sonnygill Thinking of an upcoming blog post - what are your 'best practices' when it comes to attending conferences?

50 responses to this plurk.

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  October 01, 2008 at 00:13 rockinprgirl as far as...? The few conferences I've attended, I've ended up participating in panel discussions.
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  October 01, 2008 at 00:10 rockinprgirl we tried to attend sessions that interested us, but I should note that they were all academia.
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  October 01, 2008 at 00:23 sonnygill As an attendee - what are some skills you've acquired, grown while going to your industry specific conferences/events.
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  October 01, 2008 at 00:21 sonnygill Whether it be breaking the barrier of reluctance to talk to other attendees or speakers, connecting b4 hand, etc.
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  October 01, 2008 at 00:22 sonnygill Just curious to get ppls takes on their personal experiences attending events and how they truly got the most out of it.
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  October 01, 2008 at 00:23 rockinprgirl the thing about it was that we mostly stuck to our own (PRSSA chapter), but we did interact with the other PRSSA chapter we were presenting
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  October 01, 2008 at 00:24 rockinprgirl with ... at the bar. I can't speak for any best practices actually, so I'm out.
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  October 01, 2008 at 00:28 sonnygill Gotcha - at the bar is always key
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  October 01, 2008 at 00:30 rockinprgirl haha, well I think people def. throw their inhibitions to the wind when there's libations abound. They forget their nerves. Trying to meet
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  October 01, 2008 at 00:31 rockinprgirl and talk with people can definitely be nervewracking. A truly social atmosphere is more comfortable than approaching someone before or after
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  October 01, 2008 at 00:27 rockinprgirl a session or keynote.
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  October 01, 2008 at 00:32 uniquefrequency says definitely connecting beforehand for me. breaks that weirdness from meeting a stranger
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  October 01, 2008 at 00:40 sonnygill rockinprgirl haha no doubt - everyone lets loose after a few!
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  October 01, 2008 at 00:44 sonnygill uniquefrequency Good one. That's a great thing to do as an ice breaker.
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  October 01, 2008 at 00:49 Debra Simpson says I never go anywhere without my hand held digital recorder - can record sessions or do some podcasting - helps in meeting ppl
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  October 01, 2008 at 01:03 DebInDenver says I know you are already on top of it with the b-card thing (so many people forget to bring them!). I have one funny thing I always put my
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  October 01, 2008 at 01:06 DebInDenver says cards in my left pocket (of my blazer) shake hands with the right, pass the card with the left and put the received cards in my rt pocket
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  October 01, 2008 at 01:10 DebInDenver says a little thing, butkeeps things organized.
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  October 01, 2008 at 01:13 callkathy says talk to everyone. share cards. Use a two sided bcard holder. yours in one side, other people's in the other side
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  October 01, 2008 at 01:24 DebInDenver says sorry, I got distracted by the phone. I always go back to my room and write notes on backs of all the cards. As much as I can remember
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  October 01, 2008 at 01:25 DebInDenver says about the person- birthday, dog's names, etc. And, I always follow up with a note or email after the conference.
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  October 01, 2008 at 01:29 DebInDenver says one of my guy friends always carried like 6 or 7 pens. Inevitably someone would need a pen and he could pass it to them and start a convo
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  October 01, 2008 at 01:30 DebInDenver says make sure you don't have any bathroom issues- that sounds silly, but in Japan I organized and managed our Govs trade mission. I went to the
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  October 01, 2008 at 01:31 DebInDenver says bathroom and my blazer pocket must have fallen open and a bunch of the cards I'd collected fell into the toilet- cards for the head of
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  October 01, 2008 at 01:28 DebInDenver says Mitsubishi, Sr. staff from the Foreign Ministry, VP from Sony, VP from Japan Air, Ambassador to the US...it was awful!
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  October 01, 2008 at 01:46 sonnygill Great points all! Deb, that's a great tip as far as carrying multiple pens with you. Good conversation starter.
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  October 01, 2008 at 01:47 sonnygill I think a good one is if its a multiple day event, have a meet up 'after hours' and in a more relaxed setting (a few drinks im sure)...
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  October 01, 2008 at 01:47 sonnygill help break the ice and make for more conversations the next day with that contact and then expand to his/her contacts and so forth.
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  October 01, 2008 at 02:04 MackCollier says Sonny use your Plurk/Twitter networks and see who else will be attending. Have biz cards ready & be ready to answer the 'what do you do?' ?
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  October 01, 2008 at 02:32 sonnygill Yea i gotta my quick pitch of 'what i do' ready
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  October 01, 2008 at 02:40 Connie Attended new member reception at conf this weekend. Wii bowling at one end of room; Rockband at the other. Bar and buffet snacks.
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  October 01, 2008 at 02:37 Connie Lots of tables and chairs. Board members introducing themselves to new members. Games made it easier for newcomers to join in.
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  October 01, 2008 at 02:41 sonnygill Wow, thats a great setup Connie. Must've made it super easy for the new members.
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  October 01, 2008 at 02:46 AmberCadabra I loved that the SBMU folks did a social event FIRST before the conf. really started. Helped folks get acquainted and go into the next day
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  October 01, 2008 at 02:46 AmberCadabra feeling like they'd already made friends. I know I did!
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  October 01, 2008 at 02:47 DebInDenver says I love that games thing! What a great way to get people involved.
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  October 01, 2008 at 02:47 sonnygill That is great Amber. Hopefully we can get a bunch of folks together the night before MP conf. kicks off.
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  October 01, 2008 at 02:49 onepinktee if you're attending with coworkers, consider a 'divide and conquer' approach so that you hear as many of the sessions that sound good
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  October 01, 2008 at 02:50 onepinktee then debrief over lunch or dinner and if there's anything to share in-depth, do a brown bag lunch after returning to work
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  October 01, 2008 at 02:47 DebInDenver says I always try to not spend all my time with co-workers at conferences. It's comfy, but I don't meet anyone new.
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  October 01, 2008 at 02:50 onepinktee dress in layers and bring a sweater - it's hard to pay attention if you're focused on avoiding frostbite
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  October 01, 2008 at 02:48 AmberCadabra LOLing at Tara telling a guy to "bring a sweater". Do guys do that?
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  October 01, 2008 at 02:49 sonnygill haha no...guys bring hoodies cause it sounds tougher
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  October 01, 2008 at 02:50 AmberCadabra Wait. "hoodie" sounds tougher? You might wanna rethink that.
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  October 01, 2008 at 02:53 onepinktee well, the dress in layers part was meant for the guys
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  October 01, 2008 at 02:52 sonnygill haha damn - i have a lotta hoodies, i thought they were manly lol - Tara, hopefully it is cool and not hot like AZ air!
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  October 02, 2008 at 10:57 BarbaraKB says prep before go: make list of folks u want to meet. perhaps e-mail & let 'em know u want to meet them. plan face time wisely.
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  October 02, 2008 at 10:59 BarbaraKB agree DebinDenver: tempting to stick w/those u know. y good to have prepped a list of folks to meet. make self accountable.
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  October 02, 2008 at 12:18 sonnygill Good tip Barbara - I'll be spending the next couple weeks contacting ppl who will be heading to the MP Mixer later this month.
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  October 02, 2008 at 12:19 sonnygill Then keeping a list of folks I want to or already scheduled some time to meet up with.