Quartz spoke with Scott Curran regarding his advice for success at big conferences such as CGI and UNGA. Check out their piece, below!
UNGA 2022: Pace Yourself
Greetings, UN delegates and UNGA watchers!
There are a dozen or more UNGA and UNGA-sideline events to choose from today, plus a handful this weekend should you be inclined.
Consider this your warmup. The calendar goes from manageable to absolutely chaotic starting Monday.
With that in mind, we sought the advice of Scott Curran, the founder of social impact consulting firm Beyond Advisers and former general counsel of the Clinton Foundation, where he learned a lot about getting the most out of very big conferences. Here’s what he recommends:
Plan the work, work the plan. Set aside time to peruse the schedule, pick a manageable number of can’t-miss sessions each day, and then really commit to them.
Claim your spot. It’s hard to have the experience you want if you’re lining the back wall with the other late-comers, Curran says. When you arrive, grab your seat right away, before you get coffee or do any hallway mingling. (Just set a jacket or a notebook on the chair to save your place.)
Prioritize on the fly. You really might have wanted to hear that panel on food system resilience, but if a chance meeting in the hallway yields a promising connection, be flexible enough to go with it.
It doesn’t all have to be substantive. Leave room for a cocktail party or two. Curran’s firm is hosting one and he can’t wait to toast with old friends, and see clients he’s never met in person because of the pandemic. “We’ve all learned: connection matters, relationships matter,” Curran reminds us. “Fun should be part of it, too.”
No networking in the restrooms. “We’ve seen this happen,” Curran laments. Seriously, just don’t do it.
Bring business cards. Can we not just trade LinkedIn QR codes? “It’s not an either-or,” Curran says. “It’s a both-and. It doesn’t matter if I’m old-fashioned or not, it matters if the person I want to connect with values that.” Ok. But we note that hardly anyone had business cards this year at Davos. “Which I might argue makes them even more valuable,” Curran says, as you’ll be more likely to stand out. Touché.
In every Need to Know: UNGA 2022 email, our “What to watch for” section will highlight a handful of official sessions and sideline events scheduled for the coming days. Meanwhile, at, the risk of overscheduling ourselves, we invite you to send us tips, along with your argument for or against business cards.