Over the last days and at the conference I’ve spoken with a few people who had more 1:1 meetings than their energy levels support, and who went on to parties/pub gatherings afterwards. I think this is one of the reasons why most people find conferences exhausting (especially EA ones).
I think a balanced approach is a great idea, and an awareness of one’s limits (social, energy, input etc). Even if you’re new and don’t know many other people yet, attending talks, meetups and workshops can be so incredibly valuable, since you will also meet people that way, and get an idea what “the community at large” (i.e., the people around you) think. Attending talks also gives you some time to recharge, since it requires a different type of involvement than conversations.
I would also encourage people to try and leave an empty time slot after a 1:1 if they’re not extremely extroverted. This way they can continue a deep and interesting conversation if the other person happens to have time, or they have time to get to their next meeting point, eat something, take a nap, take notes and let things sink in, …
Hi Chi, great one, I’m glad you posted this!
Over the last days and at the conference I’ve spoken with a few people who had more 1:1 meetings than their energy levels support, and who went on to parties/pub gatherings afterwards. I think this is one of the reasons why most people find conferences exhausting (especially EA ones).
I think a balanced approach is a great idea, and an awareness of one’s limits (social, energy, input etc). Even if you’re new and don’t know many other people yet, attending talks, meetups and workshops can be so incredibly valuable, since you will also meet people that way, and get an idea what “the community at large” (i.e., the people around you) think. Attending talks also gives you some time to recharge, since it requires a different type of involvement than conversations.
I would also encourage people to try and leave an empty time slot after a 1:1 if they’re not extremely extroverted. This way they can continue a deep and interesting conversation if the other person happens to have time, or they have time to get to their next meeting point, eat something, take a nap, take notes and let things sink in, …