This won’t be a big surprise to many of you, but we love conferences and big events.

Yes, it’s true that we enjoy organizing them. We also enjoy attending them.

After all, you can gather information by watching online videos or reading about the latest industry trends via article or book. However, nothing replaces the face-to-face interactions that happen when people gather for a specific purpose.

When you attend a shared event or conference, you have opportunities to connect with others. You may gather new insight or hear a different perspective. When done right, conferences are energizing. You will walk away with at least a few tips that can make your personal or professional life stronger.

That said, every successful conference requires you to put forth some effort.

Here’s how you can make the most out of your time at a large event or gathering.

Before the Conference or Event

1. Set goals for yourself. What is one or two things you want to accomplish during the conference? Do you want to meet three new people? Introduce yourself to the presenter? Ask a friend to introduce you to someone you’ve always wanted to meet? If you go into the day with goals, it will be easier to leave fulfilled.
   
   
2. Review the agenda and research presenters ahead of time. Follow them on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. (If the conference has a lot of presenters, create a Twitter list.) Finding presenters ahead of time makes it easier to post on social media sites during the conference. Does the presenter have a blog or a published book? You may want to read their material. It will enhance your understanding of the presentation.
   
   
3. Follow the conference hashtag on Twitter and Instagram. You’ll see who else is attending and start building relationships beforehand. 
   
   
4. Put together a conference kit that includes a phone charger; a notebook and pen; business cards; a small snack; a water bottle; and, of course, a sweater or jacket. Your mom likely told you to grab a sweatshirt or sweater if you were going out, “just in case.” The same applies for conferences. Rooms can be cool, or you’ll find yourself sitting in the path of blowing air. A sweater or jacket will make you much more comfortable.
   
   

During the Conference or Event

1. Attend as many activities and presentations as possible – even the social hour the night before or the happy hour right after the conference. All conference activities have a purpose. Take advantage of them.
   
   
2. Be intentional about who you sit by. If you’re attending the event for personal development or networking, sit by someone new. Don’t hang out with the same people you see at the office every day. If you’re attending the event for team building, sit by your coworkers or colleagues.
   
   
3. Introduce yourself to someone new. Make a connection by asking questions and listening. If talking to new people is difficult, start by saying “hi.” Is there someone that you connected with on social media before the event? Seek them out for an in-person conversation. Prepare some questions ahead of time: Who was your favorite speaker this morning: Which speaker resonated with you the most and why? What speaker are you looking forward to hearing?
   
   
4.  Be on your phone. Okay, don’t be on your phone ALL day. Put it down during breaks and meals (this is not the time to check email – set up an out-of-office auto-response). That said, you shouldn’t underestimate the power of using social media during a conference. Live-tweet, follow the conference hashtag, and like favorite posts.
   
   
5. Take notes. Or do whatever helps you to listen better. I love writing notes by hand. Kirsten of Next Action Digital introduced me to the Rocketbook, a digital notebook. I can take handwritten notes and then send them to Dropbox for storage and reference later.
   
   
6. Show gratitude. It takes a lot of time, energy and work to put together a conference. Say thank you to volunteers who are handing out swag. Take notice of the staff or committee members who are around. Be kind to catering staff who are making sure you get fed.
   
   

After the Conference or Event

1. Follow up. I love it when I go to an event and two hours later, a LinkedIn invitation (with a personalized note) from someone I met shows up in my inbox. Take time to reach out to someone you connected with at a conference. Send them a handwritten note or invite them to coffee. (I LOVE using Calendly to set up coffee dates.)
   
   
2. Identify any ideas or concepts that should be shared with coworkers. Take a moment to jot down one or two takeaways from the day’s presentations. You won’t remember as much as you want to, but writing down what excites you in the moment will help prompt your memory.

Enjoy your next conference or event!

– Anita
 

I’ve been a planner of events – both personal and professional – for most of my life. I’ve planned meetings, small dinners with friends, family gatherings, and corporate events. When done well, these get-togethers tug at something deep and soulful inside of me. After all, there’s something magical about being with others. 
 
I’d like to think Priya Parker would agree. She wrote “The Art of Gathering,” a beautiful book that both inspired me and allowed me to articulate what makes an event worthwhile. 
 
To start with, Parker asserts that events are not about a bunch of checked-off details. They shouldn’t be about creating a setting or making a place beautiful. 
 
The reason for creating the moment, she says, is about the people or, more specifically, getting “the right people in a room (to) help them collectively think, dream, argue, envision, trust and connect for a larger purpose.” 
 
In other words, much less Martha Stewart and the right kind of tableware, and more human engagement. 
 
Her premise makes sense. In my experience, logistics are the easy part. Logistics are utilitarian and certainly require consideration and negotiation skills, (think accessibility, restrooms, parking, affordability) but it’s really the purpose of the event that matters. 
 
I marvel when the preparation, invitation, structure, and rules for an event inspire meaningful connections between participants and spark momentum and action afterwards. 
 
“When we don’t examine the deeper assumptions behind why we gather, we end up skipping too quickly to replicating old, staid formats of gathering,” Parker writes. “And we forgo the possibility of creating something memorable, even transformative.”  
 
 Here are 12 takeaways I gathered from her book: 
   

1. Define the purpose of an event. Remember: type is NOT purpose. Ask yourself: why is this event different from others of the same general type?  
   
   
2. Leave people out. You have a meaningful purpose when you can generously exclude people. Determine who fits and meets the gathering’s purpose. Identify who is irrelevant and threatens the purpose of the gathering.  
   
   
3. Appreciate the magic of gathering 6, 12, 30, and 120 people. Plan appropriately.  
   
   
4. Understand how the right-sized room shifts the intensity of the guest interactions.
   
   
5. Recognize that people are affected by environment – it can break or encourage people’s habits. Think first of PURPOSE when selecting a venue for a retreat, conflict-infused meeting, or holiday activity.  
   
   
6. Host. Don’t abdicate leadership; it confuses the guests. Parker describes small interventions which can help the host protect, equalize, and connect guests. For example, good hosts will stick out their necks to help guests connect with each other. 
   
   
7. Establish rules for the event, which can transform the gathering and create a temporary, alternate world. Restrictions can actually free people from their staid thinking, connecting, or conversations. Consider ground rules that allow for honest conversations and allow people to take risks.
   
   
8. Plan. Ninety percent of a successful gathering is put into place before the event.   
   
   
9. Prime your guests for the upcoming experience. A gathering starts as soon as they receive an invitation. As Parker writes: “every gathering benefits or suffers from the expectations and spirit with which guests show up.”  
   
   
10. Start the event as though the first moments of are critical, because audiences don’t have a strong memory. They tend to remember the first 5 minutes and the last moments.
    
    
11. Say thank you when it’s most meaningful, not at the end. 
    ​
    
12. In closing, return to purpose. Connect to something universal and create an symbolic parting to usher the guests to the next part of their journey.  ​

After reading this book, I was inspired to attend an event Parker curated in Minneapolis last fall. I wanted to experience an event planned with her creativity and precision. I also was hoping to meet the author in person. I wasn’t disappointed on either account. 

After all, gathering is an art, not a science. Parker proves that well. 
 
– Rachel  ​