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It’s taken me a little bit to fully wrap my head around my first CES experience – it certainly was “big.” From proof-of-concept startups to some of the largest players in consumer electronics, there was no shortage of innovation or people. Fifteen thousand steps a day, over 140,000 attendees, tons of robots, and conversations happening everywhere; the event delivered.

I’ve worked in tech PR for eight years, and have never been to a tradeshow. During the COVID era, many of the events I likely would’ve supported shifted to remote formats, with in-person conferences taking a few years to get back to normal. With the recognition that events are not just back, but booming, my goals for attending CES were simple: see how top brands create compelling physical spaces, how smaller brands capture attention amid industry giants, and brush up on my networking skills.

My goal wasn’t necessarily to find new clients, but to get back to chatting with people I don’t know. With this came a challenge: bring back eight business cards, garnered over the course of Thursday morning, from people you spoke with.

I treated networking like a strategy; testing a few approaches that would help me maximize both my time and the quality of the connections I made.

Here are a few of the strategies that worked well for me:

Plan Before You Step Into the Expos

I spent time on the CES app ahead of the show, understanding which companies would be there and mapping out who I wanted to visit across the Venetian Expo and LVCC. By the time I arrived, I had a clear plan for where I wanted to be and when. Anyone who’s attended CES knows how much time can be lost ping-ponging around the different venues, so having a plan of attack was key to making the most of each day.

Lead With Energy

Approaching a booth at any event can feel intimidating, whether there’s one person standing there or a crowd. There’s also never a guarantee of how a conversation will go, so I had to embrace a “just go with it” mentality. One of my go-to openers was, “Tell me about your company,” a straightforward question that immediately got folks talking – no matter what their role in the booth. Almost every time, the conversation turned to what I do – a soft sell.

Make Every Conversation Relevant

Even when marketing or communications wasn’t the focus of the person I was speaking with, I made an effort to talk about what made sense for them. If they asked me what I do, I would provide examples that were relevant. Thinking through story angles on the fly and articulating how a company could show up in the media was a fun exercise!

Engage With the Products

With robots everywhere, especially in the LVCC North Hall, I couldn’t help but play around a little bit too! From watching a robot volley with a human in table tennis, to having a robot make me a latte, and seeing robots dance and play piano, these moments led to great conversations about how these products operate and what the brands are hoping to accomplish with them.

Events are back and making the most of them requires a mix of planning, putting yourself out there, and a willingness to have some good old-fashioned fun!