Conference Survival Tips

    

    Ever since I was about nine years old, I've been attending conferences. A ton of them too! There was the homesteaders conference, political conferences, worldview conferences, homeschool conferences, conservation leadership conferences, and a few others! Overall, I have had about ten-ish years of conference attending experience. Even though I have been going to these events so long, I find a new helpful tip/trick every time to make attending easier. 

    Since I have a conference coming up in June, I thought that I would share some of my favorite tips! They are all easy to implement and help your conference attendance run so much smoother. That way, you rush less and the stress levels are lower. I don't really have to use these tips much anymore since I work the conference I go to every year (speaking of which, if you are looking for a great homeschool conference, check out The ICHE Family Conference!), so I wanted to share them with people who could use them!

Preparation

-Register

    First off, register early. It gets it out of the way for you, AND sometimes there is early bird pricing which makes it cheaper! If you know when registration opens, set a reminder on your phone or mark it on your calendar (or both like me 😜). It always feels great to get it done and then you don't have to worry about it!

    If the conference you are attending has an app, I really recommend downloading it right away. If there are any last minute changes to rooms, times, or things like that, you'll be able to find out as soon as possible. 

    Along with registering, you will likely get an information packet. It can contain information like how to check in, how early you may want to be there, and things like that. READ THE WHOLE THING! When I work the conference, I am asked many questions that have already been answered in that packet. Not only does reading the packet save you time, but it also saves the busy event organizers time too.

-Schedule

    As soon as I can get my hands on the schedule, I like to see what workshops I may want to attend. I love pulling out some highlighters for this. I see who is speaking, what they are speaking on, and what time. If there are two workshops I wanted to take at the same time, I end up picking the one I know less about. Compiling your schedule is really important to helping your conference days run smoothly.

    Once you get all set with your schedule, you know when you want to be in sessions, when you may want to hit the exhibit/vendor hall, or just relax. 

-Survival Kit

    Yes, you read that correctly, survival kit. This is going to be pretty different from most survival kits though. We're going to leave the emergency blankets and flares at home and trade them out for snack bars and hand sanitizer. Here's a list of things I keep in my kit! 

• hand sanitizer
• lip balm
• safety pins
• hand lotion
• single serve drink mix
• pain killer
• hair ties/a scrunchie
• bobby pins
• mints
• band-aids
• charger cord, wall adapter, and external battery pack
• nail file
• mini notepad and pen (for quick notes and if you need to tear off a note for somebody)
• extra cash

    I like to stick all of these in a little zip up bag that gets stuck into my day bag (a backpack or tote). That way, I don't lose anything from the kit in the bottom of my bag. It's easy to pull out, grab what I need, and just stick it back in the bag! 

    This isn't really something that goes in your survival kit, but bring a notebook and pen to take all your session notes in! Bring a reusable water bottle too. Water fountains could be a little hard to find and buying drinks from the venue can be more expensive than Starbucks! 

    Side note: if you plan on wearing any heels, make sure you have a more comfortable pair of shoes with you. If you're gonna be walking around from workshop to workshop and wandering around an exhibit hall, your feet could definitely hurt. 

At Conference

    With your preparation done and you now AT the conference you have been waiting for, you may feel more overwhelmed. There are people buzzing around, you're trying to find where check in is, and the keynote session starts in twenty minutes. It's ok, you read the info packet right? You didn't? *sigh* Ok, go ask the folks at info desk and they should be able to help you. Once you get checked in and have your name badge, go ahead and get to the keynote session. Assuming you got there before it started, you can  move on and use my next tip.

-Find Your Next Workshop Before The Current One Starts 

    While you're waiting for your session to start, check which workshop is on your agenda. If you're lucky, it might be that the next session you wanted to attend is in the room you are already in! More often than not though, its in a different one. Find out which room your next session is in and find it on the map. This helps you avoid getting lost! Not getting lost means you'll have time for a bathroom break and to map your next route too! Having that little bit of planning helps so much. You'll feel less stress and be more at ease before a session starts. If you have trouble locating a room though, don't be afraid to ask conference staff. They are there to help, want you to be able to attend the sessions you want to, and they may even know the fastest route there!

-Employ Movie Theater Courtesy

    You know the drill. Don't talk over the speaker, mute your phone, and don't let your kids run rampant and screaming (if you bring kids). Be respectful of those around you. They are also there to learn. Don't be the person you wouldn't want to sit next to.

-Avoid Being On Your Phone

    Try not to be on your phone during sessions. Imagine this. Your phone vibrates while you are in a session and you go check that notification from Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Your intention is to only pull it out to check that notification. Suddenly, you see a great post by a friend and interact with it. You scroll for a minute and then the session ends abruptly. By pulling out your phone, you have missed pretty much the entire session. Oops. 

    I'll also recommend being on your phone as little as possible out of a session. Even in free time. To me, being on a phone builds up a wall around you that says "can't talk right now, my hands are a little full." That may not be your intention, but that'll happen. Opportunities to talk to new people or catch up with someone are lost.  Long story short, keep that phone in your bag or pocket as much as possible.

-Eat With Other People

A simple "may I join you" is so helpful. Not only do you end up not sitting alone, but the person you are joining won't be either! Sit with people who don't have others to sit with. You'll have the opportunity to have a nice conversation and a pleasant meal!

-Take Breaks And Rest Well

    The best way that I've heard conferences described is "it's like trying to drink water from a fire hose." It can be a ton of information at once. So if your brain is getting super tired, take a quick break and find a place to sit for a little while. Walking all over, sitting for long periods of time, absorbing session info, and all of that can make just about anyone a little bit tired! Taking short breaks will help you get through the long conference days.

    Additionally, try to get as much sleep as you can at night. That way, you can get up in the morning ready for another day and function well for the remainder of the conference. 

-fin

    There they are, my conference survival tips! If you have any tips or tricks you would add to this post, put them in the comments below. I'd love to hear from you! With the ICHE Family Conference quickly approaching, I am thinking about it more and more. So this post was thought up. I hope that if you attend a conference anytime soon (or eventually) that you could use any of these tips!

    Thank you SO much for reading. It means so much to me that you do! Keep an eye out for a post on this site eight days from now (a super easy way to be notified is to follow or subscribe 😉), or for a post four days from now on She Be Fierce 2! If you want to see what I'm up to, you can follow me on  Instagram. I am trying to post more consistently on my Instagram, and am actually ok with posting to my stories. So go check it out!

Until next time,

KS

-have you ever attended a conference?

-if you have attended a conference before, what is something you with you knew beforehand?