zlacker

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+(OP)
Start by making eye contact and saying Hi. Then if they’re receptive ask some innocuous questions like “why did you come here” or “what did you think of this talk.”

>>Yizahi+(OP)
> 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+t1
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.

>>throwa+L
I'll go with a "what brought you here".

I find this is the basic of networking hack. And this is what most people do. Say "hi" and ask their opinion or their story.

Or you can offer your opinion "I found that new technique very interesting". "I didn't understand why that's better than X".

Or if you're super focused on something specific go for that. You're looking for a job, a client, an employee, ask for that directly. "Hi, I really enjoyed the talk and I'm looking for a job in the area. Are you working on something similar?".

>>Yizahi+(OP)
My experience: Skip most of the talks (maybe only 1-2 per day). Spend time drinking coffee and bumping into random strangers. Then spend more time with people you found nice/interesting.

>>Yizahi+E6
> 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.

>>Yizahi+(OP)
> Has anyone actually experienced this mythical "networking at the conference"?

Yes, but for me It Depends. I'm not great at starting up conversations with people I don't already know, and it makes me uncomfortable. So whether or not I'm at a conference specific to my (fairly niche) field or not makes a huge difference. If I am, I tend to socialize quite a bit as I know a bunch of people even if a bit tangentially. But when I'm at a more standard software conference I tend to keep to myself and utilize "the hallway track" a lot less.

>>Yizahi+(OP)
Yes absolutely, but the trick is that you don't go to all the talks. Every con I've ever gone to has had official and unofficial networking events and I've learned far, far more from talking to people there than I've learned going to talks that I'm only kinda interested in and will be published later

>>daanlo+ib
This is the way. Conference corridors are way more interesting than the talks themselves. Usually. If there are zero interesting talks, then it’s a bad conference, and likely the people there are less interesting.

>>Yizahi+(OP)
Being present at the conference is the base point of conversation.

But if you’re running out of “how to get to know someone” topics, that’s more generally stuff like.. well, my reply converts to nested conference talk outline here, and so:

  - invent a question
  - about something cool
    - cool to you is fine
    - as long as it’s relevant
      - the conference is relevant
      - so are tangents from it
      - sometimes the venue too
  - or about them
    - ask what’s cool to them
    - about the conference
    - or tangentially about it
    - or the venue architecture
  - ask for more details
    - or be quiet and sip coffee
    - quiet isn’t always an end
    - it’s restful
  - mirror how long your answers are
    - the spice must flow
    - don’t drown them in it
    - add 10% to be extroverted
    - subtract 50% to be introverted
  - you can be plainly trying here
    - you don’t need to disguise it
    - being obvious can be encouraging
    - being obvious isn’t bad
    - subtlety is not mandatory
  - tell them you appreciated the chat
    - unless you totally hated it
    - it costs nothing to be nice
    - say it plainly
      - it was nice to chat
      - i appreciate what you said
      - glad to meet you
      - have fun at the conference

>>Yizahi+(OP)
Just got back from KubeCon Amsterdam, I did quite a bit of networking. Most of it happens at after hours events, I also went out to a bar with another group I met.