CPA Practice Advisor - 15

COVER STORY
TREAT VIRTUAL CONFERENCES LIKE LIVE EVENTS
When you attend a conference, you
likely clear the decks as much as
possible before you leave and add
an auto-responder to your email,
so people know you'll be out of
pocket for a few days. Do the same
for virtual events.
Although you may be sitting at
the same desk or in the same home
office that you work in every day,
don't treat virtual conferences like
just another workday. Don't schedule calls or work on other projects.
If you're not in a session, talk to a
vendor or meet up with someone
you haven't connected with yet.
This will help you immerse yourself
in the event, and you'll get more out
of it in the end.

GO WITH THE FLOW
Don't expect every online conference to run perfectly, especially
since the conversion to online was
unexpected, and many organizers
had only a few months to identify a platform and recreate an
experience.
There will be some technical
glitches, awkward moments, and
less-than-optimal internet connections along the way. Presenters
might not be as enthusiastic and
engaging when speaking to a monitor as they are on stage. A sense of
humor, empathy and acknowledgment that this is a weird time will
go a long way.

EMBRACE INNOVATION
Whether you're planning, speaking
at, or attending an online event, try
to think outside of the box. Nobody
wants to sit through an eight hour
day of dull webinars and PowerPoint
presentations.
That's why, when we decided
to take our Boomer Technology
Circles Summit virtual this year, we
wanted it to be more than a Zoom
call. After evaluating several differ-

ent platforms, we chose to hold the
Summit on VirBELA, an immersive,
virtual event environment that promotes interaction and collaboration
among participants. Our members
and sponsors could engage in small
group or one-on-one conversations
and even have a dance party during
the Summit. It took a little time to
get comfortable with the technology
and loosen up, but everyone seemed
to enjoy creating their avatars and
navigating the virtual conference
center.
Don't be afraid to try something
new. Great things happen when you
get outside of your comfort zone.

STAY INTERACTIVE
Virtual conferences might lack the
intimacy of a physical gathering,
but it's still possible to connect with
your peers.

If you feel a little unsure of
interacting in a virtual world, try
outlining a few goals for the event.
That can be as simple as deciding:
* How many new people you want to
meet during the event
* How many existing contacts you
want to reconnect with
* How many exhibitors you want to
talk to in the expo hall
* Which speakers you want to follow
up with after their session
* Which questions you want to ask of
your peer group
By setting a few success metrics,
you can check in with yourself
during the event to make sure you
are on the right track - and make
adjustments if you aren't.
Many event organizers are
also adding contests and games to
their events. For the BTC Summit,
attendees visited sponsor booths

OCTOBER 2020 ■

to complete a MadLib, which then
entered them into a drawing for
$10,000. It was a fun way to break
the ice while encouraging members
to stay engaged.
With our profession facing challenges now and in the near future,
community is more important than
ever. We all need to lean on our
peers, learn from each other's experience, and find out what works and
what doesn't in the "new normal."
Whether you meet with peers in
person or virtually, you need to give
in order to get. The more you share,
the more value you get back. So
make a commitment to engage and
build connections in a virtual world.
You'll find you can accomplish some
surprisingly powerful results. ■

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