Your Attendee Networking Survival Guide (Steal & Forward)

October is the peak conference season. It’s also when attendee anxiety reaches truly spooky levels.

Which  means your attendees’ inner monologue sounds like this:

How do I even start a convo?
‍There’ll be so many people…
Won’t everyone already know each other?

When nerves win, the number of quality meetings drops. 

Shy attendees don’t book slots, great prospects drift past booths, and your team fields a flood of “we kept missing each other” messages. 

Fewer meaningful chats = softer ROI.

Exhibitors feel it, sponsors notice it, and your post-event survey wears it. 

The good news is, this is a fixable problem.

That’s why we created a ready-to-send networking survival guide for your attendees. It walks them through what to do before, during, and after the event. Forward the checklist and watch those meeting bookings climb.

In This Issue, We Cover:

• Spotlight: Quick moves you can steal and forward to attendees so they can make real connections.
• Fresh from the Pod: Gina Kay on designing events for networking and why “meetings made” is the KPI to watch.
• Read Worth Your Time: Get best-practice playbooks for attendees, exhibitors, and organizers; a quick lead-capture app comparison; and a shareable job-fair networking guide.

Spotlight — The Attendee Networking Survival Guide

There is just a growing sense of wanting human connection at events

Katherine Tooley

VP of Global Events at HubSpot

While attendees crave networking, many find it intimidating, especially the introverts out there.

As an organizer, it is your job to make it happen. And it is our job to help you. 

Here are networking tips and a solid checklist you can forward to your stakeholders before your next event.

1. Build a 10-Name Hit List: Make a short list of about 10 people or companies you want to meet. Skim their recent posts, panels, or products so you have a relevant opener and a reason to connect. 
2. Warm It Up with a Killer Profile: Before you reach out, set a networking profile on the event’s app, so people see the fit fast: your interests, what you’re there for, and who you are. Then warm things up on LinkedIn or email with a genuine question about something they’ve shared. 
3. Send the Two-Option Invite: Your meetings should be lined up before the event. Don’t send “Let me know when you want to connect.” Instead, offer two concrete times up front to make saying yes easy, for example: “Quick hello Tue 11:30 or Wed 2:15?” 
4. Make It About Them, Not You: People love talking about themselves. A great approach can be to start conversations by asking, either “How’s it going?” or “Which session are you most excited about?. 

   When the conversation gets flowing, customize your pitch to the listener. One line that maps your value to their role beats a generic spiel. For example: “You’re focused on exhibitor ROI. I help teams turn booth chats into booked demos.”

5. Qualify First, Then Exchange Details: Don’t scan every badge. Start with one or two quick questions to see if there’s a fit: “What are you hoping to get out of today?” or “Is exhibitor ROI a priority this quarter?” 

   If the answer sounds relevant, then swap QR or lead info and jot one note (problem, timeline, next step). If it isn’t a fit, point them to a useful session or person, thank them, and keep moving. 

6. The 24-Hour One-Ask Follow-Up: Skip the recap novel. Send one clear next step, for example: “Great chat about onboarding. 15-min compare-notes Wed 10:00?” 
7. Label by Intent, Win by Relevance: Keep follow-ups targeted by labeling each contact Buyer, Partner, or Peer with one line of context, for example: “Buyer, exploring EU exhibitor ROI, Q1 budget.” 
8. Post a 3×3 Recap: Momentum fades once everyone travels. Share three takeaways and tag three new connections to reopen threads, for example: “3 ideas from <EventName> that changed my mind → [post]. Thanks @X @Y @Z.”

Grab the full checklist: Event Networking Checklist

Encourage attendees to use it, check items off, and bring it along as their personal networking playbook.

Of course, knowledge alone doesn’t guarantee connection; the right environment does. That’s where event technology bridges the gap.

Features like smart matchmaking, in-app chat, and easy QR swaps quietly remove the awkward barriers that stop people from connecting. When organizers pair clear direction with digital enablement, every attendee, introvert or extrovert, gets the chance to find their people.

️Fresh From the Pod – Turning Attendance into Connections

While technology makes connecting easier, great event design makes it natural. So how do you create an environment where people don’t just have the tools to connect, they actually want to?

That’s exactly what Georgina Kay, Marketing Manager at International Confex, explores in our latest conversation. One theme kept coming up: design your event so people can actually find each other, and track whether that’s happening.

Time and time again, people want to connect with people… that makes it the highest priority for me as a KPI.

Georgina Kay

Marketing Manager of International Confex

In other words, treat connections as a core outcome, not a happy accident. Define what a “meaningful meeting” looks like, create spaces where quick hellos can evolve into follow-ups, and make those numbers visible to everyone, your team, exhibitors, and sponsors alike.

How to put this lens to work this month:

• Set the definition and the target: Agree on what counts as a meaningful meeting for your show, set a realistic per-day goal, and add it to the run of show and daily huddles.
  
• Lower the social lift: Add two or three low-ask spaces like hosted lounges, small roundtables, or “meet your peers” moments with a gentle prompt.
  
• Make the tech do the heavy lifting: Turn intent into action with interest tags and smart matchmaking, a meeting scheduler with availability, and fast QR or lead capture so notes and next steps don’t get lost.

Want more? Listen to the full episode.

Reads Worth Your Time

Still confused about how to create a networking environment that attendees won’t forget? Here are some reads that have all the insights to help you:

• Want to know best practices to network as an attendee, exhibitor, and organizer? Here are 30 expert-led tips.
• Confused about which lead capture app to use to promote networking? Here are the leading ones.
• Worried if your attendees will make the most out of your job fair? Share this guide with them.

Here’s to running events that bring people together.

See you next month