She was looking at her phone, probably checking her email.
She seemed very calm and slightly sweaty from a warm summer room.
No fans and no A/C.
I actually didn’t notice him until the surprise of seeing her hit him.
It’s his face that caught my attention.
His eye opened wide then calmed like he saw the most amazing sunset.
He smiled and walked toward her.
He tapped her on her shoulder.
“Natalie?” he asked.
She looked up, squealed and gave him a hug.
“Danny, I finally get to meet you!”
They went on to have a conversation that I walked away from. It was just so amazing to see two people who’ve never met in person get so excited to see each other.
That’s the beauty of online relationships and going to a conference to see people connect in person. There is no amount of emailing, tweeting, facebooking, pinning, etc. that can replace a good hug.
World Domination Summit created this experience for people again and again. I saw it happen one more time, but there must have been dozens of other first time meetings like this there. Chris Guillebeau and his superteam put on an amazing show and experience. If you have a chance to go next year I highly recommend it.
If this isn’t your kind of conference then look around at people you connect with online and see if they are going to an event that fits your personality, sign-up and go. You won’t regret it.
(This is a photo of Danielle LaPorte giving a wonderful talk about life and taking action.)
The real connections that you seek require touch. Being able to give someone a hug that you know and like plants the seed of trust. Using the online world to make your offline world easier will help your business and feed your soul.
What conference did you think you should attend last year and you didn’t? (Please share in the comment section. I always like to find out about new conferences.)