WEBVTT - How to Survive a Conference 0:00:00.680 --> 0:00:03.440 Today, I've done the following things as part of my job. 0:00:03.960 --> 0:00:07.280 I've made small talk with random strangers. I've hung out 0:00:07.280 --> 0:00:10.480 in a hotel room with my coworkers, and I've waited 0:00:10.480 --> 0:00:13.640 in long lines for the bathroom. I'm at the strange 0:00:13.640 --> 0:00:29.520 work ritual known as the conference. This is Game Plan. Hi. 0:00:29.600 --> 0:00:33.040 I'm Rebecca Greenfield and I'm Francesco Levi, and this week 0:00:33.080 --> 0:00:37.199 we're talking about conferences and all the strange and fun 0:00:37.360 --> 0:00:40.600 things that go along with attending them and if they're 0:00:40.640 --> 0:00:43.360 worth going to at all. And we're bringing you this 0:00:43.400 --> 0:00:47.600 episode from an actual conference. We're at w n y 0:00:47.640 --> 0:00:50.320 c's work At Festival, which is a festival for women 0:00:50.360 --> 0:00:53.159 in podcasting, and we're going to tell you kind of 0:00:53.159 --> 0:00:55.760 how we got here and what we think of it. 0:00:56.480 --> 0:00:58.560 But first we should back up and talk about conferences 0:00:58.560 --> 0:01:03.120 in general. Yeah, conferences are this huge, fourteen billion dollar 0:01:03.280 --> 0:01:06.559 industry and people can pay anywhere from a couple hundred 0:01:06.560 --> 0:01:10.200 dollars to a couple of thousands of dollars to attend them, 0:01:10.240 --> 0:01:13.000 Like I think Ted Talks cost thousands of dollars for 0:01:13.040 --> 0:01:15.600 people to go to and kind of spawned this whole 0:01:15.680 --> 0:01:20.120 world of people talking on stages for work. I think 0:01:20.160 --> 0:01:22.880 there's something about going to a conference where, if you 0:01:22.920 --> 0:01:25.480 work in a company, it's like it's almost a status symbol. 0:01:25.640 --> 0:01:27.640 If you get to go to the conference, if your 0:01:27.680 --> 0:01:30.320 boss has signed off on like the travel and expenses 0:01:30.360 --> 0:01:31.840 for you to get on a plane and go somewhere 0:01:31.880 --> 0:01:34.720 and stay in a hotel, it means you're important enough 0:01:34.720 --> 0:01:36.360 to invest that kind of money. And so I think 0:01:36.400 --> 0:01:38.120 that some people want to go to conferences just to 0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:40.520 be able to say they went to a conference. It's 0:01:40.520 --> 0:01:42.840 like makes you important, it's part of your job. Yeah, 0:01:42.840 --> 0:01:46.039 And you fantasize about being in maybe an exotic location 0:01:46.240 --> 0:01:48.080 and all the networking you're going to do and how 0:01:48.080 --> 0:01:51.040 it's gonna transform your career and you get a break 0:01:51.120 --> 0:01:54.320 from the dull drums of the work life and like 0:01:54.400 --> 0:01:57.280 getting out of the commute, which sounds really nice, but 0:01:58.040 --> 0:02:00.960 I think, as anyone who has gone to a conference knows, 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:04.000 the reality is not that glamorous. I think you hit 0:02:04.040 --> 0:02:06.160 the nail on the head. Networking is a big part 0:02:06.160 --> 0:02:09.120 of conferences, and there's a there's a nice side to that, 0:02:09.200 --> 0:02:11.000 which is like I get to meet new people in 0:02:11.080 --> 0:02:13.880 my field and maybe advance my career or learn more. 0:02:14.400 --> 0:02:17.200 But it's also like, who really likes networking? I spend 0:02:17.200 --> 0:02:22.200 time at conferences and like hid behind columns and gone 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:25.320 to the snack bar just to avoid those weird mingling 0:02:25.320 --> 0:02:27.120 sessions where you have to walk up to strangers and 0:02:27.160 --> 0:02:31.639 it's it's so unnatural. Yeah, and even bosses know at 0:02:31.680 --> 0:02:35.040 this point that conferences are maybe not worth all the 0:02:35.080 --> 0:02:37.160 time and effort and money. There was a Wall Street 0:02:37.240 --> 0:02:41.160 Journal article that was a trend piece about people basically 0:02:41.200 --> 0:02:45.120 begging their bosses to go to conferences, and their bosses saying, 0:02:45.360 --> 0:02:47.680 you need to show us how much value you're going 0:02:47.720 --> 0:02:49.320 to get out of this, And it talked about people 0:02:49.360 --> 0:02:53.320 putting together power point presentations and showing specifically how they're 0:02:53.320 --> 0:02:55.880 going to meet specific goals that will help them bring 0:02:55.880 --> 0:02:58.480 in more sales or like increased marketing. You can't really 0:02:58.520 --> 0:03:01.280 just use this mushy Oh I'm going to meet people 0:03:01.639 --> 0:03:05.480 and yeah, that'll help the job reasoning anymore. Yeah, I mean, 0:03:05.520 --> 0:03:08.920 we're here recording a podcast, Like we're trying to do 0:03:08.960 --> 0:03:11.480 our jobs while we're at the conference. And I think 0:03:11.560 --> 0:03:14.320 that part of our justification for being here is that 0:03:14.360 --> 0:03:17.040 we can actually do some work here. But you know, 0:03:17.080 --> 0:03:20.000 a lot of people are here just to experience the conference, 0:03:20.000 --> 0:03:21.880 and I think that are you know, many of their 0:03:21.880 --> 0:03:24.560 bosses probably wonder like whether they're really doing anything or 0:03:24.600 --> 0:03:27.040 if it's just a boondoggle. Yeah. And there was another 0:03:27.080 --> 0:03:30.400 a Business Week article that was about the female conference circuit, 0:03:30.440 --> 0:03:33.720 which we're participating in at the moment, and the reporter 0:03:33.800 --> 0:03:35.840 talked about how you can feel really great after you 0:03:35.880 --> 0:03:38.119 go to these conferences, like you feel empowered and full 0:03:38.160 --> 0:03:40.400 of ideas, but then often you get back to your 0:03:40.400 --> 0:03:43.360 desk and it's like you don't have anything actionable to 0:03:43.360 --> 0:03:46.200 show for it, And I think bosses hate that. But also, yeah, 0:03:46.240 --> 0:03:48.920 after you're like, well, why did I just spend all 0:03:48.920 --> 0:03:52.000 the time doing all that horrible networking if I can't 0:03:52.000 --> 0:03:55.000 really get anything out of it. Some people maybe are 0:03:55.080 --> 0:03:58.880 naturally really good at sending follow up emails and arranging 0:03:58.920 --> 0:04:02.160 meetings that stemp from weird, awkward conversations you have in 0:04:02.200 --> 0:04:04.400 the bathroom line with people, But I know I'm not. 0:04:04.560 --> 0:04:08.880 And I kind of wonder too, how much how you 0:04:08.920 --> 0:04:11.760 can get the most out of conferences and also enjoy 0:04:11.840 --> 0:04:14.560 them while you're in the moment. Yeah, speaking of enjoying 0:04:14.600 --> 0:04:17.640 conferences in the moment um, what got us thinking about 0:04:17.920 --> 0:04:20.039 conferences as part of your work life. Was that we 0:04:20.240 --> 0:04:24.840 saw this conference that so perfectly was appealing to us. Um, 0:04:24.960 --> 0:04:27.679 that's w n i C conference. It was for female 0:04:27.720 --> 0:04:30.839 podcasters and that's something that we do as part of 0:04:30.839 --> 0:04:33.480 our jobs, but also like would love to learn more about. 0:04:33.520 --> 0:04:36.400 So you know, I've been invited to lots of different 0:04:36.400 --> 0:04:39.279 conferences that are more tangential, but this was just so 0:04:40.040 --> 0:04:42.080 perfect that it was so appealing. And yet in the 0:04:42.080 --> 0:04:43.760 back of my mind, I do have kind of all 0:04:43.760 --> 0:04:46.800 these cons that we've been talking about. What are some 0:04:46.839 --> 0:04:48.880 other things that you're skeptical about? Like, what are you 0:04:49.279 --> 0:04:51.680 what is the big pitfall of conferences for you? Sometimes 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:55.840 I think I hate panels. I've been to south By 0:04:55.839 --> 0:04:58.720 Southwest and people love it, they rave about it, and 0:04:58.720 --> 0:05:02.599 I got there and I was just overwhelmed and was 0:05:02.680 --> 0:05:04.440 asking myself, Wait, what am I supposed to do? I'm 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:06.800 supposed to go to panels? And then what I think 0:05:06.800 --> 0:05:10.119 there's some industries. UM, Like I hear my dad, who's 0:05:10.120 --> 0:05:12.640 a doctor, talked about going to conferences and he's like, oh, 0:05:12.680 --> 0:05:14.440 I learned so much, and I think the panels are 0:05:14.440 --> 0:05:17.279 these specific things that he needs to learn to get better. 0:05:17.320 --> 0:05:19.760 At his job. But I don't find that the panels 0:05:19.760 --> 0:05:22.679 in our industry are that rounded in anything. They feel 0:05:22.680 --> 0:05:26.040 like a lot more vague and you just kind of, 0:05:26.960 --> 0:05:29.719 I don't know a better work, so they feel like yes. 0:05:29.920 --> 0:05:33.280 So I was very skeptical of just going to panels 0:05:33.520 --> 0:05:37.440 all the time and that being somehow helpful for my job. Yeah, 0:05:37.480 --> 0:05:39.320 your dad's a doctor, Like, we're not going to hear 0:05:39.480 --> 0:05:43.000 somebody present a groundbreaking research paper for the first time 0:05:43.080 --> 0:05:46.360 on like a new piece of medical technology. If we're lucky, 0:05:46.600 --> 0:05:48.599 we might learn a little bit more about how to 0:05:48.600 --> 0:05:51.680 record a podcast well um, or how to meet people 0:05:51.680 --> 0:05:54.120 in the industry, or how to sell your podcasts or 0:05:54.160 --> 0:05:56.719 talk to advertisers. But also you might not. There's a 0:05:56.720 --> 0:05:59.080 lot that's in the hands of the organizers, and these 0:05:59.120 --> 0:06:03.559 things turn on how charismatic the panelists are, how much 0:06:03.720 --> 0:06:07.279 time they schedule for breaks in between, like how fatigued 0:06:07.360 --> 0:06:10.239 the audience is, like just the vibe of the room. 0:06:10.279 --> 0:06:13.320 And I mean, for me, one of the ways that 0:06:13.480 --> 0:06:16.520 I'm trying to get through this conference is just lowering 0:06:16.560 --> 0:06:20.159 my expectations so much that my threshold is basically, if 0:06:20.200 --> 0:06:23.719 I can get one useful insight out of every day 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:27.600 of this conference, I'll consider a roaring success. Yeah. So 0:06:27.640 --> 0:06:31.400 our expectations were pretty low for this conference, I would say, 0:06:31.560 --> 0:06:34.880 but we were wondering how other people felt, and so 0:06:34.920 --> 0:06:37.599 we talked to a few attendees about their feelings and 0:06:37.640 --> 0:06:50.640 expectations for the conference. So I wanted a little bit 0:06:50.640 --> 0:06:53.440 of a different perspective. UM. So I'm so much on 0:06:53.480 --> 0:06:56.000 the busy side. I really wanted to see what the 0:06:56.040 --> 0:06:58.920 creative side it was like, just in terms of a process. 0:06:58.960 --> 0:07:00.680 I know that so much goes into it, but I 0:07:00.720 --> 0:07:03.560 don't really get to see that side. I'm a podcast enthusiast. 0:07:03.560 --> 0:07:05.719 I'm like such a podcast nerd. So a lot of 0:07:05.760 --> 0:07:08.880 this is just like me being curious personally, but it's 0:07:08.880 --> 0:07:11.640 also really interesting professionally to see the other side of it, 0:07:12.000 --> 0:07:15.840 to get courage to know that I can start a 0:07:15.880 --> 0:07:20.400 new podcast. I was hoping to learn some skills about 0:07:20.440 --> 0:07:25.480 like the technical skills of podcasting and independent podcasting. UM. 0:07:25.520 --> 0:07:28.120 I've worked a little bit in it UM as a 0:07:28.160 --> 0:07:30.840 part of bigger companies, so I was really hoping to 0:07:30.920 --> 0:07:34.400 learn how to do it myself and UM to fill 0:07:34.480 --> 0:07:36.760 in any gaps in my knowledge that I've had so far. 0:07:37.400 --> 0:07:41.080 So I'm really here serving two masters because I want 0:07:41.080 --> 0:07:43.040 to grow my own show and have it me the 0:07:43.080 --> 0:07:45.520 best that it can be. And then at the same time, 0:07:45.640 --> 0:07:49.000 because I did produce other people's podcasts, I want to 0:07:49.000 --> 0:07:51.240 make sure that I'm doing everything I can do to 0:07:51.280 --> 0:07:53.720 make their shows the best that they can be. So 0:07:53.880 --> 0:07:56.720 definitely I was interested in meeting people um and then 0:07:56.720 --> 0:07:58.920 I also feel like having a lot of teachers is 0:07:58.960 --> 0:08:01.880 a really valuable thing life, and so learning from all 0:08:01.880 --> 0:08:04.560 the different presenters and how and they're talking about sort 0:08:04.560 --> 0:08:06.920 of the same things but also have really different approaches. 0:08:06.960 --> 0:08:10.880 The moment is also somewhere gets super interesting today. Everyone 0:08:10.960 --> 0:08:14.040 we talked to did have kind of realistic expectations. They 0:08:14.080 --> 0:08:17.880 did have a specific goal or some kind of goal 0:08:17.960 --> 0:08:22.280 that they were hoping to reach through this event. And 0:08:22.400 --> 0:08:24.920 that does seem like a good way to go into conferences, 0:08:24.920 --> 0:08:26.600 and something that you and I talked about going into 0:08:26.600 --> 0:08:29.080 this conference. We did sit down and say we have 0:08:29.200 --> 0:08:32.280 one goal, which for us was not to learn how 0:08:32.360 --> 0:08:34.120 to make a podcast, which is why a lot of 0:08:34.120 --> 0:08:37.280 people are here, but to increase our visibility of our show. 0:08:37.600 --> 0:08:39.959 There are a lot of people here who work at 0:08:40.200 --> 0:08:42.440 great places, doing great things, and we want them to 0:08:42.440 --> 0:08:45.120 know about us, And I think that just to give 0:08:45.160 --> 0:08:47.120 a little bit of a plug for conferences, because we've 0:08:47.160 --> 0:08:49.560 been kind of down on them. There is something sort 0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:53.080 of indescribable just about being in the same place as 0:08:53.120 --> 0:08:56.600 other people like for us to reach that goal of 0:08:56.800 --> 0:08:59.160 becoming more visible and meeting more people in our industry. 0:08:59.600 --> 0:09:01.520 It's hard to know exactly who the right people to 0:09:01.559 --> 0:09:03.400 talk to are, but there's something about getting a bunch 0:09:03.400 --> 0:09:06.320 of people from the same field, in the same place, 0:09:06.440 --> 0:09:10.120 in the same city where you have conversations. And it 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:12.240 might not be with exactly the people you expected to 0:09:12.280 --> 0:09:14.360 talk to or about the thing you expected to talk 0:09:14.360 --> 0:09:17.160 to them about, but something unexpected comes out of it. 0:09:17.559 --> 0:09:21.080 And that is both what's good about conferences and what 0:09:21.160 --> 0:09:23.560 can also feel like a weird boondoggle because you can't 0:09:23.559 --> 0:09:25.800 exactly explain that to your boss. I'm going to this 0:09:25.880 --> 0:09:28.640 conference and some magic might happen when I talk to somebody. 0:09:28.800 --> 0:09:30.600 All right, I hate to break up the magic that's 0:09:30.640 --> 0:09:33.400 happening over there, but there's a panel starting in a 0:09:33.400 --> 0:09:48.120 few minutes, so let's check back in later. So I'm tired. 0:09:48.960 --> 0:09:54.040 Conferences are really exhausting. We went to eight hours of 0:09:54.120 --> 0:09:59.880 panels Fords, and even though we work that much and 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:01.800 we're in a day, it's just there's a lot of 0:10:01.800 --> 0:10:05.520 mental energy happening. And in between panels there were that 0:10:05.640 --> 0:10:07.840 week we tried to network and there were events, and 0:10:07.880 --> 0:10:11.400 I think that it's just, yeah, it's really exhausting. Some 0:10:11.480 --> 0:10:13.280 of it's probably down to the jet lag we did 0:10:13.280 --> 0:10:17.160 fly to l A. But I agree there's something about 0:10:17.240 --> 0:10:20.120 sitting and listening and using your brain and processing ideas 0:10:20.400 --> 0:10:23.079 that makes you tired and also hungry. I was weirdly 0:10:23.120 --> 0:10:25.800 revenous this whole time, Okay, but we had a goal 0:10:26.040 --> 0:10:29.839 and it was to increase our visibility, and first of all, 0:10:29.840 --> 0:10:33.720 I think that helped me handle the panels. Even just 0:10:33.800 --> 0:10:36.840 having that goal. It was like, if I'm not getting 0:10:36.880 --> 0:10:38.959 everything out of this panel, it doesn't matter because that's 0:10:38.960 --> 0:10:41.400 not even my goal. I think it was useful. I 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:44.280 think coming to the conference was really useful for us 0:10:44.320 --> 0:10:47.160 to let people know that we have a show. Every 0:10:47.160 --> 0:10:50.439 person we talked to was like, oh, you're from Bloomberg 0:10:50.559 --> 0:10:52.880 and do you guys do a podcast? Cool? What is it? 0:10:53.160 --> 0:10:55.560 We I said the name like twelve times. I was like, 0:10:55.600 --> 0:10:58.680 it's game Plan, It's game Plan. Um, So I think 0:10:58.720 --> 0:11:01.520 that just that was it. But again we wanted to 0:11:01.559 --> 0:11:05.400 see how other people at the conference felt about their experiences, 0:11:05.400 --> 0:11:16.520 so we talked to a few people. Conferences are weird. 0:11:16.960 --> 0:11:19.439 It's it's like you go and it's it's great because 0:11:19.480 --> 0:11:21.960 you want to get some information and there's usually really 0:11:22.000 --> 0:11:25.360 interesting people um presenting things and it's a great place 0:11:25.400 --> 0:11:28.520 to get inspired. But it's also like you're just with 0:11:28.559 --> 0:11:33.440 a bunch of strangers and like in rooms sitting next 0:11:33.480 --> 0:11:36.200 to strangers all day, and especially if you're not really 0:11:36.240 --> 0:11:40.640 good at talking to strangers. It's just it. It's strange. 0:11:40.640 --> 0:11:44.199 It can be strange. I think this one is a 0:11:44.240 --> 0:11:48.240 lot more fun than a lot of conferences I've been to. UM. 0:11:48.280 --> 0:11:50.680 I think sometimes they can be a little bit stuff. 0:11:50.679 --> 0:11:54.680 You're formal or kind of have a sense of being 0:11:54.800 --> 0:11:58.000 sort of dreagerous. I mean, there's also like this weird 0:11:58.080 --> 0:12:00.560 feeling of like people eyeing each other are up to 0:12:00.880 --> 0:12:02.920 of like are you actually interested in me or you 0:12:03.000 --> 0:12:06.000 just you know, are you just social ranking each other. 0:12:06.840 --> 0:12:09.520 I'm hungry. There's not food here, and I thought there 0:12:09.600 --> 0:12:13.800 might be. It's incredible and kind of reassuring to me 0:12:13.920 --> 0:12:17.400 that there's there's so much agreement among everybody we talked 0:12:17.440 --> 0:12:20.080 to and among you and me that networking just kind 0:12:20.080 --> 0:12:23.800 of sucks, and even if you're an extrovert, it's awkward 0:12:23.960 --> 0:12:27.640 and it's transactional and weird, and like you're going up 0:12:27.679 --> 0:12:29.960 to people you don't know and they know that you're 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:32.400 talking to them because you want to get something from them. 0:12:32.840 --> 0:12:35.319 But there's two sides to the transaction, so we can 0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:37.080 help other people. That felt nice, and it made it 0:12:37.080 --> 0:12:38.800 easier to talk to people. I think, like, I'm not 0:12:38.800 --> 0:12:41.320 a natural networker, are you. I mean, I don't hate 0:12:41.360 --> 0:12:43.720 it as much as I think the average person, but 0:12:43.920 --> 0:12:46.920 it does. It's it gets it's again really exhausting to 0:12:47.400 --> 0:12:51.160 be on the entire time. And now that we've been 0:12:51.200 --> 0:12:56.280 here for three days, we can consider ourselves complete conference experts. 0:12:56.679 --> 0:13:00.280 I think we're pros at doing the conference circuit and 0:13:00.320 --> 0:13:04.000 we're ready to bring you our top five conference survival 0:13:04.040 --> 0:13:10.360 strategies Number one, Pick your conference. So this conference really 0:13:10.559 --> 0:13:13.120 uniquely appealed to us, and I think it being such 0:13:13.160 --> 0:13:15.640 an interesting topic for us made it worth it. I've 0:13:15.640 --> 0:13:18.200 been to other conferences that were too tangentile, so I 0:13:18.200 --> 0:13:21.719 think it's really important to pick a conference that is 0:13:21.840 --> 0:13:24.680 going to be as interesting to you and your job 0:13:25.240 --> 0:13:28.240 as possible. On the flip side of that, even at 0:13:28.240 --> 0:13:31.280 a conference where it is the ideal conference for you, 0:13:31.320 --> 0:13:33.559 there's no way that everything is going to appeal to you. 0:13:34.120 --> 0:13:36.680 And there will be some panels that are for people 0:13:36.880 --> 0:13:40.240 who want to start indie podcasts, for example, at this conference, um, 0:13:40.240 --> 0:13:42.800 and then there will be panels that are really specifically 0:13:42.800 --> 0:13:46.480 for you. So pick your conference, but keep your expectations realistic. 0:13:47.120 --> 0:13:50.160 Number two, tame the flow of information. There's gonna be 0:13:50.200 --> 0:13:52.160 so much thrown at you, and you can sort of 0:13:52.160 --> 0:13:56.320 feel obligated to record and remember everything everyone says, don't 0:13:56.480 --> 0:13:59.000 do it. I saw a lot of people filling up 0:13:59.040 --> 0:14:01.280 notebooks with notes, and more power to them if that's 0:14:01.320 --> 0:14:03.000 useful to them. But I know if I did that, 0:14:03.080 --> 0:14:05.559 I'd go home with a notebook that I'd never look 0:14:05.600 --> 0:14:07.640 at again. What I tried to do was write down 0:14:07.640 --> 0:14:12.040 literally one or two sentences from every panel that I 0:14:12.040 --> 0:14:16.200 found useful, and I made those sentences action items. So, 0:14:16.280 --> 0:14:20.359 like somebody mentioned something about how they surveyed their podcast audience, 0:14:20.800 --> 0:14:22.840 I made a note meet with the marketing team to 0:14:22.840 --> 0:14:25.880 talk about surveying our podcast audience. That kind of thing 0:14:25.960 --> 0:14:27.120 is that. Actually, I think you can go back to 0:14:27.120 --> 0:14:29.840 your desk and do it. Distills a panel down to 0:14:29.880 --> 0:14:33.000 what's really useful to you and you can just filter 0:14:33.080 --> 0:14:37.960 out everything else. Number three, walk out of bad panels. 0:14:38.680 --> 0:14:41.000 You don't have to sit there. I think that the 0:14:41.040 --> 0:14:43.280 stage can have this power over you. You're looking up 0:14:43.320 --> 0:14:46.520 at people who are really well lit, they're talking into microphones, 0:14:46.560 --> 0:14:49.160 and it might feel rude to leave, but you are 0:14:49.240 --> 0:14:51.800 there to learn stuff. And if a panel doesn't appeal 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:56.320 to you, walk out, leave early, and definitely don't stay 0:14:56.360 --> 0:14:59.560 for the Q and A really ever Yeah, And when 0:14:59.600 --> 0:15:02.200 you walk out, you actually might get a lot more 0:15:02.240 --> 0:15:04.640 out of talking to somebody who also has walked out 0:15:04.640 --> 0:15:06.320 of the panel and is just standing in line for 0:15:06.360 --> 0:15:09.440 the bathroom. We're waiting to get a refreshment. Number four 0:15:09.680 --> 0:15:13.840 Keep your networking targeted. It can be really intimidating if 0:15:13.880 --> 0:15:17.920 you expect yourself to meet every podcast idol or high 0:15:17.920 --> 0:15:22.080 profile media professional at a conference. So pick one or 0:15:22.160 --> 0:15:25.960 two people that you really want to meet and try 0:15:26.000 --> 0:15:27.880 to have a conversation with them and have a specific 0:15:27.880 --> 0:15:30.120 goal for that conversation. So, for example, we had an 0:15:30.120 --> 0:15:32.320 a sale host of death, sex and Money on our 0:15:32.320 --> 0:15:35.040 podcast months ago, but we talked to her remotely and 0:15:35.040 --> 0:15:37.640 we never met her in person. So I just wanted 0:15:37.680 --> 0:15:39.200 to meet an a sale and put a face to 0:15:39.240 --> 0:15:42.080 the name. We did that. We met our goal. It 0:15:42.160 --> 0:15:45.160 felt achievable, and it was much easier, I think than 0:15:45.240 --> 0:15:46.760 walking into a room full of people and being like, 0:15:47.240 --> 0:15:49.080 I have to make an impression on all these people. 0:15:49.920 --> 0:15:53.720 And finally number five pack a portable charger. We did 0:15:53.760 --> 0:15:56.360 not do this. I had to sit in the bathroom 0:15:56.400 --> 0:15:58.800 for fifteen minutes and charge my phone, which meant I 0:15:58.840 --> 0:16:01.400 was missing important things at the conference, but also it 0:16:01.440 --> 0:16:05.720 was just an unpleasant experience. So yeah, do that. Do 0:16:05.840 --> 0:16:09.560 you know what the technical explanation is for why conferences 0:16:09.600 --> 0:16:11.680 suck so much power out of your devices? Because there 0:16:11.760 --> 0:16:14.120 is one and I can't really understand it. But our 0:16:14.200 --> 0:16:18.479 charger strategy was bad. I don't know something about networks 0:16:18.560 --> 0:16:22.120 crowded whif I doesn't matter. We're not a tech podcast. 0:16:22.480 --> 0:16:26.080 We're conference experts, not WiFi experts. And now it's time 0:16:26.120 --> 0:16:32.560 for half bag takes, happy fake takes. You can call 0:16:32.600 --> 0:16:35.320 into our hotline with your own half bake take at 0:16:35.480 --> 0:16:39.760 two and two six seven zero one Sex sex Francesca, 0:16:40.400 --> 0:16:43.480 what's your half big take. I have one that's inspired 0:16:43.520 --> 0:16:47.040 by this conference. It's about hotel rooms. Um, I don't 0:16:47.080 --> 0:16:49.280 know why, but when I get into a hotel room, 0:16:49.280 --> 0:16:52.040 I kind of trash it, like not rock star style. 0:16:52.120 --> 0:16:55.280 I don't go in and start ripping up the comforter 0:16:55.440 --> 0:16:58.920 and setting garbage cans on fire. But I'm just way 0:16:58.960 --> 0:17:01.280 messier in hotel rooms then I would ever be in 0:17:01.360 --> 0:17:04.880 my own life. I guess that's because somebody is getting 0:17:04.880 --> 0:17:07.080 paid to clean it up. But there's just a certain 0:17:07.080 --> 0:17:09.480 amount of like clothes on the floor and tells everywhere 0:17:09.520 --> 0:17:11.760 that feels fine in a hotel room and wouldn't feel 0:17:11.800 --> 0:17:14.119 fine at home. Yes, we are sitting in my hotel 0:17:14.200 --> 0:17:17.040 room at this very moment, and it's pretty disgusting. So 0:17:17.080 --> 0:17:18.639 I guess I agree with their hat big take, and 0:17:18.640 --> 0:17:21.600 I didn't even know it. Re Becca, what's your hat 0:17:21.600 --> 0:17:27.080 big take? Not conference themed? Staircase themed? I was okay. 0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:30.400 My hat big take is kind of twofold and one. 0:17:30.520 --> 0:17:32.480 I think it's okay to walk down the left side 0:17:32.480 --> 0:17:35.680 of the stairs if nobody is coming and you want 0:17:35.720 --> 0:17:38.520 to expedite the process. I think, like I know, the 0:17:38.520 --> 0:17:40.679 convention is walk on the right, so both people can 0:17:40.680 --> 0:17:42.640 walk on the right going up and down. If you're 0:17:42.640 --> 0:17:44.560 on the left, the people coming in the other direction 0:17:45.040 --> 0:17:47.000 can't walk your way. But if there's no one coming, 0:17:47.040 --> 0:17:49.960 like you run down those stairs. But the caveat is 0:17:50.160 --> 0:17:52.640 if somebody comes up the other side, you need to 0:17:52.720 --> 0:17:55.840 move out of the way immediately as fast as possible. 0:17:56.320 --> 0:17:58.960 And I know that not everyone does this because the 0:17:59.000 --> 0:18:01.119 other day I was walking up the stairs on the 0:18:01.200 --> 0:18:03.960 right side and some man on the left side came 0:18:04.000 --> 0:18:07.000 barreling down at me and scowled at me when I 0:18:07.040 --> 0:18:09.200 was doing my duty to walk up the right side. 0:18:09.240 --> 0:18:10.760 And I was like, dude, I get it, walked on 0:18:10.840 --> 0:18:12.560 the love side, but you can't be mad at me. 0:18:13.720 --> 0:18:15.800 Walk down the left side or up the left side 0:18:15.800 --> 0:18:17.960 for that matter, but be prepared to duck back into line. 0:18:18.080 --> 0:18:20.639 And you are taking a risk that you'll get some 0:18:20.680 --> 0:18:23.800 side I from the people who like dutifully waited and 0:18:23.840 --> 0:18:26.000 they're slow walk up the right side while you sprint 0:18:26.040 --> 0:18:27.359 it up the left, and then you're trying to like 0:18:27.480 --> 0:18:30.120 cut in. But I feel like it's a calculated risk 0:18:30.160 --> 0:18:32.960 and it's worth it because you're absolutely right, like yolo, 0:18:33.640 --> 0:18:35.520 you know what I mean? Are you gonna stand on 0:18:35.640 --> 0:18:38.320 the stairs forever like a dummy, while the left side 0:18:38.359 --> 0:18:41.200 is totally clear because no one's coming that way. There's 0:18:41.240 --> 0:18:42.760 one subway station in New York. I'm not going to 0:18:42.880 --> 0:18:45.000 name it, but you know what you are people in 0:18:45.000 --> 0:18:49.160 that subway station where everybody does is they just left 0:18:49.160 --> 0:18:52.320 side is totally clear, and people wait forever and ever 0:18:52.359 --> 0:18:54.840 in this endless line. Come on, let's be efficient, let's 0:18:54.920 --> 0:18:57.359 use their time. Well, I'm with you, Becca, you hear 0:18:57.359 --> 0:19:01.600 it a staircase sheep yolo and this has been half 0:19:01.600 --> 0:19:07.320 big takes, half baked takes. Thank you for listening to 0:19:07.320 --> 0:19:09.679 another episode of game Plan. You can find me on Twitter. 0:19:09.840 --> 0:19:12.840 I'm at rs Greenfield and I'm at Francesca today. You 0:19:12.880 --> 0:19:14.520 can tweet at us. You can call us and leave 0:19:14.600 --> 0:19:16.760 us a voicemail with a half big take or anything 0:19:16.760 --> 0:19:18.240 else you want to say about the show. It's two 0:19:18.240 --> 0:19:21.680 and to six one seven zero one six six. If 0:19:21.680 --> 0:19:24.439 you want to hear from us even more, sign up 0:19:24.440 --> 0:19:27.040 Fire newsletter. You can find it at Bloomberg dot com 0:19:27.119 --> 0:19:30.119 slash Newsletters and you click the game Plan box and 0:19:30.160 --> 0:19:32.639 then it will appear in your inbox. If you like 0:19:32.760 --> 0:19:35.159 our show, please go to Apple podcast or wherever you 0:19:35.280 --> 0:19:38.680 listen and just take a second to rate us, review us. 0:19:39.040 --> 0:19:43.080 All that stuff really helps increase our visibility, which we 0:19:43.240 --> 0:19:45.679 love you to help us with. The show was produced 0:19:45.680 --> 0:19:47.840 by Liz Smith and Magnus Hendrickson and the head of 0:19:47.880 --> 0:20:16.880 podcast is Franchise Pa Leavy. We'll see you next week. Bye. 0:20:18.320 --> 0:20:22.600 I know you're not recording. The red Line is done.