Conference Anxiety

I'm at Render ATL conference and am having a lot of conference anxiety. I think these events are an amazing opportunity irregardless of who you are. So how do you make the best out of a situation that you're having a hard time engaging in?

Well, I don't have the silver bullet. But what I can do is tell you what I've done until this point.

Step 1 Smile

Whoa, that's a pretty creepy suggestion. Well, remember you're having a good time even if it's scary. So, take a moment breathe, relax your shoulders, and smile.

I'm feeling better, but I'm still sitting in the corner and as each person walks by with darting glances it feels like rejection after rejection.

Step 2 Meet 1 person

I feel bad sometimes when I go meet people. My anxiety lets me know that I'm an exhausting person to be around. So I feel like I'm cornering those I'm trying to hang out with.

Whelp, that went well, had a good conversation about Wordpress and the plugin ecosystem. But dang, I feel bad after that. I'm sure it's but a blip on the radar for him but I'm in a bad place.

Step 3 Calm down

Alright, it's spiraling time. So next is go for a walk. I walked down the street to go get a coffee. Great move, delicious iced coffee in the Georgia heat.

Step 4 Reengage...

Alright, I'm back. I went inside realized I'm not back. Okay I went outside and made a tiktok. Feelin' better.

Step 5 Aimlessly walk around

Walk around making eye contact with folks and not engaging.

Step 6 Go to a workshop

Sit at a computer, tweet storm,

• tweet 1
• tweet 2
• tweet 3
• tweet 4
• tweet 5

and write a blog post...

Hopefully this helps you to reengage as a human being as well.