zlacker

>>Berisl+(OP)
Has anyone actually experienced this mythical "networking at the conference"? Like, how do you even do it? A talk ends and everyone have a short break before the next one starts. Presenter is immediately surrounded by 5-10 people half whom are his/her friends, half are asking about merch, and half are are the most extroverted people in the room who probably can bruteforce this networking stuff. Others are vaguely drifting around the room and trip over chairs, drinking water and talking to their friends who came together in a group. Who do you even talk to there? About what? It's like a dating site except with no bio details altogether, meaning there is no base point to start a conversation. And if you do randomly engage in a conversation with a complete stranger it's inevitably goes like this - ask each other about general profession, then more specific question about your industry, then name of your corporation, then awkward silence...

>>Yizahi+GK
> how do you even do it?

Some exhibit/booth areas are staffed by knowledgeable people who are happy to answer questions, chat and/or listen to ideas for using or improving their products.

> no base point to start a conversation

How about the topic of the talk?

If you ask a question during Q&A, others may be interested and approach you to follow up.

> like a dating site except with no bio

Conference speakers typically have public bios and photos, which helps with hallway recognition. Those who are open to talking can often be found in a small group, which can be joined via topical comment/question.

>>walter+9M
Booths/exhibits are a good option if a conference has them, but it's closer to an exhibition/expo than to a conference. They then act like a crystallization centers where people can gather in smaller groups and ask questions about the booth or tech being presented, about company, recruiting etc. It's like a small and short conference all to yourself or a very small group. That indeed works somewhat.

But usually such very big shows happen somewhere in the USA/UK/west Europe etc. And pricey. What I've seen in my country were usually a conferences structured like a series of talks with breaks. If conference is big then 2 or 3 treks in parallel in different room. In this case there is only one point of interest - the presenter, and maybe one or two previous or next presenters. It's not a problem to recognize presenter, a problem is talk to him/her longer than a single carefully prepared question and answer, because there are like 20 other people around all trying to talk to him/her.

>>Yizahi+kR
> a problem is talk to him/her longer than a single carefully prepared question and answer, because there are like 20 other people around all trying to talk to him/her

If enough people want to talk to a presenter, the conversation usually moves outside the presentation room to allow more time. It is worth listening carefully to the questions of others in the queue, since you may meet someone with a question close to your interests.

Limited time is a challenge, but it's also good practice for developing a short pitch about a question or topic. If successful, the goal should be to exchange contact info with the presenter, for a longer discussion at the same conference.