Three tips to get the most out of a convention

Convention are something I look forward to all year. It is a time to see old faces and catch up with colleges and friends in my industry. I think they can be a wonderful tool to help teams grow and develop. I have been attending them in one form or another for over a decade and this time around I thought I would share my top three tips to maximize your convention experience.

Tip number one: Network

This should be a no brainer. With so many people attending you can’t help but run into others who like you share a passion for what the conference is all about. Take a moment and introduce yourself and swap business cards. I try to sit by someone I don’t’ know at each session and talk to them about why they choose this session out of all the ones available. This usually leads to a talk about trends or issues they are facing and allows me to learn what issues or problems others in the field are facing. It also allows me to share success stories we have or learn how others have solved an issue.