired this from his perspective on public speaking. The idea is that when you do a presentation for the masses, people aren’t going to remember you forever.
This is even more true for networking events.
Leverage an abundance mindset to connecting to new people, most of them won’t matter if something doesn’t go to plan.
Sakky B
Co-founder, ZeroToDesign.com
