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[annmarie]

Here goes.  My biggest LIFELONG problem is that I am terrible at networking.  I am NOW working at small campus because ....

Anyway, I am going to a small conference (in a STEM field I love) this summer, and I could use some tips on how to best network with others there.

Yes, the conference is very small.  All presentations will be in the same room and by invited speakers.  People like me might be presenting posters but I did not submit an abstract on time. 

Thanks.  Annmarie

[a_i_k]

I can sympathise with this feeling: I am socially awkward myself, and I think the same applies to many of the academics you will meet at conferences.

The point to remember is that a conference is one of the few social situations where it is perfectly appropriate, even expected, to initiate conversation with total strangers. You could talk about the papers they presented, discuss how the points they raised resonate with your own work, ask about their research plans... You can then move on to non-work topics if it seems appropriate.

Other than that, it's always a good idea to stay in the conference hotel. You can strike up conversations with people during breakfast, or on the way to the conference venue ('Aren't you presenting a paper on...?' 'What do you think of the conference so far?').

Also, remember to carry business cards with you, and if the people you meet don't have cards to offer in return, do make a record of who they are and how they can be contacted. Not only does this help with recollection, but it also signals committment to follow up on your new contacts. A follow-up email a few days after the conference is also a nice gesture, although given the amount of messages that pile up while we are away, you shouldn't be suprised or hurt if you don't get a response.

[carebearstare]

I have been told on many occasions that I am good at networking. Here is what I do:

1. Check out in advance who will be in attendance, and plan your schedule accordingly. I sometimes send emails in advance of the conference to people I would like to be able to connect with, but I usually only do this if I've at least met the person (in person or via email) before. I try to set up coffee with people I especially want to chat to.

2. I attend the papers of the people whose work interests me and am sure to ask a question during their panel if I have one. I usually approach the person at the end of the panel to introduce myself, give them my card and get theirs, or chat more about my question.

3. I also try to introduce myself to people in less formal settings--the person who sits next to you during a talk, someone in a line getting coffee. Remember, most people who are standing alone would prefer it if someone were talking to them, and since most people are professors you always have something to talk about--research, teaching, the conference. A simple "how is your conference going" often is enough to get a conversation started.

4. Attend the receptions. Most of the best connections I've made have actually come from informal socializing outside of presentations. But you have to go to make these connections. Resist the temptation to go back to your room.

5. After the conference, I email everyone who I made a connection with--this may not be everyone I met, but if I had a substantive discussion, I follow up. Oftentimes, it's enough to just ask for a formal copy of the paper delivered.

At some conferences, I have made a "conference buddy"--someone else who looks nice and seems alone. I usually ask this person to lunch on the first day, and then it gives us both someone to hang out with. This can be a good thing to do if you struggle with introducing yourself to lots of people.

Because I have been networking, I now have a lot of fun at conferences catching up with people I know.

[marlborough]

This is all great advice--the first conference really is the bummer, but once you know one person, it leads into more and more contacts.  The emailing before, the notes sent afterwards, all of that helps a lot.  My best conference networking trick is to wear some doo-dad that is connected to my field and which provokes small talk--a lot of academic have ties, or pins, or funny T-shirt that make it really easy, and you can spark a conversation about asking other people about theirs.  Museum gift shops are particularly rich veins of these things.

I wear a big House of Orange decoration as a brooch, which is a kind of in-joke for my research and never fails to lead to interesting conversation.

[compdoc]

These are good ideas. I have trouble networking as well. I'm going to think of it (since it is) as part of my job and see if I can improve on what I have been doing.

This thread reminded me of a note I meant to write after the conference in May, but I have misplaced the woman's card. Dang it.

Another reason to think about these things ahead of time (review this thread) and then immediately upon return. That's a good goal, I think.

[systeme_d_]

I am the Queen of Schmooze.  Some hints:

1) Compliment people.  On their work, on their hat, whatever.  But only if your compliment is genuine.
2) Make connections between people.  This can include introducing X to Y, or asking a friend to introduce you to another person.  If you've noticed that A teaches at University B in the Dept. of C, and you know someone in that department, introduce yourself, naming that connection.  You can do research beforehand, as CBS noted.  It's lovely to set up a planned coffee meeting with folks to whom you'd like to introduce yourself.  Also, always introduce new/young/unconnected folks to established/older/connected folks you know.  It is a gift to all concerned.  And if you don't know a new/unconnected person, introduce yourself and ask where they're from.
3) Always have a second thing ready to say, or a second topic of potential mutual interest.  For example, if the recipient of your compliment/inquiry is shy, s/he may not make continuing conversation easy for you.  So make that your job.
4) Recognize disinterest/preoccupation/sheer cussedness, and depart quickly, but courteously and pleasantly.

[marlborough]

I've just returned from a conference where I aggressively introduced two of my graduating students to just about everyone I have ever met--it was kind of awesome to see what ten years of this strategy of networking really does when you need it to pay off. 

Years ago, I was on a Sunday morning conference slot and channeled my anger at the low attendance into notes to the four people who DID show up--at the next conference, we had dinner, and one of them just took on one of my kids as a grad student.  A flailing guy I threw a softball question to many cycles ago now makes sure we have coffee at the big national meeting.  Someone whose student I chaired a panel for buys me a drink at the reception.  It is a six degrees of separation (or less) world, so play nice and not only is it good karma, it has tangible benefits. And like I told the kids I had in tow, the weird little archive rat you include in a group dinner invitation could very well be the head of a grant committee or sitting on a letter you need someday.

[carebearstare]

Yes to what Systeme_D and Marlborough say about connections. I love introducing people I know to one another if I think they will have something to say to one another. Pay it forward, so they say.

One other thing I thought of is to be sure to send emails after the conference to people you had hoped you'd meet but didn't. I recently attended a very large conference, and there were so many concurrent panels that I had trouble attending all the papers I wanted to hear. But a quick introduction and expression of interest at a person's paper works wonders, especially if you actually read it and send them a note about it (and, perhaps, suggest connecting at the next conference or collaborating in the future, if it's appropriate).

[merinoblue]

This thread should be mandatory reading for every grad student and junior scholar.  There's great advice here.

I like System-D's tips (I'll now have to call you the Queen of Schmooze!). I'd add one element that I'm sure she does with panache, without even thinking about it, but isn't always obvious when you're nervous or shy: be enthusiastic. (You can roll this into the compliment). It's hard to turn down meeting a stranger with a big smile on their face, lots of energy in their body, and just a great level of enthusiasm about meeting you and talking about your work. There's a funny thing about role-playing enthusiasm with your body language and energy, even if you feel like you just crawled off an oxygen-starved airplane cabin and haven't slept in 2 days: it feeds your demeanour. Soon enough, the other person has caught your enthusiasm, and you're getting some of that energy back.

I just thought of another: along with being complimentary, try to put people at ease. Remember that they're often just as jet-lagged/shy/out of it as you are. Using humour or playfulness can break the ice and put the other person at ease. This has an unanticipated benefit: by making it your task to put the other person at ease (in a warm, big-spirited way, not in a schlumpy way), you forget about yourself and your nerves. It's like a people-puzzle. Think: "How can I make this person laugh or grin?"

[annmarie]

Thank you for all the replies and hints.  The date is getting closer.  While I am nervous I will try to remember that people are people and respond to pleasantries, complements, etc.   I also read their work.

[ssdavid]

Thanks for this thread. I myself are also awkward at networking, especially I am Asian and my first language is not English. It's always nervous for me to attend international conferences.

I tended to act alone or stay at corners before. But recently I just came back from an international conference and made some progress. I asked questions and had some chat with people around me. People who were interested in or impressed by my presentation also talked to me. It's a big step for me. Even though I still hesitated once and felt shy to talk to a presenter I was interested in.

I am always amazed by some people who can find others of same interests at conferences and conduct collaborative research. I hope I can do that one day. Next time I will be more prepared and practice in advance the tips provided above.

[merinoblue]

Thanks for this thread. I myself are also awkward at networking, especially I am Asian and my first language is not English. It's always nervous for me to attend international conferences.

I tended to act alone or stay at corners before. But recently I just came back from an international conference and made some progress. I asked questions and had some chat with people around me. People who were interested in or impressed by my presentation also talked to me. It's a big step for me. Even though I still hesitated once and felt shy to talk to a presenter I was interested in.

I am always amazed by some people who can find others of same interests at conferences and conduct collaborative research. I hope I can do that one day. Next time I will be more prepared and practice in advance the tips provided above.

This is really positive, ssdavid! And it makes such a difference when people come up afterwards to ask about our research based on the presentation.

One thing I tend to forget at these events is that often those people who can find others of same interests at conferences already know each other. I always wonder why I'm the lone person circling around a room, always chatting up others, no one approaching me, while others always pair off or are in groups. Well, it might be because they know each other, which is not always obvious to an outsider.  Just keep that in mind if you are tempted at your next conference to wonder why some people seem to have this "knack".  (Maybe you already have the knack and are getting better at it, but no one knows you quite yet).

[larryc]

A lot of the networking comes before the conference. I end up spending a lot of conference social time with folks I know from blogs and Twitter and grant review panels and such.

[spork]

I've become known as a restaurant maven at a conference I go to each year. There's a circle of regulars who follow my lead and we usually recruit a few more people to join us each night. Do some preliminary investigation using TripAdvisor, etc., to find what's close and then say "meet at the lobby at 7:00 if you're interested in trying some Upper Slobovian cassoulet."

[bookishone]

When it comes to meeting and talking to strangers in your field, nothing helps like practice. I'm naturally pretty shy, but I make myself meet at least three new people for each conference I go to (especially because I do attend conferences out of my usual field, e.g. conferences where I don't know many people). As a result, like carebearstare, I now have a good group of "conference buddies" and have become much more comfortable about going up to strangers and introducing myself. I went to a conference in my field that was way out of my usual geographical circles this past year and, though I felt awkward at first, I met some wonderful colleagues and had a great conversation with the conference organizer of all people (these are usually very busy and surrounded by people they know). Even better, I have some new names to look out for when scanning journal issues now.

A long time ago, a guy named Phil Agre published a networking guide for grad students, that (as an awkward and socially-inept grad student myself) I found very useful. It's called "Networking on the Network" (from the early internet era) and while it's probably somewhat dated by now, the basic principles are really good.

http://vlsicad.ucsd.edu/Research/Advice/network.html