87: How to Attend a Virtual Event

I get it. It's not super comfortable to go into a zoom room and meet and talk with people that you've never met before. But on the other hand, the connection is so incredible and you never know who you're going to meet. It could be your next big opportunity. It could be someone down the road that you know invites you to be on their podcast or you find someone who can partner with you or collaborate in some way.

I'm Bonnie Christine and this is where all things creativity, design, business and marketing unite. I'm a mama living in a tiny town tucked right inside the Smoky Mountains, running a multi seven figure business, doing the most creative and impactful work of my life. But when I first set out to become an entrepreneur, I was struggling to make ends meet and wrestling with how to accomplish my biggest, biggest dream of becoming a fabric designer. Fast forward to today. I'm not only licensing my artwork all over the world, but also teaching others how to design their creative life and experience the same success. I'm here to help you spend your life doing something that lights you up. I'll help you build a creative business that also creates an impact, changes people's lives, gives you all of the freedom you want, and is wildly profitable. Welcome to the Professional Creative Podcast.

I'm excited to dive into what I think is a super relevant and practical topic today. How to squeeze every last drop of value from a virtual event. We've all been there, logged into our webinar or conference or workshop, only to find ourselves distracted, multitasking, or, you know, falling asleep or just not engaged. And so I want to talk to you today about how to really fully prepare and immerse yourself in a virtual event and how to make it as enriching and beneficial as if you were there in person. So whether you're looking to network or learn, or simply have a good time learning something new, this episode will be your guide to making the most of your next virtual gathering. So, you know, I think really for many, many years, but especially since we had the pandemic, there has been this movement of moving so much online and that's really incredible because so many people can have now to learning incredible things from wherever they are in the world. But as I've mentioned before, our focus and attention is our rarest resource and so we have to figure out how to hone that in so that we can actually get enough out of these amazing events. So I'm going to be covering five different kind of buckets for you to think about when you plan on joining Something virtual in the future. So this could be a one hour workshop, it could be a live Q and A or it could be a three day online conference. And so I've done all of these many times over the last few years and have absolutely learned what really sets me up for success as opposed to kind of having one ear listening and, and one, you know, ear kind of multitasking on the side or just not really being fully committed. So number one is all about pre event plan. There are a couple of things that I do and suggest that you do before you ever even get to the event. The first is to really set your intentions. So before the event, really understanding and figuring out what you want to get from it, you can establish some clear goals and questions that you'd really like to get answered. You know, I just got back from a mastermind and at the very beginning we were called to really just have about five minutes to think about our intentions and write three or four of them down. And I could not believe we kind of came back to it at the end of the second day and almost everyone's intentions had been completed. And so there really is something to that. Set your intentions so that you're sure you're getting out of the event what you really need most. The next is just a tech check. Just ensure that all of your technology is functioning like your camera or your mic. Your Internet connection is good. Just do a little tech check, make sure it's all in working order so that you don't have any issues when it's time to really get going. And then pre event planning. The next thing is to block off the time. And so just make sure you've reserved this period exclusively for the event. Nothing feels worse than having something pull you away or something pop up on your calendar. So block it off as soon as you know it's coming up. Okay, so number two is physical and emotional preparation. So the first one is really about mindset. I want you to show up to your next virtual event as if you were physically present, really arriving in your mind to this is what you're doing today and you're going to get everything out of it as you possibly can. The next one is kind of around self support. So can you really treat yourself to this event? Can you almost use it as a form of self care? As much as it is business, it is also about your well being and so it's a creative opportunity and you can ensure that the people around you kind of know your do not disturb status. So I love to tell My family or anyone else that may be coming in or needing me or interrupting that day that, listen, I, I'm attending this event, I'm going to be all in, my focus is going to be here and I'll let you know, you know, the break schedule and things like that. But for the most part my attention is on this event for this day or this hour or this weekend. And then the next one is really to set your stage. So prepare your space, make sure that it's clean. I mean, some of you might not be the same as me, but I love just walking into a tidy room when I want to get to work. Otherwise it just kind of nags at me. And so I want it to be well organized, I want it to be clean. And so I have a conference coming up, the Surface Design Immersion Live is coming up later in October and it's a two and a half day event. And so two and a half days is a long time to sit maybe at your desk per usual. And so I would love, if you're attending that event, to think about how you can be ultra comfortable. Do you want to maybe sit in a different place or just make sure that you're comfortable in what you're wearing and have your creature comforts around you just to really make sure that you're feeling inspired and also, you know, cozy. Like absolutely. Treat yourself. And on that note, number three is creating the ideal environment. And so I like to think about ambiance, so making the setting a little bit luxurious and it can really help it feel like it's both a business investment and an investment in my personal well being. We do a live virtual conference like nobody else.

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So think about having a candle lit or fresh flowers or something that's inspiring in sight and then having treat along the day so maybe you have a warm cup of Tea. Or if you're like me, it's your oat milk latte, and you're just really indulging in the entire experience and treating yourself to it. And can you see how that's a little bit of a different way to show up? Like, you've really marked it off as if you were attending in person. Because if you were attending in person, think about it. You would have packed your bags, you likely would have flown on a plane, you would have gotten excited and thought about it ahead of time. And then you would have gotten up early and make sure that you were ready and wearing something that you know you were happy with. And then you would be like fully immersed, present and focused when you got to the event. And so part of the luxury here is that you don't have to pack your bags and get on a plane and get overly dressed up or anything, but it is important to think about arriving with that same excitement, focus, and intention for the day. The next part of creating your ideal environment is that I'd love for you to think about screen choice. You know, automatically we think we're going to be attending via a computer, but it's also really fun if you have, I think probably just like a HDMI cord to hook your screen up to a larger screen, like a TV or even a projector. And so you might think about broadcasting the event, the workshop, whatever it is, to a larger your screen so that it feels almost more like entertainment and all consuming. Because if you're like me, if you're watching on the computer, the temptation to multitask is almost overwhelming. And so what if you put it on a TV and really set the stage in that way, and then it feels more like entertainment and an entire event. Finally, I mentioned this a little bit before, but I do think it's important to just put your household on notice, let everyone know that you're going to be immersed in this event and it's going to better set you up for success. And maybe someone in the house will come and, you know, refill your coffee or refill your tea or just help kind of create that space for yourself. Number four is all about maximizing focus and participation. And I know you know this, but what's something that we all struggle with is just our ability to focus. And this focus is like the number one way to get the most out of the entire event. So first of all, eliminate distractions. You should clean up your space and also clean up any unfinished business. I love to just kind of close as many of those open Loops as I can. Before I go into something big like an event or a mastermind or a conference, I don't want anything kind of nagging at me in the back of my mind about something that I didn't get finished. And so I try to clean up any unfinished business and truly remove distractions. So I'm closing down all irrelevant tabs. I'm, you know, potentially moving unrelated tech like my phone to another room. And I'm fully immersed in the event. I want you to really commit to the attention. And one great way to do this is to commit to keeping your camera on, you know, as the event like, speaker. So, for instance, at my conference, I'll be speaking a lot. It's always really nice to be able to see who we're talking to. So I always encourage people to keep their camera on. But from your perspective, committing to keeping your camera on will also help you commit to being focused and not multitasking if your camera's off. The overwhelming temptation to multitask is. It's just, just it's too much. Keep your camera on. It'll help keep you accountable to paying attention. And then there's also a little bit of digital etiquette. I personally love it when I'm attending something and they just let me know what the etiquette is because sometimes I don't know. And so there are just some virtual do's and don'ts, if you will. So for instance, when you come into a virtual room, make sure you're on mute, right? So mute yourself and don't unmute unless we've called on you or something like that. And then be punctual. So the event likely has a start time and lunch and coming back time and breaks and then an end time. And we as event planners typically love to stay on schedule as much as we can. So having people there ready to go and excited always feels just, just incredible as the host of the event. And then if you're in a zoom room, you oftentimes will have people raise their hand. And so some people will do it like on the camera. But the best way to do it is to use the reactions tab at the bottom of the zoom, like screen and there will be a virtual hand that you can push and that kind of bumps you up to the top of the screen where the host can see you and then potentially call on you. I'd also just say be mindful of body language. Like, if you can imagine what it feels like to be on a stage speaking to people, their body language matters. You know, if they're kind of falling asleep or they look like they're doing something different or they just look bored out of their mind. It totally affects like how you show up. And so as an alternative to that, people looking at you and smiling and nodding their head or laughing, that makes you feel like, incredible. And so just be mindful of the fact that the host can see you and it is absolutely going to impact the energy of the entire event based on how everyone is reacting. And then, you know, don't do things like eat on camera or walk around the house, you know, cleaning with your laptop because we get like motion sick. So, you know, just be mindful of that. I would also say don't use any like distracting backgrounds. You know, if you need to use a zoom background, something clean and non distracting is fine. But some of them can be a little wild. And then I would just encourage you to really be mindful about engaging. You know, many online conferences have the opportunity for you to connect with other people. You can do this via the chat, you can do it via community. And sometimes they'll have breakout sessions. And as the host, you know, we, if we ever announce a breakout session, I see the attendance drop by, I don't know, at least 25%. And I always think, listen, I get it, it's not super comfortable to go into a zoom room and meet and talk with people that you've never met before. But on the other hand, the connection is so incredible and you never know who you're going to meet. It could be your next big opportunity. It could be someone down the road that, you know, invites you to be on their podcast or you find someone who can partner with you or collaborate in some way. And the other thing that I know is that we're a lonely bunch. Whether we really realize it or not, we're lacking com like community in our lives. We're lacking that deep connection. And so when you're at an event and you're, you're in a room filled with people who are interested in the same thing, what a, what a gift it is to just meet a few of them. And so I always encourage you to just meet those people, be up for a good time and communicate and connect as much as you can. Okay, we're on to number five. And this is all about personal comfort and some post event actions that I recommend. You know, we mentioned this a little bit before, but just make sure you're comfortable. There's nothing like having to sit uncomfortable. And this is one of the best things about attending virtually because I've been at in person events stuck in a chair all day, that was uncomfortable, comfortable. The last event I went to was freezing cold all day. And so you get to be home or at your office. So be comfy, wear soft clothes, have blankets if you want, like just, just really indulge. And then also permission to, you know, get up and stretch and move and go on a little walk and make sure that you've got all the food and refreshments that you need. You know, one thing that I love to suggest is planning for takeout or meal delivery during a long conference. And this just feels like, you know, at the end of the day, you might not feel like going and cooking. You might not feel like going out either. And so having your family take care of meals for you or planning in advance for some kind of delivery just feels like an extra bit of taking care of yourself. I would also highly encourage you to just take notes. Take as many notes as you can. Sometimes we think we'll go back and re listen and sometimes we do, but oftentimes we don't. And so taking notes in the moment of when you're learning and listening is incredible. And most importantly, what I love to do after a conference is block off at least an entire day to go back through my notes and really like dive into them. So I'll have written down things I want to research, I'll have written down books that were mentioned or podcasts that were mentioned. And then I'll also just want to figure out my next steps. And so this is an error that I see a lot of people make. They'll go to a conference and then they just dive right back into work as soon as it's over. And they never had time to really think about how they want to implement it. So the way that I do this is that I typically take notes on paper in a notebook with a pen or a pencil. And then after the conference or the mastermind or the workshop up, I'll sit and I'll type up my notes in a Google Doc. And so that way I have them forever. I don't have to worry about figuring out what notebook they're in later. I can reorganize them, I can link some things and then I've got this. I actually keep one Google Doc for all of the events I go to. So it's just this epic, like note recap. And I know where to go when I want to find something that, you know, I wrote down during an event. And then my last suggestion would be to be willing to give feedback. So many times these events will send out a post event survey afterwards. I know we do. And it's always really impactful to get feedback from the attendees. And this is really because we want to make the event better and better and better and better. And so we want to hear from you. How was the schedule? How were the speakers? Who would you like to hear from next? What suggestions do you have on us improving it? Did you like the swag, all of that kind of thing? And so if you attend event and they ask for feedback, do them a solid. Give them the feedback that you have, both good and constructive, so that the event gets better and better and better. So as a recap, we went over pre event planning, some physical and emotional preparation, how to create the ideal environment, how to maximize your focus and participation, and then some post event actions. You know, the effort and prep that you put in before a virtual event will truly pay off like tenfold during and after the event. So from setting the right ambiance to being mindful about how you engage, you know, every little detail really adds up and makes a difference. So if you found these helpful and you know of anybody who is planning to attend a virtual event soon, send this over to them so that they can get every ounce out of it as well. My friends, create the beauty that you want to see come alive in the world. And remember, there's room for you.