If you’re a regular attendee, meet new people

If you’re a person who’s attends the same conference regularly, take some time to break out of your bubble and meet newcomers.

Here are two approaches I like:

• Ned Batchelder, PyCon 2018:

  If this is your Nth PyCon, then you have to meet N new people every day. My strategy was at breakfast and lunch, when wandering around looking for a table to sit at, choose one with no one I know, and with people that don’t look like me.

• Eric Holscher: The Pac-Man rule:

  When standing as a group of people, always leave room for 1 person to join your group.

At PyCon UK last year, there was a #social channel in the conference Slack. If a group of people were going out for the evening, and had room for a few more, they’d post it in this channel – and people would take up that invitation.