It’s the summer, an ideal season for releasing some stress from work, spending quality time with those you enjoy being around, and oftentimes, seeing some place new or experiencing something exciting. You can do all that with a family vacation, but you can also do all that at an ITE Annual Meeting! I write that with a small amount of tongue-in-cheek, but if you step back and think about it, there’s a lot of truth to what I’m saying. Having attended industry conferences for much of my 37 years in the workforce, I can say with confidence that I’ve been able to pack all those requirements into a conference or convention visit with some regularity. And I do it by simply taking a few minutes to plan my trip. If you simply “show up” at a conference, you’ll be able to get some value from it. But the way to get maximum value is by spending just 30 minutes planning ahead. Here are three simple steps that don’t take much time or effort:
- Know Before You Go – Read through the agenda, skim through any materials, and get a thorough understanding of all the opportunities that will be offered at this particular conference. Sessions, networking, tours, side meetings, client gatherings, and even work-related socializing—these are just a handful of the things that are probably available to you.
- Set Goals – Are you attending with the intent of building some new contacts?Are you planning on building up a cache of professional credits (PDH or CM) for your certification/license? Are you interested in learning about possible solutions to a problem you’ve been dealing with? These are just a few of the possible goals you could establish based on a need.
- Pre-Meeting Outreach – This is the most often skipped exercise, doing some outreach in advance. Making contact in advance with your long-time colleague, a client, a consultant, or simply a friend is a sure method for making certain you do in fact get to connect. Hoping you’ll just “run into them” is not the ideal strategy and will usually result in missing them.
This advice is honestly good for all types of attendees including exhibitors, students, and speakers—do some homework and outreach in advance, you’ll get so much more value from your participation as a result. As part of your homework for the upcoming Joint ITE International and Mid-Colonial District Annual Meeting and Exhibition, please be aware that we have several new features that are now available. The most notable is that our program doesn’t end on Wednesday at noon, but instead goes the full day. We are introducing “ITE Conversation Circles” on Wednesday afternoon, covering several different topic areas. These sessions are an experience that brings together
the best elements of a workshop, technical session, and discussion forum, creating an environment for active learning, knowledge sharing, and insightful dialogue. Be there!
And finally, if you are unable to attend the Annual Meeting, that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on all the benefits. Make contact with someone you know who might be attending and share your questions and needs. Keep an eye out for social media posts during the conference so you can share some of the knowledge and joy that others might publicly express. And most certainly, keep reading ITE Journal where we’ll post pictures, recaps, and papers in upcoming editions. An easy path for staying in-the-know!