Conferences are great times to meet and learn from your peers. A conference isn’t just days of sessions and learning, though. Dinners and lunches with people you’ve just met, and forging new partnerships and friendships are a part of conference too.

How can you make meeting people easier? Here’s a few tips:

Eventbrite

Eventbrite allows you to find or plan events that are happening in a city or around an event. Want to plan your own meet up? Looking for someone to go running with? Do you want to try to bring together a group of people who work in the same area as you do? Eventbrite is a great tool for bringing people together.

Power Strips

There are going to be a lot of people with computers at conference.

There aren’t going to be a lot of outlets in the convention center.

Plug in a power strip and share it with your new friends!

MiFi

Just like outlets will be at a premium in the convention center, there is no public wifi.

MiFi pods let you, and a few of your brand new best friends share an internet connection.

Social Media

Keeping an eye on the internet chatter around conference can help you to find people who you’d like to meet face-to-face. It can help you to meet someone that you think is funny, or that works in the same area that you do, or someone in that session you really wanted to go to but couldn’t make so you can pick their brain.

Check out How to be a Social Media Rock Star at Conference for tips.

Smile

Really, who would you rather start a random conversation with in the hotel lobby?

This guy:

Or this guy:

We know that on day three of conference, everyone’s going to be tired, but putting that extra bit of effort into a smile makes it easier to meet new people, and makes you more approachable.

Ask For Introductions

“I saw you talking to Hamilton Stand earlier, could you introduce me?”

BAM. You just got to meet and talk to two new people.

Don’t forget to thank the person who introduced you!

What have you done to make meeting people easier? Let us know in the comments!