I saw Dennie Declercq speak at the Norwegian Developers Conference on networking at conferences for autistic people and introverts.

Mr. Declercq is himself autistic and runs a nonprofit in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium because he talks too much, in his own self-description, to hold down a day job. This talk was what you think it was and rather than recount all of the bullet points that to me seemed obvious, I'll focus on what felt new and actually surprised me. One exception is that I will mention that Dennie mentioned the old suggestion of: When standing and talking with a bunch of people in a circle you should leave open a space for a newcomer to step in and join. Seems legit. In a variation of this I can think of a time at the Norwegian Developers Conference one day earlier when I happened to be speaking to another with my hands behind my back and when a third person walked up and interjected I wasn't inviting. I then recognized the body language issue and corrected it saying something like "I don't mean to stand with my arms behind my back uninviting. I'm Tom." while extending my hand to shake his and smiling. I guess I'm still an introvert per the Dennie Declercq definition. The genomics of introverts is such that they get power from within. He said that they lack the D4DR gene, the dopamine receptor of the D₄ subtype (both Ds standing for dopamine and there is a D₂ and a D₃ also). The gene is cornerstone to a desire to have new experiences. Introverts need a strict dose of dopamine, a huge dose of acetylcholine, and a huge does of energy saving systems. I skipped the PubConf bonus Wednesday night activity at The Amsterdam and I didn't just do it because I don't drink. Coming into the elevator up on Thursday morning I was comparing notes with another who was dragging from PubConf the night before and I was patting myself on the back for my decision to skip it. Dennie suggested that you consider in a multiday conference: What do I have the energy to do? When I attended SxSW and Black Hat I skipped a lot of stuff and just took naps midday, but I didn't feel I should do that with both AngularMix and the Norwegian Developers Conference as someone else was paying for me to be there. Instead I felt obligated to not skip seeing a speaking at any one timeslot when a speaker might speak. At AngularMix there were plenty of evening adventures on top of everything else and I ended up daydreaming during a lot of the talks as a side of effect of just trying to do too much. The sacrifice of PubConf was probably wise. The Norwegian Developers Conference was less bumpy. Dennie suggested that it is alright to say no to conversations and it is also alright to walk away from a conversation. When you leave a conversation you should say why you are leaving.