[Question] Advice for getting the most out of one-on-ones

I’ve been chatting with some first time EAG participants over the last couple of days and have been passing on what I think is pretty conventional first-time EAG advice: prioritize one-on-ones above (just about) all else.

Then comes the question: how do you go about scheduling one-on-ones? I thought it might be useful to crowdsource some advice, particularly for undergrads and early-career professionals for whom this might be their first conference ever. (I have thoughts as well that I’ll share below.)

Specific questions I imagine might be useful:

  • Who should I meet with?

  • What’s the best way to score a meeting with someone I want to talk to? (especially if I don’t have any immediately useful skills or knowledge to share)

  • What if someone I really want to talk to doesn’t respond? Should I follow up?

  • What do I say? What sorts of questions should I ask?

  • What should I do after the conference? Should I follow up? How often/​in what way?