Business with a Twist by Rachael Cotton, Confex 2014

As I may have previously mentioned seminars aren't really my thing. But at the 2014 Confex there was a great one by Rachael Cotton from Alton Towers.

If the title itself didn't grab your attention, then Rachael’s engaging style of delivery sure did. The serious bits were interjected with funny anecdotes and well, let’s be honest if you work somewhere as cool as a theme park with a 14 loop ride, then you probably have the fun side of business down pat!

The key points from Rachael’s presentation to take away were:

• 60% of respondents said they would be more interested in attending corporate events if there was an element of fun added
• Fun sparks the imagination so don’t be afraid to use it
• Make sure you consider the delegates and make the day productive as well as fun
• Outdoor activities score very highly in terms of how to add fun

If you want to find out more about Rachael's presentation, check out the slides here.

So, what do you guys think? Would a corporate event at Alton Towers work for you?

IMEX Seminar- 'How to be social at an event'

IMEX America is one of the biggest trade shows in the US and is considered the biggest worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events. In this post I will be having a look at one of the seminars that were held last year with some of the most important points.

Now we all know how much of an impact social media has on today's industry and how important it is to create an online social presence. At IMEX 2014 Elizabeth Glau conducted a seminar on 'How to be Social at an Event'. Elizabeth goes through how best to utilise social media during the different time stages i.e. before the event, during the event and after the event.

Firstly what Elizabeth calls 'Pre-event Planning'. This consists of finding out all the information of an event beforehand. This will include things such as checking Facebook/Twitter pages and reading reviews from previous attendees. When it comes to me, I want to know all about an event before I commit myself to going so this is an essential procedure to me. So I will suggest find the hashtag and stalk, stalk, stalk!! That way you can find out all you need to know about the event.

Another aspect of pre-event planning comes after you have made your decision to attend.  As previously stated in another post, networking at an event can be a very daunting experience. However if you are well prepared it makes the experience somewhat easier. Elizabeth stated in her seminar that it is essential to plan and prepare for what you want to get out of the event. What sessions do you want to do attend? Who do you want to see? What do want to take from the experience? These are all questions you should be asking yourself with the social media pages aiding you to make your decisions.

Next up, during the event. As I have previously said it is very important to create a social presence for yourself in order to make your way through the industry. There is no easier way to do this then during an actual event. By using the event's social platforms you are immediately linking yourself with event professionals that are also in attendance. When uploading pictures/status' make sure to tag away! Make sure to use real time sharing by tweeting and upload pictures and videos to Instagram and Facebook at the time they are taking place.

Finally, after the event. Although the event is over it is so important to remember to keep those relationships that were established. Add the people you have met to your Facebook/linked in or follow them on twitter for the ease of contact. If you have a blog make sure to post your opinions on the event and upload pictures and videos if you have any.

I hope these few tips have helped, if you have any more please leave a comment! 

Networking with FACE seminar

 

During the Confex, Alessandra Alonso, a consultant of 20 years conducted a seminar on networking. The main points that she wanted to convey were those of:

• Learning & self-development
• Relationship & business development
• Effective communication

Alonso came up with the concept of Networking through FACE:

Focus

Approach

Conversation

End

Focus is the key starting point to any networking. If you don't know what you want to achieve then how is someone going to be able to help you to do it?! Alonso outlines 6 main reasons that people network which helps to narrow down what you may be looking for:

Now obviously everyone is going to have a different approach to networking, some people can just turn up without much preparation and find out as well as inform people what they need to know. Most people, myself included however, will need some degree of planning. The first thing to do is make sure you know who you're talking to! There's no point talking to someone who works on set design about your problems with security for 20 minutes! Preparing an introduction for yourself can also help, although you may feel a bit silly saying it for the 20th time in the day. But by then it will seem natural and with your pre-planned objectives and a prepared list of questions, you will look extremely professional. Of course, everyone wants to work with professional people!

Next up is the approach. In short conversations, only 30% of how people will react to you is down to what you say! The other 70% is actually how it is said and how we look. These exhibitors are going to be seeing hundreds of people a day, the ones that stand out are going to be the ones who engage with them, looking enthusiastic and being passionate about what they're talking about.

Conversation is where the main work will be done. A simple list of do's and don'ts can cover this:

Do… 

• Be curious 
• Be authentic 
• Build rapport 
• Look the part 
• Actively listen 
• Reach out to many 
• Take Note 
• Show appreciation

Don’t… 

• Use and Abuse 
• Presume /dismiss people 
• Go on about yourself 
• Go into selling mode 
• Ask without giving 
• Forget your business cards 
• Forget to thank people 
• Lie – it’s a small world! 

For networking to be worthwhile, it never actually ends. If following the meeting you feel that the person is someone you can work with, which would be mutually beneficial, then follow it up!!! Stay in touch and review the outcomes so that both parties can be happy. 

Got any other networking tips? Write them down in the comments!

http://www.international-confex.com/page.cfm/Action=fileDownload/formatFor=seminar_2_fileupload/fileName=806489_fileupload/fileExt=pdf

Semi-Interesting Seminars

A lot of trade shows and virtually all conferences include seminars as part of their programme. Why? Do people seriously want to sit there and listen to someone stand at the front of the room and talk at them for an hour?

I mean, honestly now, don’t you get bored? Wouldn’t you rather walk around and talk to people? See things? Drink coffee???  I don’t know maybe it’s just me... Must be that leftover ‘kid in the back of a classroom’ mentality.

And yet I turn up to them. More than that, I enjoy them. On occasion of course ;)

So it got me thinking, what is it that actually makes people go to seminars. Is it the speaker or is it the content? Would you be willing to sit through a boring delivery if the content was strong? Or would you rather listen to a good speaker discussing an utterly useless to you topic?

I think that for me, much like a lot of other people, it’ll be a mixture of the two. You’d want the speaker to be engaging and fun and not have a horribly annoying voice but at the same time you’d want him/her to talk about something interesting to you or at least something that will help you in your job or life. Otherwise, what’s stopping you from getting up and going to the nearest Starbucks?