Talks get published, recorded, or written up. The conversations between sessions do not — and that is where most of a conference's real value sits.
Planning for the corridors is as important as planning which talks to attend.
Before you go
- Read the programme and mark five people you want to meet.
- Read one recent paper by each of them.
- Prepare a two-sentence description of your own work.
- Email one or two of them in advance suggesting a short meeting.
The two-sentence description
- What question you work on, and why it matters.
- Plain language, no jargon from your subfield.
- You will use it twenty times in three days.
During the conference
- Do not attend every session — leave gaps for conversation.
- Ask a question in at least one session; people remember faces attached to questions.
- Poster sessions are easier for meeting people than talk sessions.
- Take notes on who you met and what you discussed, that evening.
Talking to senior researchers
- Most are approachable and will talk to you if you have a specific question.
- Ask about their work before describing yours.
- Keep the first conversation short.
After
- Email the people you met within a week, referencing what you discussed.
- A conversation without follow-up is a conversation forgotten.
- Share your own paper when it is out.
One thing worth remembering
Leave deliberate gaps in your session schedule.
Attending back-to-back talks feels productive and produces almost nothing you could not have got from the proceedings — while a single unhurried conversation in a coffee break can turn into a collaboration that lasts years.
Câu hỏi thường gặp
Where is the real value of a conference?
In the conversations between sessions — talks get published or recorded, but corridor conversations do not.
What should you do before you go?
Read the programme and mark five people to meet, read one recent paper by each, prepare a two-sentence description of your work, and email one or two in advance.
What should the two-sentence description contain?
What question you work on and why it matters, in plain language without subfield jargon.
What helps during the conference?
Do not attend every session, ask a question in at least one, use poster sessions to meet people, and take notes each evening on who you met.
What should you do afterwards?
Email the people you met within a week referencing what you discussed — a conversation without follow-up is a conversation forgotten.
