How to make the most of conferences.

An investment in your knowledge and network

Over the past few years I’ve found myself hosting more and more events. From smaller meetups to larger conferences, I have to stand up there and engage the audience, fill the silence and weave together the speakers, presentations and whatever else might be planned.

One of the perks of being the host, is that you get to speak to everyone backstage, calm them down if needed and prepare them for speaking in front of the audience.

Then during the breaks, you get a little rest, grab some food or drink with a certain awareness that the show can’t go on without you (unless someone hijacks your part).

That break or pause or lobby lingering is where you get a good people watching opportunity. Are you the person being approached, doing the approaching or looking unapproachable?

Plan ahead

As you move on in life you get a true grasp of what gets you up in the morning, and if that’s the case, then there’s probably a conference out there for you where like-minded individuals are going to congregate.

Many conferences are annual, and then you have with new ones popping up all the time, so when planning your conference budget you have to be thorough with your search. See what is happening in your sector over the year and see where those things are happening, and even better, see who the speakers are (but more on that later).

Perhaps you’ve always wanted to go to Tokyo for pleasure or a potential business connection, and then you see there’s a very interesting conference there. Why not book your trip to include that conference?

With this advanced planning and budgeting you can save by getting early bird tickets for both flight and event.

Check who’s speaking and reach out

Content is part of the decision making process when picking which conference to go, and if you’ve booked your tickets to Tokyo I’m guessing there’s something in the conference that intrigued you or made you go wow.

Don’t stop there — reach out to those people participating and even organise to meet them during the conference. Or if you want to be a bit more spontaneous, write a list of who you want to bash into and speak to when you’re at the conference. Spot them from afar, walk over, introduce yourself and start that conversation that could lead who knows where.

With social media we are now able to do our research before meeting these strangers, and can have a plethora of back pocket questions to engage and interact with them, so no need to fear even if you are towards the shy end of the scale. You will have some way to connect.

Unconference, eat and network

The thing is we can only see the speakers before the event, unless all other participants are being very good and hashtagging the hell out of their posts. That means your next client or business partner may be hidden somewhere without knowing, and you have to be proactive in reaching them.

This is where you may have to step out of your comfort zone and start mingling at the buffet table or bar. Some conferences have breakout moments and brainstorming sessions, so these are perfect to network and find out who your fellow participants are.

Quite often as I am standing in the hall or lobby, sipping on a drink, I look around and see some people chatting enthusiastically whilst others are on their phones glancing up now and then, perhaps looking for an ‘in’.

Only tune into interesting sessions

Many people avoid conferences due to their perceived lack of value and taking up valuable working time. The value has to be created by the conference curators and of course — you.

It’s hard to get it right, and there are bound to be some sessions that are not appealing. You can use those sessions to do some work, perhaps finding a less visible location and opening your laptop so you can still listen in and hear if there is something of interest.

So there is a way to get that balance, of not having lots of e-mails and work to return to by a bit of work whilst there, and still being engaged enough. Although ultimately it’s always best if when present, you are 100% present.

Should I stay or should I go?

If you’re going to passively attend a conference, go from hotel to event, not network and not discuss, then my advice would be to not buy a ticket, and to watch YouTube instead, you’ll get a similar experience without the buffet laid on.

The value of a conference is the interactive part, exchanging ideas and not just receiving them, being part of a conversation and not a monologue.