1. Always take a friend into the exhibition area
If you want to avoid leaving the exhibition area weighed down by thousands of leaflets like an evangelical pack mule, take a friend in and make sure you look deep in conversation at all times, in order to avoid being sold what we’re, and other exhibitors, selling. On the other hand, why wouldn’t you want what we’re selling?
2. Stop tweeting
We’ve all been there. In the middle of an inspirational talk and the speaker says something profound in under 140 characters. Before we know it, our phones are in our hands, lighting up our faces like angelic secretaries distributing the quote all over social media with the appropriate hashtag. If you’re not at the event and the tweets are on your timeline, it’s a bit annoying. (Sorry for making a big deal of #yws13 trending!)
3. Christian cliché bingo
Sometimes, only sometimes, the main sessions at these events can feel a bit familiar, with some phrases being used fairly regularly. So, as with all things, the best response is to turn it into a game. Make a few ‘Christian cliché’ bingo cards with a variety of phrases, hand them out among friends, and the first person to fill in their card wins.
4. Networking is not working
These events involve a lot of networking, and while this is great,one fine mind once told us that networking is ‘not working’. We disagree: networking is useful. However, as we liked the joke, here are some other things that networking is not: the lord of pig products (not pork king), a town in Surrey (not Dorking), the writer of The West Wing (not Sorkin).
5. Don’t do too much
You meticulously scour the programme, desperate to cram as much in to every second, searching for the quickest route between meeting rooms in order not to miss a smidgen of it. That’s great, but you’ll leave more tired than you were when you arrived. Take some time out, grab a coffee, laugh with some mates. (N.B. If any of the Youthwork team are running a seminar, you should be at that session.)
