An Introvert at a Conference?

I usually stay away from networking events and conferences, although I can understand their potential value… to a certain extent! Looking from a system perspective, there are many things that organizers can do to make a conference more beneficial to all participants (including introverts), to themselves and their organization—but that’s a topic for another article. 🙂

Back to myself: I’m a kinaesthetic introvert. Being around many people and listening for extended time drains my energy and makes me uncomfortable—not the best way to start a conversation with strangers, right? Although that’s what people recommend doing if you attend a conference.

Being interested in testing an idea, I applied to do the presentation Using Introvert Strengths for Effective Job Search at Cannexus20—the National Career Development Conference organized by CERIC.

I strengthened my public speaking ‘muscle’ while delivering workshops for 10+ years, so I was at least comfortable speaking.

We often hear in the business world: test an idea before you invest more time, energy, and resources in it! Since my idea is about writing a book or create a program for career development professionals—on how to better serve their introverted clients—this conference seemed a good environment to test if there is any interest from my target audience.

Since Cannxus20 organizers approved my presentation, I gladly checked the first validation point! 🙂

It was time to plan my conference experience—besides the hotel booking and travel—and these questions helped:

• What outcomes do I want for this presentation (for the audience and myself)?
• How can I maximize this experience?
• What can I do to make myself more comfortable in this situation, to tap into my introvert strengths, and minimize the negative effects of such an overwhelming environment? (for an introvert like me)

What I came out with?

• The desired outcome: I wanted to gauge the participants’ interest in this topic, to raise awareness about the fact that introverts’ need a different approach, and increase the visibility of my award-winning book Introverts: Leverage Your Strengths for an Effective Job Search (if they want more details).
• For the audience: I wanted them to become more aware that introverts represent a big part of the Canadian population* (48.1%), that introvert and extrovert strengths are complementary, and that shifting from a deficit-based to a strength-based approach could be more beneficial for their introverted clients.
• I also became an exhibitor. Since my presentation contained concepts and strategies from that book—and 10+ years of experience in applying a coaching approach to employment and career counselling—why not have the book for sale as well This way, more participants could see my book when they’ll pass by the booth, not just those who would attend my presentation. Plus, I could continue the conversation with those who attended my presentation and get their feedback.
• On the other side, being a presenter and exhibitor would make me more comfortable since I can talk only about topics I’m passionate about and to people who are interested in such topics—an environment that makes an introvert thrive. This will also allow me to take longer breaks (to recharge my batteries) while participants are attending the sessions… so I’ll have the energy to speak with more people while I’m there.
• I decided to give a try to Cannexus20’s mentorship program—Delegate Duos—to feel less alone at a conference that attracted 1400 participants from all over Canada. Introverts a bit feel better when there are some familiar faces at the same event.

Did my planning work well?

Yes… most of it! 🙂

• What could be the chance that participants attend my presentation when there are 150 education sessions in 2.5 days? Not much, I thought, and I’m glad I was wrong! 🙂 I pleasantly surprised me to see a full room: 100+ people, some even standing because there were no chairs left! Interest in this presentation: Checked!
• Many of those who attended my presentation stopped by my booth too, bought the book and told other participants how much they liked my presentation. Some even brought other participants at my booth, so they too can buy my book. Other participants also mentioned their interest in this topic, but they couldn’t attend… too many interesting presentations in parallel! Kudos to Cannexus20 for choosing such great topics that make it hard to choose! Interest in my presentation and its topic: checked! Great feedback: Checked! Checked! Checked!…
• The ‘talking’ breaks (while participants were attending the sessions) were very effective! They helped me get enough energy to carry on through the whole conference. My Delegate Duos mentor, Rebecca McCarthy, was awesome! So was my neighbour, Gerard Keledjian  (New Horizons Media, Executive Producer of NewCanadians.TV) who split the booth with me—we got along very well, supporting each other. Feeling comfortable, Minimized the negative effects of attending a large conference: Checked!
• Some participants connected with me via LinkedIn while we were still there, including Karine S. Touloumjian (Bilingual Career Strategist with a background in HR). She made my day with her feedback: she found my presentation so interesting and informative that she suggested approaching companies as well. Her idea is aligned with another project I had in mind: to make companies more aware of how the current hiring practices unwillingly screen the introverts out, and what type of work environments made introverts tap more into their strengths. I even had a dream before attending this conference; it revealed a great way to test introverted candidates to better understand what they’re capable of. Confidence boost, Validation of the other project: Checked!
• Bonus: I made new connections, enjoyed meeting familiar faces, had great conversations… and left with some interesting thoughts on how to develop my original idea and the other project.

It didn’t surprise me that almost 3/4 of my presentation’s attendees are self-identified introverts. Employment counselling, career development and HR are meaningful professions, so they attract many introverts. We like to help!
I love when people share the impact of my presentation on themselves… like Stephen J Landry did:

“I think my entire life I was suffering in silent pain because of my low self-esteem derived from the messaging I received as a young child. The low self-esteem resulted in a difficulty in expressing myself as I lacked the courage to express my ideas because I just didn’t feel worthy of being in the same space as my peers, and as an adult, with my colleagues. I never felt I deserved to have further education, or that I could achieve much when I was frequently told I was stupid and undeserving. I lacked the confidence to move forward, and thus, also restricted my belief in myself to do well and achieve. I really had to force myself to speak in public, to hear my own voice, often drowned out by others who had more confidence or more willing to take risks. My interpersonal skills have really been a challenge for me to work in my current job, where people are promoted based on relationships, instead of outcomes or their work performance.
In the earlier part of my career, I was tasked with a large project that I excelled at and contributed significant success to the outcomes. However, when I compared my success to those of my peers, I realized the relationship building—not success—was recognized. I was asked to reapply for my same job and was parachuted back down from the echelons of where I was working to find myself back to where I had first started, and to career stagnation.
Understanding that my introvert qualities are an asset and not a detriment came through in the presentation you did at Cannexus20. For many years, I suffered from what is called “Imposter Syndrome”, where I felt undeserving of what I had achieved, feeling out of place despite signs of success. I often questioned my competence to be in the job I worked in, until I achieved my Career Development Practitioner Certification, and completed studies at Dalhousie University in Employment Services (after being out of school formally for many years).
I feel very modest about my achievements but feel an inner urge, especially after attending your presentation to take my career to the next level. I have come a long way since my earlier years, but hearing what you said gave me more confidence to continue growing and pushing forward.”

And it motivates me to continue this work… thanks, Steve!

What didn’t go so well in my experience with Cannexus20?

• I got lost two times on my way back to the hotel. 🙂 I was probably too tired in the evening, after spending 10-11 hours at the conference the first two days.
• Sharing the booth with another company seems to confuse some participants. Having an individual booth provides more space to showcase your products and services (although it’s not easy when you’re all by yourself).
• I could be better prepared as an exhibitor (got some ideas if I’ll do this again).
• The famous Rideau Canal wasn’t open for skating. 🙁

Did I use my introvert strengths?

I’ll let you decide! 🙂
If you don’t know what they are, you can download a list of 30 introvert strengths here… but we have many more!

Curious about the content of my presentation?

Download the presentation (PDF format) here

Now back to you!

If you’re an introvert: how do you cope with the overwhelming experience associated with a conference?
If you’re an extrovert: do you engage in conversation with the quiet participants? They have great ideas and input if you’re open to listening. 🙂

Gabriela

More visuals of my experience at Cannexus20 and with the city of Ottawa:

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* Research Department of Psychometrics Canada Report based on a sample of 58,000 MBTI® assessments in Canada in English.
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Gabriela Casineanu is a professional system coach, award-winning and multi-bestselling author. She considers life as a self-discovery and creative journey worth exploring. Like many Romanians, she started her professional path in engineering—continuing with IT, Quality Assurance, and an MBA. But her creative and curious soul found a way to turn things around! A career shift to system coaching opened her up to a wonderful world of possibilities for herself and clients. In 2016, forced by an inability to speak for four months, she bounced back to health through writing and fell in love with it! An introvert herself, she enjoys weaving in all the aspects of her broad background in everything she does—using the systemic lens and holistic approach—to create a better world! More details: GabrielaCasineanu.com • Amazon.com/author/gabrielacasineanu