{"id":2148,"date":"2016-04-28T11:04:36","date_gmt":"2016-04-28T17:04:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/?p=2148"},"modified":"2023-04-27T10:34:16","modified_gmt":"2023-04-27T16:34:16","slug":"getting-the-most-from-a-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/getting-the-most-from-a-conference","title":{"rendered":"Getting the Most from a Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Turn Conference Chaos into<br \/>\nConference Command<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_2153\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2153\" data-attachment-id=\"2153\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/getting-the-most-from-a-conference\/duluth-conference-1\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Duluth-conference-1.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"600,448\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Duluth conference 1\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Duluth conference&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Attendees at WPA&#8217;s booth.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Duluth-conference-1-300x224.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Duluth-conference-1.jpg\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" class=\"wp-image-2153 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Duluth-conference-1-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"Duluth conference\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Duluth-conference-1-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Duluth-conference-1-150x112.jpg 150w, https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Duluth-conference-1.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2153\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Attendees at WPA&#8217;s booth.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Monday and Tuesday of this week two of us attended the Minnesota Association for Children\u00a0and Mental Health Conference held here in Duluth, Minnesota where our offices are located. The weather was nasty, but not atypical for Northern Minnesota in April. Lake Superior waves were up over 10 feet. It was pouring down rain. The temperature was only in the upper 30\u2019s. Spring in the Northland, and no place for folks to go when they were not in a session.<\/p>\n<p>Our booth was right inside the door of the Exhibit Hall. Lots of folks stopped, took advantage of the conference special and chatted about what they couldn\u2019t find but needed for their practice. Our prime spot was also prime for people-watching. Every age group from not yet out of college to those ready-to-retire were there. Some were clearly having a good conference. They walked by with different groups of folks, chatted enthusiastically about a session, networked with the vendors, and looked relaxed and alert. Some looked confused and exhausted\u2026and it wasn\u2019t just the newbies that looked that way.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some tips that I\u2019ve learned over time to give you command over the conference experience.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Study the conference materials and see if there isn\u2019t somewhere you can participate as a volunteer, panel member, or presenter. One of the most useful things you will do is to meet influential people in your field. It is easier to do so if you stand out in some positive way.<br \/>\nBe sure you bring comfy shoes. Just walking from your hotel room to the Keynote venue can be quite a hike. You will take better advantage of the vendors if your feet don\u2019t hurt too much to wander around the exhibit hall.<\/li>\n<li>If you attend a session and find it is not what you thought, give it 15 minutes. Still unhappy? Quietly leave and find another that looks more interesting or use the time to check out vendors. Chat with those whose materials you like. Tell them what you are looking for and can\u2019t find. Use the extra time to network with other attendees who skipped their session.<\/li>\n<li>When you exchange business cards with someone be sure to write a note to yourself to remember who the person is and why you were interested in him or her on the back. Make contact with them as soon as you can upon returning to your office. If I don\u2019t write myself a note, I find the reason I kept their card has disappeared into the miasma of conferences\u00a0past.<\/li>\n<li>Many experienced conference goers check out local restaurants before leaving home. They make a reservation for eight to ten people before leaving their home town. Once at the conference they invite interesting folks they meet to join them for a meal or coffee and conversation. Be prepared to start the ball rolling by introducing yourself and telling a bit about what you do and why you came to this particular conference. Then pass the ball to the next person. Draw people out. It\u2019s your dinner\u2026make it work for you.<\/li>\n<li>Make new friends. Don\u2019t spend all your time with the folks from your office. You don\u2019t know what great ideas are lurking in someone\u2019s mind that will solve a problem whose solution has eluded you. Go to any social events scheduled by the conference. Don\u2019t be afraid to approach a presenter that interests you and introduce yourself. They will, for the most part, but happy to talk with you about their work and pleased you want to meet with them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Stick with these easy tips and you will be one of the happy conference goers that will go home having learned important things and made new contacts that can develop into lifelong colleagues.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2155\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2155\" data-attachment-id=\"2155\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/getting-the-most-from-a-conference\/duluth-conference-2\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Duluth-Conference-2.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1024,764\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Duluth Conference 2\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Duluth conference&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;WPA&#8217;s Booth at the opening of the conference&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Duluth-Conference-2-300x224.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Duluth-Conference-2-1024x764.jpg\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" class=\"wp-image-2155\" src=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Duluth-Conference-2-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"Duluth conference\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Duluth-Conference-2-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Duluth-Conference-2-150x112.jpg 150w, https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Duluth-Conference-2-768x573.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Duluth-Conference-2.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Duluth-Conference-2-624x466.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2155\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">WPA&#8217;s Booth at the opening of the conference<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Turn Conference Chaos into Conference Command Monday and Tuesday of this week two of us attended the Minnesota Association for Children\u00a0and Mental Health Conference held here in Duluth, Minnesota where our offices are located. The weather was nasty, but not atypical for Northern Minnesota in April. Lake Superior waves were up over 10 feet. It [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[458,460,461,459],"class_list":["post-2148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","tag-conference","tag-conference-chaos","tag-conference-command","tag-conference-success"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Getting the Most from a Conference - The Wellness Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Find conference attendance exhausting and unproductive. 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