Trade Secrets for Attendees Who Hate Small Talk: Networking Without Being Awkward

You want honesty? I’ve been to a lot of conferences, and even though I am the face of PodiatryMeetings.com and you might see me seemingly at ease talking to anyone, I am channeling my best “fake it ‘til you make it.”

I read somewhere recently that in-person event attendance has surged because of the “loneliness epidemic.”

Have you ever been alone at a cocktail table pretending to scroll something urgent just to avoid small talk? Same. But I’ve been really trying to expand my circle of people smarter than me so nevertheless, I persist.

Over time, I’ve realized the people who get the most out of these meetings aren’t the ones with the biggest entourage, fanciest booths or the loudest laughs. They’re the ones who make easy, genuine connections and follow up after.

So here’s how to do that without feeling like the lotion guy at the mall kiosk.

Start the Conversation Without Feeling Like a Cheese Ball

Side note, I love cheese balls. Especially the kind that have bacon in them and are covered in sliced almonds. You don’t need a networking script or a rehearsed elevator pitch. Just look for common ground and keep it simple.

Use what’s around you.

“You going to the biomechanics session?”

“Have you been to this meeting before?”

“What’s your practice like these days?” is way better than “So, what do you do?”

Now for the weird part: moving on. Easy.

“It was great to meet you. I'm going to [grab a coffee / check out the PowerStep booth / go say hey to my friend Susie] but I'll see you around!”

Make a note.

If you exchange info, jot a reminder of what you talked about or something they mentioned. It'll help you feel less cold when you check in later.

Follow Up Without Making It Weird

You met someone interesting and want to connect about that special doodad they have in their practice. Don’t be scared. Collect all those notes you made and spend 10 minutes the week you get back to say “Hey.”

Here’s what to say:

“Hey Bob, good meeting you at ACFAS. I appreciated your take on post-op protocols. Let’s stay in touch.”

That’s it. No fluff. If you’ve got something useful to share like a link, a summary, or a resource, go ahead. It makes the follow-up more valuable and less random.

And yes, connect on LinkedIn. No, it’s not lame. It’s where the cool kids are.

Bottom Line:

You don’t have to work the room. When you realize you are standing alone against the wall or mindlessly scrolling your phone, shake it off and go talk to someone. Ask better questions and keep the conversation going after the conference.

And if you see me off to the side checking my phone? Feel free to interrupt. I do actually want to talk to someone I’m just scared.

Final Thought

If you've read any of my emails over the past few weeks, you know my email marketing strategy is going through a bit of a renaissance.

For a long time, I treated email as a tool. But now, I see it as a privilege.

You have trusted me for years to tell it like it is and you deserve better than generic sales copy and noisy inbox filler. I hope you've noticed a shift lately.

I'm being more intentional, more transparent, and far more selective about the content I publish.

One more little thing: PodiatryMeetings.com is a media channel and a consulting agency. We pay our bills because of the partnerships with our sponsors and advertisers.

If your company or conference is interested in advertising options, hit reply to email me.

I believe our ad rates are low compared to others in the industry and our offerings are built to serve podiatrists, not just sell to them.

I believe in charging for the time my team and I spend on a project, not some dreamt-up arbitrary value I put on it. I like to be able to sleep at night.

Your favorite inbox regular,

Ann Dosen

P.S. Don't forget to register for one of our upcoming webinars. Just click here.

P. P. S. “Very little interaction with attendees and no encouragement by show staff to visit booths.” -Exhibitor Review of the Superbones Superwounds West conference. Do you agree? Rate and review (anonymously) a conference you've attended recently.

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