Master Networking at Conferences

“It’s not just about what you know, it’s about who you know.”

The truth behind this business principle will never die, because humans are innately social creatures. Many experts and executives attend conferences worldwide to network and build relationships, with pragmatic goals and aims in mind. However, you can’t look at networking like you would a KPI, because it’s about socialising and finding common topics of interest. You can’t force romance, and you can’t force friendships – naturally, the same applies to networking.

Take it easy! When networking in conferences, success and failure only goes as far as how you define it. It’s perfectly alright to attend a conference and talk to just one or two counterparts, if you manage to form connections with them. Networking is not a question of numbers – even if you speak to 200 people, you might still fail to make any distinct impressions or relationships. There’s no obligation to talk to every individual at the event: you simply need to focus on people whom you think will be interested in what you have to say, then gauge their responses.

Don’t be so caught up in the idea of networking that you come across as nosey and trying to force your way into talking with other people. Approaching networking with a mindset like that makes others feel like you’re so obviously here to network that you don’t really care about their involvement in the conversation – they can sense it, even if you’re unaware that you’re giving them this impression.

Networking is a situation where your reputation can be at stake, and you have to be genuine in speech and action. Telling the truth is extremely important, as people will realise if you’re trying to fake your way into or out of a situation. On an intuitive level, even if it doesn’t make logical sense to them, they will feel like there’s something off or unnatural about what you’re saying; consciously or otherwise, they will put up a wall and lose interest in further conversation with you.

The Most Underrated Method

With the formal nature of conferences and the high-powered corporate vibe of fellow suit-and-tie executives, it’s understandable why some people might find networking in such environments daunting. However, once you strip away all the status and positioning, they’re just other human beings meeting up. As such, a very underrated way to succeed when networking in conferences is simply to listen to people and what they are saying – after all, everyone loves to be heard. What are they talking about, and are their topics relevant to you? It’s great if there is a common topic that you can talk about, whether it’s in a one-on-one conversation or in a group setting.

You don’t have to prepare and over-prepare for these kinds of situations – talking is not a unique skill like playing the guitar or learning how to drive a car, it’s a very natural thing that comes to everyone, whether they’re introverts or extroverts. While talking and making connections come more easily to some people than others, the fundamental need and knowledge to do so is within all of us, as human beings and social creatures. In general, it’s also good to keep in mind the disparity between cultures, especially at international conferences. Remember to give the other person some space – some people may find the lack of space between you and them offensive. While there’s fundamentally nothing wrong with trying to get your point across to another person, it’s always beneficial to be aware of such cultural nuances.