“Do any of you have tips for getting the
most out of professional development conferences from your experiences?”
After attending many professional
conferences over the years, I have a few tips that help me get the most from
attending conferences. Here they are:
1. I wear
comfortable shoes. Sometimes the sessions are far apart from each other or
sometimes it is standing room only. Either way, it helps if your feet aren’t
hurting.
2. I dress
in layers. Sometimes the rooms can either be too cold or too hot and dressing
in layers help you be prepared for either situation.
3. If I
really like the presentation, I ask the presenter to send me their
presentation. Sometimes it helps to review it again when I get home.
4. I record
the presentation (with the presenter's permission - Thanks Laura for reminding me to add that!). Sometimes it helps to hear it again when I get home.
5. I
make connections. I meet new people who are there and exchange business cards.
Sometimes I learn as much outside the sessions as I do in a session.
6. I read
the description of the sessions carefully. I choose a session I want to go to but
also choose an alternate because m first choice might be full or cancelled.
7. I take
notes. I try to jot down at least 3 “take aways” that I get from each session
and sometimes I come away with more. This helps me focus on the topic and look
deeper into what is being shared. Sometimes I even jot down ideas that I want
to look into with more depth when I get home.
8. I
look at techniques and strategies that other presenters use. I look for new
ways of presenting or how things are presented. I also watch the audience’s
reactions. This will help me prepare for future presentations.
9. I don’t
complain. It is annoying to hear others complain on and on about something. If
you don’t like something, write it up in the convention evaluation but no one
wants to constantly hear how you are not happy. I don’t want to hear that you
don’t want to be there, or you don’t like any of the sessions or that you think
everything is boring. I’m there to learn some new ideas and get motivated. I
will stay away from negative people and I want to work hard at not being a
negative person.
10. I
review and reflect about my experience when I get home. I think this is an
important in order to process all that I’ve learned. If I just put everything
away when I get home, then I lose a lot of what I learned. I have made a list
of new ideas and strategies and plan to focus on each one for a week. Hopefully
that will allow me to spend more time with each item instead of storing it away
to be forgotten.
What tips would you add to the list?
Please share!
Original photo by Pat Hensley
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