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This week's Thank You Note: The professional contacts

Card and original verse created by Kay Foley
The energy at a good conference is palpable. The buzz of new ideas and repurposing old ideas permeates every session and congregates around every outlet. I love going because I always learn so much and I feel like I absorb that energy and excitement. I struggle a little bit because, while my primary goal is to build relationships with professional contacts, my inner voice tells me to sit off in the corner, or better yet, disappear to my hotel room after the sessions are done.

That's why one of the best practices networking experts often tout is to set up meetings prior to the show, and that works doubly well for introverts like me. Knowing I have a face-to-face meeting, which I love, gives me something to look forward to, instead of looking for the next opportunity to duck back behind my computer screen and surreptitiously watch from afar.

I was able to schedule those meetings with a few of the editors I work with during the three-day event. It broke up the time between information absorption and feeling like a needy puppy -- "Won't someone come talk to me? I'm an interesting person."

These editors all had many other friends and colleagues they could have spent time with or they could have just brushed me off like a few others did (cue needy puppy). But they didn't. We chatted about what they were working on, interesting projects they recently completed and a few mutual interests. Because they made time for me, I wanted to make sure they knew I appreciated it.

In order to stand out from the regular thank you notes these editors probably get, I stopped by a local store that sells interesting cards, usually by local artists, and I was not disappointed. One editor got a card from a long-time personal favorite, Ampersand Cards, and I found a fun sentiment perfect for the personality of another editor from Curly Girl Design.

Thank you, Liz, Laura, Ebony and Matt for spending a little of your precious time with me during the controlled chaos of the conference!

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