International Meeting Conferences 2022- The Ultimate List of Events
Communication and networking are
crucial abilities to master, especially in STEM (science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics). Students, educators, as well as early-career and
established professionals, rely on oral and written communication to reach a
wide range of audiences.
●
visible in the
community,
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obtain funding,
●
find collaborators,
and
●
develop key
mentoring relationships.
Beyond individual advancement,
effective science communication and networking also positively impact educational
policies and health reform, thereby broadly benefiting society.
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Conferences in India 2022 have provided and will
continue to provide members of the STEM workforce with tangible opportunities
to advance their careers beyond their institutional framework. At academic
institutions, STEM doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers regularly
present research with their lab mates through lab meetings and with colleagues
through departmental seminars and annual retreats. For doctoral students,
thesis committee meetings also offer the opportunity to communicate new
findings and critically analyze them with a group of experts. It is essential,
however, that interns also reach out to other influential professionals beyond
their immediate academic circles. Lectures allow interns to formally
communicate individual research achievements as well as individual professional
traits to senior executives, via platform discussions or poster presentations.
This communication is essential for leaders to be able to recognize trainees'
knowledge and experiences and help advance trainees within and beyond their
scientific disciplines.
These individuals can also take
advantage of informal mechanisms to communicate and network, such as sharing
brief elevator presentations at refreshment tables or social events at
conferences.
The two main sorts of conferences
include -
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Scientific/Technical Conferences
○
Scientific
conferences range from relatively small but highly specialized global
sub-discipline meetings to medium-sized regional events usually still focused
on specific disciplines or systems, and to very large national meetings with
ten to fifteen thousand attendees organized by major scientific societies
focused on a major discipline.
●
Non-Technical Conferences
○
Non-technical
conferences include professional conferences on specific topics such as
pedagogy, educational research, science policy, science communication, or
research development, and those focused on inclusivity and equity in science.
○
Regardless of the
type, all conferences provide ample opportunity to practice communication and
networking and are integral for professional growth.
The goals of this blog are to
convey the importance of regular attendance and networking at top international
meeting/networking conferences and to provide guidelines for making the most
out of your conference attendance and growing your professional network.
Shared herein are goals for -
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Preparing and
planning for participation in conferences
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Networking inside
and outside of conferences
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Maintaining and
developing networks
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Building community
and networks during virtual conferences.
Industry/Discipline-Specific
Networking Events
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Industry/discipline-specific
networking events are a popular type of event.
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Industries often
take it upon themselves to bring people together within the industry to foster
alliances.
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Many of these events
are organized by professional associations.
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A professional
association (otherwise known as a body, organization, or society) is an
organization that seeks to protect or promote a specific profession.
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Most of these groups
are non-profit organizations that focus on the interests of people in this
profession.
●
Professional
associations can be national, regional, local, or all three.
●
People in a specific
industry are often attracted to professional associations.
●
In some cases,
association membership demonstrates a commitment to one's career or serves as a
stamp of approval.
●
These groups also
offer training and networking events.
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These networking
events are organized at the local, regional and national levels.
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At the local level,
these events might be -
○
happy hours,
○
breakfasts,
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dinners,
○
local rewards,
○
speeches,
○
training events.
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At the regional
level, events typically are -
○
training events,
○
regional awards
nights,
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seminars,
○
in-depth lectures.
●
At the national
level, these events may be-
○
national
conferences,
○
national training
events,
○
national awards
nights.
Preparation
Is Key To Making The Most Out Of An Event
●
Conferences offer
many short- and long-term benefits.
●
Conferences allow
you both to share your latest findings with the broader research community and
also allow you to gain access to the latest research carried out by others.
●
Distributing
research before it's formally written up for publication through both formal
and informal engagements has many benefits.
●
It allows you to
formulate a story and test it on an audience of domain specialists and
potential reviewers, with the added benefit of addressing concerns or
shortcomings in the story, if any.
●
It also allows you
to present your work early in front of reputable professionals, some of whom
could potentially play a formal or informal mentoring function in your future
career.
●
Conferences also
allow you, as a participant, to learn about the latest research findings from
other labs around the globe, often long before these findings get published.
●
The overall
advantages of research are obvious, as it can inform your own research and
often initiate formal partnerships.
●
Nevertheless,
conferences often entail a serious commitment of time, effort, and critical
resources, and adequate planning and preparation are integral to maximizing the
advantages you get from attending a conference.
●
The type of
preparation may differ marginally depending on the sort of conference you are
aiming to attend, but the general principles remain the same.
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Intentional planning
and active effort are required on the part of individual participants.
●
Planning and
preparation involve identifying ideal conferences, planning the logistics of
attendance, writing and submitting abstracts, preparing your talk and/or
poster, reviewing the participants list, and connecting with early contacts and
formal arrangements with other professionals.
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Steps To Prepare To Attend Conferences
○
Step #1
■
Making a list of
conferences in your discipline or sub-discipline.
■
Do it very early in
your training.
■
This list can be
reused at any time or modified later.
■
Note that your lab
may have a list of events it regularly sends participants to.
○
Step #2
■
Visiting previous International conference 2022 websites
and taking note of the topics covered.
■
Many conferences now
allow sophisticated content search.
■
Seeking alignment
with your research topic and professional interests.
■
Also, browsing the
participant lists.
○
Step #3
■
Choosing one or two
conferences you want to attend based on your priority interests and budget.
■
Noting that your
department or university might have funding for conference travel.
■
For instance, at the
University of Michigan, the School of Medicine's Office of Graduate and
Postgraduate Studies and the Rackham Graduate School fund conference travel.
○
Step #4
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For the one or two
conferences identified, creating calendar reminders for relevant deadlines,
e.g.,
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abstract submission,
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registration, and
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accommodation.
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Step #5
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Working with your
advisor to write a good summary.
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It is important to
note that most presentations are reviewed by relevant conference committees and
selected based on competitive criteria.
○
Step #6
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Planning and
practicing both your presentation and your elevator pitch, tailored to the
audience and mode of delivery - platform speech.
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Step #7
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Sharing with
enthusiasm with the scientific community that you are attending the conference.
■
When sharing,
include the title of your accepted abstract, poster number, and presentation
time, if applicable.
■
Tweeting with the
international conference hashtag is an ideal way to let a broader audience know
you're attending.
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Once you are well
prepared, focus on presenting your work effectively, making new connections,
and strengthening existing networks, according to the steps in the next
section.
Networking
Isn't Just An Action, It's A Nuanced Skill
●
Networking entails
the cultivation of productive relationships when meeting new people,
intentionally or by chance.
●
It is a two-way road
that necessitates both parties to share relevant data about each other and
understand that continued interactions can be mutually advantageous.
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The new
relationships built via such a process can be enhanced or empowered in the
future, depending on the purpose of professional growth.
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Networking has
significant positive consequences that can be ascribed to the human nature of
connecting with others.
●
Interacting with
someone in person (or even online) offers a personal and intuitive idea of the
individual, far beyond what an email or LinkedIn profile could possibly offer.
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These personal
interactions also help develop credibility and authenticity.
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So the person who
could influence your career decisions is able to make a thoroughly informed,
personal, and sound recommendation or job suggestion on the basis of what they
know about you as a real person.
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One survey event
indicated that as much as eighty-five percent of all job openings are filled
via networking connections.
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The very act of
connecting with unknown people doesn't have to be awkward, fake, or selfish.
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Introverts will most
likely find it more daunting to strike up conversations and discover common
ground than extroverts do.
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Both introverts and
extroverts, nevertheless, have inherent abilities of being good listeners and great
speakers, respectively.
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This contributes to
impactful networking.
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Combining intention,
planning, and practice, both personality types can customize their approaches
to networking based on their comfort levels.
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Hence, while initial
experiences and outcomes may vary for people with differing personalities, it
is important to stress that networking is an integral skill that everyone
should hone.
●
Networking has also
often been perceived, particularly in some academic circles, as dishonest
intent or merely to obtain favors.
●
True networking is
characterized by none of these attributes.
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On the contrary, it
is based entirely on trust, genuine humility, and value-exchanging, which are
the primary catalysts for powerful network connections.
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Despite the fact
that networks can be built utilizing numerous varying methods and spaces,
conferences offer stress-free environments and opportunities to make human
connections.
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For instance, your
presentation or poster is more likely to naturally draw in scientists in the
discipline whose research is pertinent to yours or whose research could be
advanced by your knowledge or expertise.
●
These professionals
could -
○
be on the review
committee for your manuscript or grant application,
○
be part of research
committees in the future where hiring decisions are undertaken, or
○
be part of a
research body where your future research grant proposals are contemplated.
●
Therefore, it is
advantageous to actively pursue such interactions.
●
Senior and more
influential scientists oftentimes admire trainees, proactively inviting them to
attend their lectures or view their posters.
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It results in
excitement and a subtle commitment to interact more with otherwise busy
professionals.
●
The chance to engage
with and hold a scientific discourse with leaders in your field, if you take
advantage of it, can give you a headstart towards a future prospect or even
result in personalized or even unadvertised positions that you can apply to
their institution for a postdoctoral fellowship, or to their educational
institution (university/college) for a professorship.
●
Networking at a
conference can give you insight into other job openings, guide you on aligning
with upcoming funding opportunities, and help you establish potential
collaborations – all ways to start building your niche.
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Informational
interviews provide another opportunity to quickly expand your relevant
professional network at conferences.
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Informative
interviews help you amass data or real-life experiences from a specialist on
topics, which can be made use of to inform your future career/research
decisions.
●
Similar to
scientific data, collecting data from as wide a network as possible helps you
make informed choices on the basis of recurring trends.
●
It is crucial to
understand that informational interviews aren't job interviews or job
application opportunities and shouldn't be treated as such.
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Instead, the
underlying objective of these interviews is to start connecting with
professionals in the field and to amass as much pertinent information as
possible, efficiently, in a short period of time.
●
Because the focus is
on efficiency, decide on your goals and prepare conversation topics well before
you jump into interactions.
●
For example,
discussion topics may include learning about new career areas along with
required skills and measures of success, new research tools or methodologies,
or news about the work culture of a future lab or of a potential employer.
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A Guide To Go About Organizing Your Conference Networking
Meetings
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Step #1
■
Make a detailed list
of your short-term and long-term professional goals.
■
Quizzing yourself in
an attempt to assess your career interests, skills and values helps immensely
in setting accurate goals.
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Step #2
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Browsing the
abstract book and conference website for a list of attendees.
○
Step #3
■
Contacting relevant
participants via a targeted and short email with whom you wish to meet one on
one.
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The list may include
future postdoctoral advisors, collaborators, and mentors.
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Step #4
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Create a series of
questions for the person you asked to meet.
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Step #5
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Updating your resume
or portfolio to have it handy during the conference.
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Step #6
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Writing and
practicing both short and long elevator pitches.
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Step #7
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Having a
professional presence at a goal-oriented networking meeting.
Sustained
Networking Efforts - Crucial For Positive Long-Term Outcomes
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Relationships are
often simpler to initiate than to sustain, as maintaining and growing a
relationship takes effort, time, and positive intention for most people.
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For a connection to
flower into something fruitful, a commitment from both parties is necessary.
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Your goal is to
communicate that you appreciate the relationship.
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Therefore, it is
important to follow up immediately and periodically thereafter.
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When following up on
your new connection, indicate that your engagement with them has been
productive and that you would appreciate the chance to continue communicating
with them on the regular.
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Another vital
determinant of lasting relationships is regular face-to-face interactions.
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These regularized
engagements are most impactful in contexts that give rise to open
conversations.
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The prime conditions
for such conversations are social gatherings or smaller events such as Gordon
Lectures.
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Open conversations
are incredibly beneficial for deciphering behavioural traits and learning about
people through stories and anecdotes.
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These frequent
interactions often appear as long-term and mutually beneficial connections.
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Best Practices For Supporting Your Network With Fast &
Actionable Tracking
○
Step #1
■
Following up with a
thank you email in two days by doing the following -
●
Thanking them for
their time.
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Talking about the
next steps discussed (short and long term).
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Indicating the next
time you'll be contacting them (for example, in two or six months).
○
Step #2
■
Following up (per
timestamp above, e.g., after two or six months) and/or providing a status
update - a new paper or successful grant, the latest economic activity.
○
Step #3
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Following up to see
if you are able to reciprocate with any assistance or resources you can offer.
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Step #4
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If they use social
media, link up with them on LinkedIn with a short personalized message, as well
as follow and interact with them on Twitter.
Actionable
Advice For The Future - Networking At Virtual Conferences
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Recently, most
academic and other events have taken place online through video conferencing
applications.
●
Online conferences
can be daunting and unfamiliar to navigate, as the familiar in-person
connections made during poster sessions, at breakfast and lunch tables, and
during coffee, sessions are no longer feasible.
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Additionally, it is
not possible to meet someone in a hotel lobby or the nearest cafe.
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Hence, the mechanics
and scheduling of online events are quite different from those of in-person
conferences.
●
Video conferencing
software tools, as well as app-based platforms, are used for daily meetings and
conferences.
●
App-based platforms
can be beneficial for breaking the ice with new connections and asking
organizers questions.
●
This is a crucial
emerging topic of discussion and innovation in academic as well as non-academic
circles, and it is anticipated that more and more resources will become
available in the years to come.
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Best Practices For Participating In Virtual Conferences
○
Step #1
■
Keeping your
schedule free as if you were participating in an in-person meeting and creating
automated out-of-office replies from your email to avoid distractions.
○
Step #2
■
During the
conference, keep your video on as much as possible, particularly when asking
questions or engaging in discussions.
○
Step #3
■
If you are the
primary caregiver for young kids or have pets at home, interruptions can, at
times, be inescapable, so turning off the video as required.
○
Step #4
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Using the chat
function to comment or add value to conversations with colleagues.
■
Using chat to add
signal, not noise.
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Step #5
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Always being
courteous and professional in your communication.
○
Step #6
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If you see people
you want to engage with, send them private chat messages through the
conferencing app or Zoom chat, and not waiting until later to email them.
○
Step #7
■
During one-on-one
Zoom meetings, hiding your personal picture for better engagement and a more
real experience.
■
If you are
presenting at an online conference -
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Checking lighting,
camera, sound, and slide deck.
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Keeping a neutral
background.
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Having water and/or
a hot drink available during the conversation.
Creating
Your Own Networking Group
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You might be
interested in planning networking events for yourself.
●
You may also be
interested in creating your own networking group and organizing your own
meetups.
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Why not? Networking
is valuable for everyone.
●
This section
provides an overview of creating your own networking group.
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Even if you are not
interested in this aspect of networking now, there are lessons you can apply to
the meetups you organize on behalf of your colleagues and peers, especially for
those looking to host informal networking events.
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What Are Your Peers & Colleagues Looking For?
Before
starting your own group, you need to define the four Ps of holding a networking
group.
○
Step #1
Evaluating What Sort Of People You'd Like Your Group To
Be Made Up Of
■
What kind of people
do you want your group to be composed of?
■
What are you going
to do to foster and strengthen group unity?
■
Are there any common
interests that they’ll be able to connect on?
○
Step #2
Assessing Your Purpose For Meeting
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Why are you creating
the group?
■
What are the
advantages that joining your group offers?
■
How will the group foster a shared passion
that will lead to group success?
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What is the goal of
the group?
○
Step #3
Thinking About Where To Meet
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Will your group meet
in person?
■
Online?
■
Both?
■
Will you establish a
regular meeting place or relocate the meeting?
○
Step #4
Having A Plan For Growth
■
How will you grow
your group?
■
How will you promote
yourself to potential funders, collaborators, or publishers?
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How To Bring A Group Together
Following
these steps to successfully create your own networking group will prove to be
tremendously helpful -
○
Step #1
Doing Your Due Diligence
■
Use what you know
about other networking meetups to see what works and what doesn't.
■
Remember that
different groups have different needs and goals, and take this into account
when establishing your founding principles.
■
Research your own
attendees the same way you conduct critical attendee research for yourself.
■
Remember to get out of
the office and establish if there is a need for your group or event.
○
Step #2
Deciding Whether To Go Niche Or Broad
■
Decide if you want
to create a formal, specific discipline-focused networking group or if your
target audience is looking for something more social.
■
Choose which
direction you want to go and stick to it. Make sure it matches your current and
long-term needs and issues.
○
Step #3
Getting Your Basics Right
■
Use your network to
build these key members of the group's foundation.
■
Choosing these
people is important because you want people who not only show up but actively
participate in the group.
■
There's no point in
having great members if they don't interact with people outside of their group.
■
Choosing foundation
members is like choosing friends.
■
You don't want a
friend who only picks up the phone when he has nothing else to do.
■
You want one that
will answer the phone at 3 a.m. A note on influencers and reputable
personalities - a good way to recruit local or regional ones is to ask them to sit
on a panel or give a presentation.
■
After they have
experienced the event, they should be asked to join in.
○
Step #4
Actually Organizing The Meetup
■
Hit the ground with
a small-scale event.
■
Pick an appropriate
venue, but don't worry about the theme.
■
Simply create a goal
you want to achieve and a strategy to achieve it.
■
Be sure to set the
second date early, so there's no question of "next time" when the
meeting is over.
○
Step #5
Aiming For Steady Growth
■
Build a base of
events before embarking on a mission to grow.
■
Evolve within your
network and within member networks before worrying about publicity and the
press.
■
This will help
ensure you have a solid base of members who are willing and happy to be there.
■
This foundation
makes new members feel more welcome.
Tackling
Online Networking
●
Even if your
networking group meets regularly in person, it's still important to foster an
online networking community.
●
You start building
your online networking community the same way you build one that meets in person.
●
Always start with a
lot of research and figure out what makes your community unique.
●
Again, this unique
aspect of your community is what makes your community valuable.
●
Where To Meetup Online
You have
several options for hosting your community. Which one you choose will depend on
how many people you want to involve and what type of functionality you are
interested in.
○
Fora
■
Organizing a forum
is a great way of hosting a group.
■
You have both free
and expensive options that include open-source software and alternatives.
■
Which one you choose
will depend on the type of features you are interested in.
○
Customized Networks
■
You can use social
platforms designed to create social networks of customers.
■
Two of the most
popular options are Discord and Telegram.
■
Twitter Spaces is
also turning out to be an increasingly popular option.
■
You can also create
your own section of popular social networks.
■
These are good
alternatives for groups that want to network online but also want to grow in
the real world.
■
Facebook Groups and
LinkedIn Groups are two great places to create your own groups.
■
You can also set up
your group on Meet Up, which is a global networking service designed to host
individual groups.
■
Meet Up isn't great
for conversation, but it's a good way to gather new members and broadcast
events.
Moderating
Your Community
●
When you organize a
networking group/meetup, you rely on the interests and concerns of your guests.
●
You must do the same
online.
●
Moderating your
community is essential to the success of the community because it keeps your
members happy.
●
There are a few
decisions you will need to take as a community moderator. One of the most
important decisions is based on confidentiality.
●
You'll need to
decide if your community will be open, closed, or invite-only.
●
This decision is
important because it allows you to control the size of the group and the type
of people who join the group.
●
Community moderation
also helps in keeping the conversation going. It provides the structure upon
which your events are based.
●
Thus, you need to
dedicate time to creating a community calendar and engaging with your members.
●
A stagnant group
doesn't encourage new members, no matter how great your events are.
●
Don’t forget to
listen to the concerns that your members are voicing online, just as you would
in person.
●
This can be
difficult due to the large number of people in the group.
●
However, do your
best to acknowledge any member comments or issues, especially regarding the
site, rules, or other members.
●
Remember, everything
you've learned about building your own online networking community can also be
applied to moderating or hosting a client's networking community.
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In conclusion,
international conferences offer very valuable opportunities to not just hone
communication and networking skills but also derive benefits from them.
●
Proper preparation
and intentional behavior will allow interns to devise powerful and
consequential networks that can drive their career and professional growth.
●
These networks require
tender nurturing for their initiation as well as growth.
●
Being benevolent,
respectful, and humble while remaining confident is a balance that brings
strength and impact to every relationship.
●
These relationships
become even more powerful when they are mutual. Finally, expanding your network
by introducing your connections to others allows for networks to develop
further nodes and branches and people of all capacities to pay it forward.
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