How to make the most out of attending a virtual conference like Girl Geek X: Elevate
So you‘ve made it past step one.
You signed up for a virtual conference. (Hopefully it was Girl Geek X’s Elevate — if not, there’s still time to sign up!)
Excited, you set reminders on your calendar and you archive the confirmation email without looking at it much.
Then you might just forget about the conference… until you get the reminders on your calendar and you panic re-arrange your day to make it possible for you to have the sessions up on your second monitor.
You listen in. Sort of. While working through emails. Suddenly, the session is over and you can’t recall more than the title of the session. This repeats throughout the day until the sessions end.
You reflect back, remembering how excited you were about the conference, but are feeling a bit deflated… what happened to that initial excitement? Why do you feel like you’ve missed out on the juicy bits of the conference?
…
It doesn’t have to be that way.
Gaining value out of a virtual conference may not be as obvious as it is for attending a conference in IRL, but it’s definitely possible. Rather than closing your laptop to listen to speakers, shuffling across convention centers, and getting cornered at happy hours, you can take in the wisdom from the comfort of your desk and interact with a community engaging in a similar environment.
So let’s rewind. You just signed up for that virtual conference that sounded interesting. Great! Now, what different steps can you take to make your attendance a success?
Here’s how you can make the most out of a virtual conference:
Review the speakers and sessions before the day of the conference
Much like attending a conference in person, success comes from strategizing how to spend your time.
Take note of how many sessions are taking place, how long they are, and who’s speaking. The conference could be a few hours or even a few days long, so know what sessions you definitely want to catch live, and what sessions you’d be okay just getting recaps from.
- Note: If you’re planning on depending on recaps, be sure that the conference actually sends out slides/notes/recaps!
When you know what topics are covered, you can spend time refreshing yourself on the topics or researching the speakers. For many, it helps you feel centered, attentive, and ready to engage and learn when the session actually begins.
Block out time to attend
Use that calendar and block out some time, or at the very least, set a reminder.
We’re all busy, and life happens. But, imagine if you were attending this event in person — your priority would be the conference, connecting with people who are present… not those not associated with the event.
Give the virtual conference the same respect.
Give yourself the same respect.
You’re taking the time to invest in yourself — don’t let someone else take that time from you!
Invite others
Share the wealth! Especially if the conference is free. ;)
Let others know about your intention to attend by sharing the news on social media, text, email, Slack, or whatever new form of communication is hot these days.
Send your friends personal notes and encourage them to sign up. You can use one another to hold each other accountable to actually attend.
More ambitious? Lead the effort at your company to get a live-streaming session for the conference. Reserve a space, set up a projector, bring snacks, whatever it may be. This way, you not only encourage others to join us, but you also ensure that the event takes priority in multiple calendars, making it easier for people to attend.
Be social, get engaged
Unlike a in-person conference, there’s no open bar to congregate around to meet people and engage in conversations. At a virtual conference, you have to leverage other tools for chat.
Q&A: Many virtual conference platforms allow for Q&A at the end of the session. Have a question? Type it in! The speakers may not get to it, but in my experience, someone is almost always keeping note and usually reaches out after the event for follow up.
Live chat: Many of those same platforms will have a live chat function built in. Feel free to drop in an intro about who you are, where you’re from, and why you’re pumped to be here. You can engage in real-time with other attendees. Again, based on previous experience, there are usually moderators in the live chat who try to answer questions real-time or relate topics back to the speakers.
Social: Most conferences will advertise the best way to engage on social with conference planners, speakers, and attendees. Look for that hashtag and account handles and feel free to start engaging as soon as you register! Use the hashtag to find others excited to attend and follow the hashtags during the conference to continue to engage with tuned-in attendees. My favorite way to engage? Share those nuggets of wisdom from speakers — powerful quotes make great Tweets. I also like to share any “Aha!” moments from sessions — they make for great ways to relate to others attending and finding people who are just as inspired as you are.
Slack: Gaining traction are conference attendee-only Slack channels that you get access to only after you register. Take advance of having literally hundreds or thousands of like-minded individuals right at your fingertips. Introduce yourself before the conference, and keep the channel opening during sessions — I promise you it will be buzzing with commentary, brainstorms, and advice!
React
You did it! You listened in on your desired sessions, participated on the Slack channel throughout the day, and even had one of your questions answered during the live Q&A at the end of your favorite session.
Now what?
Much like at any in person event, you need a post-event plan of action. It might be reaching out directly to a speaker to get the chance to chat one-on-one on their topic of expertise. Or it could be get the contact information of the person on Twitter you were actively retweeting throughout the day to make plans to ask them to coffee and get to know them better. Or it could be to take action based on a topic — rework that resume, ask for a raise, interview someone you admire.
Do it.
Much like you took the time to attend the virtual conference, take the time to put the valuable lessons you learned into motion.
I hope you can put these tips into action during Girl Geek X: Elevate conference — live on your screen April 18, 2018.
Mid-to-senior-level women, register here for FREE! Get the real-talk leadership development advice that you need at this stage in your career from the best in the industry, and cutting-edge tech insights. Hear from those who made the jump from manager to leader.
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