2015 conference shining girls

Seven Scary Things About Attending Conferences



By now, kids are preparing for a well-timed Friday Halloween, ready to hit the road (or mall, as seems to be the case these days) cloaked in costume and carrying soon-to-be-filled candy bags. As for the rest of us, we're in the midst of another busy conference and tradeshow season--and perhaps already looking ahead to 2015.

But while conferences are often extremely valuable, there are certain elements that send ripples down the spines of even the most brazen individuals. Here are seven scary things you probably fear when attending conferences:

  1. You are immediately greeted by a carnival of vendor booths where the only thing people want is your contact info.
  2. Sitting down and realizing you're the only practitioner at a table full of consultants and vendors.
  3. Listening to session after session where the speakers drone on about things that don't help you deliver true business impact.
  4. You go to the bathroom and find a person wearing a Freddy Kreuger mask washing his "hands."
  5. You turn the corner in a hotel corridor to discover a crowd of children running at you wearing mouse ears or waving wands in their hands.
  6. You wake up in your hotel room to the sound of a bachelor's party that just started at 2am. In the next room over.
  7. Not signing up for the i4cp 2015 Conference early and missing your chance to experience what many call "the best conference they attend each year."
The i4cp 2015 Conference (March 16 - 19, 2015) brings senior HR executives together in a practitioner-only environment to discuss advanced people practices that drive market performance.

Register this Halloween to save $400, and remember--all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
Erik Samdahl
Erik is the head of marketing at i4cp, and has nearly 20 years in the market research and human capital research industry.