How to make the most of conferences.

An investment in your knowledge and network

Photo by Headway on Unsplash

Over the past few years I’ve found myself hosting more and more events. From smaller meetups to larger conferences, I have to stand up there and engage the audience, fill the silence and weave together the speakers, presentations and whatever else might be planned.

One of the perks of being the host, is that you get to speak to everyone backstage, calm them down if needed and prepare them for speaking in front of the audience.

Then during the breaks, you get a little rest, grab some food or drink with a certain awareness that the show can’t go on without you (unless someone hijacks your part).

That break or pause or lobby lingering is where you get a good people watching opportunity. Are you the person being approached, doing the approaching or looking unapproachable?

Plan ahead

As you move on in life you get a true grasp of what gets you up in the morning, and if that’s the case, then there’s probably a conference out there for you where like-minded individuals are going to congregate.

Many conferences are annual, and then you have with new ones popping up all the time, so when planning your conference budget you have to be thorough with your search…