The Conference-Commando Field Manual

Stage II: Hitting the Ground

When Maria Campbell arrives at the Frankfurterhof for each year's Book Fair, she announces her presence to Herr Karl, the hotel's omniscient concierge: "I let him know that I'm there, and he makes sure that I get all of my packages and messages. It's a tradition." And not a bad one: Touching base with a concierge is a way to ensure that you will be treated well -- that faxes and overnight packages won't disappear into a black hole, for example. If the phone in your room has voice mail, record a message that lets callers know when you're most likely to be there, and give them the option of calling your cell-phone or sending email. Hearing your voice -- rather than an anonymous "This is the voice mail for room 653" -- will dissuade callers from hanging up.

True conference commandos aren't bound by the agenda that they receive at registration. Who says you can't arrange your own dinner discussion on a particular topic, or put together a group on an issue that matters to you? Jim Sterne, an Internet-marketing consultant and author based in Santa Barbara, California, calls such events "birds-of-a-feather sessions." "Maybe you're interested in a technical issue or in finding out more about your counterparts' experiences with a certain vendor," posits Sterne. "Post a note on the central bulletin board -- or on all the bulletin boards: 'Hey, let's talk about firewall security for Linux servers at this place, at this time.' If only a few people show up, go out to lunch or dinner. If a large group turns up, you can have a lively discussion session. People will really open up and speak their minds."

Conference commandos don't attend formal sessions just to learn new things from other people -- they also use such events to market their own presence at the conference. When sessions open up for Q&A, commandos tend to be among the first people to have their hands in the air. And when they ask questions, they never fail to state their name, their company, and what they do. "Every time I do this, people come up to give me their cards, ask questions, and take my card," says Aliza Sherman, president of Cybergrrl Inc., a new-media entertainment company based in Manhattan.

Even better than asking a question in a session is addressing the session yourself. Being invited to speak at a conference is a great way both to deliver a message and to interact with people you want to meet -- if you give a good speech.

Commandos do extensive background checks before they speak. "How many people attended the event last year? How many years has it been around?" asks Jim Sterne, who has been the top-rated speaker at Mecklermedia Corp.'s Internet World conferences for six years in a row. "You also want to be sure that you're addressing an audience of people who are interested in your message. Always ask the organizers what kind of people come and what those people want to learn about."

Sterne understands that no one comes to his sessions to hear him give a sales pitch. So, instead, he tells stories, reads poems, and shows Web sites. Likewise, more and more commandos are experimenting with audio, video, and animation in their presentations. Nor are they afraid to abandon new technology in favor of old-fashioned whiteboards or easels -- or nothing at all.

"PowerPoint slides put people to sleep," says Aliza Sherman. "Be dynamic. You should let your personality come through. At most conferences, people see the same thing four sessions a day. You have to stand out." Her advice: Either go breathtakingly high-tech or dramatically low-tech.

When you're done, don't promise that you'll send people a copy of your presentation -- a promise that's hard to live up to once you return to the pressures of daily life. Instead, point them to a Web site. "Why should you be faxing or mailing paper?" asks John Patrick. "It just creates work." On his personal Web site (www.ibm.com/patrick), Patrick posts his presentation, his contact information, and links to examples used in his talk.

With some conferences, it's hard to get an invitation to attend, let alone a chance to speak. That's why resourceful commandos use stealth strategies. A few months before an event, Aliza Sherman checks in with conference organizers to find out if there have been any cancellations. That way, even if she hasn't been scheduled to give a presentation, she may able to secure a speaker's slot.

"You want to let them know that you're available if someone drops out," she says. Dan Bricklin offers similar advice: "I hang out in the speaker's lounge, and sometimes I wind up on a panel that I wasn't scheduled to be on, because the panel is short by a person." A true conference commando would never miss such an opportunity.