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symposium

A conference is a gathering of people with a common interest or background, with the purposes of allowing them to meet one another and to learn about and discuss issues, ideas and work that focus on a topic of mutual concern.

What is the definition of an Exhibition Manager? One who organizes and manages trade shows. An exhibition of products and / or services held for members of common or related industry.

Comfortable rooms, high quality equipment, ease of access, transport to and from (i.e. hotels and venue) are the first things that come to mind when we think of a successful conference venue.

Types of conferences

• Conference.
• Symposium.
• Seminar.
• Colloquium.
• Workshop.
• Roundtable.

Meetings can be called at any time, in any space available and are usually informal. A group of people getting together to discuss a subject, whereas a Conference is usually formal, will have an agenda and a programme of activities planned.

5 Essential Features of Successful Conferences

• Relevant content. Inevitably parts of the day will be more relevant to some team members than others, but make sure that you present the right content.
• Engaging activities.
• Efficient planning.
• A suitable location.
• The chance to have some fun.

A conference is a gathering of many people who talk about a specific subject or topic. People meet to confer about a theme. All the people who attend have a common interest. It is not the same as a convention, which is typically much bigger and consists of delegates who represent various different groups.

8 Benefits of Attending Conferences

• Get feedback on an early version of your latest work.
• Get to know other people in your field.
• Hear about the latest research.
• Improve your presentation and communication skills.
• Visit a new place and have fun.
• Meet your academic heroes.
• Engage in high-level debates and refine your ideas.

How to prepare for a conference or workshop

1. Research the venue and book travel in advance.
2. Study the conference schedule.
3. Do some background reading.
4. Research the speakers.
5. Connect with other guests.
6. Organise your marketing materials.
7. Plan your social media strategy.
8. Do a technology check.

Getting the Most out of a Professional Conference

1. Attend the Orientation for New Attendees.
2. Use the mobile conference apps (at NACADA use Guidebook)
3. Focus on Variety.
4. Read the Conference Materials and Do Some Preliminary Planning Before You Attend.
5. Use a Tag Team Approach to Accessing Concurrent Sessions.
6. Participate.
7. Venture into New Territory.
8. Introduce Yourself.

Questions to Get Their Advice

• How did you set yourself apart from others who wanted the same job?
• What is the best career advice you’ve ever received?
• What advice would you give to your younger self at the start of your career?
• What impresses you the most when you are considering hiring someone?

Ask a professor to read over your paper to avoid any basic inaccuracies that might undermine an otherwise good argument. A 20-minute conference paper is about 9-10 double-spaced pages — less, if you have visuals you need to talk the audience through. Don’t try to cram more in by simply talking fast.

As a rule of thumb, one page of double-spaced, 12-point text will take slightly less than two minutes to read at a reasonable pace, meaning that your paper should be about 8 double-spaced pages long.

As a rule of thumb, most people talk at about 100 words per minute, so in a 15 minute conference talk, you can say only about 1500 words. If you were reading aloud (which you shouldn’t), that would be about 6 pages of double-spaced text in 12-point font.

Given the normal speed of speech, you should consider a 10-minute talk the same as a 1500-word paper. Rule of thumb for the number of slides is 10 slides for 10 minutes, and many speakers will vary between 20 to 30 seconds or a minute per slide.

Word Counter: How Many Words Per Minute in a Speech (wpm)