Playing it cool

Business cards. I've been avoiding the idea of making business cards, but to date I am not one-hundred percent sure why. Maybe it is the awkwardness of self-promotion, or perhaps I never felt them necessary at this stage in my career. Whatever the reason was before, in the past six hours I have really wished I had some. This sudden desire to have business cards spawned from a tip-off from a good friend that there was a lecturer in evolution and conservation of SE Asian reptiles and amphibians attending the conservation conference she was at. This was exactly the kind of person I wanted to meet - not only out of sheer curiosity about his lab and research, but also for networking purposes. I was invited to attend a poster session at the conference, and whilst the Person Of Interest (hereafter, POI) was not attending the session (but I plan to catch POI before the conference ends), I met so many people doing amazing research that I wanted to share contact details with. As I questioned and spoke with a few people about their research, the topic of future communications cropped up. At this point, the person I was speaking to would leave a lasting positive impression on me by casually gliding a smart business card of their contact info in my direction. I was probably a little too enthusiastic about the cards, and may have disturbed the people with my excitement about the colours, but the point is, I never had experienced the power of the business card before. It was powerful, and oh-so-shiny. I was more than thoroughly impressed and knew immediately I would use the information in my hand. I would contact that person. Then it occured to me - how will I impress POI when I meet him? How will I sell myself so convincingly that I will secure a firm contact? A business card was the answer. Well, if I had one. Which I don't. Lesson learnt? Make business cards. In the mean time, scrap paper and illegible writing will have to suffice!