PMI Global Insights

The PMI EMEA Conference is just a few weeks away! As a lot of attendees are already preparing and thinking about the sessions that they want to attend or what are the best ways to network at the conference, I thought that I'd take a step back and ask my followers on Twitter what are the essentials that they take to any conference and more specifically for PMI EMEA. Here are some of the answers and I'd love to hear from you what you think and what's on your must-take list for a conference.

I know that a lot of us are smart phone addicts so I'd really like to know if any of you can recommend good apps for staying efficient and making the most of out a conference. What do you use? I'm sure that the EMEA Conference App will be really popular again this year and I highly recommend downloading this app and connecting with our participants before the event.

Here are a few initial recommendations/thoughts:

1. Business Cards. Makes sure that you have enough to connect with your peers. I always like to make notes on Business cards so I can remember someone/ important information (e.g. if I need to email them with something important etc).

2. Camera: Sometimes a phone camera isn't enough or it drains my Phone battery too much to use effectively.

3. Scarf/ Spare jumper: Conference centres can get very chilly so I try to dress with plenty of layers in case it gets too hot/cold.

4. Registration Confirmation: Make sure that you've printed out your confirmation and have it available for when you check in. This is vital to a prompt and easy access to the conference. I forgot it once before and it took a lot longer to get processed and through.

Here's a few recommendations from my post on Twitter.

@fabiorigamonti says that a good notepad is vital for him. He uses moleskin but I'm a fan of a good spiral bound notepad where I can easily rip out pages etc. I'll also add to this that I always carry at least 3 pens and highlighters (ideally all different colours) so  that i'm able to track/ highlight anything important. This could be important take-aways from a session or something that I want to ask/follow up on later.

@LetsGrowLeaders recommends bringing a Tripod with them for recording or videoing during the conference. This can be great for presenters but might be a bit cumbersome for attendees to bring.

@KarthikPMO Agrees with my suggestion of bringing at least one powerbank with you! He also adds to make sure that you have enough travel connectors for all of your devices. At a recent conference, I saw one Project Manager with an extender cable that had 5 sockets attached to it. He soon became the best friend of a few power hungry people!

So, what is important for you? What can you not be without during a conference? Please comment below!

Please don't forget to follow me and my fellow representatives from the online Community for updates during the conference itself. They'll be announcing themselves during the next few days.