The Portal

The Houston Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) has been in business since 1969 and is the world’s premiere gathering of resources and vendors in offshore drilling, exploration, and production. Last year, attendance at the four-day conference crested 73,000. This year, the event has been expanded from Reliant Center to Reliant Arena as well. They expect some 2,300 exhibitors, covering some 500,000 sq ft of exhibit space.

Except for scale, it’s still just one big room to work — not unlike a Chamber of Commerce social or college alumni gathering . . . right?

For some of us introverts (really, I am one), events like this are worse than a root canal (or would be, if I’d ever had one). As I plot my strategies for this week and look back on my first South by Southwest (SXSW) adventure back in March, I’m sharing what I’ve already learned at other conferences or “big room” gatherings and what I’ve heard from some of my friends.

My starting point, earlier this weekend, was to dig out an old XPLANATION diagram by XPLANE, The Visual Thinking Company.  Their 2002 flow-chart, How to Work a Room, was designed to illustrate — emphasis on illustrate — the thoughts and research of Diane Darling, owner of Effective Networking Inc, and author of The Networking Survival Guide. Diane’s 14-point gameplan is an easy-to-follow mini-training for various kinds of business gatherings.

The plan is somewhat more challenging in a 500,000 sq ft space, visited by over 20,000 people a day. Let me build on those ideas that do apply. Begin with the premise you’ll invest as much time in preparation and planning as you’ll likely spend in registration or travel fees. You also need to pace yourself.  It’s too big a space to mis-calculate where you want to go or what you want to do there. You’ll burn out. Pick your battles, or your exhibitors, and your target “meets” carefully before you go.

1. Do your research in advance. Whatever you’re attending, be sure to visit the event’s Web site, the sponsoring companies’ or trade associations’ Web sites. Look for a list of exhibitors (and a map) and think through where you’re most likely to run into people you know. Look also for emerging technologies and new areas to explore that will stretch you in new directions. If you’re attending workshops or panels, choose a mix of topics: some you know something about already (and might contribute to), some to further your professional development.
   

   by XPLANE for effectivenetworking.com

2. Don’t overlook the people. For smaller gatherings, try to find the attendee list in advance and research them: on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Google Blog Search. Try to identify the stars you’d most like to meet and those who might introduce you to a few of their friends. Look for commonalities and think through how you might approach people when you get there. For mega-sized events, try to do a few LinkedIn or Google searches on people in some of the sponsoring or exhibiting companies. Be thinking of a SHORT, one or two sentence ice-breaker for those instances.
3. Equip yourself, but travel light. All those giveaways get heavy. If you have a backpack or other tote you find comfortable to carry, bring it — empty. If you have one, or have the money, think Baggalini. Something that’ll stand out and look “classy” but still be light enough to carry around. Toss the cheap canvass tote you get at the conference, and carefully weed out all the contents. Keep just the things you’ll really use or follow up on. Dress comfortably but professionally. For women, choose a colorful top or jacket to distinguish you in a sea of blue suits or polo shirts — something that people will remember.
4. Ditch the laptop, if you’ll be there all day or if it weighs more than 6 or 7 pounds. I took a netbook to SXSW, a Lenovo IdeaPad, and was so glad I did. An iPhone or a MacBook Air are other good choices. Anything over 10 or 12 pounds, with battery & power cord, you’re going to come to hate by the end of the day. A shiny-new Moleskin might be a better alternative — along with a BlackBerry for phone calls and other spontaneous brainstorms.
5. Bring plenty of business cards and, for a large gathering with some potential, think about customizing your cards just for that event. A digital printing company, such as imagesetDigital, can do special-order cards for you in no time for not much money. Or look at the great line of mini and double-sided graphics cards by MOO. These snappy cards really stand out at large-gatherings. You can choose either one of their sets of photos or send them a few of your own.
6. If you’re on Twitter, get yourself a TwitPin. These handy badges have your Twitter gravitar or photo, along with your @name. Saw my first one at a breakfast meeting on Friday and was really impressed. They make an impression and provide another mnemonic assist for the people you want to remember you apart from the tens or hundreds of others they may encounter.

Enough prepping and equipping. Next we’ll dig into the real nuts and bolts of working a room — of any size, and for any personality type.

Postscript: I just remembered one more mnemonic device (NOT pneumonic as I first wrote yesterday — must’ve been H1N1 on the brain) for people parking in large convention center or airport garages.  Snap a photo, using your iPhone or BlackBerry, of the elevator signage or directional pillars. The photo will capture the color coding for that level or stretch of space and you won’t have to write anything down to remember it.

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