Podcast Movement 2019 – 2 Great Reasons to Attend a Professional Conference BtR 186

Brandon and Jerry discuss plans for attending Podcast Movement 2019 and two great reasons why you should attend a professional conference.

Podcast Movement 2019

Podcast Movement is a conference founded by Jared Easley and Dan Franks in 2014 to bring together thousands of podcasters and share about their craft. The event is designed for those who have been involved in podcasting since the first iPod as well as those who are just getting started.

Some attend to learn more about the technical aspects of creating a podcast. Others come for marketing tips and tricks, and others are on the lookout for ideas to improve the formats of their shows.

Networking and collaboration are other reasons why people come every year.

Reasons to Attend a Professional Conference

While you may not be planning to attend Podcast Movement yourself…ever, you may be asking yourself, “Why go to a conference at all?”

There are two great reasons why you need to attend a professional conference even if your employer does not pay for it.

First, you are investing in your own future. Your career or business will gain new ideas, skills, and knowledge from attending a professional conference. This week’s episode of Beyond the Rut discusses the desired focus Jerry has going into this year’s podcasting conference.

The second reason is that you can network with other like-minded professionals. Success does not happen in a vacuum, and you should not try to go it alone.

By attending a professional conference, you may come across an accountability partner like Jerry did while attending the 2018 Association for Talent Development Conference. Many people who attend Podcast Movement find themselves working on collaboration projects where efforts synergize and results are multiplied.

We hope to inspire you with justification for attending a conference. Here are some suggestions to help you articulate the benefits of going to an event of your choice.

• You can gain skills to improve current programs, products, or services.
• There may be content offered that will help with a strategic initiative.
• You may learn what the state of the industry is and what the competition is doing.
• Vendors are often present to showcase how their tools are disrupting your field.

5 Tips on How to Network at a Conference – BONUS CONTENT

Since one of the benefits of attending a professional conference is the opportunity to network, here are five tips to help you do it in a way that prevents you from being a schmuck about it.

1. Dress professionally. While others are dressing down and relaxing, you still want to represent your brand.
2. Introduce yourself with laser speak. Be able to clearly identify who you are and what you do in two sentences.
3. Be present. Don’t be the schmooze who shakes a hand, judges someone isn’t valuable to you, then move on to someone else. Also, don’t be that guy who is checking your phone while someone else is talking to you. When you’re present, you represent your brand well by showing how respectful you are.
4. Take notes of who you meet. You’ll receive lots of business cards. Make a note on each one how you met the person and what stood out to you.
5. Write notes TO those you meet. Follow up with an email after the event. Write a handwritten note to those who really stood out to you. Let the relationship-building be a long game for you and your career or business.

Resources and Links

Podcast Movement 2019, PodcastMovement.com

10 Tips on Networking Like a Pro at a Conference by Jeff Goins

How to Get the Most Out of Conferences from the Jody Maberry Show

Listen to these past episodes:

• Become the Noticer and Collaborate Towards Success with Jared Easley #DoYouEvenRutellaBro – BtR 039; We had the pleasure to interview Podcast Movement co-founder Jared Easley in the early days of Beyond the Rut thanks to an interesting connection made on Twitter.
• Terry Weaver Encourages You to Make Elephants Fly Part 2 – BtR 110; Terry Weaver is the founder of The Thing conference bringing together creative entrepreneurs who desire to inspire each other to the next level of their paths.
• Life at 40 and Fired Up from World Domination Summit Sara McDaniel – BtR 142; Sara talks about the influence and value she has found through a gathering known as World Domination Summit hosted by author and influencer Chris Guillebeau.
• How to Improve Effectiveness at Work Through the Outward Mindset – BtR 161; Jim McNeal was the result of a connection with The Arbinger Institute at ATD 2018.
• Learn How to Invest Your Time Instead of Spending It – BtR 173; Matt Sandrini talks about how to invest your time to learn on how to leverage your time.

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Music Attribution

“Oceans Apart” is our theme song composed and performed by Scott Ian Holmes.