Take-aways

Attending the conference has given me a lot to consider. It isn’t enough to come away simply having had a nice time like a holiday - I’d like to reflect on obstacles I’ve faced, observations I’ve made, questions I have, and so on. Some central themes coalesce when thinking about presentations that left a strong impression on me:

How do you respond to strong negative feelings about a presentation?

Certain presentations left me with a strong negative reaction, through no ill will or misdeed of the researchers involved. I simply clashed with them in some way - maybe methodology, maybe ideology, maybe something else. It’s not productive to just stew in negativity, though, I want to be able to reflect on these feelings and see how I can find something productive in them. Perhaps considerations for my own work, or something else?

Some things will be interesting but out of the scope of your contextual understanding

It’s exciting to encounter something that makes you feel enthusiastic, yet you have very little idea what was going on. It feels like getting into a new game, or a new language, or picking up an instrument, where you know that there’s a whole world of understanding that you might be able to reach. You don’t learn through excitement alone, though, so I really need to consider strategy. How can I break down these complicated ideas, trace their roots, and work my way up to the point where I can confidently say I understand them?

Some things will simply not be interesting to you at all - can you reconcile this?

Contrary to above - some presentations bounced off of me entirely. You will notice that there are some presentations I did not cover when writing, and that’s not from me overlooking them. While it’s understandable to not connect with something and take the time to rest and organise instead, it’s in my best interest to see if I can learn to get something out of them instead.

Everyone is a person

Whether your research aligns with theirs or not, whether they’re two years younger or thirty years older, whether you’re a fan of their work or just heard of them that morning - everybody attending the conference is a person. You can chat to them, show them a restaurant, go drinking with them, talk about theories and research with them, and so on. In the context of a conference where you’re around a lot of extremely talented, knowledgeable people in various stages of their careers, I want to work on getting over my anxieties and getting to know new people and learn about what they do.

I have no idea how to follow up after a conference

Do I just cold email people? How should I word the opening? Should I be open and friendly, or keep it professional? I’m really not sure!