Embracing Awkwardness, Making the Most of Your Next Tradeshow

Tradeshows are an excellent way to expand your knowledge and your network. Industry expos can also be socially awkward. To maximize professional value you must embrace social awkwardness by pushing through personal discomfort. Be intentional to move yourself from attendee to participant. One creative way I have found to force myself to meet new people is to try to meet a member from every state at larger industry events. This practice gives me a goal, forces me out of my shell, and has opened up some fun conversations. 

A few suggestions to help professionals embrace social awkwardness and harvest more value from industry events:

• Do your research and be intentional in maximizing your trade show experience. Be more than an attendee.
• Set a goal to meet at least a dozen new people each day or set an objective to meet a peer from every state. Be more than an observer.
• Follow up with your association to discover its history and volunteer in an area that is interesting to you. Be an active contributor.