Making Connections at Shift Summit
Photo by Lauren Mancke
Shift Summit is gathering incredible speakers, carefully planned panels and the best advice about taking next steps with your business, your career, and your personal life. Do you have your ticket? Remember, the people you meet and the conversations you have at Shift Summit are vital to a great conference experience. And frankly, it’s why you are spending the time and the money to attend. I founded a networking conference called Alt Summit and ran it for nearly a decade. These are my tips for getting the most out of your conference experience.
Find like-minded people. There’s nothing like hanging out with people who get you, and when you find your tribe you know you will have lasting support. People you admire, or someone who admires you, and that can open the door for (at the very least) inspiration, and (even better) joint projects, new partnerships, career advice, or even career advancement. Take note of the chat feature and identify commenters who are particularly smart or funny. Seek them out for a post conference conversation.
Impressive speakers, you say? Yes! You can meet Shift Summit speakers—speakers who are looking for great connections and collaborators. A conversation with a speaker can help determine if they’re the right fit for you, and give them a chance to see firsthand what you have to offer. Reach out to speakers and let them know why you enjoyed their presentation and how you think you might work together. Connecting with a speaker in conjunction with a conference will yield far better results than an cold email in their inbox six months from now.
Take notes! Inspiration flows at these kinds of functions, and Shift is shaping up to be a strong event. Begin the conference with questions in mind: things you want to improve, problems you want to solve, projects you want to explore, and connections you want to make. You will receive. When your next great idea strikes in the middle of the conference, you’re almost guaranteed to find someone who can help you take the next step. It’s synchronicity—that chance encounter that turns out to be just the thing you’re looking for—and it happens regularly at networking events. You’ll find the name of a designer who can help with your site, a potential partner who’s looking for a new collaboration, or the perfect career coach to help you execute the next big career leap. The inspiration and answers might come directly from the mouth of a speaker, it might come from a comment in the chat box, or it may come in a round about way from a throw away phrase or thought during a presentation. Be ready with paper and a pen and take notes. The ideas will flow!
You’ll never know what’s waiting for you until you open your mind, open your mouth, your computer, and connect with someone new. Shift Summit, here we come!