Clothing – What to wear

This is completely down to you. I have made some suggestions; however, you may have your own ‘style’. Set your standards.

The following is my list; feel free to steal the relevant bits for you:

• Good shoes, not knackered old sneakers/running shoes.
  • Don’t wear new shoes either!!
  • Comfy shoes are the order of the day,
  • Ensure they do not rub,
  • I use decent boots for ankle support,
  • You will be doing loads of miles, so get comfy! (My record is 29,000 steps in one day).
• Wear comfortable clothes but not scruffy,
  • Dress appropriately for the wider crowd,
  • I usually wear jeans, a shirt and a jacket without a tie,
  • Avoid comedy/rock band t-shirts and board shorts. Yes, it is a look, but think about the rest of the attendees and what they will be wearing,
  • Wear a cotton T-shirt under your shirt – even on hot days, it helps to reduce sweat patches!
  • A pale shirt will cover up sweat patches but is also susceptible to coffee stains.
  • A darker shirt will cover up sweat patches, but it can also make you feel hotter,
  • Jeans/trousers should fit you … no one needs to see your Batman underwear.

Travel Bag – What to carry

The crucial key to conferences is definitely to travel light. The less you have, the better!

Your bag may be searched – be aware of taking inappropriate items that might get you banned from the event space.

• Ditch the laptop, if you HAVE to take a screen, go for a tablet,
• Phone,
• Backup battery packs,
• You may be picking up merch, so ensure you have something to stow it in,
• Notepad and pen (although you can probably pick these up if you are lucky!),
• Headphones:
  • Have a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, e.g. Loops or in-ear headphones,
  • If you need to escape and decompress, these are good to block out the noise rush of the event.
  • They are also useful for travelling to/from the event.
• Water Bottle
  • The prices in the central area at most events are prohibitively high. Take your own water in a bottle.
• Food
  • I’d recommend some snacks, Nutri-Grain bars, or similar, as they are good to at least get some food in your body.
  • The event food is extortionate – KEEP ALL RECEIPTS for your expenses!!
  • Oh, and be aware of your expenses policy if you can claim!
• Have your ticket printed out and ready for the event in advance. This will make it easier to get into the conference.

Have a List

• Use any event app to create lists of talks ready. Plan who and what you want to see, seminars, meet-ups, and seminars etc.
  • Use any event app to create lists of talks ready.
• Follow LinkedIn/Event App/Socials to see who from your contacts is going and if so, arrange to catch up with them.
• Have a list of your known contact names next to companies you know to remind you of that person…
• Have a list of which stands you want to go to and why

• Bookmark companies in any event app you want to see and talks you want to see.
  • Add contact names so you can ask for someone on the stand if you want to chat.
• Have a copy of this Conference Survival Guide bookmarked so you can refer back to it.

Have a Plan B

• For each night, no point in going all the way to an event to sit in a hotel room on your own each night!
  • There are usually lots of side events, so register for those to keep the networking going, but don’t overdo it!
  • There is usually lots going on. Find out where contacts you want to hang out with are going and make sure you get the right tickets!

Basic Hygiene

• It may seem obvious, but it does need to be said..
  • shower,
  • brush your teeth,
  • clean clothes,
  • wash your hands.

• Have a decent breakfast too, you don’t know when you will eat next.
• Never assume that
  1. The venue will have food
  2. The food will be edible for you
  3. You will be able to afford the food
• Personal hygiene can be your number-one killer at any event
  • It could well be a long day, so consider a pocket-sized deodorant and use it at lunchtime.
  • If it’s hot, think about face wipes to freshen up with.

What to take on the day

Travel light – the golden rule! I’ve already said it, and I’ll say it again.

Leave as much as possible secured in your hotel room or at home. Really pack light; extra kilograms to carry will just tire you out.

• Whilst at the event, use your pockets, this will save you scrabbling around trying to find stuff:
  • Phones go in the inside pockets of your jacket on silent and vibrate,
  • Business cards go in the ticket pocket of your jacket.
• You should carry a couple of notes of currency, but just be aware, food at these places is usually really expensive!
• Be comfortable and keep both of your hands free,
• Wear a small rucksack/satchel/messenger bag/handbag to put all the stuff you’ve emptied from your pockets,
• Business cards, take loads,

YES BUSINESS CARDS

old skool is the new skool!!

• Also, put a small box for the business cards you collect (pack a Sharpie to write on them with),
• Make sure you pack a pen to write on their cards what you talked about.

At this point, you’re clean, dressed presentably and ready to go.

So, time to set off !! It’s OK, you are prepared – this Conference Survival Guide should have given you most of the tips you needed by now!

How to use the London Underground

• Use an App like Tube Map by MapWay (LINK) it’s really good for planning!
  • Know where you are going and how before you get there
• The Barriers
  • Take your debit/credit card/phone,
  • Place it on the turnstile round disk,
  • It’ll beep,
  • Really noisily bang open,
  • Walk through,
  • It’ll close behind you.
• STAND on the right, WALK on the left, ALWAYS
• Signage is generally difficult. Take your time to stand out of the way and read the signs to know where you are going.
• Appreciate the artwork and mazes
• Get on the carriage, move to the centre of the carriage and sit if you’re lucky.
• Watch the tube map to ensure
  • You’re going in the right direction
  • How many stops do you have to go
• Listen to ALL announcements
• One stop before, move towards the doors as if you were getting off and wait in the area there.

STOP

The acoustics are really loud in venue spaces and with a few thousand people in there, vendors scanning your badges, people shouting into microphones selling their wares … it’s going to overwhelm your senses. So take a break.

Use those headphones I suggested in your kit. Find some calm, quiet music.

• Hit Relax
• 3 to 10 minutes
• Or use a soundscape, something like a Beach or Ocean

On Arrival

• Have your ticket details ready!
  • Printed out, in your hand.
• Use the cloakroom to ditch your coats, bags, jumpers, umbrellas, llamas and significant other people
  • You need to travel light.
• Turn your phone to silent and vibrate.
  • Don’t be the person in the middle of the Keynote with “Chemical Brothers” on full blast. Yes, I have heard that happen.

Find the correct hall, and show your badge to a nice person who will scan your badge .. this will happen a lot, get used to your badge being scanned!

• For the first job, walk around the venue, work out where the loos are, and drinks are.
• Get yourself comfortable with the venue,
• Find the quiet spaces where you can take a break and where all the loud bits are.
• It’ll be tempting to start speaking to vendors immediately, but get a lay of the land first, then come back to them.

Start Slowly

• Take your time:
  • Wander first and orient yourself,
  • I’d also recommend that on your first walk-around, see if you can book a time slot with key vendors; it’ll help them with planning too.
  • Use that hitlist you created earlier.
  • Do the stands you need first,
  • Then take in the sights.
  • Each company you meet might be a potential employer, behave!
    • Yes, their products might drive you mad, and the salesperson is a pushy wotnot .. but .. bite your tongue. That person could end up as a colleague or boss in the future.

Seminars/Talks

• Get in the queue for seminars early; I have missed many great seminars because the queue was too long.
• Don’t try to go to every seminar; pace yourself.
• It is not nice to kill a presenter on stage; don’t be snarky or have an agenda when asking questions.
• Anyone can be a smart-arse and show off superior knowledge, but conferences are not for that.
• After a seminar, if you have a tricky or difficult question, go to the vendor’s stand to ask the question there.

Food and Drink

• Drink water – plenty of water,
• Avoid alcohol during the event if possible, unless it is the end of the day and you are being sociable.
• Food and drinks inside the venue tend to be expensive; find a local supermarket instead.
• Get fresh air at lunch, step away.
• Go outside at lunch even if it is raining.

Swag (freebies)

• Swag is only handed over in exchange for your badge being scanned – be prepared for that junk mail and sales calls in exchange for a pen that barely works.
• Be aware of free tech, e.g. USB pen drives. Most companies won’t allow you to use them anyway. Additionally, you don’t know what they really contain.
• Free hands are useful for picking up swag, but don’t get suckered into free bags.
• If you’re going to take swag, you’ve got to carry it, get a decent bag and don’t get greedy!
• Most swag only costs pence to maybe a couple of quid … realistically, it’s not that great!

Walking around Generally

• Walk with a smile…
  • I know it’s 8 am and you’re tired … but if someone spots you and wants to go over and talk to you, they’ll avoid you if you look grumpy,
  • First impressions and all that!
• Tweet, Instachat, Snapagram, lots
  • Use the right hashtags for the event
    • #WhichConferenceAmIAtAgain?!
  • Social media is a great way to engage with new contacts and meet old ones, too.
• If you receive a business card, thank them politely, pass them your card and put their card in your outside jacket pocket. When you are away from them, write on the card any actions you need to do and then stow that card securely.
• Enjoy it, but remember, there is a reason you went – make sure you don’t leave without that objective being completed.

Plan to reduce anxiety

• Plan for – what do you say after you say “Hello.”
  • Think about having some pre-prepared openers if you want to talk to someone:
    • Hi, how are you?
    • What are you up to these days?
    • How are you finding the show so far?
    • Are any stands worth going to?
    • Seen any good talks?
    • What talks do you recommend?
    • Are you doing BS Bingo too?
• I wrote this Conference Survival Guide to help me initially – if I can do it, so can you.

Awareness

• You’ll likely meet people you know.
  • How cool is that!
• With people who know you, you can relax a little.
  • Know how to create some space and allow them to move off if they want to.
• If you feel like you have a tag-along, recognise that they may be feeling similar to you and are feeling vulnerable themselves.
  • Maybe try introducing them to another of your friends if you need the space.
• Most event managers have their event coordinator table, so try to find them.
  • They might be able to give you access to a quiet room or space if you need a break.
• Consider going outside if you need a rest away from the sensory chaos.
  • Possibly do this every couple of hours to get some fresh air and reset.
• If you can escape, go for a walk away from the venue,
  • put your headphones on, and
  • put on some calm music that you know can calm you down.

Aftershow parties

Behave at parties! Don’t be THAT person.

• Drink responsibly,
• Some sectors are rife with sexism; be respectful of others. Always.
• Be aware of who you are talking to at an after-party, where they work and their reasons for talking to you,
• Treat every new person you meet as your new boss,
• Some after-show parties have free beer and food paid for by a sponsor.
  • Respect them for that, and say thanks,
• Be aware that you might need to buy drinks at some point.
  • Drinks can be expensive,
  • Know your bar tab limit before realising you can’t afford that round.
• Don’t be the person who has to explain to your boss that you lost your laptop in the pub.

Busy Afterparties!

• Afterwards, have somewhere to crash, recover and recuperate. Hotel room or apartment. Have a plan.
• Don’t drink and drive – always cab or walk. Travel safe.

Post-event wash-up

• When you get back to your hotel room, go through your swag and ditch the useless stuff like duplicate notebooks, etc. Potentially leave it for your cleaner with a nice note, “Saw this and thought I’d treat you – thank you for cleaning my room”,
• Ditch any brochures or product guides for vendors that do not relate to you,
• The train journey home is a good place to think about the event,
• Go back to this Conference Survival Guide and look through again, what tips helped, and what you forgot.
• Write emails to everyone you met to say thanks for a great show and that you’ll follow up shortly with them.
• Spend some time writing up the show on a pad, who you met, what was good, and what you didn’t like or didn’t see.
• If you missed a particular seminar, contact the person who gave it and ask them if they could have a chat with you. Look out for downloads of presentations too,
• Don’t do any of the above if you’re still drunk from the after-show party!
• When you get back to your place of employment, try to be subtle with the swag, it may give off the wrong impression – i.e. you just went there for the fun.
• Try writing a blog for your employer about what you learned at the event.
  • It helps you sharpen your creativity and communication skills.