211: 10+ Conference Networking Strategies with Alisa Cohn (Pivot Crossover)

Attending conferences can be overwhelming — even for the most excited extroverts among us—let alone the introverts who challenge their comfort zone in the registration process alone.

Today, my friend Alisa and I do an in-person debrief of our recent week-long adventure at the TED global conference in Vancouver (my second time attending, her fifth). We cover conversation openers, the power of a genuine compliment, trying (and sometimes failing) to approach people we admire as a peer, handling the inevitable FOMO and big feelings that arise, when to call it quits (what I call “falling off the cliff”), and so much more.

This crossover episode originally aired on the Pivot podcast on June 4, 2023.

More About Alisa

Alisa Cohn has been coaching startup founders to grow into world-class CEOs for nearly 20 years. She is the author of From Start-Up to Grown-Up, and hosts a podcast of the same name. A onetime startup CFO, strategy consultant, and current angel investor and advisor, she has worked with startup companies such as Venmo, Etsy, and more.

🌟 10 Key Takeaways

1. Have a repertoire of different openers to approach people with.

2. Wear a “talk piece” clothing item that invites people to comment on.

3. Approach as a peer vs. fangirling (which might occur anyway!)

4. Sit in a central public place to catch conference passers-by.

5. Message people right after you meet them about something you spoke about.

6. Text a “wish you were here!” selfie to mutual friends as a way to keep in loose touch.

7. Prepare for the emotional ups and downs you’re going to feel when you’re in large groups.

8. Embrace JOMO when you need a break, knowing when you’re at your best.

9. Don’t be afraid to call it early in the evening if/when you’re feeling New Friend Fatigue.

10. Follow up with connections after you return home by scheduling a dinner reunion.

✅ Try This Next

Go and meet one new person—strike up a conversation with someone you wouldn’t normally speak to and see what happens. Jenny: Put yourself in the path of people. Is there an event, a book reading, even a bench in the park where you can encounter people you normally wouldn’t?

🔗 Resources Mentioned

• Alisa on the web, Twitter: @AlisaCohn, LinkedIn: @AlisaCohn

• Articles: Andrew Wilkinson on Medium (founder of Tiny capital)

• Video: Lizzo thanking Beyoncé at the Grammy’s

📚 Books Mentioned

• From Start-Up to Grown-Up

• The Long Game

• The Happiness Project

• Presence

• The Courage to be Disliked

• Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business

• Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One

• Life After College

🎧 Related Episodes

• Other Shows: The Tim Ferriss Show — Alisa Cohn on Prenups for Startup Founders, How to Reinvent Your Career, the Importance of “Pre-Mortems,” and the Three Selves (#539)

• Pivot: 298: Networking in a New Niche and Becoming Broadway Investors with Dorie Clark and Alisa Cohn

• 285: Cultivating Influence with Jon Levy

• 293: 🍝 Are you a Spaghetti-Twirler or a Spaghetti-Thrower?

• Free Time:192: 📲 5 Creative Ways to Better Organize Your Phone Contacts

• 196: What do Donuts, Coffee, Conversation, and Energy Cliffs Have in Common?

• 043: From Start-Up to Grown-Up (and Coach to Author) with Alisa Cohn

• 035: The Long Game with Dorie Clark

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