What do you want from this conference? Do you want to know more colleagues and companies, or to learn the latest trends, tech, knowledge, and strategies from those wonderful sessions? Probably both. But after two years of intensive learning and training, my choice was certainly the former. So no surprise that most of the tips here are on the marketing side. If the latter is your priority, be sure to get the most up-to-date schedule (there will be last-minute changes!), watch the most pertinent sessions live, and catch up on other interesting ones later.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a list of things to do in advance to help you get the most out of any professional conference:<\/p>\n
Building up your online presence<\/strong><\/p>\n This one takes time. Starting one or two weeks before the conference is unlikely to give you any tangible result. A professional conference like ATA62 is a place for you to showcase yourself, so you probably want to have something relatively polished by that time. That\u2019s why you should start early, even if it\u2019s something imperfect \u2013 it at least gives you a foundation that you can always build on.<\/p>\n There are four platforms that are important for translators and interpreters: your professional website, LinkedIn, Twitter, and the conference portal. The first three require long-term commitment, while the last one can be left to just before the event.<\/p>\n Website<\/strong><\/p>\n This is your home base and centerpiece of your online presence. But before you get all excited about designing your very own online space and playing with SEO, buy your domain first. Domain name is also crucial. Come up with several and run them by your friends, colleagues, and even professors (special shoutout to Prof. Michael Schubert!)<\/p>\n If you\u2019re your own web designer, the easiest way to get started is to pick a template and keep it simple. It doesn\u2019t have to be perfect \u2013 in fact, it\u2019s not going to be perfect if it\u2019s your first go. The good thing about starting early is that you can always tweak it later.<\/p>\n When choosing a place to host your website, the rule of thumb is to choose one that is NOT free and is SEO friendly. No WordPress – you don\u2019t want your website to be hacked. If you want to learn more about how to build your own website, the blog by ATA\u2019s new president Madalena S\u00e1nchez Zampaulo<\/a> has given me tons of inspiration.<\/p>\n LinkedIn<\/strong><\/p>\n Most language professionals already have a LinkedIn profile, so the action item here is to keep it up to date. Of course, this can be done right before the conference, but what requires medium-to-long-term planning is your LinkedIn activities, including posts and interactions with other colleagues, especially those that you want to connect with at the conference.<\/p>\n Being more active also allows others to find you on LinkedIn before meeting you in person (hopefully!) People might not react to your posts, but they do take notice. One attendee told me that she really likes some of my posts, while the other recognized me from two videos I did with another interpreter.<\/p>\n Twitter<\/strong><\/p>\n The best place to connect with people you don\u2019t know, period. But if you simply follow others and don\u2019t tweet at all, you\u2019re missing the opportunity to be discovered. Then of course, gaining followers or any traction also takes time.<\/p>\n To tweet consistently is very important \u2013 in small doses, but do it at least every other day if you\u2019re getting started. Don\u2019t worry about what you should tweet or retweet, since very few people will read it. The key is to accumulate some tweets before the conference, so that people you meet there will be more likely to follow you on Twitter. Don\u2019t forget to reply to others\u2019 tweets as well: I find online interaction a great ice breaker, which really helped me turn Twitter followers into real-life contacts.<\/p>\n Another thing you should try is to keep an eye on Twitter during the conference\u2013 but that\u2019s another topic.<\/p>\n ATA conference portal<\/strong><\/p>\n Many professional conferences have their online portals for attendees and speakers to interact with one another and ATA is no exception. Since it\u2019s partially a networking platform, you should fill out your profile to the best of your knowledge.<\/p>\n The most important piece is surprisingly your profile picture. It\u2019s the easiest way to stand out from 1000+ profiles. Visuals attract attention like a magnet. There will most likely be fields such as website, LinkedIn, and Twitter for you to fill out. Here, your long-term planning pays off. You might be able to upload your CV as well, so keep it up to date.<\/p>\n You should also play with the portal to get to know all the functions it offers. For example, how to filter attendees for the ones you want to get to know and don\u2019t forget to send a friendly message before or during the actual event!<\/p>\n Business cards<\/strong><\/p>\n My perhaps unpopular opinion is that they are a means to an end and will eventually end up in recycling bins. So this year, I opted for digital ones (QR code and NFC tag). Another reason is that as someone who’s tech savvy and environmentally minded, I find paper business cards incompatible with who I am. Since most people nowadays do have their phones nearby, digital cards are probably sufficient.<\/p>\n
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Bio: Zoe Qian is a Chinese-English-German conference interpreter and translator with MA Conference Interpretation from MIIS. She draws upon academic and professional experience in China, Singapore, Germany, UK, and US to help international organizations connect with their Chinese stakeholders and businesses thrive in a global market. Zoe also plays the cello and most recently took up ballet, because she believes it\u2019s never too late to learn something new.<\/p>\n