Conferences

Conference season is here. Well, for me it feels like conference season since I am attending two conferences in the next two weeks.  Because of time on the road and opportunities for professional growth, I know I need to set a few intentions for myself. Conferences generally inspire me and restore my museum professional batteries. While I always get something out of the sessions, there are a few areas that I want to improve my approach to conferences.

A few thoughts that crossed my mind as I was preparing for this conference. Each of these items could be a stand-alone post, but for now, I wanted to share with you my quick thoughts.

1. Dress better. At past conferences, I felt the need to look cool or go for chic comfort. This year as I was packing, I realized that anyone at the director level would be in a suit or at least dressed very professionally, so I should dress professionally too. I’m not suiting up all the way, but I am saving my ripped jeans for social time later.
2. Stay healthy. Attending a conference makes it easy not to follow healthy practices. There are treats and drinks everywhere. If you are under 30 and only attending the conference for one day, it might be okay for you to indulge in all the things. I cannot and I have to be very mindful of what I eat. Luckily, my hotel has a plant-based café, so I enjoyed a very delicious avocado toast and matcha latte with coconut milk for breakfast. When I can, I try to pack vegetables into my meals. Kale, yeah! I also packed healthy snacks, like Lara Bars, Epic Bars, and almond butter packets, so that if I get hungry between sessions I won’t be tempted to grab a cookie.
3. Make connections instead of network. Sometimes I stress over networking, like really stress out about it. A freeing thought for me was learning that I can focus on connecting with a few people by holding better conversations. A small goal for me is to talk to my neighbor in whatever session I am in by asking questions about why they chose this session and what projects they have going on at their museums. Instead of trying to collect a deck of b-cards, I want to leave with a handful of meaningful connections. Here’s a podcast on connecting that I found to be very helpful in explaining this.
4. Be more reflective. Taking notes is how I listen – I listen especially well when doodling. If I don’t have a pen and paper with me, I may as well not attend a session at all. However, this year, I am making myself reflect following each session. I am at this conference to grow and get better at my job. By reflecting, I will be jotting notes about what my takeaways were from the sessions.
5. Do not compare thyself to another. We are all different people and have different strengths. I know I am not the only person who struggles with comparing herself to other people. I want to be very mindful not to think that I am not as good as someone else. I want to celebrate others’ accomplishments and not fall into the jealousy trap. If you struggle with this and need a pep talk, listen to this amazing TedTalk by Jen Oleniczak Brown. Remember, if you are feeling inferior or jealous, there is always more going on behind the scenes, maybe they worked super hard to get where they are or they feel the same way that you do.
6. Keep my inspirations realistic. An article by the great Colleen Dilenschneider really put this into perspective for me when talking about case study envy. Just because you attend a session and the panel talks about how amazing something was, it doesn’t mean that you should run full steam ahead with it at your institution.

Are you setting any intentions for conferences that you are attending? I would love to hear yours!