{"id":7052,"date":"2018-01-01T14:17:08","date_gmt":"2018-01-01T18:17:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/?p=7052"},"modified":"2019-11-22T20:52:22","modified_gmt":"2019-11-23T00:52:22","slug":"ot-conference-plans-in-2018make-the-most-of-the-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/ot-conference-plans-in-2018make-the-most-of-the-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"OT Conference Plans in 2018? Make the Most of the Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Conference-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-6935\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Conference-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Conference-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Conference-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Conference-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Conference.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Want to build your network, learn new techniques, or share your successes as an OT? The AOTA national conference is a great way to make progress on any of your 2018 career goals.<\/p>\n<p>I have enjoyed every AOTA conference that I have attended, and 2018 in Salt Lake City will be no exception. Stop by to say hello to us! In the meantime, here are some tips on planning a great OT conference.<\/p>\n<p>Enjoy!<br \/>\nCheryl Hall, OT<br \/>\nAuthor and Illustrator, The Occupational Therapy Tookit<\/p>\n<p><strong>Get Organized<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Set up a meeting with your boss or team to see if there is any information they need from the conference. If a group is going from your organization, go over the next two points with them. Divide and conquer!<\/li>\n<li>Review sessions ahead of time to select first and second choices.<\/li>\n<li>Review the vendor list and map, because if you wander aimlessly you might miss some great, new products.<\/li>\n<li>Stock up on business cards. If you are a student or looking for a job, design a personal card.<\/li>\n<li>Download all the conference materials ahead of time.<\/li>\n<li>Decide how you are going to capture ideas you want to take back to your practice. Set up a file on your tablet, devote a notebook to the conference, or email yourself every time you are inspired.<\/li>\n<li>If small talk does not come naturally to you, write up a list of open-ended questions that you can draw on.<\/li>\n<li>Reach out to your contacts prior to the conference and suggest you meet for lunch or a drink.<\/li>\n<li>If this is your first conference, talk to colleagues who have attended for suggestions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Set Goals<\/strong><br \/>\nHere are some suggestions to get you started\u2026<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ask at least one question at every session you attend.<\/li>\n<li>Give out all the business cards that you bring to the conference.<\/li>\n<li>Introduce yourself to speakers, make sure you have their contact information and then connect with them via social media.<\/li>\n<li>Make a list of ideas to share with your boss. You will be motivated to follow through and they will want to send you again next year (which is in New Orleans!)<\/li>\n<li>Meet and thank everyone who served on the conference committee. Watch for introductions at the general session.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Immerse Yourself in the Conference<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Once you have arrived, walk around before the conference is in full swing to get the lay of the land.<\/li>\n<li>If possible, stay at the conference hotel. You will have more time for conference activities and a greater chance of meeting other OTs.<\/li>\n<li>Put away your cell phone. Think about it, would you approach someone who was glued to their phone?<\/li>\n<li>Join group activities \u2013 like an early morning walk.<\/li>\n<li>Sign up for targeted events like meetings for first time attendees or special interest groups.<\/li>\n<li>Volunteer for the conference.<\/li>\n<li>Strike up a conversation with at least one person at each event.<\/li>\n<li>Connect with the larger conversation using the conference hashtag on Twitter and Instagram.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Want to build your network, learn new techniques, or share your successes as an OT? The AOTA national conference is a great way to make progress on any of your 2018 career goals. I have enjoyed every AOTA conference that I have attended, and 2018 in Salt Lake City will&#8230;<a class=\"moretag\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/ot-conference-plans-in-2018make-the-most-of-the-experience\/\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#DC0201\">Read more<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6935,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[83],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conference"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Conference.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7052"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7061,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7052\/revisions\/7061"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}