Advice for First-time Attendees (and others)

/ Johanna Olexy / Leave a comment

On Twitter, ASA (@ASAnews) asked sociologists to share their advice for first-time attendees to the Annual Meeting. Our awesome followers gave some great advice. Below I briefly summarize the tips and include some sample tweets. Thanks to all who participated and shared. In the comments, please share your own advice or questions.

      • Don’t read your presentation, keep it brief. (See more tips here and here)
      • Don’t rely on PowerPoint.
      • Take advantage of sections (receptions, business meeting, sessions).
      • Be friendly. Talk to people you have never met, even the “big names”.
      • Make attending presentations a learning experience.
      • Get out into the city.
      • Prep for job interviews. Using Employment Service? Have a 30-second research blurb ready. (for more advice see this Footnotes article and this Scatterplot post).
      • Use the program to plan out your schedule based on interests and obligations.
      • Interested in getting published? Go to exhibit hall and connect with publishers.
      • Wear comfortable shoes (and a bow tie on Saturday).
      • Get out of your comfort zone.Try sessions that are out of your area of interest.
      • Go to thematics; they’re designed to spark a conversation.
      • It’s ok to take a break; pace yourself.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *