From the course: How to Rock a Conference

Rock your role at a conference

From the course: How to Rock a Conference

Start my 1-month free trial

Rock your role at a conference

“

- Let me paint a picture that might be a familiar one. You take a late night flight that gets in after midnight. You plop down in your hotel room, an underwhelming respite and a few hours later, you wake yourself up at six AM to pull yourself together just in time for a networking breakfast followed by a full day of expo halling, conference sessioning, happy houring and networking, networking, networking. I'm talking about the conference life. It's exciting, it's interesting and can be downright exhausting. So what's the point? Why do we put ourselves through it and are we really getting the most out of it that we can? There's a difference between people who go to conferences and people who rock conferences and I'll let you in on a little secret. No matter why you're there, you can rock it. There are three main roles when it comes to conferences. You're an attendee, a presenter or you're actually working the show. In this lesson, I want to break down how you can rock any role at a conference. Okay, so your boss has approved your ticket to attend the big annual industry conference. You're in. As an attendee, you have all the power and can control your own trade show destiny. Presenters want you in the room. Expo hall workers want you to come talk to them. Show producers want your experience to be a great one. As an attendee, you can rock your role at a conference in just about every way as long as you stay organized, stay rested and only focus on the topics that truly interest you. Now, let's say you have the opportunity to rock it as a presenter. Maybe you're delivering the keynote address or have a short presentation or a smaller breakout room or side stage. Regardless of audience size, you are center stage and you have to be prepared, you have to be upbeat and give your listeners a reason to care about what you say. Presenting can be scary but with the right preparation, you'll be ready to own the room and last but certainly not least, you might be working the show. I have been there done that in every possible role you can imagine. I've been the planner, the producer, the saleswoman, the microphone girl, the booth worker, the person schlepping cocktails, the hostess for VIPs and the last woman standing cleaning up zip ties at the end of a long, long days and nights. If you have been that person too, you know what I mean. If you're working the show, you pour your blood, sweat and tears into it and you set the tone for its success. It's a great role to rock and with your planning, your personality and your resourcefulness optimized, you will go home feeling like an exhausted but accomplished rock star. Whatever your role is at the next conference, you can rock it. With a little prep, a little star power and some endurance, you will get the most out of any event.

Contents