With a few conferences and events under her belt Emma, we thought it would be fun to share her conference survival tips to help maximise on the expense of attending a conference and the time out of the office.
Emma’s Top 10 Conference Tips:
1. Clarify your measure of success. Is it the number of contacts made? Business cards collected?
Re-connections with others? Learning new information or skills?
2. Listening to speakers is great for “Inspiration” but don’t forget the most important part is following up on these ideas and making them happen – not just leaving them in a notebook lost in your drawer… [GUILTY!]
Separate your written notes; Ideas/ Research/ Tasks – so they don’t get lost and not actioned.
3. Write down each speakers “Message” – was it easy to identify? Can you learn anything from them to help clarify your own presentation message?
4. Stay at a hotel as close as possible to event. Hilton South Wharf is great as it has a secret passage to the Melbourne Convention Centre on level 1 so you don’t even go outside!
5. Make sure you see the light of day – get outside, go for a walk.
6. Organise in advance people you are keen to connect with. Schedule breakfast, lunch, coffee or drink catch-ups.
7. Download the Linkedin app to your phone so you can recognise faces of people you haven’t met before.
8. Networking; smile lots, be relaxed but not overly personal. Ask questions and listen to the answers with genuine interest.
9. Take lots of business cards and make sure you follow up on any leads you make and report back to anyone who has shared a lead with you.
10. Don’t drink too much at night (otherwise… Panadol. Berocca. Coffee.)
Emma joined 3 members of the Presentation Studio team in Melbourne to support Telstra’s Connect 2013 Conference. The 4 day event was a huge logistical operation with our Presentation Studio designers producing over 45 presentations for the speakers and conference stands.