When it comes to the technology and engineering industry, it’s not just what you know that get’s you far but also who you know, and this sentiment remains truer than ever. Even as careers are forged by coming upon the right employer or investor at the right time, networking is an integral skill – therefore, engineering and tech conferences become a key component in the career paths of many a professional. Some see international conferences as a perk of the profession, while many others view them as a necessary evil. The veterans are, naturally, in the camp of the former. With decades of consolidated experience participating in high-level tech events and engineering conferences all over the world, they’ve learned a few skills and strategies to make their conference experiences as enjoyable and productive as possible.
This article seeks to share with you five such strategies to improve your upcoming conference 2023 experience.
- Contemplate Your Reseason For Participation
- Watch the talks and workshops from the conference and match them to your current priorities at work.
- Talk to your boss or colleagues who are not present and see if there are any particular escapes that would be advantageous to the team.
- Contemplate your personal and professional goals and how they relate to the reasons for your participation.
- Don’t Rush Into Registering For A Conference
- To say that we are living in a tech event boom would be an understatement.
- Every day, a dozen great tech events vie for your attention around the world, and trying to figure out which conferences (and how many of them) to attend can seem like a daunting task.
- It’s often helpful to start with a clear goal in mind – from there, you can determine what type of event best suits your needs.
- If you are looking for co-founders, intimate engineering and tech conferences with round tables will allow you to deepen the conversation with a good number of people.
- If you’re looking to grow your customer base quickly, think big – explore your options for spreading the word at a big summit.
- If you’re looking to hire, a more specialized and topic-focused event will give you a better chance of finding an employee with exactly the kind of skills you’re looking for.
- If you’re looking for an investment, a broader tech conference will give you the opportunity to meet more VCs with diverse portfolios.
- Find a virtual conference 2023 or an in-person conference to take part in by heading over to the IFERP platform right now.
- Figure out which of your professional needs and objectives are the most important and go from there.
- A clear use case will also help convince your company to send you to the engineering and tech conference that you desperately want to attend, which is always an added bonus.
- Begin Strategizing Even Before Your Plan Hits The Ground
- Many engineering and tech conference attendees are guilty of planning their schedules on the way to the event.
- It is highly recommended that better pre-show planning takes place at least a few weeks in advance so that you can have a much clearer idea of which keynotes and workshops you want to attend. Also, earlier planning often means better success for the third suggestion.
- Perfect The Art Of Networking (Bear In Mind That This Takes Time, So Keep At It)
- Every engineering and tech conference you participate in is an opportunity to meet like-minded professionals.
- The vast majority of them will share your interests, ambitions, and goals and can often tell you more about your industry, irrespective of your experience.
- Naturally, you would want to network with these people and make lasting connections.
- That said, it’s not always as easy as walking up to someone and saying “Hello.”
- You should even make sure to set aside the time to prepare for an event.
- Being strategic about your approach will help you make a memorable first impression.
- Or else, you risk jumping from conversation to conversation without seeing the kind of results you want.
- Bearing that in mind, what steps should you take to network successfully at your next engineering and tech conference?
- What are the best strategies you should use to maximize your presence and connect with other attendees?
- The following help provide solutions to these questions.
- Figuring Out Who To Meet Should Be A Part Of Your Planning
- It should almost go without saying, but far too many people don’t prepare for a conference.
- Figure out who you wish to meet from the participant and speaker lists and touch base with them even before the event (bonus points for getting a meeting before entering the venue).
- Most conference goers have been to events where the networking app doesn’t function as expected, the matchmaking session is under-attended, or the booths just aren’t inspiring – while spontaneous connections are sometimes the best, the less you leave to pure chance, the better your likelihoods of getting a decent ROI from the event.
- Also, use your team to help you prepare.
- Some top execs make the most of their international conference with Scopus publication experiences by consulting with their teams on who to meet and organizing meetings – getting them to work hand in hand with a potential client’s team could help you define the relevant targets you want to hit at the event.
- Emails, social media announcements, and the like will allow you to plan pre-event business meetings and, therefore, not rely solely on luck or stand design to interact with relevant prospects.
- Reach Out & Setup Up Dates With People Whom You Wish To Meet Ahead Of Time
- There’s always atleast one participant at an engineering and tech conference that you’re probably dying to meet, whether it’s –
- because they’re a reputable thought leader in your discipline,
- because you have a mutual connection, or
- for whatever other reasons.
- By connecting with such a person before the event, you may be able to set up an informal meeting that won’t be distracted by a crowd of people also vying for this person’s attention.
- Plus, you’ll stand out by engaging this person in a one-on-one conversation.
- There’s always atleast one participant at an engineering and tech conference that you’re probably dying to meet, whether it’s –
- Seek To Further Cement Those Professional Links You’ve Forged In Previous Conferences
- One often overlooked aspect of the educational conference 2023 experience is using the time to cement your relationships with existing contacts.
- There’s much that can be said for being able to maintain long and meaningful professional relationships, but too often, participants run around, having superficial interactions with dozens of contacts, and miss following up.
- Don’t just think about new contacts, but take advantage of existing contacts that are also there.
- A simple call on social media to see who from your network will also help in reinvigorating old dialogues and sparking ideas for new collaborations.
- Get Out Of Your Shell & Don’t Hesitate To Be The First One To Start A Convo
- Having a booth at an engineering and tech conference doesn’t necessarily mean people will want to talk to you.
- They attend discussions, participate in meetings and make the most of their time.
- No one will begin a conversation with you if you lean over your table looking at your phone.
- Go ahead and start a conversation.
- A simple “Hey! How are you?” still works wonders.
- You can have three to four people always present at the booth, and all of them should be constantly busy talking to people.
- You never know who will pass by or stop at your booth.
- You have decided to commit time and resources, so be there for the whole day and be proactive.
- Some of the most awesome connections you can make at an engineering and tech conference can be during the final hour of the final day of the conference – when most of the starter stands are already empty and packed.
- Have a short, catchy pitch prepared, and be authentic and friendly.
- Also, don’t forget to smile (naturally, albeit).
- Stay Away From Generic Icebreakers
- You’ve probably heard the same spinning icebreakers in past lectures, such as “What Are You Doing?” and “What company do you work for?”.
- Although these questions are simple and safe, they are not going to arouse the curiosity of the person you are talking to.
- You need to take a different approach.
- Give Your Pitch A Trial Run To Determine Its Effectiveness
- Any online international conference 2023 and even in-person events can often feel like speed dating, and the key to taking short interactions beyond just small talk between panels and into meaningful dialogue is clever pitching.
- Know what you wish to say about yourself and your project in a few concise sentences.
- The key here is being able to deliver your message in a crisp and engaging way without sounding too commercial – and nailing this is fantastic practice for future pitch meetings.
- From the initial pitch, the follow-up must take into account the progression of the conversation.
- The introductory pitch should be the strongest and most clearly explanatory of your business and your objective.
- Then imagine other scenarios depending on how the relationship evolves.
- The best method is to enter into a conversation that goes beyond the pitch and something more natural.
- Don’t forget to research the interests and requirements of potential partners. Learn about them and show them that a relationship with you is a given.
- Have A Catchy Business Card Ready To Hand Out
- Plan time well before the conference to design a memorable business card.
- It is essential to remember that your card is only one of the dozens that a participant will collect during the event.
- You will want your card to have a defining feature that sets it apart, improving your chances of receiving a follow-up email.
- Of course, you want to stay professional, and that has its limits.
- Even so, you must look to experiment with different patterns, colors, textures, and styles until you find something that stands out.
- A unique card is much more effective than something plain and white that your contact will lose or throw away.
- Devote Your Entire Attention To Each Person You Meet
- Some participants self-sabotage by scanning the room in the middle of a conversation.
- They are looking for someone else to talk to, such as a more important contact or representative they would like to meet.
- This habit reflects disinterest and jeopardizes a relationship that could have proved beneficial over time.
- Of the other mistakes that undermine your efforts, this is one of the most damaging.
- This limits your opportunities when giving preferential treatment to one participant over another.
- You should always approach each participant with equal care and interest, listening to what they have to say.
- Some Participants Ooze Desperation, Don’t Be One Of Those
- It is natural to hesitate before introducing yourself to another participant.
- This hesitation is not a problem unless you allow the hesitation to continue.
- When you start to get high, taking the “helicopter approach” to meeting new people, you cause them discomfort and hurt your chances of successful networking.
- Even if it’s difficult, you can’t afford to pause when approaching someone. Mentally prepare what you would like to say and go from there.
- The first few conversations will most probably feel somewhat stilted, but persist and stay upbeat, knowing that you’ll improve your networking skills with each interaction.
- Do Your Research On Social Media
- Let people know you (or your entire team) are participating in a conference.
- You can post on our business profiles and engage your team members to post on their professional profiles as well, using the conference hashtag.
- Maintaining a social media presence makes it possible for people to know that you are participating and will help you connect with other attendees.
- Tech conferences are about building relationships and seizing opportunities.
- So you’ve got to be brave and do what’s necessary to get what you want.
- Conferences will often create a featured hashtag for attendees to follow and indulge in conversations.
- You should search for this hashtag and use it to search social media for discussions related to the event.
- Comment on posts and stay up to date with your peers ahead of the engineering and tech conference.
- When you develop relationships through social media before the event starts, it’s more comfortable to meet another attendee in person.
- You have context for your very first encounter, whether you’re discussing a previous message or continuing your previous conversation.
- You are already somewhat familiar with the other person.
- Having Said That, Don’t Be Glued To Your Phone
- This is perhaps the most difficult suggestion, especially for engineering and tech conference attendees.
- However, the reduced time you have to connect with others at these events means you need to keep your head up as well as have your eyes peeled.
- Try to leave your job during the hours you’re at your hotel, and try to only use your phone when connecting online with someone you’ve just met in real life.
- Watch Out For Chance Happenings
- By keeping your head held high, you’re more likely to experience serendipitous moments that could lead to future breakthroughs, like a chance encounter in an elevator with that keynote speaker who inspired you or your research work.
- You can’t underestimate these moments, so always keep your eyes peeled.
- Being Open-Minded Offers Tremendous Perks
- In the same manner, it is crucial to also have an open mind. Interact with others who aren’t in your same discipline.
- Don’t hover in huddles that make you feel safe because you all know the same information.
- Challenge yourself to be challenged by others.
- Conferences Aren’t Places To Compete But Collaborate
- The most prominent companies, researchers, scientists, and academics who wouldn’t necessarily talk or be as friendly in a normal, everyday environment, somehow on the conference floor, become friendly with each other.
- This is a professional attitude in which each one seeks to learn from the other irrespective of whether they’re a competitor in the professional sphere or not.
- Prepare For The Long-Run, Not A Sprint
- More than many other industries, engineering and tech have a reputation for attracting people who are always on the go, obsessed with productivity, and only get four hours of sleep a night.
- But no one is immune to burnout. It’s important, to be honest – conferences can be exhausting.
- Several days of travel, discussions, dozens of meetings, and spontaneous business opportunities, it’s exciting but also exhausting.
- While some participants might be in their element, being on their feet and engaged for sixteen hours a day, for many of us, it’s important to schedule a time to eat, sleep and recharge.
- Plan meetings smartly and try to avoid as many consecutive meetings as much as possible; it’s all too easy to let every meeting run for five minutes, and before you know it, you’re an hour behind.
- Taking some time to decompress or simply eating a good meal will keep you more alert and engaged for longer, and succeed in those vital meetings when the time comes.
- Follow In-Person Meetups With Online Ones
- An acceptable time to dig up your phone is when you’re connecting online with someone you just met. Irrespective of whether you find them on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or your company’s own CRM solution, be sure to exchange contact information.
- This way, you will be able to follow your conversation within a week.
- Propagate The Expertise You’ve Gained On Your Return To Work
- The best way to prove your investment by sending yourself to a conference is to show your superiors and colleagues exactly what you’ve learned.
- Companies have strived to make this a reality by giving each attendee a trip report that lists the booths they visited and the classes they attended, and the new knowledge they’ve managed to acquire as part of their conference experience.
- Become An Annual Attendee
- Coming back to a popular tech conference where you’ve already made real-world and online connections means further strengthening those ties.
- If an engineering and tech conference that you’ve enjoyed is an annual affair, it makes sense to keep attending each year in order to take advantage of all the guaranteed benefits.
- You Can Bet On Your Confidence Growing As Your Conference-Attendance Count Increases
- Contemplate some of the above suggestions as you head to your next conference.
- Develop a memorable design for your business card, poll social media sites, and practice icebreakers.
- Prepare for the event, strategize, and avoid common mistakes that others in your position have made in the past.
- Above all, be confident as you continue.
- As long as you execute the tips detailed above, you’ll build valuable professional relationships, learn a lot, raise awareness of yourself and your research work, and get the most out of your time at every engineering and tech conference that you participate in.
What Does Choosing The Right Engineering & Tech Conference Entail
Choosing the right engineering and tech conference to attend each year should be a simple task, but it isn’t. There are simply too many events available, which makes selection difficult. Each conference has its own unique perspectives. For some, it’s messaging and roadmaps, while others delve into technical features to help attendees better manage their current computing needs. Very few offer both.
There are lucky people who attend multiple events every year, but the majority of professionals are bound to choose just one due to budget restrictions, time constraints on being away from work, and other stuff. By reviewing a few simple areas, veteran conference-goers can usually tell you whether a certain event will provide value or not. Detailed below is a list of areas that veteran conference-goers tend to pay the most attention to. So no matter how cool or over the top, it looks, you too can see through it and figure out if this is the right conference for you. Get a list of academic conferences set to take place in 2023 and beyond from the IFERP platform.
- The Content Of The Conference
- Obviously, applicable content is a huge factor.
- Be sure to review the content catalog very carefully.
- If the session summaries use too many industry buzzwords, you know it’s more of a messaging and roadmap event than a technical event.
- Also, make sure the content is actually what you need.
- Does it match what you currently use in your organization, and will it help you improve in your current job?
- Or does it focus too much on pieces you may or may not use in the next year?
- Quite honestly, most events are wrapped up on day one during the keynote, which you can stream for free on the web (live or replay) without spending the company money to do so.
- Then, the following days and sessions are adapted to deepen the message.
- For these types of events, the general message is crafted months in advance so that the session catalog can be manipulated accordingly.
- Another telling element of the content is the speed with which the session catalog is published.
- Many attendees are forced to invest attendance dollars without even knowing the topics that will be presented.
- Once the content catalog is released, some find that the sessions do not even meet the needs.
- And, of course, there are those professionals who have to wait for the catalog to be released before approaching management for approval to attend, which means the company ultimately pays more for the event because early bird savings deadlines have passed.
- The Size Of The Conference
- Some people love big conferences, and one can see why they have a certain mystique.
- However, for most veteran conference-goers, after spending so many years working on various events, they find the bigger events even more tiring.
- Maybe they’re getting old, and big conferences are for all young people, but what they’ve discovered is that an event with a total attendance of eight hundred to two thousand people is about right.
- The sessions are not overflowing, the seats are always available, and the Expo is much less of a circus.
- They prefer a smaller event that allows them to move freely, meet people, and network.
- They love conferences that promote a user group feel where sessions are smaller and more intimate, allowing sessions to sometimes be driven by attendee questions.
- This way, you can shape the content you receive instead of just being preached from the stage.
- The Location Of The Conference
- Location, it may be surprising to know, is quite a crucial component of any conference.
- The importance of community is addressed later on, but the right conference location can make or break community and networking.
- A good location, especially for medium-sized events (over 2,000 attendees), is where the hotel is either attached to or quite near to the conference center.
- This one thing alone is the best driver for a strong community, allowing people to come together instead of planning off-site meetups.
- Many attendees find the best places for a definite conference community in cities such as Las Vegas, and that’s because almost every hotel tends to have a conference center attached.
- This allows attendees to drop off their luggage in their hotel room to attend events after the event without having to walk a few blocks, take a cab, or sit on a long bus ride.
- The Community Surrounding The Conference
- Community is the most important thing that makes a conference and builds loyalty, memories, and friends.
- Sometimes the best solutions to existing technological problems come from a random gathering of like-minded technologists.
- This could come from a conference-provided lunch or breakfast, casual time to check email, or even attending an impromptu post-event dinner with other attendees.
- Every conference offers a technical side, but the best conferences provide opportunities for the community to thrive.
- Throw a bunch of geeks into a room, and it will take a few hours for a good conversation to come to fruition.
- But get a bunch of geeks together and come up with some structured community events, and the fun begins.
- Memories are made, and friendships are forged.
- Some of your best friendships will probably be made at conferences, and you can call or email them anytime.
- You could have a technical question, and you will get an almost immediate answer from such connections.
- Look for conferences that put a lot of emphasis on community building or at least provide opportunities to get attendees out of their hotel rooms and start participating.
What Does Delivering A Memorable Presentation At An Engineering & Tech Conference Entail?
Presenting at an engineering and tech conference is an essential part of science communication for any researcher or scholar. Finding the right conference with the right audience and successfully communicating your latest findings is an optimal way to improve your career prospects and, therefore, learn about the latest developments in your field of research.
Developing a conference presentation is no different than developing any other presentation – you need to be well prepared, consistent throughout, and ensure you are able to resonate with your audience.
One of the biggest challenges to giving a good presentation is managing your nerves. Even the most experienced and respectable of speakers and performers get nervous before they start, so you’re in good company if you’re feeling the heat. The good news is that the skills of an effective presenter can be practiced. So how can this be accomplished? Detailed below are proven tips that will help you deliver an effective conference presentation.
- Devote Your Attention To The Details Of Your Presentation Even Before You Begin Working On Your Slideshow
- The first thing you need to know to create an effective conference presentation is not to dive headfirst into your slides.
- It’s hard to beat the feeling of receiving an email letting you know that the proposal you’ve been working tirelessly on for a conference has been accepted.
- Finding out that your work has been well received by a committee can mean a lot, especially when you are driven by your passion, like most researchers.
- So it’s very easy to start adding slide after slide to your presentation.
- For your first presentation at a conference, you don’t want to end up with 40 slides for a 15-minute presentation.
- Even the most experienced researchers are likely to be thrown off by your confusing and inconsistent slides.
- In such a scenario, you should start over and first make a clear plan.
- You can just sketch it out, slide by slide, and come back in a flow, but this time in a much more controlled way.
- Take your time and make a solid plan to keep you on track.
- Prepare a checklist to help you stay on track.
- Focus On The Timing Of Your Presentation
- Making sure your timing is right is so important when presenting at a conference.
- If you’ve got only 15 minutes to present, prepare 15 minutes of material.
- No more.
- If you don’t practice your timing, you might not get another chance to highlight your findings and recommendations – the most important part.
- Conference organizers are usually pretty clear about how much time you have allotted.
- The best presenters know exactly how much time they have to work, then they adapt their presentation to the time and keep an eye on the time throughout.
- And if you’re running out of time, stop.
- Skip a few slides if you need to make a final point.
- Use Visual Material Wisely So As To Accentuate & Not Confuse
- Images are key elements of any presentation.
- Whether it’s a pie chart to demonstrate percentages or a strong image to illustrate a point, visuals can be much more impactful than words.
- They help reinforce or complement the concepts or points you are trying to get across.
- Your audience may be able to understand your message a little easier when presented with visuals that relate to it.
- However, make sure to go in with clear and straightforward visuals.
- Some of the worst conference presentations are those with complex images that force the audience to try to figure out how the image and the speaker’s point of view are related.
- Less Is More With Conference Presentations
- Don’t be afraid to use text and bullet points if you’ve got to make a point that isn’t simple to communicate visually or if you’re discussing steps or sequences.
- However, utilize them to convey your message to the audience, not as a cue for what you wish to say.
- That’s what your speaking notes are for.
- You should want your audience to listen to you instead of reading your slides, so less is more in terms of text on the slides.
- Inconsistency in slides is often a very subtle aspect but can very easily ruin a presentation.
- Although slides in different colors may look nice, they can distract your audience.
- Make use of a consistent template with the same fonts to make it simpler for your audience to follow.
- And remember that your audience will be viewing your conference presentation remotely, so utilize large, distinct fonts and as few words as you possibly can in your slides.
- Get To Know Your Audience
- One of the most frequent mistakes conference presenters make is presenting a room full of people with information they already have.
- A great way to make this mistake is to spend most of your presentation going through existing literature and giving general information about your work.
- Just like when you’re in the audience at a conference, researchers are there to hear about your exciting new research, not to hear a summary of old work.
- The worst speakers assume the audience knows nothing and needs to be educated.
- Before you start talking to a group, find out what they already know and where they are with your topic.
- It’s not easy to get details of all the delegates, but you’ll know the plenary sessions and who you’ve networked with before that.
- Most conferences now use mobile apps, and these are a great way to find out exactly who is attending the conference and what their program specialty topics are.
- This can give you a good idea of how much information you need to give to make your main presentation points make sense.
- As a general rule, if you’re delivering a 15-minute presentation, by the 6th minute, you should be discussing your data or case study.
- Practice Your Delivery Until You’ve Got It Nailed
- This needn’t even need be included on the list, but so many people don’t do enough.
- Repetition is crucial to feeling comfortable with every word you say.
- Rehearse your homework out loud in private and in front of a friend.
- It might sound a bit awkward, but reading it in your head never matches the time it takes to read it out loud in public.
- The more you say the words out loud, the more familiar you will become with them.
- And if you are familiar with what you are saying, your confidence in your presentation at the conference will increase.
- When you practice for a conference presentation slot, you should rehearse out loud in a closed room.
- It’s strange, but it works.
- If you feel uncomfortable about this (or if you don’t want your roommates to hear you), you can play music along.
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