Pub. 1 2018-2019 Issue 3

9 » If you are generating content, arrange a question-and-answer sessionon social media during the conference with as manyof your expert sources as possible. » If you want to find new customers, put together a fantastic demo of your product, and take it with you to the conference. » Is anyone else you know attending the conference so you could both gather more information? If so, then talk and coordinate your efforts. » Look at the materials for the confer- ence. Based onwhat youwant to learn, decide which sessions you should attend, while paying particular atten- tion towho the scheduled speakers are. Also think about who else you would like to talk to at the conference, such as some of the speakers, existing cus- tomers, potential employers and cus- tomers, and so on. » Use social media to follow the people on your list, and see whether they are open to meeting during the actual conference. When you set up times to meet, ask the people you plan tomeet to extend an invitation to one or two other key people they know. » Don’t forget meals, happy hour, or times when you are decompressing for a few minutes over a beverage. If you are uncomfortable extending an invitation to key people, then look at social eventswhere they are likely tobe. » Mark your calendar with the scheduled commitments you’ve made. If your goal is to generate ideas, you will be interested in learning from ses- sions and also in networking. If you are networking: » Buy business cards and thank you notes. » Come up with some interesting ways to start a conversation. During the Conference If you want to learn: » Take notes, and if you are workingwith someone else, make sure that person takes notes as well. The notes don’t have to be long, but there should be at least one point for each session or con- versation. Try to answer any questions you brought with you. Post the notes online where everyone who needs to see them can do just that. » Does a particular session have a lot of different points worth sharing? You could potentially tweet them as you hear them. If someone inspires you, make notes about that per- son’s values and view of the world. If you think you hear something that isn’t common knowledge, write that down too — not so you can publi- cize it, necessarily, but so you can put the knowledge to work when strategizing later. » Decide howmuch you want to partic- ipate. If you are involved in the ses- sions, you will get more out of them by taking part. However, you can’t learn if you don’t listen, and talking too much or too little can put off a potential employer, so be careful. If you are there primarily to check out the competition then you will want to listen much more than you talk. » If necessary, adjust your strategy. One woman realized that the ses- sions she was attending were not teaching her as much as she thought she would. She decided to attend sessions based on who was speak- ing instead so that she could have a chance to talk to the people she thought could help her most. continued on page 10 If your goal is to generate ideas, you will be interested in learning from sessions and also in networking.