21 Things you Can do at a Conference

I initially had the title of this post set to "what you're missing". Conferences and events give you the opportunity to shape your own experience. A long time ago I wrote that the answer to how is yes -- and I believe it. Are you taking advantage of the opportunities that come your way?  Or are you spending your time bemoaning what the experience could have been?

Here are 21 ideas just off the top of my head, so feel free to add your own in the comments.

1. make it a point to have at least three take aways for each session you attend -- there's a lot of experience hiding in the obvious
2. engage with your seat neighbors -- more knowledge you can tap there
3. choose to provide constructive feedback to all
4. spend some time with the people on the trade show floor, learn about their products or services
5. demo products, talk to the reps about the services
6. knowledge is power, doing trumps that -- a reminder for us all
7. ask good questions
8. use the information you researched ahead of time on attendees/topic
9. be open to new ideas or new points of view
10. document what you learn to share with your team
11. have a good attitude, it's contagious
12. tweet less if it allows you to listen more
13. share connections with other attendees
14. pay attention to non verbals at breaks
15. observe what people gravitate towards and make a note of it for your business
16. take the time to provide overall feedback to conference organizers
17. participate to sessions actively -- body language is also participation
18. be willing to challenge your own thinking
19. split sessions if you're going with a team, and regroup -- often several good sessions are concurrent
20. meet the speakers during breaks
21. make notes of any follow up activities and follow through

What else? What have you found a good use of your time when attending conferences? Jump in!

[image courtesy of Bill Lublin, with Frank Eliason at the tweet up before Social Media Plus]

© 2010 Valeria Maltoni. All rights reserved.

Comments

[Joey Strawn]

Thanks! A lot of great points and things to take away. And in honor of #1, here are the three that really spoke out to me.

#6 - Actions always speak louder than words, even in social media campaigns.

#15 - When in Rome...

#13 - It's all about relationships.

[Keith Green]

I enjoyed the conference yesterday. Here's a takeaway that I find at almost every conference, regardless of the topic: Opinions on the same subject will vary among different experts, so figure out which idea or point of view is the best for your business and plan and implement accordingly.

[Melody]

That's a very cute pic! It makes the post!

[Martin Weinberg]

No matter what the quality is of the speakers or presentations, you can always find value.

You've already carved out time in your busy multi-tasked life to really focus on the conference subject matter. Pay attention to any original interesting ideas that might spark in your own mind along the way, simply because you're thinking deeply about the topic and how it might relate to your business.

[norma hill]

Maybe really obvious - but arrive at sessions on time, find a spot where you can hear and participate - and don't chatter with your neighbor/ talk on your cell/ otherwise interfere with opportunity for others to learn!

Go to sessions no one else in your group is interested in - often the more "obscure" sessions have the most interesting, original, motivating information and ideas!

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Joey - that's where the conversation strategy helps, with all three of the points you highlighted.

@Keith - thinking through your own situation is the winning part. Sometimes we find it extremely helpful to have someone who can help us do that by providing a framework.

@Melody - Frank is one of the nicest people I've met in the last couple of years. I admit I liked the photo a lot :)

@Martin - thank you for commenting. I was comparing notes with a colleague who attended yesterday and we had a similar conversation to the one we started at the end of the day. It's time to change the way we treat this topic and start looking under the hood on some of this stuff.

@Norma - being respectful of other attendees and the speaker, well said! Another good point on discovering or uncovering the gems in the program.

[Clay Moseley]

22. Have fun!

[Shari Weiss]

All great topics. You list a new one for me to think about that I suspect is really powerful, and that is to Be willing to Challenge your own thinking

[hmmmm, otherwise, why waste your time?]

My additional tip is from a lesson I learned early on when I was a magazine editor and went to many, many conferences: Initially I thought that talking to as many people as possible [so they would "meet" me] was the way to go.
NOT!!
Much better to have less superficial and more deeper, relationship-building conversations.

One add-on: Don't be interrupting a conversation with one person, just so you can say HI to someone who is passing by. Very, very rude to the person you are talking to.

[Jon Buscall]

Take the first initiative and talk to someone (not everyone is super outgoing!)

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Clay - done :) Thank you.

@Shari - it's hard because we bring our own filters to everything we do. That is excellent advice, don't try to meet everyone, meet some ones really well. Do you find that at social media events we are particularly distracted with multitasking?

[Patricia Mejia]

Thanks for the tips. Very well done. One more ... don't hang out with just the people you know. Make an effort to detach from your "clique" and get to know other attendees.

[Skip @skipshoe Shuda]

Good stuff, ConversationAgent!

@Joey - good observation on different points of view. Especially true in the frothy wave that is Social Media and business. I really enjoyed Valeria and team on the panel at the end discussing ROI. A hot and debatable topic...

My favorite 2 takeaways from #smplus were:

1) Take my notes in PowerPoint. Its easier to navigate and organize - but more importantly, its easier to share with others. (BTW - I totally ripped this off from the woman sitting next to me in Bill Lublin's morning session. And I failed to follow Valeria's advice to introduce myself. :-( Next time!)

2) Use the breaks for idea testing. I had fun talking with Doug Bellenger of Movitas on the lunch break about his work in mobile and the hospitality industry - and then sharing my "bubble charts" framework. He helped me improve it!

- Skip

[Drew]

What do you mean about paying attention to non-verbals? I think this was an interesting point.

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Patricia - very good. We tend to gravitate towards our comfort zone. Meeting new people should be a conscious decision.

@Skip - interesting. Over the years, I learned to dislike PowerPoint because of the way it's been used in corp. America. Good thought on using the breaks as idea testing.

@Drew - if you speak, watch whether people lean forward or not, a good indication of your performance so far. In the hallways, watch when people are visibly glad to meet you, they stand straight and still, or if they look like they're about to sprint for the door. That's what I mean for non verbals.

[Marlene MacIsaac]

Also... take pictures of the event, and the people, for your blog. Great way to meet folks because you probably want to ask if it's OK to use their picture.