How to Table: A Guide for Introverts

By Jill Walters, Guild VP of Member Services and Polly Zetterberg, Guild volunteer

You’ve signed up for a shift at the NWIEG table at an event or conference. Maybe you’re excited for free or discounted entrance into the event. Maybe you’re making an effort to get out and network more often. Maybe you want to share the wide variety of talents held by Guild members. These are all good reasons to volunteer to represent the Guild.

Act as a friendly yet knowledgeable representative of the Guild - Cartoon by Jill Walters

But wait! Aren’t you an introvert? How the heck are you supposed to make small talk with a bunch of strangers for several hours? What are you supposed to do during the downtimes? Can you just sit there with a pile of flyers and hope they magically drift into the hands of attendees?

Don’t panic. We’ve got a strategy for you and a list of ways to ensure that you, your tablemates, and the people you meet all leave happy and with a positive impression of the Guild. Despite popular belief, editors are not all a bunch of curmudgeonly pedants.

Put on Your “Guild Representative Face”

Think of it as “putting on your Guild representative face.” Actors put on different personas all the time. Salespeople have to be “on” to be successful. But these people aren’t necessarily outgoing and sociable all the time. Even the most introverted editor can make an effort to be a happy, friendly, knowledgeable representative of the Guild for a set amount of time. You don’t have to pretend to be someone else—just a slightly more outgoing version of yourself. You can do it for a few hours. When you’re done, be sure reward yourself for going outside your comfort zone.

Before Your Shift, Do:

• Wear comfortable clothing and shoes that make you feel confident when you wear them

• Look professional (you are representing a professional organization after all, but you don’t need a formal suit)

• Talk yourself up: tell yourself that you can do this for a few hours

• Be prepared: research the event, read over any information provided by your volunteer coordinator ahead of time, ask questions beforehand

• Bring a book or other (silent) entertainment if you know you will have downtimes with no table visitors (during a conference session or lunch break, for example)

• Bring a water bottle, a mug of tea, or some coffee; have some mints or throat lozenges on

Before Your Shift, Don’t:

Encourage table visitors to take handouts and ask questions - Cartoon by Jill Walters

• Wear clothing that makes you visibly uncomfortable: anything too restrictive, too itchy, ill-fitting, etc.

• Wear yoga pants, sweats, pajamas, old T-shirts, baggy jeans, Ugg boots or Crocs; or overly revealing or inappropriate clothes

• Panic and lock yourself in a closet

• Walk in to the event with no idea what’s going on

• Bring a book that’s so good you can’t tear yourself away from it when the downtime is over

• Lose your voice, resort to charades or mime

At the Event, Do:

• Put on your “Guild representative face”

• Introduce yourself to the other table volunteers if you don’t already know each other

• Ask the volunteer coordinator or previous table volunteers to give any last-minute updates when you arrive, and ask any remaining questions

• Be present: smile and say hello to passers by, look at them in a pleasant manner

• Use compliments as icebreakers (“What a neat bag you have!”); lighten the conversation, help them remember the Guild in a positive light

• Ask people where they live, what kind of work they do or genre they specialize in

• Turn your phone to silent, or better yet, turn it off completely

• Act as a friendly yet knowledgeable representative of the Guild

• Be confident in your ability to make people smile while giving them valuable information

• Speak clearly and project your voice when necessary

• Encourage table visitors to take handouts and ask questions; hand them the appropriate materials if they show interest

• Network on behalf of the Guild, recommend Guild members to table visitors

At the Event, Don’t:

• Panic and hide in the bathroom, bury yourself in your smartphone

• Stand there stoically like a statue

• Assume you know everything

• Hide behind your phone or a book, or gaze off into space; glare at people like they’re interrupting you

• Silently stare at people

• Brag about yourself, talk about taboo subjects

• Check your phone constantly (unless you’re supposed to be live-tweeting the event or there’s some sort of emergency)

• Enforce the stereotype that all editors are a bunch of pedantic introverts

• Pout, mumble, get flustered

• Make table visitors try to guess what you’re trying to say

• Shove handouts at people without explanation, dodge questions, hide beneath the table

• Use the table as a platform to promote yourself, and only yourself

After Your Shift, Do:

• Reward yourself: you did it! Acknowledge that you did something that took you out of your normal range of comfort, and you survived!

After Your Shift, Don’t:

• Collapse in relief in front of the table—it wasn’t that bad, was it?

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If you are interested in testing out these tips in real life, the Guild still needs three volunteers for Wordstock in Portland on November 5, 2016. Please contact info@edsguild.org with "Wordstock Volunteer" in the subject line for more information, and keep an eye on the Guild listserv for additional volunteer opportunities.