Get the Most out of Conferences

I went to two conferences in the last two weeks in which I listened to people who are geniuses in their fields talk about how they started their companies and built them into successful empires. I did some preliminary research for each conference so I would get the most of out the event, also to prepare myself to speak directly to the panelist if I had the opportunity.

My Prep for the Panel:

I printed out the professional biographies of each of the panelists AND the facilitator from the conference website.

I then did additional research on each panelist. I found articles written about their product or company. I compiled 2-3 of the best articles on each person and I made sure that one of these articles included an interview of some sort with the panelist. I printed these out and I actively read them (a teaching term for reading with a highlighter and pencil) and I wrote specific questions that I could ask the panelists if I had the opportunity to speak to them.

Based on all of that information, I choose which speaker would be most beneficial for me to speak to. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you are trying to persuade them to get involved in your business, invest, or even have a meeting with you. Maybe you are just looking for one question to be answered about a specific topic, or some inspiration from someone you respect in your field.

For this particular conference (WSJ’s How I Built it), I considered the following when deciding which panelist I would try to speak to:

• Who lived closest me? Which person did I have the best chance of meeting with outside of the conference?
• Who was in the industry most similar to mine?
• Who had the most money and how long did it take them to reach success in their business?
• Who had the most talent in the areas of business which I needed help with (marketing, sales, building a new brand)?
• Who had similar values, business ideas, creative ideas etc. to my own?

The interview articles were the most helpful. This type of article gives the speaker a voice and allows the reader to see their personality more. You can gauge if they are friendly, funny, etc. based on their interviews and this can help you decide how to approach them. Most importantly, I tried to find connections between my own life and business and theirs to establish a common ground. This helped when I spoke with one of the panelists.

If you decide to go to a conference or other networking opportunity, you better prepare yourself with information and thoughtful questions. Hope this helps!