The Conference Attendance Lifecycle
By Jesse Wilkins, CRM, IGP, CIPP/US, CIPM, CIP, edp, CIGO, ICE-CCP

It’s April, and we are fully in the throes of the spring conference season. I’ve attended far more conferences than I care to admit, as a speaker, vendor, attendee, and as chapter and association leadership, and after over more than 20 years, these are my lessons learned. Most of these are specific to in-person events, but some may still be applicable for virtual events (like the after-action reports).

This article is intended more for those new to the ICRM and conferences, but I hope more seasoned members will find some value as well.

Before You Go – Getting Approval and Preparing to Attend
I break the weeks or months leading up to a conference into three distinct phases: deciding whether to go; getting approval; and preparing to attend. 

1. Deciding whether to go. This includes cost, location, and timing, of course, but the key question is whether you’re going to get value from the event. Is it better to go to an event as a speaker, or where you know everyone, or should you go to a different event that will be more personally rewarding? Maybe you and a colleague both have funding – should you both go to the same event, but different sessions, or do you go to completely different (but perhaps complementary) events? 
 

2. Getting approval. Some of you are lucky and already have money budgeted for an annual learning activity such as a conference. But if you don’t, you’ll need to make the business case to attend. Fortunately, many event organizers already provide a “Convince Your Boss” toolkit that includes things like justification letter templates, ROI calculators, and post-conference report templates. They will often include numbers and topics of sessions, learning tracks, past survey results and testimonials, and more. If your event doesn’t, look at some of the other industry events and use their templates to build one for your targeted event. The last part of this article may also be helpful – in particular the after-action report for your team.  
 

3. Preparing to attend. Congratulations, you’re attending Event X in Location Y! Now it’s time to start getting ready. Again, I break this into a couple of specific phases: preparing your work for your absence; conference planning; and the packing list.

• Preparing work for your absence. At a minimum, your supervisor or manager should know that you’re out, where you are, and have a way to contact you. Are there calls you absolutely must be a part of? Include them in your conference plan. A colleague recently shared an interesting approach: She puts her conference on her calendar, sets the time spent as free, and invites her direct reports so everyone is aware. She also sets an Out of Office on email and Teams. 
   
• Conference planning. Look through the schedule and determine what sessions and events you plan to attend. If the conference has an app, they probably have a way for you to build your schedule and even get reminders in the app. If possible, I recommend you attend any networking type events – I find that that’s where most of my learning comes from, as well as getting the opportunity to make new connections. Make sure you know what time zone you’re planning in if you need to work in any mandatory work calls. Review the list of vendors and determine whether there are any particular ones you want to engage with. If you have food allergies or other concerns, make the event planners aware. Most of them will be incredibly accommodating – if they know.  
  • If you have a conflict – you want to attend 2 at the same time – prioritize (how?)
     
• The packing list. While we’re all adults and have probably taken trips, there are a few constants for conference attendees. The number one complaint at conferences almost always seems to be temperature – if it’s not too cold, it’s too hot. Bring a light jacket or other layers. Consider your choice of footwear: it’s not uncommon to walk 5-7 miles (10-15,000 steps) in a typical conference day. Bring lip balm and a refillable water bottle. If there’s any chance you’ll be outside – for lunch, for a social event, after hours – bring a hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen. If possible, leave some space in your bags for the inevitable vendor tchotchkes, souvenirs, brochures, etc. If you can’t, most conference venues have a Fedex or similar office onsite. 
  • Cell phone
  • Cell phone charger
  • Battery pack
  • Ear buds
  • Spare ear buds

Maximizing Your Conference Experience

1. The day you arrive. 

You’ve just arrived at your event – hopefully on time and without significant travel or logistical issues. First things first: if you came in by plane, find some water because you’re probably dehydrated from the flight.

Walk around the hotel and the conference venue if different. Find out where things are: coffee / tea, breakfast, water. Determine how long it will take you to get from your room to the conference, and specifically to the rooms you need to get to, so you’re not late getting to your sessions. 

Walk around outside the hotel to find out where those same things are. Find out if there is a grocery store, pharmacy, or convenience store nearby. Be mindful of your surroundings, and it’s never a bad idea to go with another person.

Review your conference plan. What time do you need to get up to be ready for breakfast or your first session? How long will it take you to get from session to session?

2. During the conference. 

• Introverts, get your extravert hat on – these are people who can help you in your current role and/or help you find your next role!

Be kind to the speakers and other attendees: be on time for the sessions, which means seated and ready to engage. If you need to leave early, again, try to minimize disruption. Turn your devices off (or at least set them to silent).

As you attend sessions, consider taking notes. Pay particular attention to any books, standards, or other references mentioned. If the conference app offers session surveys, complete them at the end of each session you attend.

At the end of a session, you may have questions for the speaker. As a speaker myself, I love these! But as the speaker following this session, I need the previous speaker to take those questions outside the session room so I can get set up and we can keep to the schedule. Speakers always have their contact information somewhere in the presentation, and at worst the event planners will have a way to forward your questions to them.

Some, but not all conferences, offer breakfast; this is often, but not always, a continental sort with lots of fruit & pastry and not a lot of protein. Lunch is frequently buffet-style, so the best time to get there is a few minutes before it opens if possible. The second-best is about 30 minutes into the lunch session, when most of the attendees will have gone through the line already. The tradeoff is that seating may be more challenging and may require moving the previous seat-occupier’s lunch remains out of the way. 

Many conferences offer happy hours, parties, or other social events. I always recommend attending these because they are where I have the best conversations with colleagues – and meet new ones. They are a great way for you to introduce others and vice versa.

These events may include a cash or open bar, and food ranges from nonexistent to minimal appetizers to a full dinner. The conference staff should know how each event is catered, to allow you to plan whether you’ll need to get dinner before – or after – and whether they also have offerings that align with your dietary requirements.

Your use of alcohol or other substances is up to you and the local laws. That said, the 8:00 a.m. session you signed up for will be pretty hateful if you’re hungover and dehydrated. 

• First time attendee sessions! 

After the Conference
You’re home. You’re exhausted. And your head is spinning with new ideas, new solutions, and new colleagues to follow up with. Don’t try to boil the ocean; at the same time, don’t wait until you get caught up in the day-to-day routine. Here are some things you can do to keep that momentum. 

• Provide feedback to the conference organizers. Check the conference app for an overall event survey. If there isn’t one, you can reach out to the organizers directly. Don’t nit-pick – the food will never be to everyone’s taste. But if you ran into serious issues, or wanted to complement them on a well-run event, go ahead. 
• Organize all the notes you took from the sessions and from any other interactions you had. That’s going to help you with your after-action reports. 
• Prepare your own after-action report. Follow up on all those business cards, emails, and LinkedIn profiles and make any connections you think relevant. Did you tell someone you’d send them something? Send it. 
• Prepare your to-do list of action items based on your notes. If you determined that you needed to follow up with a speaker, or a vendor, or just another colleague, schedule it, soon after the event while the details are still fresh. 
• Prepare an after-action report for your team and/or your supervisor. In the report, you can share summaries of the sessions you attended; key takeaways; any tools or resources that sounded interesting; and your overall thoughts on the value of the event. 
• Don’t forget to pull together and submit your expense report if applicable. 

What other tips would you share with members looking at their first conference? Contact me at jesse.wilkins@athroconsulting.com and I’ll add them to the list.