The Value of Health Conferences: Unlocking Opportunities

Hey everyone, and welcome back to another episode of Becoming a Health Coach.

I was inspired to create this episode by attending the recent conference called Health Tech, which is, as it sounds, a conference about health in the tech industry or tech in the health industry.

And I actually really like going to conferences.

There are a lot of conferences out there.

In the last couple years I've been to a couple of AI tech conferences.

There's always like a women's health panel, which I think is interesting.

So for this episode I really want to talk about why health coaches, especially newer health coaches or people even considering health coaching, why you should go to these conferences.

They're all over the world, they're big, they're small, but why should we go?

So the things I want to answer in this episode are why as a health coach you should go to a health conference?

What do you actually get from going?

How do you prepare for a health conference or a tech conference or health tech conference and what do you do with all the information afterwards so it doesn't feel so overwhelming?

Okay, let's dive into it.

So first, the biggest reason I go to these conferences are for networking.

That for me is the biggest value and the number one reason for me is to meet new people.

Some of these people I have planned to meet and other people I don't plan to meet.

But if you're going to a health conference, some of the people you're going to meet there, obviously there's going to be healthcare professionals there.

There's also going to be manufacturers and other product companies.

There's going to be organizations that work in this space.

There's going to be a lot of health enthusiasts, right?

And potentially even other health coaches there.

And it matters for newer health coaches or people who are thinking about becoming a health coach because you're going to be absorbed into this space with a bunch of other like minded people, meaning people who they live and breathe and think about health related, related things.

The other thing for new health coaches is learning industry perspectives.

So there's a bunch of stuff out there you have no idea about because you just don't know.

You don't know what you don't know.

And I always find that going to these conferences opens my eyes to, wow, I didn't even know that thing was going on.

And can inspire you in a new way.

And then you also will meet collaborations and opportunities from just being in the space.

So for example, I sat down and had lunch.

The tables were scarce and it was just me and three empty chairs.

And immediately, almost immediately, I Had two other people, two different people who didn't know each other.

Everybody was like, just looking for a seat, and they were like, do can I sit here?

And I'm like, yes, of course you can sit there.

And then of course, you talk to people while you're eating.

So if networking is one of the biggest reasons I go, then I also have a plan in terms of how to start conversations.

I think about it.

So, first of all, I always have a couple of questions ready.

For example, hey, what's the most interesting talk you've seen so far in this conference?

Or what has surprised you?

Or who have you met already?

That's been super interesting, right?

So all of those kind of questions relevant to what we're working in right now in that space of being in a conference, but also allows them to recap their most exciting things.

Don't be afraid to ask questions.

People love to answer questions.

For example, a question could be, what's one thing in the healthcare industry that really bugs you or gets in the way of doing your job?

That's especially helpful for a healthcare professional.

The other thing, if you're talking to somebody who's a manufacturer or product, simply ask them what their product is, how does it help people, where are they at in their development?

And really tailor your questions to the person who you're talking to and lead with curiosity and don't worry about not knowing anything.

There's a lot of stuff I don't know.

The two people at the table ended up talking about something that was, I would say, not way over my head, but a bit over my head.

I was just enjoying listening to them talking and thinking, oh, I should probably Google some of these words later on, but it's okay.

So as long as you're curious and open and friendly with people, networking in these situations is pretty easy.

The other thing I would recommend for networking at a conference is to prepare before you go in the conference app.

Most of the big conferences now will use an app where you go in, you make a profile, you add your bio, you add your picture, you add the things that you want to talk about, and so on.

So, number one, take time to set that up immediately because other people will want to reach out to you.

Then you can review other people's profiles.

So, for example, the health tech conference I was just at, I just searched for people who had anything with podcast in their title, and quite a few people came up with more than I was expecting, actually.

And then I can reach out to them and set up a meeting.

And of Course, I looked at their LinkedIn profiles and their website.

I identified who I wanted to meet.

If people reach out to me, I kind of was like, okay, what are we going to talk about?

And then you can schedule a coffee, you can schedule dinner, you can schedule a one on one chat.

This particular conference had like a networking area where once you made a connection with someone to have a one on one meetup, they gave you 15 minutes at a table and a table with a number in this networking area.

So you just showed up at that table at that time and met with somebody.

And that's super helpful because you don't know what these people look like different than their picture, what they look like on the day.

Oh, let's meet at this table over there.

Yeah, no, that's a mess.

But if the conference provides these networking spaces, make sure you use them.

Okay?

Besides the network, the second reason that you should go to a conference are the talks and the sessions.

The first thing you always have to understand is there is going to be way more talks than you should attend because you don't want to overburden yourself or overload yourself.

So one of the strategies I found that's really helpful is to go with a friend and split up sessions.

Okay, there's two sessions going on exactly the same time and I want to know both of them.

So.

So which one do I really want to go to?

Which one did my friend want to go to?

You can also see if there's recordings available later.

So you can choose what you want to see live versus what you want to watch as a recording later.

Now, all the conferences have a lot of different formats for these sessions.

So there are things called fireside chats which are more like cozying up to people.

Maybe it's a longer session.

Then there's panels where they have multiple people talking about a specific topic.

Then there's people on a big stage giving a presentation where there's not really an opportunity for questions, where maybe the panels and the fireside chats, there's opportunity for questions and then there's even workshops that you know, you have to pre register for because there's limited space in this workshop.

There are some expectations that you can like some things you can expect before these.

And sometimes like the 15 minute talks are too short to really go into anything.

Usually they're just like introductions to some business or new thought or new idea or new technology.

So longer sessions you can expect that they're going to be able to go deeper into whatever the topic is.

My last point on the talks and sessions is to reiterate that you cannot go to all of them.

So again, take time at the beginning before you go, before you set foot into that conference hall, what are your top priorities for you to go and listen to?

Okay, the third reason why you should go to conferences are the booths and the expo hall.

So basically booths from companies and organizations go to the booths with no crowd.

If you're there by yourself and there's no talk you want to see at that moment, and there's nobody you're meeting at that moment, just go talk to somebody at a booth.

It doesn't matter who they are.

It's a really low pressure conversation.

It's a really great way to practice listening and asking questions.

And you might discover something quite unexpectedly useful when you talk to people.

You could also stumble into leads, whether that's clients or partnerships or gigs.

So highly recommend that you go and find, go and find somebody who's sitting alone at their booth and, and walk up with a big smile and be like, how are you doing today?

How is the conference treating you?

So a lot of times these people are all about trying to sell something and it can get repetitive.

And I tell you what, I've done this a couple times where I go to like the back side of the expo, like on the side that nobody's going to, and I just walk up.

I've met some of the nicest people and had really good conversations about general, about life.

And that was simply because there was nobody talking to them.

So I went up and talked to them.

A lot of times, especially when you're starting off new, you don't know what to say or how to talk to people.

Remember, the people at those booths are supposed to try to talk to you.

So you don't really have to say a lot or you don't have to prepare so much for when you're talking to somebody at a booth.

But you also want to use it as an opportunity to practice yourself, practice your pitch.

Because again, super low pressure, super low bar.

I cannot explain how low a bar this is, but it does put you.

If you have that feeling of imposter syndrome, if you have that feeling of, I don't, I'm not ready yet, I don't have it perfected my pitch yet.

It does not matter.

It does not matter at all because you're going to talk to somebody who has to stand there and talk to people.

So try to practice doing what you want to talk about without a salesy kind of sleazy background.

So again, be curious, listen, practice those listening skills.

Try to pick up on something, somebody, you know, whatever they said.

How can you deeply listen to that other person and then come out of that with providing some kind of joy to them or interesting new tidbit.

Introduce what you do naturally wait for them to ask you.

I mean everybody knows this is networking.

It may feel a little awkward, but if you go up to somebody and be like, hey, I'm a health coach and this is what I do and blah, blah, blah, that, that's like, yeah, that's when I would probably feel most awkward.

So just have a nice conversation.

Your enthusiasm about being a health coach, new or not yet, is always going to be a, a nice way to talk to somebody.

Let's talk about some logistics, let's talk about money.

Because I tell you what, these conferences, they can be expensive, definitely.

So always see if there's a way to get a free ticket or a reduced ticket.

I know people who volunteer at these events.

You don't have to volunteer all three days or all two days.

You know, can be like, you volunteer for one day and the next day you can just come in for free.

So you also get to hear the talks of whatever stage you might be supporting.

And you also then get the bonus of being able to talk to the people who are presenting.

Right.

So you have an opportunity there.

So if you volunteer, that's a good way to, to get in for free.

Yeah, not a lot of people can afford.

Some of these are super expensive conferences.

So keep that in mind.

The other thing is to consider your logistics and your self care so you don't burn out.

Depending on how many days the conference is, it can be exhausting.

Even for an extrovert like me, it can be exhausting.

So tips.

Step outside the conference hall for 15 minutes if you've ever been in a casino.

It's kind of like being in a casino.

It is this huge space with lots of people with lots of things going on.

You cannot tell what time of day it is.

So in that respect it's very much equivalent to a casino, maybe without the noise of the casino machines.

But yeah.

So just being in that environment can make your nervous system go a little haywire.

So definitely grab a tea, go outside for, for 15 minutes, be in the sun, get some fresh air, make sure you drink.

Maybe you need to set a timer to drink.

Actually some conversation I had with a couple people, they were like, yeah, I just realized I hadn't gone to the bathroom all day, which means I haven't Been drinking enough water all day, so yeah, if you can bring in your own water, you can.

But most of these conferences now will have at least water available.

So plan for water.

The other thing you want to plan for is food, especially if you have dietary needs.

No, most conferences I've been to do not provide any kind of food.

They might provide coffee and tea at a certain time of the day, or just in general coffee and tea.

This last conference I went to included a whole meal, so that was really cool.

But not normally like that.

And usually those have really long lines.

So plan ahead to bring some snacks, maybe research a nearby restaurant.

Give yourself an opportunity to go outside.

Most of the conferences will not have any talks during lunchtime, at least for an hour.

Or you can pack a lunch.

If the conference does have talks all day and you can eat at the conference.

Okay, just a few more points for the rest of this talk about conferences.

Another way to help with the financial burden of a conference.

One, share some lodging with friends if you're going to go with another friend.

Or two, also consider pairing your conference with another trip, like a family vacation or family visit or something else, you know, so that you can get more out of that time.

For example, if usually the conferences are in the middle of the week, so maybe you go to the conference and then you have a little vacation on the weekend, you know, so that you get to be in that location for two reasons and not just one reason.

And the last thing is to plan ahead for next year.

So if you learned about a conference after the fact that usually that conference will already have their dates ready for the next year because they're usually advertising those dates during the conference.

So if you can't make it for because it conflicted with your calendar or conflicted with your budget, put it in the next year and see if you want to, you know, as part of your annual planning, if you want to attend, choose which conferences are the most important for you.

And again, you don't have to attend all of them.

And even one conference, you don't have to attend all the days.

If you have like a day pass versus a conference pass, that's another way that you can keep the costs down.

All right, so that was a really quick recap of why I think health coaches should go to conferences and how to do them smartly, especially if you've never done them before.

So if you have any questions about that at all, make sure you drop us a line and we'll see you next time.

Bye.