Attending a professional conference can offer a significant boost to your career growth. Development events like these offer opportunities for networking and education within your industry. However, putting in the necessary work before, during and after the event is what helps you get the most bang for your buck.
An important part of this process is learning how to prepare for a conference properly. To help, we’ll present a conference planning checklist below, filled with helpful tips. You’ll learn what to bring to a conference, what to do in a conference and even what to do after the conference is over.
How to Prepare for a Conference: Pre-Conference Best Practices
Keep nervousness and jitters at bay by showing up to the conference well-prepared. Going into it with a game plan will allow you to make the most of your time and will give you the confidence to make long-lasting connections that can help you down the line.
Use the following conference preparation checklist to ensure your pre-conference prep is on point.
Confirm Travel & Accommodation
First things first: confirm your hotel booking and flight 2-3 weeks before the conference.
Hopefully, you will be able to book transportation and accommodation 3-6 months before the conference, as this allows you more flexibility and peace of mind if plans change. Confirming these details a couple of weeks before the event will help settle any nerves so you can focus on preparing for what matters most—a successful conference experience.
Establish Your Conference Goals
Take the time to think about what you’re hoping to gain from this experience. You may be looking to attend certain speaker presentations, learning about a new product, or network with peers or industry leaders.
Try to attend at least one presentation on a topic that is new to you, as this can help you glean new ideas and perspectives that may be helpful to you down the line. Identify what your conference priorities are and jot them down in a notebook so you can review them each morning.
Plan Out Your Days
Take a look at any conference materials or information so you can decide which activities, presentations or panels you want to attend.
Founder of AltAgency, Greg Hickman, suggests defining what conference success looks like to you prior to attending. This will help you come away from the conference with curated knowledge and ideas that you can take action on.
Knowing exactly what you want to get out of the experience will help inform your decisions when it comes to planning which presentations and networking sessions to attend. Schedule them in your calendar to make sure you don’t miss anything that’s important to you.
Pack Your Essentials
Pack your trip essentials a day or two ahead of time to avoid last-minute stress. Make sure you bring outfits that are professional, but of equal importance, comfortable. Having a new outfit ready to go each day can also help you put your best foot forward.
Don’t get caught up worrying about what to bring to a conference. Instead, keep it simple by making sure you have all the conference essentials like:
- Business cards
- A notebook and pen, or a tablet for note-taking
- Chargers for your phone and laptop
- Water and snacks
- A backpack or tote to carry your belongings
Scope Out the Venue
Do some research on the venue ahead of time. Check out parking, the route from your accommodation to the venue, and nearby food options.
If you know you’ll have some downtime surrounding the conference, do some research on things to do or top restaurants in the area. That way, you can schedule in some relaxation or adventure time into your trip.
Who knows, you might end up being the one to suggest a spot for dinner or drinks with your new contacts.
Research Important Contacts
If there are colleagues or industry leaders you know will be attending and you’d like to have a chat with them, do some research on their work and background before showing up to the conference. This shows colleagues that you’re interested in their work and will help you leave a lasting impression, as well as leaving less room for awkward pauses and clumsy conversation.
Author and founder of Science of People, Vanessa Van Edwards, suggests connecting with key speakers and attendees about a week before the conference by reaching out on social media. Simply tweeting them or sending them a message on LinkedIn letting them know you’re looking forward to hearing them speak at the conference is a great way to make sure you’re on their radar.
What to Do at a Conference: Making the Most of the Experience
Getting as much as you can out of attending a conference takes more than simply showing up. Be present, make meaningful connections, and gather as much knowledge as you can to set yourself on a path to success.
Use these tips to come up with a conference planning checklist to make sure you’re prepared.
Network, Network, Network
Networking at conferences is essential, and these events give you unique opportunities to make diverse connections that you otherwise may not have the chance to make. Van Edwards recommends going into a conference with a helpful mindset.
Approaching people with offers on how you can help them, versus focusing only on what you can get out of the conference, will help you make genuine connections that will make you more memorable and are likely to pay off in the future.
You can also start conversations with industry peers and leaders by complimenting their presentation or asking about their recent projects or work. (This is where that pre-conference research comes in handy.)
Be Present & Take Notes
While you’re not expected to take notes on the entirety of each presentation or in the middle of conversations with colleagues, keeping a notebook and pen with you is a great tool and will come in handy when you follow up after the conference.
- Take note of any new products, techniques or ideas that stand out to you during presentations or while visiting vendor booths. This way, you can go through your notes post-conference and do more research on anything you think might be beneficial to your work.
- Purposely attend presentations on topics you’re interested in, but are not yet an expert on. This will help you truly increase your knowledge versus taking notes upon notes on a topic you’re already super familiar with.
- After a networking session, take a few minutes to step away and jot down a few things you’ve learned about your new contacts. You can use a notebook, or even the back of their business cards. You can use this information to make following up with them a more personal experience, which will help you stand out.
Attend as Much as You Can
During your pre-conference planning, you would have reviewed the conference schedule and offerings. Creating a checklist of all the presentations and social events you would like to attend, along with a list of vendors you’re hoping to check out, can help keep things on track and turn idle time into meaningful interactions.
If you’re attending the conference with coworkers, use teamwork to split up and sit in on different presentations or visit different vendor booths and then come together to share insights so you can cover more ground without spreading yourselves too thin.
Take Time For Breaks
With all the hustle and bustle and tight schedules that come with attending a conference, it can be easy to forget to take care of yourself. It’s important to make time for breaks, eat meals, and stay hydrated during conferences—especially if you’re attending across multiple days.
Taking advantage of scheduled social events will give you time to rest and fuel up, as there are usually refreshments provided. If you need a break from socializing, head to a local coffee shop or back to your hotel room for a quick refresh and breather. Schedule breaks into your itinerary to make sure they don’t get brushed aside when things get busy.
What to Do After a Conference: Post-Conference Follow-Up Steps
The work isn’t done once you go home! Following up with connections and doing further research after attending a conference is key to getting the most out of your experience. Simply getting back to business once you return from the conference can result in weak or lost networking connections and wasted insights.
Follow this action plan to make the most of your experience once the conference wraps up.
Review Your Notes
You can start doing this on the plane ride home or once you’re settled back in your office, but it is a crucial post-conference step. Take some time to reflect on what you got out of the experience and use your notes to refresh your memory on things you want to do a deeper dive on, or connections you think it will be beneficial to establish a professional relationship with.
Follow Up With New Connections
Conferences are busy, so don’t expect every connection to remember you, or take it personally if they don’t. Follow up with new contacts within 24 hours to establish a relationship with them and refresh their memory on your introduction. While connecting on LinkedIn is certainly encouraged, doing that alone is not enough.
Following up with a thank you email is a great start. Let them know it was great to meet them and that you appreciate their time, insight, and expertise. Remind them what you bring to the table in a professional relationship as well and extend an offer for advice, help, or services, in case they want to collaborate in the future.
Following them on their professional socials allows you to continue to interact with them casually, keeping you at the front of their mind.
Share Insights With Your Team
Once you’re back in the office, set up a meeting with your team and share learnings from the conference. This will get your team up to speed on industry news and best practices, and can give you all a chance to do some brainstorming on how you can implement these insights in your work.
This should be done after any team member attends a conference, so the entire team can benefit and learn even if they were not able to attend.
Plan for Future Growth
Come up with a short, actionable list of goals or a roadmap on how you would like to implement what you’ve learned into your workflow. Decide which projects you’re interested in taking on, which vendors you want to set meetings with, and new contacts you’re hoping to reconnect with. Give yourself due dates for each goal or item to ensure that you follow through on them.
Finally, keep an eye out for other relevant conferences that you or your teammates can attend and start planning for those as well.
How Preparation and Follow-Up Create Lasting Conference Value
Following through with proper planning before a conference, staying present and engaged during, and following up with contacts after attending, will help you make the most of the next conference. Thoughtful preparation and action throughout all stages of your conference experience will help you build essential skills like networking, and it is an effective way to accelerate your career.
A strategic plan will allow you to go into your next professional development event with the confidence you need to boost your professional development and make a lasting difference in your career.
Photo by Jacob Lund/Shutterstock.
