15 Tips for Making the Most of Learning Industry Conferences

In my last posting I noted several major upcoming conferences in the Learning and Development field. So now seems like a great time to share some tips and advice on how to make the most of such conferences.

People attend conferences for different reasons: as an attendee to learn and network, as a speaker on the program, as a member of sales or marketing at a sponsor’s tradeshow booth, and more. The tips below are mostly intended for the first category: people who are attending the conference.

• Set goals. Preferably, set SMART goals as doing so forces you to really focus and be specific about the values you hope to obtain by attending the event. These could be specific topics you want to learn more about, speakers you want to hear, experts you want to meet, people you want to network with, or whatever.
• Study the program in advance. Don't wait until you get to the conference and receive your official conference materials—download and print the online program and use that for planning prior to arriving. Once you get there, you’ll be busy: at that point, you’ll be giving up higher-value activities (e.g., networking) by spending much time picking sessions to attend.
• Prioritize your sessions. When making your plans, indicate your first, second, and even third choice sessions in each time block (depending on the size of the program). Do this with an eye towards the aforementioned goals you’ve set for yourself, as this way you can make sure to accomplish your learning-centered objectives. If possible, attend a few sessions that are more future-focused compared with your immediate needs, as doing this gives you a broader set of takeaways from the conference.
• Think of good questions. When prioritizing your schedule, make a note of any key questions you’d like answered by the sessions. If they haven’t been answered by the end of the presentation, you’ll be well-prepared for the Q&A segment.
• Determine who you want to meet. Some conferences provide you with ample resources, even robust social networking platforms, prior to the event so you can find out a bit about your fellow attendees. Determine your “must meet” people and think a bit about what might be the best times to do so. Talk to your sales team or others who might have customers or other contacts they would like you to make for them—in this way, you are being a good ambassador for your organization.
• Register early. Assuming the conference begins in the morning, if possible, register and pick up your conference materials the evening before. This way, you won't waste time in lines and you can relax and find a good seat for the opening keynote.
• Bring sticky tabs. Your “job” is to get value from the event, and sticky tabs are a great “job aid.” Use them for key pages in the official program, such as the map of the event floor. Having ready access to key info is key for those times when you are trying to network with fellow attendees, but also in a hurry to get to the next session.
• Leave the laptop in your room. Assuming you have a smartphone and you don’t need your laptop to make a presentation, leave your laptop behind each day. Most work back home can wait—you need to focus on the event to get maximum value from it. So check email sparingly on your smart phone, and instead commit to doing email in the evenings. (Yes, conferences are tiring experiences, full of long days!)
• The Forget 95% Rule. Be sure to have paper and pen handy at all times. If you are like me you’ll get lots of info, contacts, ideas, and more throughout the day and because of the sensory and information overload, you won’t remember even 5% of it even a day or two later. Give your brain a break and write things down.
• Business cards and office supplies. It goes without saying you need to bring plenty of your own business cards. But you’ll also get many cards, so bring a mini-stapler and/or paperclips. At the end of each day, spend time attaching the cards to the relevant marketing materials, and most importantly, write notes about the conversations you had with each person, and what, if any, follow-up actions are needed: nothing is worse than committing to doing something for someone, and then forgetting that promise due to the “Fog of Conference” effect that will inevitably hit you.
• The growing importance of Facebook and LinkedIn. Have you ever come home from a conference with a stack of cards, only for them to sit idle in a desk drawer, until a future date when you notice you’ve completely forgotten who most of those people were? Enter Facebook and LinkedIn. Be sure you are signed up at these services, and ask about them when exchanging business cards. You will be amazed at how much better you are able to maintain professional relationships with conference contacts by using these powerful social networking sites.
• Take smart notes. Use a few basic codes in your session notes, one to identify key points for use in follow-up with colleagues back home, and one to identify action items. You’ll think many great thoughts during conference sessions, whether directly from the presentations or simply sparked by them.
• Bring back goodies for more than just yourself. At the tradeshow/expo hall portion of the event, think of your colleagues back home. Don’t just pick up flyers, demo disks, or marketing toys for yourself. Come back with goodies for those not fortunate enough to be attending the event with you. They’ll appreciate the thought, and you never know when something you bring back could turn out to be very valuable for them. If you pick up too much, you can always toss some items out at your hotel room before packing for the trip home.
• Decompress and get caught up. Conferences can be stressful events, especially since business back home will continue on without you. If possible, take the day off after the conference—but spend part of it working to get caught up.
• Justify your next conference trip. Shortly after returning home, create an appropriate presentation for your colleagues, and include those responsible for the travel budget. Highlight how your goals were accomplished, the values obtained for the organization by your attending, and what impact it will all have. This can help keep your first industry conference from being your last.

I hope some of the above are helpful to you…see you out there!

— Thomas Stone (Tom_Stone@elementk.com)

Comments

[Thilde Sørensen]

Very interesting - especially as I am just preparing for a conference myself. I like the way you include lots of specific ideas - which sometimes makes the whole difference learningwise.

The only thing I thought was missing was a few words on preparation with colleagues and executives: Do they have issues or perspectives on the topic they might like you to take up while being on the conference? This helps you gaining knowledge and experience that easily translates into value in your organisation. It will also help you in 'selling' your newly aquired inspiration when you get home.

Thanks for an inspiring blog!

[Tom Stone]

Thanks for the comment Thilde, and I'm glad you found this posting and the blog in general to be helpful. And you definitely raise a good point, and one that is quite timely for me as I had some pre-conference conversations with colleagues for the most recent conference I just attended, Learning 2008, and this definitely was beneficial for me and the colleagues involved. I'll be posting soon an entry about this conference, and perhaps I'll also post an update to my 15 Tips posting as well.