How to make the most of a learning conference

Happy Thursday,

I spent last week at the annual Association of Talent Development (ATD) International Conference and Expo. For this fifth installment of Making Better, I thought I would take a minute to dive into how to make the most out of attending a learning conference, since they aren’t exactly cheap.

Especially if you are in a smaller company where budgets are tight, making the pitch as to why you should attend a conference can be hard. The pitch will be a lot easier if you have specific reasons why you should attend and what you hope to get out of it. Even if budget isn’t an issue, these conferences are so huge that it is easy to get caught up in the whirlwind and walk away with a head so full, you don’t really do anything with the information.

If you want to avoid that, you need a plan, so here are my top three reasons to attend a conference.

Find a vendor

This might be one of the easiest sells when it comes to pitching travel to a conference. If you are in the market for a particular technology or solution, like an LMS, attending a conference Expo could dramatically speed up the process. At ATD, you would be able to get demos from a dozen different LMS’s over the course of a day. You could then think through the demos and go back for a second round with a couple of them the next day. Then go back for any nagging questions the third day.

It might take you 2 months to achieve the same thing if you were just scheduling individual meetings. If you know there is a specific need in your organization, a conference Expo can really speed up the purchasing process.

Build team connections

If you have any kind of team building or morale budget, spending it on a conference is a great way to go, especially if it is a relatively small team. Get people away from the office, get to know each other, and do some professional development, all at the same time.

I saw a lot of teams at ATD doing exactly this. It also helps to have multiple people when there are so many sessions happening at once. There is no way to see everything you want to see. Working together to divide and conquer is a great way to get the most out of a conference.

Develop in a specific area

When I went to DevLearn in Las Vegas last year, I went there with the specific intent to level up my understanding of xAPI. In three days I went to 4 talks on xAPI. I left with a whole new level of knowledge on the subject.

These conferences are huge. If you just go from one event to the other, looking at things that you find interesting in each time block, there is a high likelihood none of it will stick. There will simply be too many ideas rattling around in your head. Focusing on one particular area of development can be a much more concrete way to get value out of the conference, and thus sell it to your boss.

The real reason

The three reasons I gave above are all excellent ways to sell the idea of going to a learning conference, but if I am being honest, none of them are the real reason. It can be tough being in L&D, especially at a small company where you are a team of just 1 or 2 people. Most people don’t know what we do, and it is easy to let that affect the way we view ourselves.

Conferences are a chance to get together with thousands of other people, just like you, and really nerd out about learning. This is what I get out of conferences. I come back more energized than ever.

What do you like most about conferences? If you have a second, share this newsletter on LinkedIn, tag me, and let me know what you love most.

Have a great day!

Matt