Conference Survival Guide

Do you go to many conferences ?
Class yourself as a professional conference attendee?
Here are my tips for attending a conference and how to ‘survive’ !

Before you get there

Plan in advance, who you want to see, seminars, meet ups seminars etc.
If there is an app for the show, it might be useful for planning your visit, floor plan etc.
Good shoes, not sneakers or running shoes.
Wear comfortable clothes but not scruffy – jeans, shirt and a jacket / suit with tie or without. Avoid comedy/rock band t-shirts and board shorts.
Stay in a hotel close to the venue the night before and if possible afterwards that way you can start your day off, refreshed and clean.
Wash, shower, brush your teeth, change your clothes, no excuse.
Have a decent breakfast too, you don’t necessarily know when you will eat next.
Business cards, take loads, make sure you pack a pen to write on their cards what you talked about.
Print off your ticket, maps, itinerary etc. There may not be signal or internet when you get there.

When you’re there

On Arrival

Use the cloakroom to ditch your coats, bags, jumpers, umbrellas, you need to travel light.
Conferences are paid for by vendors, expect a vendor pitch or two.
Cover up that badge or it’ll get scanned.
Don’t try to go to every seminar, pace yourself.
Turn your WiFi and Bluetooth off to prevent any malicious activity.

Swag

Be aware of free tech e.g. USB pen drives, 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.
Swag is only handed over in exchange for your badge being scanned – be prepared.
Booth babes are a no-no, they don’t think you’re hot, they are paid to get you on a stand then move on.
If a stand has booth babes, think – is their product so bad they have to hide it behind a push up bra?

Food and Drink

Drink water not alcohol.
Get fresh air at lunch, go outside even if it is raining.
Food and drinks inside the venue tend to be expensive, find a local supermarket.

General Etiquette

Take your time, do the stands you need then take in the sights.
Each company you meet might be a potential employer, behave!
Get in the queue for seminars early, I have missed many great seminars by the queue being too long.
After a seminar, if you have a tricky question, all at the vendor stand it is not nice to kill a presenter.
Anyone can be a smart-arse and show off superior knowledge, conferences are not for that.
Tweet, lots and use the right hash tags for the event.
It is likely you’ll meet people you know, if you are slightly shy, have a pre-prepared “hi, how are you? what are you up to? how you finding the show so far?” statement.
People you talk to on Twitter will not know you in real life, know the difference and introduce yourself.
Rock-stars in your industry have no idea who you are, be respectful.
Enjoy it, but remember, there is a reason you went – make sure you don’t leave without that objective being completed.

Afterwards

After parties, behave! Don’t be THAT person.
Be aware who you are talking to at an after-party.
Afterwards you have somewhere to crash and recuperate.
When you get back to your hotel room go through your swag and ditch the useless stuff.
Ditch any brochures, product guides for vendors that do not relate to you.
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 in a pad, who you met, what was good, 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.
When you go 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.

Hope that is a useful list. If you have any top tips, the fire them over to me below and I’ll add them to the list.

Thanks.

@SPCoulson

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