5 Reasons to Attend Conferences

Last week I spent 5 amazing days with 1900 other IT service and support professionals at the 2009 HDI Annual Conference. I learned a TON of new things that I plan to share with you over the next few days and weeks. For now, I thought I’d share why I attend conferences like this, and why if you don’t, you should attend them to too.

1. Networking – If you’re looking to meet folks who can help you answer questions about your industry, there’s no better place to do so than a conference. Get there early, make a plan for who you want to connect and reconnect with, learn and remember new folks’ names, and don’t be afraid to skip a session or two if you get involved in an in-depth conversation.
2. Inspiration and Recharging Your Batteries - Almost every conference has keynote sessions meant to inspire you to perform at a higher level or think about things differently. This is one of my favorite parts of the conferences I attend, because it gets me moving in the right direction.
3. Knowledge Gathering - Most conferences have breakout sessions presented and facilitated by experts in their industry. You can learn a LOT from them if you take time to listen to the speaker AND listen to the folks who ask questions, especially if they ask questions you have or questions you have the answer to. Don’t be afraid to go up to someone who asked a question or who needs your help and ask them if you can speak to them a little more.
4. More Knowledge Gathering – If there were no sponsors, there would be no conferences. Most conferences offer time to interact with the sponsors, to ask them questions to learn from them, and to gather a little more information so you can learn more about them, all in a safe, low-pressure environment.
5. Knowledge sharing – At the HDI confernece, I had 1 breakout session, 1 panel I facilitated, 1 brain bite first thing in the morning and 1 30 minute presentation/facilitation about creating your elevator pitch for your organization, so my knowledge sharing was very formal. Sometimes my knowledge sharing is more informal, as I try to ask questions and add insights where I feel I can add value. I love to share, and it’s one of my favorite parts of a conference.

While the HDI Conference was for my day job, I also enjoy attending events for the job I do with the rest of my time and energy. May 1/2/3, I’ll be attending SOBCon09, Business School for Bloggers, to learn a lot more about how to run my online speaking/writing/coaching/branding business.  If you’re going to be there, I hope you’ll seek me out so we can learn from each other and potentially collaborate on something new and exciting.

I’m curious…what am I missing about conferences?

What should I be doing in addition to what I already am doing? What do YOU get out of your favorite conferences? Do you have other conferences I should be attending?

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