Well, I didn’t actually drink like a fish, but I didn’t want to be rude to the nice people at the Tiki bar. All those lonely rum drinks looking for a home!
So, VOICE 2012 at the Disneyland Hotel.
I could give you some thoughtful introspection and wow you with my profundity (profundity?). OR I could gush about all the friends I made and get all weepy and whatnot. Instead, I’m gonna give you some quick & dirty tips on how to make attending a conference work for you as well as those around you…
Let the conference speak to you. When I say that, I mean be open to the experience. Don’t plan out what you’re gonna do down to the minute. Sometimes what you think might be the right seminar for you may not be the case. Sometimes you need to play hookey and pass up a session to either get some rest or spend time networking in the lobby.
Shoving your business card in everyone’s hands and bragging about all the work you get is NOT networking. If you find yourself starting every sentence with the word “I”, you’re doing something wrong. Networking is about meeting people and developing relationships. When I network, I try to talk about anything BUT voiceovers. I want to get to know them as a person and I want them to know me for who I am, not what I can do for them or vice versa. And don’t give your business card to someone unless they ask for it!
And about business cards, I received over 100 of them and dammit, do we have to go over this again? First off, if you’re going to a conference, bring some! I held a raffle in my seminar and picked business cards out of a hat. Five of the business cards were names scribbled on a piece of scrap paper! If you are a voice talent, DO NOT put your address on the card. DO NOT put your Voice123 profile as your website, and please avoid putting a microphone on there, too. It’s so overdone!
TIP OF THE WEEK: Here’s the big one, kids. When you go to a conference, convention, networking event, or whatever, just be you. Enjoy the experience, enjoy the people, and “mix it up”, so to speak. Try to spend time with different people and listen, listen, listen!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Who you love only matters to yourself. It’s what you do to the ones you love that matters. From the film “The Last Kiss”
STUFF!: Check this out…
From Tom Dheere’s apartment, this is Tom Dheere, GKN News…