“It was awkward and painful,” my friend said. That’s how she described attending a professional meeting where she didn’t know anyone. She was at a loss for how to melt the ice and warm up to others. Especially professionals she perceived to have more experience and knowledge than her. Sound familiar? Here was someone who has so much to offer anyone lucky enough to engage in conversation with her. Yet her reluctance to initiate interaction caused her to avoid eye contact and miss out … [Read more...]
Engaging Conference Attendees At Hello Results In Big Rewards
Are you looking for ways to improve your conference attendee loyalty? If yes, and I’m sure you are, here’s an effective strategy: Integrate a deliberate on-boarding effort for new attendees into your attendance-marketing plan. Master this and you’ll receive big rewards! First Time Attendee Trend Our industry is experiencing an interesting trend with the increase of first-timers at annual conferences. According to Exhibit Surveys Inc., the all-show average for first-time attendees has … [Read more...]
How The Most Brain Friendly Conference Makes Attendee Networking A Priority
Quick, name the top two reasons people pay to attend conferences? No, it’s not the attractiveness of the destination, although it does help. Nor is it the opening, marquee speaker. (Two-thirds of recent responders to the 2013 Speaker Report: The Use Of Professional And Industry Speakers In The Meetings Market say that a big name does not attract registrants to their event. It is nothing more than just that, a big name.) According to studies by ASAE, MPI and PCMA, people attend conferences … [Read more...]
Creating Jostled Serendipitous Encounters For Your Conference Networking
Walking into the pre-convene area of a convention center for a conference, it shouldn’t take long to meet up with another person strolling through the same hallways. Right? Now imagine crossing that same pre-convene area filled with throngs of people. How long will it take for one to reach another person from the same conference? A Protein Science Meeting Metaphor For Networking Scientists have recently studied meetings in our cells. Biochemists Professor Gideon Schreiber, researcher … [Read more...]
Smarter Attendees Make a Smarter Conference
We have known for a while that networking is one of the top reasons people attend conferences. But who knew it actually makes them smarter? According to a new study published by Scientific American on 5 ways to Maximize Your Cognitive Potential networking was cited as one of the best ways to expose yourself to new ideas, perspectives and knowledge that results in cognitive growth or becoming smarter! Grow Your Attendees’ IQ Conferences offer attendees the opportunity to meet new people … [Read more...]
Maximizing Attendee Trust, Mining Weak Ties And Conference Marketing
Here are more tips on how weak ties make strong conferences from VCC’s VP of Connexity, Sarah Michel. Note: She recently wrote about how weak ties can make conferences stronger, connexity and speed networking tips as well as has her own series called Perfecting Connecting. Maximizing Trust Between Conference Attendees One way to maximize trust between conference attendees is to encourage attendees to pair up with a learning buddy who they don't know. Then give them time to connect one to … [Read more...]
Fostering Weak Ties And Speed Networking Tips For Your Conference
VCC’s VP of Professional Connexity, Sarah Michel, is the go-to-networker-guru. She lives and breaths networking and connexity. She recently wrote about how weak ties can make conferences stronger and connexity, and has a series called Perfecting Connecting. After reading her recent post, I had several questions about weak ties, speed networking and conferences. I wanted more clarity and understanding of the power of weak ties and 2nd and 3rd degree relationships. Here is Part 1 of my … [Read more...]
Weak Ties Make Stronger Conferences
Think about who connected you to your current job? I'm willing to bet it was a weak connection; someone you just met, didn't know very well or hadn't talked to in years. The facts are that when it comes to looking for information, opportunities and connections, weaker connections are more helpful than our strongest ones. Why Weak Ties Are More Helpful Why are weak ties more helpful? Because typically our strong ties (close friends and family) are living and working in the same spaces, … [Read more...]
