Conference Survival Tips

My 2010 INTA experience started off with two left feet…quite literally. I woke up early Monday morning to go for my run on the Boston waterfront only to find that I had brought two LEFT tennis shoes. I was afraid this was going to set the tone for my 2010 INTA trip but quickly adapted and attended my colleagues Pilates class that can be done in socks!

Since many trademark and domain professionals are at the INTA Annual Meeting this week I thought  I’d offer up some practical tips and tricks for annual meeting survival.  This isn’t my first INTA rodeo; I have now attended over a half dozen of them and have learned through my own experiences and experiences of others that there are a few things that help you survive what can be a whirlwind few days!

  • Sleep: Don’t plan on getting much. Meetings start early in the day and the receptions go late into the night & wee early morning hours. Drink an extra cup of coffee & use eye drops so you keep that fresh look!
  • Shoes: Finding the perfect INTA shoes that can go from morning until night can be tough. I have watched both men and women hobble throughout the conference center due to the wrong shoe choice. Form over fashion wins out here. Switch your shoes up rather than wear the same pair each day.
  • Exercise: If you get off your normal routine, you will likely still get plenty of walking in whether you are running to a committee meeting, visiting the exhibition hall or trekking back and forth from the conference center to your hotel.
  • Name Badge: Please keep it flipped so that everyone can see your name. We are here in Boston with 8,300 + of our closest IP friends that we may only see once or twice a year. Everyone is tired & name recollection can be tough. Help a friend out!
  • Business cards: Come well stocked and always keep them handy. You have the opportunity to network and meet with so many people and will want to stay in touch. I keep my cards in the pocket behind my badge.
  • Food & Drink: Pace yourself. Have you have been booked with two breakfast meetings back to back, a coffee meeting, lunch, cocktail hour, dinner & then a reception all in the same day? Makes for quite the food intake in one day. Pace yourself or you will suffer a food coma.
  • Network: Focus on meeting new people. I have made some great friends through this conference over the years and I look forward to seeing them each year. This is such a great place to get away from the day to day and enjoy the people you work with all year long and don’t often get to see.

    Do you have any INTA survival tips or experiences to share? Help us all become wiser for INTA 2011 in San Francisco by commenting to this post!

    If you are still in Boston, please stop by the CSC Booth #512 to say hello. We’d love to see you! Best wishes for a successful and fun 2010 INTA Annual Meeting!

    Malia Horine
    Corporation Service Company