In today’s world there’s an endless choice of conferences to attend. There’s at least one for anything that you can imagine.
Leadership training, WordPress workshops, Macrame crafting meetups.
From left to right: Alana Mokma, Kimanzi Constable, Joseph Lalonde, and Rich Avery
We’re bombarded with reasons why we should go to the Catalyst Conference or the Global Leadership Summit. Or any other conference that you should attend.
You create a list and figure out the pros and cons for each. Trying to figure out which one will benefit you the most.
- Jim Collins will be there
- They break world records
- It’s nearby
- The date doesn’t work out
- Flights are too expensive
All are valid reasons to attend or not to attend. Regardless of which conferences you attend, you’ll get something out of it.
But that’s not the real reason you should attend a conference.
There’s a much better reason to go. The people you will meet and the connections you will make.
I recently attend WordCamp Grand Rapids. It was a blast.
The speakers were great.They were all knowledgeable and spoke well.
I learned a lot.
- How to build a better community (Not that I need to build a better community. You guys rock.)
- How to video blog
- New ways to use social media
That was great. It really was. But that was not the best part of the event.
It was physically meeting those that I’ve connected with online and meeting new people.
Meeting guys and gals like Kimanzi Constable from Tales of Work. Rich Avery from Life Compass. Dan Hefferan. Alana Mokma of Musings of a Shiny Penny. Tharon Rodriguez.
It created a new bond that you can’t form just from online conversations. You’ve now met them. You’ve broken bread with them. You’ve spent actual time with them.
The next conference you go to, don’t go just to gain new information. That’s easy to come by.
Go looking to form new relationships.
When you do, you’ll find it to be your best experience of the conference.
Question: What’s your favorite part of attending a conference? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.