How to attend a conference
如何参加见面会

Attending a music conference is the most efficient way to meet the most number of the best contacts.
参加音乐会议是结识最多最佳联系人的最有效方式。

People who attend conferences are ambitious, working in the industry now, and open to meeting new people.
参加会议的人都雄心勃勃，目前在业内工作，愿意结识新朋友。

I highly recommend you go to a few music industry conferences every year.
我强烈建议你每年参加几次音乐产业会议。

That said… Most people completely waste their time and money when they attend a conference. So here’s how to do it right:
也就是说......大多数人在参加会议时完全是在浪费时间和金钱。因此，以下是如何正确参加会议的方法：

Get interested and listen.
感兴趣并倾听。

You know the way to be interesting to others is to be interested in them.
你知道，让别人感兴趣的方法就是对他们感兴趣。

So the week before the conference, read one or two books about how to be a great listener. (The original classic from the 1930s is titled “How to Win Friends and Influence People” but there are many similar books about people skills, and they’re all good.)
因此，在会议召开前一周，应阅读一到两本关于如何成为一名出色倾听者的书籍。(20 世纪 30 年代的经典原著名为《如何赢得朋友和影响他人》，但类似的关于人际交往技巧的书籍还有很多，而且都很不错）。

Then use the conference as your testing ground for your new listening skills. Get extremely interested in those around you. Think like an investigative reporter.
然后将会议作为你测试新聆听技巧的场所。对周围的人产生极大的兴趣。像调查记者一样思考。

For each person you meet, think about how you can help them.
对于你遇到的每一个人，想想你能如何帮助他们。

Turn to a stranger and say, “Hi. What do you do?”
转过身对陌生人说："嗨，你是做什么的？"

Ask how they got into that. Ask what’s hard about it. Figure out how you can help them.
问他们是如何进入这个行业的？问他们难在哪里。想想你能如何帮助他们。

If they’re too shy, help by introducing them to the next person you meet and inviting them to dinner. If they’re too popular, help them escape the crowd for a little peace and quiet.
如果他们太害羞，就帮他们介绍下一个你遇到的人，邀请他们共进晚餐。如果他们太受欢迎，帮助他们逃离人群，享受宁静。

Trade contact info within a few minutes of meeting. If you wait too long, one of you will get pulled away, and it will be too late.
见面后几分钟内交换联系方式。如果你们等得太久，其中一个人就会被拉走，那就太晚了。

If you’re an introvert like me, this will be exhausting. But you only need to do it for a few hours, and this only happens a few times per year. It’s worth the effort.
如果你和我一样是个内向的人，这会让你筋疲力尽。但你只需要做几个小时，而且每年只做几次。这样的努力是值得的。

Each night, before bed, enter everyone’s info into your database, including your private notes on what you remember about each person. It’s crucial to do this before you meet more people the next day.
每天晚上睡觉前，将每个人的信息输入你的数据库，包括你对每个人印象的私人笔记。在第二天见到更多的人之前，这样做至关重要。

Send them a message immediately, connecting the digital you to the physical you. (“Hi John. Good to meet you today. You were right about the bicycles! Here’s a link to that site you asked about. See you at the closing party tomorrow.”) Include your full contact info.
立即给他们发送信息，将数字你和实体你联系起来。("嗨，约翰。很高兴今天见到你。关于自行车，你说得没错！这是你问到的那个网站的链接。明天闭幕派对上见。"）。请附上您的完整联系方式。

By being sincerely interested in them and actively trying to help them, they will probably be interested in you and try to help you.
只要真诚地对他们感兴趣，并积极尝试帮助他们，他们很可能也会对你感兴趣，并尝试帮助你。

What about you?  你呢？

Notice I said nothing about promoting yourself. This is about them, not you. Your promotion will come later.
注意，我没说要宣传自己。这是他们的事，不是你的事。你的晋升稍后会到来。

People will ask what you do. Don’t give a boring answer — it’s rude. If you say “I’m a bassist”, then they’ll say “oh”, followed by awkward silence and an excuse about why they need to walk away now.
人们会问你是做什么的。不要给出无聊的答案--这很不礼貌。如果你说 "我是贝司手"，那么他们会说 "哦"，然后就是尴尬的沉默，并找借口说为什么他们现在需要走开。

Before the conference, come up with one interesting sentence that says what you do — including a curious bit that will make them ask a follow-up question. For example: “Bassist of the Crunchy Frogs — the worst punk bluegrass band ever. We’re headlining the showcase tonight. Our singer is a pirate.” See how that would lead to questions? Anyone who hears that will ask you why you are the worst, or why your singer is a pirate. You’re helping them engage in a conversation! Also, by quickly mentioning an accolade, you’re showing them you’re worth knowing.
在会议之前，想出一句有趣的话来说明你是做什么的，包括一个能让他们提出追问的好奇点。例如"Crunchy Frogs 乐队的贝斯手--史上最烂的朋克蓝草乐队。我们是今晚展示会的主唱。我们的主唱是个海盗。"你看，这能引出多少问题？听到这句话的人都会问你为什么你们是最差的，或者为什么你们的歌手是个海盗。你在帮助他们参与对话！而且，通过快速提及一个荣誉，你在向他们展示你值得了解。

But please stop after you say your sentence. The only thing worse than a short boring answer is a long boring answer. Leave room for them to ask something! If they don’t, change the subject back to them.
但请在说完你的句子后停下来。比简短无聊的回答更糟糕的是冗长无聊的回答。给他们留出提问的余地！如果他们不问，就把话题转回到他们身上。

Don’t push your stuff on someone who isn’t asking for it. It’s the biggest turn-off of all. Because it shows you don’t understand the real point, which is…
不要把你的东西强加给没有要求的人。这是最令人讨厌的做法。因为这表明你并不了解真正的重点，那就是......

Real business is done in the follow-up, not the conference itself.
真正的业务是在后续活动中完成的，而不是会议本身。

The conference itself is a mad blitz of distractions. Only use it for these initial connections.
会议本身就是一场分散注意力的疯狂突击。只能利用它来建立最初的联系。

Assume that anything you hand someone at a conference will be thrown out. So don’t do it, unless they ask.
假设你在会议上递给别人的任何东西都会被扔掉。所以，除非他们要求，否则就不要这样做。

Instead, if you want them to have something of yours, send it to them later.
相反，如果你想让他们得到你的东西，可以稍后寄给他们。

The best time to get down to business is when they’re alone, back at their office, a week or two after the conference, and can give you their full one-on-one attention.
谈正事的最佳时机是在会议结束一两周后，他们独自一人回到办公室，可以给你一对一的充分关注。

That’s when you want someone to check out what you have to offer: when they’re focused on you.
这就是你希望别人查看你所提供服务的时候：当他们关注你的时候。

They’ll remember you as very interesting. Then they’ll find out you’re also very talented.
他们会记得你非常有趣。然后，他们会发现你还很有才华。

It’s all about the follow-up.
关键在于后续行动。

After attending over a hundred conferences in twenty years, I can tell you from experience that only about 1% of the people ever follow up. Therefore, 99% of them wasted their time and money. Please don’t be in that 99%.
二十年来，我参加了一百多场会议，我可以根据经验告诉你，只有大约 1%的人采取了后续行动。因此，99% 的人都在浪费时间和金钱。请不要成为那 99% 的人。

Everything happens in the follow-up. Remember this, and you’ll do well.
一切都发生在后续行动中。记住这一点，你就会做得很好。