Survival Guide for Big Conferences
How to make the most of in-person events in a post-pandemic world
How do you know when you are not in shape? You know, when something that is usually easy for you becomes much harder. Most of us think about fitness, but “in shape” can refer to any skill, like playing a musical instrument, writing code, or recertifying your AWS certifications.
Physical fitness is certainly on my mind given my general lack of any fitness routine during the pandemic. I can feel it in climbing stairs, short bursts of running, or lifting heavy objects. More to the point though, I am referring to the fitness that allows you to survive large conferences.
For the past 20 months, in-person events vanished. There were big conferences, including AWS re:Invent 2020, but everything shifted to online. Even if the numbers attending were higher, it was hard to get a sense of the size from the comforts of your living couch staring at a 15” laptop screen (or maybe your quad screen home office setup with 32” 4K flat screens).
While event organizers tried their best to replicate the feel of in-person events, it simply did not translate into an engaging experience. There is only so much that one can do streaming bits and bytes over the Internet. Even the most creative online spaces could not replace the energy, the serendipity, and the anticipation of people gathered together in a physical space.
That is why I was so eager to get back to the live, in-person experience. I jumped at the chance to attend SaaStr Annual in September. I got the opportunity to speak at an impressively frenetic Web Summit. Then I headed over to Las Vegas to be at my first in-person re:Invent. Despite the lingering fears of the pandemic, I dove in to take advantage of the return to big conferences.
What I did not expect was the feeling of returning home. Never in the pre-pandemic era did I ever feel so thoroughly exhausted! I was flat out dead the entire weekend upon returning home, even into the first few days into the following week. Even during the tail end of the conferences, I felt I was done speaking to people and just wanted to be a hermit in a quiet corner.
Was I becoming anti-social? Did COVID mess with my networking superpowers? Would I be able to continue in my role as a global startup advocate? Nope, I was simply out of shape when it came to attending and getting the most out of conferences.
While I use this space generally for tech and startup related topics, I thought it would be helpful to share my survival tactics for mega conferences as things return to normal in the new year. Unlike meetups or smaller events, sprawling gatherings of thousands and tens of thousands that are the size of a small town require a different strategy to get value from attending.
The mega conferences like re:Invent, Web Summit, CES, etc., have several common features:
Massive hordes of people you do not know
Physical footprint of the event is massive
Limited time to attend sessions of interest
Time to get to places becomes a significant factor
Fear of missing out (FOMO) is super amplified
Sensory overload overloads the brain
Because of this, I often see folks try to pack the schedule, trying to get to as many sessions, workshops, and events as possible. It makes sense, most mega conferences are quite pricey to attend and you want to make the most of the time, especially being away from the day job. In every single case though, these neatly organized schedules immediately get tossed aside in the maelstrom of the conference chaos machine.
None of us needs to fall victim to the conference chaos machine! Fighting against this beast of disorder however requires a much more level-headed strategy, the core of which is pacing. Instead of trying to do “all the things”, the correct approach is to do “all the high priority things”.
How exactly can you put this strategy into practice? I shared a few fun, high level tactics on my Instagram post from re:Invent if you want the TL:DR version. In the two decades of attending and working large conferences across various countries and industries, here are the most useful tactics I have used to survive conference chaos and thrive:
Have a goal - Ask yourself what is the most important outcome you want to achieve from attending the conference. We often want to attend all the talks and activities, but it is important to have guardrails in place so you focus on activities that are going to help you most post-conference. Goals help you choose the things you should attend as well as the things you would be better off avoiding.
Cut your list in half - My A-player mentality always thinks I can do way more than is possible and it never pans out. We all do this, so instead of feeling bad about this, flip it around and cut in half your list of things you want to attend to the ones you would be most disappointed if you missed. That way you focus on those and do not get distracted by activities of lower interest or value.
Find and attend the high value talks and activities Build slack into your schedule - We all want to make the most use of our time, but if you pack too much into your schedule, you have two issues. First, you get mentally drained and are unable to retain what you are learning. Second, you are not accounting for the inevitable delays or obstacles that will throw a wrench in your plans.
Add travel time in your schedule – We often forget to account for the time it takes to get to sessions, especially arriving early enough to snag a spot. At re:Invent, many popular sessions quickly fill to capacity and sessions can be in different venues that are a 20 to 30 minute walk away. Give yourself plenty of time in-between session so you can get to sessions on time and not winded from running between venues.
Allow serendipity to surprise you - While content is valuable, the value of in-person events is meeting people, especially new people. Building slack into your schedule gives yourself those opportunities to meet others, build relationships, and make connections where you can help others and they can help you. My most memorable conference experiences have been the people I met, especially during my time at Stack Overflow as I was establishing our presence throughout Asia.
Respectfully barge in - Groups that attend conferences, such as co-workers, tend to clump together in cliques making it hard to introduce yourself and let serendipity take hold. Be more willing to place yourself in these clumps to introduce yourself. But also gauge the reception to your introduction. If you are not getting any welcome signs from the group, then you can respectfully excuse yourself and move on.
Use a system for your connections - Chances are you will meet a lot of new people. Between business cards and different apps, it can be a pain after the conference to sort out all the people you met and what they do. I use LinkedIn to connect and keep track of people I meet. The app has a convenient QR code scan feature to share details with others and almost everyone has the app on their phones. I then send a connection request with a quick note for the person. That way, I remember them after conference. Whatever app or method works for you, make sure to stay consistent and capture the essence of why the connection is useful.
Come with an open mind - Attending a large conference is an opportunity to listen and learn from others. It is easy to get stuck in our way of thinking. A large group with different backgrounds and experiences is an opportunity to hear perspectives that you may not have heard before. Even if you may not agree with an approach, opinion, or idea in the course of the talks or conversations you have, it is helpful to keep an open mind and a willingness to reinvent, collaborate, and explore.
Be comfortable - The type of conference and cultural elements may dictate this tip, but at least for tech conferences, most are casual and dressed down. If I know I will be on my feet all day standing and walking, I wear sneakers or a pair of well-broken in shoes. I walked over 50 miles during the five days of re:Invent, and there is no way my feet would survive if I did not wear comfortable shoes.
Yes, I really did walk a lot Keep your health in mind - In all candor, I have trouble following my own advice here. You can have a lot of fun at conferences. Sometimes too much fun, particularly with the evening festivities. Though I will have my share of long nights, I do my best to have at least a couple of nights of normal sleep hours. I also try to eat on a regular schedule and drink plenty of water. Staying hydrated is a game changer in keeping my energy high and allowing me to last through a conference.
re:Play was quite fun, maybe that is why Friday sessions were quiet… Have a self-care routine - `Because things can get so busy and hectic at a conference, it can be easy to skip over your own mental self-care. Being over-stimulated for days on end can leave you frazzled. For re:Invent, my morning routine was to walk from my hotel to the main conference venue. This was a 30-minute walk outside, and it gave me time to think and reset my mind for the day ahead. Your routine might be jogging, working out, yoga, or some other activity, but make sure you leave some alone time with yourself to give yourself that mental break.
These are most of my conference tips, though some conferences I will have more specific tips or hacks. As an example, for Web Summit I highly recommend getting a hotel close to the venue because getting taxis to the center of town can be a real pain at the beginning and end of each day. For the most part though, if you keep these tactics in mind, you will have a more richly rewarding conference experience and not feel utterly exhausted by the end.
I hope to get into “conference shape” next year as events start returning to in-person. What events are you looking forward to attending in the new year?
Mark Birch, Editor & Founder of DEV.BIZ.OPS
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Well said, written Mark! But even when Events get back to normal, do we really need to get to the same scene as before? Large format events are difficult for both organizers and participants.