Attending conferences can be overwhelming — even for the most excited extroverts among us—let alone the introverts who challenge their comfort zone in the registration process alone.
Today, my friend Alisa and I do an in-person debrief of our recent week-long adventure at the TED global conference in Vancouver (my second time attending, her fifth). We cover conversation openers, the power of a genuine compliment, trying (and sometimes failing) to approach people we admire as a peer, handling the inevitable FOMO and big feelings that arise, when to call it quits (what I call “falling off the cliff”), and so much more.
Be sure to also keep an eye out on the Free Time podcast (even better, subscribe!) for Friday’s episode #196, where I share a mini daily audio diary that I kept on each day of the conference, with some additional reflections at the end.
More About Alisa: Alisa Cohn has been coaching startup founders to grow into world-class CEOs for nearly 20 years. She is the author of From Start-Up to Grown-Up, and hosts a podcast of the same name. A onetime startup CFO, strategy consultant, and current angel investor and advisor, she has worked with startup companies such as Venmo, Etsy, and more.
🌟 10 Key Takeaways
- Have a repertoire of different openers to approach people with.
- Wear a “talk piece” clothing item that invites people to comment on.
- Approach as a peer vs. fangirling (which might occur anyway!)
- Sit in a central public place to catch conference passers-by.
- Message people right after you meet them about something you spoke about.
- Text a “wish you were here!” selfie to mutual friends as a way to keep in loose touch.
- Prepare for the emotional ups and downs you’re going to feel when you’re in large groups.
- Embrace JOMO when you need a break, knowing when you’re at your best.
- Don’t be afraid to call it early in the evening if/when you’re feeling New Friend Fatigue.
- Follow up with connections after you return home by scheduling a dinner reunion.
✅ Try This Next: Alisa: Go and meet one new person—strike up a conversation with someone you wouldn’t normally speak to and see what happens. Jenny: Put yourself in the path of people. Is there an event, a book reading, even a bench in the park where you can encounter people you normally wouldn’t?
🔗 Resources Mentioned
📚 Books Mentioned
🎧 Related Episodes
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Other Shows: The Tim Ferriss Show — Alisa Cohn on Prenups for Startup Founders, How to Reinvent Your Career, the Importance of “Pre-Mortems,” and the Three Selves (#539)
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Pivot: 298: Networking in a New Niche and Becoming Broadway Investors with Dorie Clark and Alisa Cohn, 285: Cultivating Influence with Jon Levy, 293: 🍝 Are you a Spaghetti-Twirler or a Spaghetti-Thrower?
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Free Time:192: 📲 5 Creative Ways to Better Organize Your Phone Contacts, 196: What do Donuts, Coffee, Conversation, and Energy Cliffs Have in Common? (Coming soon!), 043: From Start-Up to Grown-Up (and Coach to Author) with Alisa Cohn, 035: The Long Game with Dorie Clark
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