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5 Tips for Being a Leader at a Conference

Delighted to share a guest blog post today by Luvania Pathmanathan. 

What does being a “leader” truly mean? While everyone has a different connotation of what a leader means, I have noticed that it narrows down to a few key factors – encouragement, influence, and most importantly, trust. How are these soft skills built? Having just completed an undergraduate degree, I have instantly realized that these are not taught within the four walls of a classroom. Associating myself with individuals I consider my mentors, whom embody these skills, I recognized that they commonly associate themselves with attending impactful events, such as conferences. Most recently, being involved with Leadercast Vancouver, I have identified the value of partnering oneself with like-minded individuals, as it allows one to grow both professionally and personally.

Leadercast’s 2014 theme, Beyond You, highlights honing our leadership skills that stem beyond our routinized daily tasks. It asks, “what can we do to make a stronger impact for those around us, such as our colleagues and neighbours and also with the larger community?” This avenue of leadership has to originate from a genuine place – that place being you. Conferences motivate and inspire you to build your personal leadership skills, therefore allowing you to successfully enhance yourself as a leader in positions and skills that are beyond you.

Life often presents us with opportunities to be in leadership positions. Sometimes they fall in naturally and sometimes we need to recognize to take that extra step. Attending Leadercast Vancouver is that leap to take the extra step. We realize that it may involve stepping out of comfort zones, which is why we’ve outlined our Top 5 tips and etiquette protocols:

• Dress appropriately. This ties in with taking the time to read about the organization hosting the conference, the conference itself, speakers, etc. Once you know the nature of the conference, it will allow you to gauge your attire accordingly. As your choice of dress will be the first to be noticed, it is especially important to spend time orientating yourself with the details of the conference. A general rule of thumb is to always ‘dress up’ rather than ‘dress down.’
• Electronic era. Despite how aware the conference MC will make note of it, do double and triple check that the volume on all your mobile and electronic devices are turned to silent. No one likes to be that person whose alarm goes off in the middle of a keynote speaker’s presentation. In a similar fashion, as WiFi at conferences is known to be slow due to the volume of attendees, be courteous by holding off on downloading large files such as videos. Also, if you are sitting next to a wall, try to avoid using the power outlets to charge your devices as someone could easily trip over them. Instead, opt to bring a (fully-charged) battery pack.
• Ask questions. While asking questions after a speaker’s presentation is encouraged, it is courteous to limit yourself to the number and length of questions you ask. There are likely other attendees eager to ask questions. We need to respect the speaker’s time and conference schedule, especially if the question you pose may not be answerable in a short amount of time. If possible, this is a great opportunity to meet the speaker in-person after the session and perhaps even carry the conversation outside of the conference agenda.
• Be network ready. Remember (and practice) your 30-second elevator pitch, as it may be the only opportunity you have to present yourself to a particular individual. A great way to maximize your seconds is by presenting the benefits you provide, as opposed to a ‘sales pitch.’ For elevator pitch masters, attempt to put a personal spin relating to the individual you’re speaking with. Business cards are a must-have ‘tool’ for conferences, as they are judged almost as fast as your appearance. Now that you have successfully pitched yourself and exchanged business cards, follow up with the individuals you spoke with within a week’s time to ensure the connection does not go ‘cold.’
• General do’s and don’ts. Be mindful of seating arrangements by being considerate of taking up more than one chair. Help a fellow attendee looking for a seat by raising your hand to let them know that there’s a seat available next to you. As it is likely the first time that you will be meeting many of your fellow attendees, it is a good idea to present yourself professionally on your body language and gestures. During sessions, be attentive and alert so that speakers know you are engaged and while networking, keep physical contact to a minimum by only offering handshakes.

Attending conferences, such as Leadercast Vancouver 2014, has tremendous potential opportunities for us to effectively challenge our leadership skills. Most importantly, listen to what the speakers have to say as they will more than likely leave a few golden nuggets that serve as motivational reminders throughout our everyday lives.

To find out more about Leadercast Vancouver 2014, please visit: www.leadercastvancouver.ca

Posted by Margaret in Communication and tagged Leadercast Vancouver.