A Guide to Preparing for Your Next Conference

In April, I attended the World Health Summit Regional Meeting in New Delhi. This was my first conference, and I was not sure exactly how to prepare for it. All I really knew was that networking was equally, if not more, important than listening to the speakers. While the conference went well overall, if I could go back in time, I would do a few things differently. 

AIF offers plenty of opportunities for Fellows to attend conferences, including through professional development grants, so some of you reading this may go on to attend your first conference while in India. Because of this, I created a guide of actions to take and avoid while at a conference, based on my experience at the World Health Summit Regional Meeting. This guide is targeted toward people attending, not presenting, at conferences, but the advice is universal. Whether your conference is about public health, rural education, financial economics, or anything else, I hope this blog can shape your mindset as you prepare for your conference so that you can maximize your experience. 

Actions to take before and during the conference

• Plan which sessions to attend and who to talk to
  • Read over the conference schedule before attending and choose which sessions to prioritize. Also, research who will be speaking and learn about their backgrounds and careers. These are things I wish I had done before the conference, as it would have given me better talking points when trying to build connections with speakers. It will also better prepare you to ask public questions, which help you stand out, if you so choose.
• Take advantage of unexpected opportunities
  • At the conference, I spent a good amount of time with someone who knew about a VIP dinner for speakers and distinguished guests. While he was not directly invited, someone sent him the link to attend, and he subsequently told me that I should attend the dinner as well. I signed up, but I worried that I would feel out of place. And you know what? I was definitely out of place. I quickly realized that I was the only student there among distinguished professionals. But, I did not care. I acted like I belonged, socializing with whoever I could. And, it paid off. I connected with so many wonderful people who have the opportunity to impact my career, from a university president on faculty at a US graduate school to the president of a public health organization in South Africa to professionals working for international NGOs. My point in saying all this is to take unexpected opportunities that come your way; you don’t know who you will meet and what will come from them.

    

• Meaningfully connect with a reasonable amount of people
  • At conferences, there are two kinds of people: distinguished guests who you hope to connect with, and other conference-goers like yourself. My advice is to connect with people, regardless of their title. At the conference, I got to talk to the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, but one of my more meaningful connections came from spending time with an epidemiologist from Jharkhand. Remember that each person is there because you share a common interest, and guests may surprise you in how they can impact your career.

    
• Have confidence and embrace awkwardness
  • Talking to accomplished people can be nerve-wracking. At the conference, there were people that I wanted to talk to, but did not know what to say. My cliché yet true advice: just do it. Walk up to them and introduce yourself. The worst that can happen is a few seconds of awkward silence. If you are worried about that, realize that the other person will probably forget about the awkwardness ten minutes later. The point of conferences is to network, and you need confidence to do so.

Actions to avoid

• Trying to collect as many cards as you can
  • Conferences are not about how many cards you can collect; they’re about the real connections you can build. Contacting someone from their card will likely have less effect when you reach out to them if you did not have a memorable conversation in person. Give people something to remember you by, whether that be your friendly demeanor, a good conversation, or a call to future collaboration.
• Dominating the conversation
  • You want to be memorable, but not for the wrong reason. Many people at your conference will be highly accomplished, and you may feel a need to prove your worth. In doing so, do not dominate the conversation. It is better to be remembered as “the accomplished person I had a great conversation with” than “the accomplished person who talked about themself.” Also, people love to talk about themselves, so be inquisitive, listen, and depending on the person, hype them up a bit. If your counterpart feels good about the conversation, you will be more memorable.

In sum

If all that wasn’t enough to convince you that you’ll do great at the conference, know this: at minimum, you will learn from your experience. Even if you don’t make monumental connections, you can still absorb the content and bring that knowledge back to your job. Don’t stress about it. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your career won’t be either. Conferences are stepping stones, so use them wisely. And, have some fun. Sneak into the VIP dinner and share a toast, if you can.