Newsroom
Tips for making the most of online conferences
July 09, 2020
My suitcase, which usually by this time of the summer would have had several flights and a few road trips, stands in the corner with dust gathering and cobwebs forming around it.
With last week's news that the FSA conference in December is going virtual and the cancellation of other events, I'm not sure when that suitcase will get used again.
It's all very disappointing, but in the spirit of making the best of a bad situation, I've been thinking about ways to make the most of an online conference. I want to be really engaged so I plan on recreating the conference experience at home:
- I plan on having chicken for lunch - every day. At least, it will taste like chicken.
- My name will be misspelled on my name tag.
- My luggage will mysteriously get lost and I will wear the same clothes for two days in a row.
- The bedroom door will lock when I leave it in the morning, and my key won't work when I return at night.
- When I do get in the bedroom, I realize that the room has not been cleaned - the bed is unmade and there are no clean towels. (Okay, that's easy to recreate since that's just normal at home.)
- I will set up two rows of kitchen chairs in my living room - so close together it will be hard to squeeze in and out.
- I'll put my coffee on the floor underneath the chairs, forget about it because I was engaged in the session, and then kick it over when I leave for the break.
Honestly, despite these little annoyances, the cancellation of in-person events this year has left me feeling a little wistful. There's something about going to a conference, seeing colleagues, and learning new things. Recreating that experience online will be tough, but it is possible if I work to be engaged.
After all, conferences, whether in-person or virtual, do get us out of a routine, allowing us to shake off the dust and cobwebs.