In late August, the organizers have yet to finalize a date, Vancouver will hold BarCamp-style conference titled, appropriately, BarCamp Vancouver. I've started a PubSub feed for the unconference, which I will attend. After BarCamp Toronto, while waiting for my fligh back home at the airport, I started writing out my thoughts about that unconference in particular and unconferences in general (keeping in mind that I have only attended the first day of one of them, of course). Joey explained the concept of BarCamp (really well, I might add), and he says that the confusion about the philosophy of "no spectators" applies “doubly so for events with programmers”, mentioning that 75% of them classify themselves as introverts. It's not clear, though, what he prescribes, so my article, still in heavy drafting mode, will attempt a prescription.
Traditional speaker-audience conferences do not challenge introverts to participate, because nobody, not even extroverts, is invited to participate. Most of them, however, are so far stabs at the dark, so I'm wondering, what tips do you have in order to become successful introvert conference and unconference attendees? I'm particularly interested in strategies for unconferences, since they challenge introverts to speak up and participate, something introverts have trouble doing in loud places with lots of strange people. Extroverts and introverts alike both have experiences worth sharing, so please don't exclude yourself if you fit one of either categories (or even those that fit in both columns A and B).
Comments
I think the strongest help would be for session/discussion leaders to at least attempt to take an academic approach to things, and try to draw participants into the discussion, rather than just let the trumpeters sound off for the entirety of things. Not that I think Roberts Rules for discussion are necessary, but someone keeping a firm handle on interruptions/interruptors and ensuring everyone gets their turn by establishing guidelines beforehand (hands up to speak, a la elementary school perhaps?) would go a long way.
Of course, best laid plans and all that, it probably won't happen. The only suggestion I have for the introvert is to just start speaking. If interrupting is the status quo, don't be afraid to do it yourself. It takes some practice and time to build confidence, but it does get easier. Just be sure to schedule some decompressing "alone time" shortly thereafter.
Jus thaving the same opinion. I think you're quite right "Not that I think Roberts Rules for discussion are necessary, but someone keeping a firm handle on interruptions/interruptors and ensuring everyone gets their turn by establishing guidelines beforehand would go a long way"