eLearning Weekly

How to Get the Most Out of a Conference May 7, 2009

Conferences have been on my mind quite a bit lately. I will be presenting a session on mobile learning at the Corporate University Summit in a couple weeks in Chicago, and I’m getting ready to submit a proposal or two for DevLearn. So you can see why I was pleasantly surprised today when I ran across an excellent blog post on how to get the most out of a conference. The post is by Dan McCarthy, and he wrote it over on his Great Leadership blog. Here’s a summary of his suggestions:

1. Choose your conference wisely.
2. Take time to to explore and experience the surrounding area.
3. Try to suspend your judgement, be open minded, curious, and open to possibilities.
4. Watch your diet and stay fit.
5. Force yourself to network.
6. Don’t be one of those attendees that race up and down the trade show isles with a shopping bag, avoiding eye contact with the vendors, and grabbing handfuls of useless junk.
7. Keep a running list of ideas, insights, and action items; your key take-a-ways from each day.
8. Have fun, but be on your best behavior.
9. Ship your stuff back to your office.
10. Don’t forget to thank your manager for allowing you to attend.
11. Share something with your team or coworkers.
12. If you can, offer to be a presenter, break-out facilitator, discussion moderator, or any opportunity to get involved.

Read Dan’s full post, How to Get the Most Out of a Conference, for more information on each of his suggestions. And if you see me at a conference, please stop and introduce yourself!

Additional resources:

• How to be an Insanely Great Conference Attendee
• A Conference Survival Guide for the Web Worker