Continuing medical education (CME) conferences are both functional and fun. You can mix business and pleasure in a setting that allows high-achieving participants to enjoy time as both friends and colleagues. CME conferences are an opportunity to share memorable experiences with others, whether that’s by having family or coworkers accompany you to a destination or making new friends while there.
The many benefits of travel conferences through CME Seminars make our destinations a place where like-minded individuals can share and develop new ideas. Maybe in addition to making friends, you’re looking for ways to make your practice more efficient, deploy new technologies in your workplace or consider ways of more fully enjoying the rewards of a medical career by sharing business opportunities.
This potential for new connections that are both friendly and professional makes conferences are a prime opportunity to network among your colleagues.
How Do You Network at Conferences?
If you want to learn how to network at your next CME conference check out this list of networking tips and tricks to make the most of networking opportunities. The benefits could last a lifetime.
Networking Tips and Tricks
1. Set your schedule with networking in mind.
CME Seminars’ half-day conferences are designed to make time for networking and however else you want to spend your time. Ask around to figure out where participants are gathering after morning seminars for lunch, drinks or fun in the sun. Networking at a conference can happen anytime, anywhere!
2. Have some ice breakers ready to go.
As a successful doctor, nurse or another advanced health clinician, communication is probably something you already do well. And while a good networker might choose to approach networking in a business-like fashion, conferences are only partially a work environment. People visit conference destinations, like CME Seminars’ Florida hot spots, to have fun. That doesn’t mean you can’t steer conversions to medical and business topics, but instead, open with a proven ice breaker. Everyone enjoys talking about themselves, so asking someone a question is another great way to start a dialogue.
3. Focus on listening.
With all the fun and commotion of a conference in a tropical climate like Florida, it’s easy to get swept away in it all. Especially for those who are traveling for the first time after pandemic restrictions have been lifted. Maybe you’re even feeling a little out of practice in social situations due to the pandemic. There’s an easy answer: To get to know someone, ask more questions about them and listen closely to the answers. This is a great way to start relearning how to network and spend your time at a conference surrounded by like-minded friends!
4. Repeat names aloud to remember them.
CME Seminars’ morning-only travel conferences are five days in duration. This is plenty of time to get to know someone but it’s awfully hard to introduce one acquaintance to another or flag someone down from across the room if you don’t remember their name! Some people seem to remember names more naturally than others. If you’re someone that struggles to remember names, try repeating them during conversation to help better commit them to memory. Remembering someone’s name is the first step to successfully networking at a conference with them.
5. Use technology to make lasting connections.
If you haven’t cleaned up and added to your LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram profiles for a while, there’s never a better time to than the lead-up to a conference. You might meet some really savvy social users who connect online as well as they do in person and you’ll want to jump at the chance to add them to your network. Or maybe you’ve met someone intriguing and want to go online to learn a little more about them. You could also score points with your new friends by whipping out your phone to pinpoint the hottest restaurant or bar close by. In any case, using social media is a great way to keep in touch after a conference is over.