Thriving at Conferences as an Introvert
A huge convention center, vendor hall, a massive great room with loud music, lights, and thousands of people milling around – sounds super relaxing, right? For myself and many introverts like me, it’s kind of the worst after awhile. Yet with the right tips going into the event, you can easily survive it, and perhaps even enjoy it!
1. Book your own room. Your hotel room can serve as your quiet sanctuary, yet this only works if you do not have a roommate. Yes, it’s more expensive, but it will be worth it when you are craving solitude.
2. Do not attend everything. You’ve paid a lot of money to be there, and because of that, it’s easy to feel guilty about skipping parts of the conference. The reality is it’s much more productive to focus on the one or two things that are the most important and skip the rest. Even if you did go to every class/training/mastermind, it would be impossible to remember everything you learned, let alone implement it all. By focusing on one or two things, you’re more likely to successfully implement what you learned when you get home. And you won’t wear yourself out in the process. Win-win!
3. Plan strategic one-to-one meetings. Instead of attending every class, use some of your time to schedule one-to-one meetings. These will be quieter and a nice change of pace from the large sessions. Conferences provide amazing opportunities to meet people you wouldn’t normally meet, so take advantage of this. Reach out to a few people you’re interested in meeting and simply invite them to coffee (or to breakfast – that’s a popular option). This way, you will be making stronger connections with a few, rather than meaninglessly swapping cards with hundreds.
4. Go to bed early, at least some nights. It’s so easy to get sucked into the after-hours social events, especially if you are friends with your colleagues. While the ideal number of nights in versus nights out will vary from person to person, as a general guideline, plan to get to bed at a decent hour about half of the nights. Trust me – you will thank yourself in the morning if you aren’t out until 3am every night.
5. Have groceries delivered to your hotel room. This can be done in advance and is a huge life-saver. Benefits include: save money, save time, and improve your healthy food intake. The biggest benefit, though, is having food readily available and avoiding having to leave your room to forage amongst the masses. (Ok, yes, there’s room service, but I find having to wait 45 minutes for a $20 bowl of cereal and some fruit to be much more annoying than just having it in my fridge). Grocery chains offering delivery will vary depending on your location. A few I’ve used in the past are: Peapod, Vons, Instacart, Wegmans, and Whole Foods.
6. Take breaks and find quiet spaces (they do exist). If you feel overwhelmed by the noise and crowds, allow yourself a break. The benefit to convention centers being so large is that there is always a quiet place to retreat to. All you have to do is find it. I usually have the best luck going up or down a flight of stairs.
7. Stay in a hotel close to the convention center. To that end, my personal favorite quiet retreat place is my hotel room. When I need a break, I love the ease of a quick walk to my room. There have been times I’ve stayed in a hotel many blocks from the convention center, and I always regret it. I actually feel a little trapped when I can’t run back to the room for 15 minutes of quiet.
8. Ladies, wear comfy shoes. Comfortable shoes will not only make your entire experience more pleasant, they’ll allow you to scoot back to your room without pain. In the past, I’ve made the mistake of wearing super cute, super uncomfortable stilettos. So by midday, when I need my break, my feet are too sore to walk all the way back to my hotel or even walk around enough to find a quiet space. Guys, you might think this is silly, yet the struggle is real.
9. Plan self-care to look forward to. A massage, a trip to the salon, an awesome new book, dinner alone one night, a first-class upgrade – plan something that you will enjoy by yourself. Think of it as a mini-vacation while you’re on a work trip. My favorite is finding a fantastic restaurant and treating myself.
10. Take guilt-free naps. Seriously. Plenty of naps, zero guilt.
11. Clear your schedule when you get home. Plan time to recover for a day or two when you get home. Set that expectation ahead of time with anyone who needs to know that you need rest.