Why conferences are worth it

I’ve been going to a lot of conferences lately for work and for school. I’m trying to network and improve myself, and conferences are great for this. Conferences are good for many other things also and below are some tips as well.

Conferences can help you:

Network – nearly everyone at conferences are there to network. Most people are wanting to socialize. At 3 of the work conferences that I’ve gone to so far have been out of town, so it’s been easy to make new friends because nearly everyone else is from far away also, so everyone wants an eating buddy. All you have to do is ask someone if they want to grab lunch during break, it’s not hard! Try and be open.
Learn – no matter how smart you think you are, there are SOOO many new ideas which become available at conferences. There are so many new people (most likely from all over the area/country/world) and they all bring new ideas with them and a fresh perspective.
Make new opportunities – this goes hand in hand with the two positives above. New people and new ideas lead to new opportunities.
To be challenged to try new things – you’ll be more open and often forced to try new things. You might be picked on to answer a question or help the people around you with something.
By being surrounded by new people who might help you open up more easily
Be inspired to try new things

Tips for attending a conference:

If you can, try to attend a conference in a place where you would want to vacation! These are always the best types of conferences, and it’s always better when your work pays for everything also 🙂
Bring your business cards so that you can pass them out to people around you and everyone that you meet.
Be prepared. Bring paper, pens, a highlighter. Anything that you think would be necessary.
Bring a jacket to the conference with you, as rooms tend to be cold. And then if it’s too hot, you can easily take off your jacket.