Conference Survival Skills, Tips for your next event. [guest blog]

Maybe conferences are a little overwhelming for you? Here are some Conference Survival Skills or tips we found useful for those who feel this way. We are passing these along after finding them at Business Management Daily’s web site (link below). Please enjoy and let us know what you enjoy the most or what holds you back from attending conferences? What are YOUR Conference Survival Skills?

Tips On Surviving Professional Conferences

by ADMINISTRATIVE PROFESSIONAL TODAY on JULY 23, 2013 9:00AM

Business people, networking, business conferences: Some people love them, but others find them stressful, intimidating and overwhelming. If you’re in the latter group, writer and Editor Sarah Todd has tips to help you out.

Accept awkward interactions. In large networking situations, it’s not unusual for people to walk away abruptly in the middle of a conversation. That can sting, but you shouldn’t take it personally. “Sometimes I’d try heading off a prospective ditching by being the first one to bounce,” Todd writes, “and I also tried wildly inviting more people I didn’t know to join the conversation in order to keep the pressure off me in one-on-one scenarios. All these options went … weirdly, but that was fine!”

Dress to impress. People are looking at you everywhere you go and paying particular attention to the area where your nametag is hanging. They want to know who you are and if they want to talk to you. It’s your job to make a good impression and not place anything inappropriate such as excessive cleavage right next to the name tag.

Prepare an elevator pitch in advance. Each time you meet someone new at a conference, they will want to know a little bit about you. This can be tough, but it helps if you prepare something to say. Just a little story about yourself, what you’ve done and what you’re doing is all you need.

Connect for coolness, not career climbing. You’ll be much happier and more comfortable if you just focus on connecting with people who seem cool instead of worrying about which of your fellow attendees can do the most to help your career. “Since people who I like and admire usually do things that I think are cool too, I don’t see how this ap­­proach could possibly hurt, professional development-wise,” Todd writes.

Take a break from time to time. It’s hard to be “on” nonstop for the entire duration of a conference— even a short one—so don’t be afraid to step out of the fray for a break every once in a while. You can step outside to text your friends, go get some coffee or just hang out away from the crowd. “Also, it turns out that sometimes when you’re just sitting by yourself, people will actually approach you,” Todd writes.

Don’t worry, everyone feels judged. You’re not alone in feeling like you’re being watched and judged. The truth is you are, but not as much as you fear. Besides, it doesn’t matter, so just relax.

— Adapted from “Conference Survival Skills,” Sarah Todd, The Billfold.

This information is proudly provided by Business Management Daily.com:http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/35738/tips-on-surviving-professional-conferences