Config Confidence: An Introvert’s Journey to Conference Success
Attending a design conference like Config can be both exhilarating and intimidating, especially for introverts. If you’re looking for strategies to make the most of your time, this guide is for you.
I received two common questions at Config. Technically, there are three, but I’ll discuss the third one in a future article.
The first question is, “Where are you coming from?” To their surprise, I’m coming from a small country in Central America called El Salvador, which is not in Mexico, Brazil (that’s Salvador, the capital city of Bahia), or Spain. I started to clarify ever since I got the “I’ve always wanted to visit Spain” one time I mentioned El Salvador as the place where I live.
Since attending the conference is not as simple as booking a train ticket or Uber ride, you can bet I’m strategizing to make the most of this experience, and here’s how I do it.
1. Game plan
Let’s go through some basic questions to ask ourselves after getting our ticket:
What type of learning do I want to obtain?
What can I achieve in person that I couldn’t otherwise?
How will I know this experience was a success for me?
The answers to these questions help clarify how we can make decisions before and during the event, usually with trade-offs. In other words, we’re creating a strategy.
With our priorities set, we can get more granular about certain decisions, like which sessions to attend based on speaker or theme, how much we want to socialize, and even how to connect with others.
Personally, I wanted to come out of the conference inspired, with new ideas to shape my perspective on the work that I’m doing and nurture meaningful connections without overwhelming myself with information or merely surface social interactions.
One of the smaller but more useful decisions that I made based on this was to make it easier to connect with others if I wanted to stay in touch by creating a screen lock image with a QR code leading to my Bento profile. Needless to say, it was quite a success!
2. Get out of your comfort zone
If Taylor Swift once said that jet lag is a choice, I certainly could make introversion a choice and dial in my extroversion, at least for a few days. Don’t expect me to start going out every day from now on, I’m not fit for that sport.
As I mentioned before, I wanted to create meaningful connections. This means that if I remained silent and went straight to my hotel after the closing keynotes, I would be wasting my opportunities, or at least in my book, I would be, based on my strategy.
Fortunately for me, I was surrounded by welcoming and easygoing people, who either said hello first, introduced me to their colleagues, or kindly engaged into a conversation with me after I initiated it. Other times, to warm up the conversation even more I offered a portrait with my film camera, to which everyone replied with the brightest smile I had seen from them. Now I have plenty of joyful memories to share back.
The day after Config, I was even referred to for the first time as a “social butterfly,” which my friends back home would be justifiably shocked to hear. Thank you, Peter; I’ll take it as a compliment!
This openness and extra dose of extroversion ultimately allowed me to meet friends IRL, engage in lively discussions with people whose work I genuinely admire, and make new friends along the way. It might not be apparent initially, but I firmly believe that great things will come out of these relationships; it is just a matter of time.
3. Choose your own adventure
Remember the part of the strategy where I mentioned I wanted to strike a balance between learning and connecting with others? That part of the strategy made it easy for me to skip some of the talks, not because I wasn’t interested in them—quite the opposite—but because I knew I could always watch the replay on YouTube, whereas the people I would most likely not get to see in person any time soon.
During those times, I went on my own to walk around and shoot some pictures while also bumping into old and new friends without even looking for them. These conversations would lead to going together for a different talk or impromptu community events, to which I happily said yes. Those who know me back home would probably be shocked since I usually schedule social activities at least a week in advance.
Did this strategy pay off? Of course, it did! That’s how my friend Risa introduced me to the nice folks working on the Hawkins Design System team at Netflix, shared a fun picnic with Pablo Stanley’s team from Musho after merely 5 minutes of conversation on the street, or how the invitation of a friend of a friend led me to an open studio and print party hosted by Jessica Hische that felt like a warm hug. None of those things were planned, but I was open to choosing side quests during this week.
Why would I jump on a plane for 6 hours to attend an event I can watch at home? That’s where the second most common question comes in: What did you like the most about Config? The people, it’s always the people.
"Do the part you love to do, and do it exceptionally."
— Jessica Hische
Despite the challenge of four days of intense socializing, bits and pieces like this quote from Jessica Hische’s talk are why I feel like my inspiration, motivation, and creativity are recharged, engaging in kind and insightful conversations with the community, helping me to shape my thinking about the value of my craft and how networking is simply creating meaningful connections. I hope to see you at Config 2025!
It's always more fun to learn with others than doing it alone, so don't hesitate to reach out on Threads @laurieesc if you want to continue the conversation. If this article has been helpful, share it with a friend!
Over and out,
Laura ✌️