With up to 600 arts professionals attending each year, the AMA conference is a great place to meet new people and catch up with old friends.

The time between formal sessions is a great opportunity to find out more about the other delegates, so make the most of registration, coffee breaks and lunch. To help you with this, the infamous Would Like To Meet notice board will be located in the networking area. Grab a Post-It, write your message, stick it up and see what happens.

Some breakout sessions will be more interactive than others, so read the descriptions carefully and look out for ones where there will be group work or discussions.

Download the delegate list in advance: sorted by SURNAME or sorted by ORGANISATION.

And don’t forget that networking is and should be fun; so check out the social events page of this website to find out what we have in store for you this year.

Looking to meet up with someone in particular? First AMA conference? AMA regional member reps attending conference will be acting as 'aunts' and 'uncles' in order to facillitate networking.
If you would like an aunt or uncle to kick start your conference networking:

• e-mail helen@a-m-a.co.uk to register your interest (by Friday 10th July) and your 'aunt' or 'uncle' will get in touch prior to conference,
• arrange to meet up with your new 'relation' at conference, perhaps at the opening social or on the first morning.

Get up-to-date tips, news and announcements sent right to your Twitter feed, and network with other AMA members who are attending the conference.

To follow the 2009 AMA conference on Twitter, sign in to your Twitter account (or join Twitter if you don't have one - it's free!), visit twitter.com/AMAconference09 and click the Follow button below our icon at the top of the page.

Find out more about Twitter, what it is and how it works: watch Twitter in Plain English on YouTube or visit the help pages on the Twitter website.

Click HERE to download the list of delegates booked up to now.

Found someone you’d like to get in touch with? Look them up on the networking pages of the AMA website: log on to the website and click through to online networking.

The friendly-looking people sporting red lanyards are your regional member reps. These are the people to chat to if you’d like to know about networking opportunities in your region, or if you’re new to the AMA conference and you would like some help with being introduced to other people.

England, East - Pamela Pfrommer, University of East Anglia

England, East Midlands - Neil Bennison, Royal Centre

England, London
Jessica Silvester, Royal Albert Hall
Edwina Vine, National Campaign for the Arts

England, North West - Mike James, Live Nation

England, South - Rachael Easton, Audiences South

England, South East - Jessica Bevan, Chichester Festival Theatre

England, South West - Ros Fry, West Mead Creative Ltd

England, West Midlands
Stephanie Falkiner, Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Katherine Flynn, DanceXchange

England, Yorkshire and Humberside
Linda Franklin, Square Chapel Centre for the Arts
Kate Sanderson, Indigo

West Scotland - Charlotte Wilson, Glasgow Grows Audiences Ltd

Mid Wales - Rhys Thomas Fowler, Aberystwyth Arts Centre

South Wales - Rachel Kinchin, The Riverfront

Northern Ireland - Alice Jackson, Audiences NI

During refreshment or lunch breaks take the opportunity to wander around the exhibition stands and learn more about some of the most innovative products and services available for the cultural industry.

Confirmed exhibitors are ...

Blackbaud www.blackbaud.co.uk

Briefyourmarket.com www.briefyourmarket.com

Impact www.impactprintdisplay.com

Iris www.iris.co.uk

London Calling www.londoncalling.com

Mind Unit www.mindunit.com

Nouveau Solutions Ltd www.neat-ticketing.com

Purple Seven Ltd www.purpleseven.co.uk

Rare Company www.rarecompany.co.uk

Reach Marketing www.reachmarketing.co.uk

RefTech www.reftech.co.uk

Tessitura www.tessituranetwork.com

Tickets.com www.tickets.com

Everyone has their own definition of what successful networking actually is but here are some tips to make the most of the opportunities at conference.

1. Download the delegate list in advance: sorted by surname or sorted by organisation.

2. Prepare a 'what do you do?' answer that's short, snappy and memorable.

3. Arrive on time – it always seems a lot easier to introduce yourself to someone when you are one of the first arrivals.

4. Use AMA staff and board members to introduce you to people.

5. Treat everyone the same and never make assumptions about the people you meet.

6. If you are not very confident try not to attach yourself (like glue) to the first person you get speaking to. Remember the person you are talking to, while they might be enjoying your company, probably wants to be able to chat to one or two other people as well.

7. Listen to what other people do first and (everyone is interested if you're interested in them) and listen for link words that connect with who you are and what you do.

8. Keep conversation to neutral topics, avoid monopolising the conversation. Ask open questions that require more than yes / no answers.

9. You will create a better first impression if you deliberately copy the pace and volume of the person you are speaking to.

10. Try to follow up with people you have met (recap on your notes on business cards, add useful contacts to your database).

11. If you have tried all the tips and you still don't feel comfortable 'try' again! Practice makes perfect.

(Adapted from Women into the Network website.)