Best Practices for Getting the Most Out of SharePoint Conferences

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of a speaking at Live360 in Orlando Florida. At the conclusion of the event, the organizers held a Q&A session with all of the attendees. The attendees could ask technical questions to the expert panel or provide feedback about the conference. There was some great discussion about how the conference could be improved and how attendees could get the most value out of the event. I have attended many conferences both as a speaker and as an attendee, and thought I would share my thoughts on how to get the most out of a SharePoint conference or SharePoint Saturday as an attendee:

1.Have a plan. Study the session guide carefully prior to the conference and map out a plan of the sessions you want to attend. If you do not have a Twitter account, sign up for one and follow the conference hash tag (I’m at @DocPointMark). Hash tags are words or phrases prefixed with the symbol # and provide a means of grouping messages. As an example, the hash tag for The SharePoint Conference 2012 was #SPC12. By following this hash tag you can find other events and activities surrounding the conference. I enjoy running and by following the conference hash tag, I was able to meet a group of other runners who used the hash tag #sprunners to coordinate group runs. Have a post conference plan as well. Download the slide decks, connect with people on LinkedIn, give a summary to your boss on what you learned and how you can apply it to the business.

2.Don’t feel locked in to a session. It always happens, there are two sessions that both look very interesting happening at the same time. My advice: choose a session and sit in the last row. If you find the session is too technical or not technical enough or it covers things you already know, etc., etc., then quietly slide out the back and see if the other session provides more value. Don’t feel obligated to sit through until the end of a session that is not relevant. Some people may disagree, but I feel so strongly that I usually announce that I will not be offended if people leave my sessions for the above reasons when I am presenting.

3.Participate – don’t derail. What makes a great session is audience participation. Asking questions and sharing your experience benefits everyone. Speakers enjoy discussion and attendees get clarification and learn from one another. It demonstrates that the participants are engaged and the session has value. Just be careful that it does not become a one on one conversation between you and the speaker about your specific situation. Those are better left to discuss offline at the end of the presentation.

4.Approach speakers. If you have a question that you thought of after the session was over or want to clarify a point, by all means, introduce yourself and ask. I can honestly say that every speaker I know is more than happy to discuss and answer questions in between sessions. Grab them in the hall or at lunch. Obvious etiquette rules apply; don’t hijack a conversation, etc.

5.Visit the vendors. This may sound very self-serving coming from an employee of a vendor that exhibits at conferences a lot, but visiting vendors is well worth the time. When I say visit, I mean have a conversation, not grab 5 pens, a stress ball, and run. When I was a consultant, I made sure that I hit every vendor to be educated in what pain points they addressed. While I might not currently need their product or service, I would always learn something. Several times this information proved valuable months later when I had a client that was in need of their solution.

6.Never eat alone. I think I have a book by this title on my bookshelf that I have never read, but the title speaks for itself. Going to a conference with a group of colleagues is always a lot of fun. If you go as an individual you can still have a lot of fun if you put a little effort into it. Attend the conference related events and make sure you introduce yourself to others. Ask others what their dinner plans are. I have met some great folks over dinner at events and still keep in touch. Some people are a little hesitant to seek out dinners face to face. If you fall into that category, shoot out a message on twitter to see if anyone wants to meet for dinner or at the very least sit at the bar where you have the opportunity to interact with others.

7.Enjoy wisely and don’t be that guy. There are plenty of opportunities to imbibe and have a lot of fun at a conference, but know when to say when. The obvious is that it can hurt your professional reputation, the not so obvious is if you over do it, then you usually do not get as much out of the sessions the next day. Don’t forget, you’re there to learn on the company’s dime.
8.Give feedback. Almost all conferences have both speaker evaluations and overall conference evaluations. Fill them out truthfully and do it constructively. For several years, I scanned and extracted the data from the SharePoint Saturday Baltimore evaluations and we received some really good feedback that we were able to implement in subsequent years.

Conferences are all about learning and growing your career. A few minutes spent planning can ensure that you maximize the benefits. Hope to see you at a conference this year and if I do, let’s grab dinner.

Axceler are already signed up as Platinum Sponsors for the European SharePoint Conference 2013.Stay tuned for more SharePoint content by joining our community or by following us on twitter or facebook

 

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