How to Make the Most of the ISFLC

Check out this guest post by master networker Nigel Ashford of the Institute for Humane Studies!

Do you know how to make the most of your ISFLC weekend?

You’re about to spend three days with the largest gathering of pro-freedom students in history, plus dozens of organizations committed to helping you advance liberty.  Here are some tips on how to take full advantage of this opportunity to share ideas, make connections, and learn about people and resources that can help you down the road.

Before the conference:

• Create goals.  Do you want to meet the leaders of student groups in your region?  Are there certain organizations you want to get face time with?  Perhaps you want to learn more about Austrian economics.  Knowing your goals will give you a more focused approach.

• Get business cards.  The point of handing someone a business card is not to tell people stuff they can learn from Facebook.  The point is to send them home with a reminder that they talked to you, so they won’t forget.  You can get free business cards at sites like www.vistaprint.com.

• Practice your “elevator speech.”  You will be asked many times what you do, how you got involved, or what you hope to get out of the conference.  Craft four sentences or less that hit your highlights and try saying them aloud a few times.

At the conference:

• Wear your name tag.  Wear it at all times, and wear it proudly.  Wear it high and on the right.  You want people to see your name repeatedly so they’ll remember it.  You also don’t want people you see several times to feel embarrassed if they forget your name.

• Introduce yourself with more than your name.  Give your name and affiliation each time you meet someone, and each time you ask a question in a session.  For example, “I’m John Smith, and I’m a senior at George Mason University.”  This is free advertising.  Take advantage of it!

• Never eat alone.  People attend conferences to make connections and share knowledge, and everyone knows it.  Ask students from other groups out to lunch and dinner.  Mingle with people you

  You can read the rest of this article at: http://studentsforliberty.org/news/how-to-make-the-most-of-the-isflc/

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  Posted by rbutler on Feb 8 2012. Filed under Libertarian News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry