Preparing to attend a conference takes more than booking a flight and hotel room. Any time you leave the office you spend valuable resources – time, money and attention to name a few, and you should plan to optimize your return on investment. To do so takes advanced planning. Once you have decided that the conference is worth attending based on content, take the next step and research other attendees.
Conferences bring people who you may have been trying to connect with to a central location, allowing one-on-one meetings to be efficient and cost effective. Conference planners often have registration lists available to conference attendees, so you have the ability to call ahead to schedule a meeting around the conference proceedings. Alternatively, you can call a particular person of interest and ask if they are planning on attending. If nothing else, you have just made another connection.
Because of the value of networking, many conference planners build in formal times to meet and greet, although sometimes a one-on-one may work out best if scheduled for a more quiet time and place. You may find that the annual meeting in your area of interest becomes the most cost effective way to connect with others who are dispersed geographically.
Attending a conference can be so motivating and can bring on many refreshing ideas! Nice article.
Posted by: Jennifer Rai | November 19, 2009 at 12:37 PM