WEBVTT - Get more out of virtual conferences

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is about how to get more out of

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<v Speaker 1>virtual conferences. While some groups are starting to meet in

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<v Speaker 1>person again as more people are vaccinated against COVID, virtual

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<v Speaker 1>gatherings will likely be with us for a while, and

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<v Speaker 1>that's not a bad thing. With a little thought, you

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<v Speaker 1>can get a lot of the upsides of in person

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<v Speaker 1>conferences and some additional benefits too. When you think about

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<v Speaker 1>regular in person conferences, they tended to serve two functions.

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<v Speaker 1>One was the content, letting people discover new trends or

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<v Speaker 1>ideas in an industry or gain access to experts that

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<v Speaker 1>they wouldn't normally learn from. The second was to meet

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<v Speaker 1>people in person and to tighten existing relationships. While people

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<v Speaker 1>spend a lot of time and effort focused on the

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<v Speaker 1>programming que the angst over which panel do I attend,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd argue that the latter is a lot more important.

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<v Speaker 1>With many conferences, you'd be better off parking yourself at

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<v Speaker 1>the coffee station or in the hallway and setting up

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<v Speaker 1>lots of appointments with other attendees, rather than attending any sessions.

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<v Speaker 1>So that suggests an obvious drawback of virtual conferences. If

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<v Speaker 1>the biggest upside of most conferences was meeting people in person,

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<v Speaker 1>and virtual conferences are well virtual, what is the point?

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<v Speaker 1>But you can still get some of the networking benefits

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<v Speaker 1>if you are proactive about it. First, when you sign

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<v Speaker 1>up for virtual conference, do the work of figuring out

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<v Speaker 1>who else is going who you'd like to meet. Ask colleagues,

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<v Speaker 1>ask your network, Ask your network if they know any

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<v Speaker 1>one who's going that you should connect with. Post on

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<v Speaker 1>social media that you are going. The goal is to

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<v Speaker 1>get three names or so of people who would be

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<v Speaker 1>worthwhile to connect with, then figure out a way to

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<v Speaker 1>do just that. One idea is to arrange for both

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<v Speaker 1>you and a new connection to attend one of the

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<v Speaker 1>same sessions and then do a private debrief with each

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<v Speaker 1>other afterwards. This is kind of the equivalent of grabbing

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<v Speaker 1>coffee after a panel. If you already know the person

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<v Speaker 1>to some degree and you're looking to reconnect, well you

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<v Speaker 1>don't even need to bother with that. Just say, hey,

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<v Speaker 1>I saw we were both going to this conference. I'd

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<v Speaker 1>love to chat. Then get it on the calendar. The

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<v Speaker 1>conference is just a pretense but you know what, wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>it always? And in the virtual world you don't have

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<v Speaker 1>to spend the time and money on travel to make

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<v Speaker 1>that pretense happen. You might also host a small group

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<v Speaker 1>session with a hand full of attendees that you'd like

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<v Speaker 1>to get to know better. You know the drill. More

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<v Speaker 1>than six people are so on a virtual discussion can

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes become hard to manage, but about that number will

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<v Speaker 1>work great for something social. Think of this as the

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<v Speaker 1>equivalent of a few folks grabbing dinner together or hitting

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<v Speaker 1>the bar. After a day of sessions. You can talk

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<v Speaker 1>about the conference and that would be a great starting point,

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<v Speaker 1>but presumably you will move on to other things too,

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<v Speaker 1>which is also great. You can also network with presenters

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<v Speaker 1>from virtual conferences by sending an email after any session

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<v Speaker 1>with your feedback. I can promise you these emails do

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<v Speaker 1>get read, even if they don't always garner a response,

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<v Speaker 1>and networking is partly about getting people to recognize your name.

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<v Speaker 1>If you send a thoughtful email to someone, the next

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<v Speaker 1>time they see your name in an industry publication or

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<v Speaker 1>on a discussion for them, this expert or industry leader

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<v Speaker 1>will think, oh, yeah, that's so and so she all

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<v Speaker 1>has smart ideas. From your perspective, this is a great

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<v Speaker 1>thought for such a person to think. And finally, with

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<v Speaker 1>virtual conferences, use the fact that you don't have to

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<v Speaker 1>take a break from your normal life or invest in

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<v Speaker 1>travel costs to attend. This means you can attend a

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<v Speaker 1>lot more conferences. The bar can be lower since it's

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<v Speaker 1>much less of a time cost. If there are even

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<v Speaker 1>maybe two people attending that you'd like to get to

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<v Speaker 1>know better, or there is one session you'd really like

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<v Speaker 1>to participate in, it might be worth it. You wouldn't

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<v Speaker 1>fly across the country for that, but joining a virtual

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<v Speaker 1>program over your lunch break, I mean why not? Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>now that we are in year two of virtual conferences,

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<v Speaker 1>most organizers are recognizing how important the social and networking

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<v Speaker 1>functions are, and many are building in the opportunity for

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<v Speaker 1>small group sessions. If these are available, go ahead and

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<v Speaker 1>sign up. Getting to know a small group of industry

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<v Speaker 1>colleagues in a structured setting tends to be a wise idea.

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<v Speaker 1>And again, you don't have to go anywhere. Since you

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<v Speaker 1>can sign up for more conferences in the virtual world,

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<v Speaker 1>you can do even more of these sessions than you

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<v Speaker 1>might have when conferences only happen in person. I do

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<v Speaker 1>know that in person is coming back. I have a

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<v Speaker 1>few events on my calendar for the fall. But virtual

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<v Speaker 1>is great too because you can bring people from farther

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<v Speaker 1>afield and people can come who might have had family

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<v Speaker 1>or health reasons for not attending in the past. More

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<v Speaker 1>people means better networking, which, as we learned earlier, is

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<v Speaker 1>really the reason to go to conferences in the first place.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod

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<v Speaker 1>that's B the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at i heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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