Learning from and connecting with others is an exciting part of the world of business. Not only can you take advantage of the wisdom of others, but you can share the lessons you have learned yourself, both hopefully resulting in making your job easier, yes—but also making you better.
A great way to expand your circle and immerse yourself in the knowledge of others is to attend a conference. Whether local or in another state, you have the opportunity to bring ideas back to your workplace and, hopefully, expand what you can offer.
We have rounded up 5 conference that will help you plan better events, whether you are a full-time event planner or your role is more administrative with some planning tasks thrown in. These events are held annually throughout the U.S.—often even offering past keynotes online—so you can grow in the event planning world.
World Education Congress
This is an annual event put on by Meeting Professionals International. This year’s event takes place June 11-14 in Atlantic City, but if you can’t attend, the good news is that MPI offers many sessions and keynotes on-demand. The main focus of WEC is education—sessions include everything from planning creative experiences to 5 things you should know how to do on your phone while on the go—along with networking and forums. In addition to the sessions and keynotes, you can head to the MarketSquare show floor and schedule appointments with suppliers and find potential business opportunities in your free periods. This event truly lets you make the most of your time, while putting career advancement and learning first.
The Event Planner Expo
This year’s Event Planner Expo takes place in New York at The Metropolitan Pavilion. On October 5, the top planners and venues will come together for a day of discovering the latest trends and ideas important to the industry. Over 2,500 people attend the event yearly, making connections and scoping out over 130 vendors that participate. Even better, this event doesn’t cater to one type of planner; you’ll find event, wedding and party planning professionals in attendance, as well as corporate decision makers who lead planning teams. With general admission at only $45, it is also a great investment.
The Special Event
This year’s conference has already passed, but The Special Event is slated for January 10-12, 2017. The largest tradeshow and conference for event professionals, you’ll be joined by over 5,000 attendees. There are over 100 educational sessions to choose from, including tracks in Business and Professional Development, Event Management, Event Technology and more, giving you the opportunity to immerse yourself in new topics and ideas to expand your business. In addition to the sessions, you can visit the exhibit floor to learn about products that can help you plan better events. For a glimpse at the type of experts you’ll be learning from, check out the stacked list of last year’s speakers and get ready to make connections with like-minded planners from all over the country.
BizBash Elevate
Elevate is just one of the events that BizBash holds each year. On August 3 in Washington, D.C., planners will congregate for in-depth workshops on event marketing, technology, design, sponsorships and more. The event is filled with collaboration, networking and inspiration; you won’t be a passive attendee at this conference. A large focus of this event is engagement—specifically, how to make your events an experience for guests—with the use of technology. This will help you take your events to the next level and incorporate the ever-evolving tech into your planning and design.
Offline Summit
The Offline Summit is quickly approaching, taking attendees in New York on June 2. This conference is focused on true engagement, of the personal kind. You will learn how to make the most of offline experiences—in-person connections—and truly connect with your attendees. There is still a focus on technology and its ability to create unique experiences. With different tracks available, you can choose what your focus is during the day to get the most out of your own experience.