Working The Room

Now that the conference season is in full swing, both in the UK and overseas, it is great to be back reconnecting, learning and sharing knowledge face to face after the past few difficult years.

With exciting new events and formats alongside established conferences, there are so many to choose from.  With this in mind, careful selection and planning are key to maximising the benefits of attending an event.

Be selective   
Using your Continual Professional Development plans, coordinate the year ahead. Identify learning gaps, areas you want to update and improve on or new skills and knowledge you are looking to acquire. Match your action plan to the conference agendas that best serve your needs.

Take time to look at what is on offer, the agendas and who the speakers are. A balance of clinical and non-clinical topics, delivered by established and experienced speakers alongside new presenters, that provide a balanced and interesting mix. There may be additional workshops or training modules that you can access.

Prepare ahead 
Once you’ve chosen which conferences you are going to attend, plan ahead of the event.
Analyse your business along with trends and consider what you might want to introduce into the clinic in the months or years ahead.

Conferences attract a range of exhibitors, so you will undoubtedly find everything you’re looking for under one roof. It’s an opportunity to get your research done, compare the competition and make the connections you need to follow up on.
Whether it’s a new piece of equipment, software or a new skincare brand, conferences are a great shop window to gather information and compare the market.

Have a plan
Download the agenda ahead of the event you’re attending and make a structured timetable of where you need to be. You may decide to take your business or practice manager, allowing you to attend clinical lectures whilst your colleague takes the non-clinical and business events.

Aside from the lectures and workshops, make time for networking and the exhibition areas. Arriving at an event early and planning your route around the exhibition will give you the best opportunity to speak to exhibitors and avoiding the large gatherings that assemble later in the day.

Book travel and accommodation
Many aesthetics conferences are two or more days.  If you’re able to travel the night before it ensures a fresh, focused start to the day and reduces the risk of any stressful travel delays. Where possible, base yourself as close to the conference to simplify the journey to and from the venue.

Exhibition
Some conferences facilitate a methodical route around the exhibition stands. However, some are less easy to navigate and arranged on multiple levels, in different areas of the building. This can mean you miss sections of the exhibition. Study the layout and mark on your programme the areas covered, that way you will be able to see at a glance what you’ve missed.

Networking
Conferences are a great environment to catch up with colleagues and become acquainted with new ones. Often, we can learn as much from networking as we can from the structured lectures. Discussing techniques, new innovations and business strategies, can really help re-frame and focus your business models.

For lone workers, conferences offer the opportunity to discuss work with others, supporting appraisal and validation processes, demonstrating both collaborative and reflective practices. Record an outline of discussions, along with reflective commentary and outcomes.

Many of the larger conferences have designated business areas where you can arrange to meet up with colleagues, or schedule meetings. This provides a time efficient way to stay connected and work on your business.  
If you’re not already a member, join LinkedIn so that you can connect with colleagues and grow your network whilst you’re at the event.

Social media 
Conferences are useful for creating valuable content for social media. Get photographs with everyone and post the images, tagging colleagues and companies. This boosts your visibility and engagement and demonstrates to your patients, that you are respected amongst your peers, validating authority.

Take short videos inside and outside the event with short commentaries on how excited you are to be attending and to bring back new techniques and skills to the clinic. Create reels and content for your social feeds and websites, demonstrating your commitment to learning how to improve your patients’ outcomes.

Write up your notes
Book time out of your first day back in the clinic following a conference to write up your notes while they’re fresh in your mind. Structure it as a set of minutes, with actions to follow up or implement.

Discipline yourself to write reflective notes on individual lectures, seminars or workshops. These, along with the minutes, will provide evidence for appraisal and validation. It will save you time when your appraisal comes around.

If you’ve taken pictures of presentation slides, download and file them according to subject. These provide evidence of learning, as well as a useful resource for you and your staff.
Upload your certificate of attendance to your appraisal portal, with a statement of reflection and learning.

Schedule a staff meeting
It’s so important to disseminate your learning and findings to your staff. You may have returned with added enthusiasm and vigour, however this needs to be conveyed to your staff so that it diffuses throughout the business.
Use your ‘minutes’ format to action your staff to follow up on leads, adapt or amend policies, or implement systems as a direct result of your learning. Ensure you evidence this on your appraisal portal.

Take business cards
If you still use business cards, take them! However, in our attempt to save the planet, a far more efficient and eco-friendly way of exchanging business details is with QR cards. You may have your QR code stored in your contacts, if not, you will have one in your What’s App settings.

Follow up 
When you’ve returned to clinic, drop your contacts a message and schedule appointments to follow up on things that spiked your interest.
Even better, have your clinic diary on your mobile device so you’re able to schedule appointments in real-time.

SlideShare
SlideShare is a facility on LinkedIn that allows slideshow presentations, infographics, and other documents to be shared.  Presenters can invite their audience to access their presentation allowing them to view it at leisure.  There’s no cost to upload, review or download information published on SlideShare.

Have fun
We are part of a fabulous industry with many exciting developments ahead. Conferences provide a perfect opportunity to contribute and raise standards in this innovative industry. Embrace change and new ways of thinking, and most of all, have fun.