At the end of last year I attended two in person and one online conference.  And they reminded me both of what fantastic opportunities conferences can offer, and also how they can leave you feeling exhausted and feeling as though you’re missing the party, if you’re not used to them. 

I have twenty years of conservation conference experience now: attending, presenting, organising, virtual, international. You name it, I have conferenced it! I absolutely love conferences. I believe, in our sector, they are vital for recharging us in the face of complex and difficult news, for sharing stories of hope, reconnecting us with the huge network of people who share our ambitions for a planet which is healthier for people and non-human nature.  Conservation conferences both remind us of why our work is so vital, and energise us to keep going. 

So these are my top seven practical tips to make the most of conservation conferences. If you’re a novice at conferences, I hope they help. And if you’re a veteran, I’d love to know what your tips would be…

What’s your purpose? 

Having a good conference experience starts before you arrive. There are hundreds of ways to navigate a conference. 14 years ago my strategy was to attend everything, including the evening networking, dash from one panel to another for 12 hours straight, then sleep it off if I could when I arrived back home. And although that worked fine for me at the time, it definitely wouldn’t work now I’m older and have children!

Instead, I advise you to think about the main outcome you’d like from a conference. Are you looking to increase your knowledge or skills of a particular topic? If so, it makes sense to scour the programme for the sessions and people with the most direct association with that subject area.

Are you looking for new connections, potential supervisors, collaborators or new job opportunities? If so, you’re more likely to spend time in networking areas, building relationships with people. 

If you plan in advance what you want to get out of the conference, you reduce the likelihood of arriving and feeling overwhelmed by the number of people, sessions and places on offer. You can only be in one place at one time, so choose as wisely as you can! 

Stay open to opportunities

This point might feel a little contradictory to my advice above, but if you’ve been to a few conferences I expect you’ll have experienced this for yourself. Serendipitous meetings or information exchanges often happen at conferences. Things that weren’t in your line of focus, but turn out to be the most exciting, opportunity-opening encounters. For example I remember attending a session on citizen science, I think in Montpellier in 2015 – where I had a passing interest.  But the speakers were excellent, I learnt a load about citizen science – the philosophies, that engaging citizens isn’t just for the data collection phase but can (and maybe should) be at every stage of a project, and more.  I continue to use this learning nearly 10 years later.  

So, stay open to the magic of conferences. Of course, it’s not really magic. If you gather hundreds of people with similar interests into one place, you increase the odds of bumping into someone who’s interesting to you and your professional development! Nevertheless, it does require you being receptive to opportunities when they arise. 

Don’t be daunted by networking

If the thought of networking fills you with fear, believe me, you’re not alone. For me, after many years of conference going, the ‘people’ element has gone from something daunting to a part of the draw. Conferences are the place to reconnect with people who have become friends, some of whom I’ve only ever spent time with at conferences! But if you are new to conservation conferences, it can feel overwhelming, especially if everyone else looks as though they are having the time of their life catching up with old friends.

Please remember you won’t be the only person feeling like this. Some people, however many years they’ve been attending, simply don’t enjoy the networking setting. They make their connections differently, online, or in one to one meetings. And that’s, of course, absolutely fine.

If you do want to spend some time networking, I have three suggestions to make it more manageable:

• Seek out other people who are alone. It’s highly likely they will appreciate a friendly face introducing themselves. And if they do already have connections in the room, they’ll be able to introduce you. 
• Set yourself an achievable target. For example, you may set yourself a challenge of speaking to three people in the room on the first day, four on the second and five on the third. It helps to reassure yourself you don’t have to stay for the entire networking session if you don’t want to.
• Have your exit lines ready. If you find yourself trapped with someone for a while, or simply want to move on, have some lines prepared, such as, ‘It’s been great talking to you, but I’d just like to catch that person over there for a few minutes. See you again.’

Take notes and follow up

Whether your conversations were serendipitous or deliberate, in a networking session or in the queue for coffee, it’s likely there will be plenty of them! There will be people who you’ve promised to send papers to, or catch up with after the conference. There may be the seeds of a new collaboration to germinate. 

Believe me, between the 11am coffee on Tuesday and the journey home three days later you will forget about most of these if you don’t write them down! So keep a note of who you’ve spoken to, what their contact details are, and what the follow-up actions are. 

Look after your health and safety

It might seem obvious to make sure you get enough sleep and food, but in the frenzy of the conference environment, it can be easy to forget the basics. I found myself in hospital during one conference after not drinking enough water! (I was six months pregnant and in a hot climate which probably didn’t help).

Most conferences plan refreshment breaks into their schedule, but this will be on their schedule, not yours. Their timings might not suit you. Carry snacks and water, and take breaks whenever you need to. 

It’s also important to pay attention to the safety guidance on offer. Some conferences will have a code of conduct, and be proactive in letting you know how you can seek support if you need it. It probably goes without saying that most conference delegates are wonderful folk, but it’s wise to know where to seek support if something untoward happens. 

Similarly, make sure you understand the local safety rules for your location. The conference in Cape Town I was at most recently had different safety recommendations for travel to the one in Kigali in the previous year, for example. 

Practise your presentation

If you’re presenting, you’re likely to feel nervous, especially if it’s something you don’t have much experience with at conferences. I’ve got through plenty of presentations fuelled by adrenaline! 

There are numerous resources about presenting skills, and most likely training you can access via your organisation, so I’m not going to repeat that here. I will offer my number one tip though: practice! Whether it’s in front of a mirror, in front of friends or colleagues, on video, speak your presentation out loud a few times before your session time. It will feel like more familiar territory when you come to do it ‘for real’. 

Particularly make sure you have your opening and closing sections rehearsed, so they’re as familiar as they can be. Quite often if you’ve made a good start, the rest will follow, and you can make sure to drill home your main points at the end. The beginning and end are the sections your audience will remember! 

Be poster-ready

Presenting a poster at conservation conferences can be a more relaxed experience than giving a presentation to a room full of people, but it still needs preparation. People are likely to engage with your presentation in one of four ways:

• Only wanting to read: don’t be put off if people don’t look at you or seem interested in making conversation at all. Many delegates go to the poster session to take time out of the conference fray, so it’s not personal!
• Wanting an overview: have your 60 second summary ready for the poster-flitters – those delegates who want to get the top level information and move on.
• Wanting the story: have a five to ten minute story of the why, what, how, who and so what of your research. Point to the relevant areas of your poster as you talk.
• Wanting more: welcome all questions and take contact details of potentially helpful new connections.

Conservation conferences: good, bad or ugly?

So there you have it: my seven practical tips to make the most of conferences. A final reflection: as a conservation social scientist, I’m not blind to the environmental cost of bringing hundreds of people together from all over the world. I don’t take these trips frivolously: while they are often a lot of fun, the main reason I attend is because I feel that the net result is positive for the planet. 

Do I have the figures to prove this right now? No! But I do know that conservation social science can be an exhausting field to work in. Receiving what feels like a torrent of bad news. Relentlessly making the case for ‘people’ in conservation research. Fighting for resources. Conferences can provide an antidote to all of that. The energy, new connections, collaborations and ideas conservation conferences offer can provide a much needed boost to our work. 

Each of us has to make the assessment for ourselves about whether to attend conferences, and which ones. But, I hope, after reading this blog you feel more equipped to make the most of your time at the ones you choose to go to. I’d love to hear your feedback. 

What role do you think conferences play in conservation social science? And what are your top tips for getting the most out of them? I’d love to hear about your conference experience – you can get in touch here.