If this is your first year attending Autodesk University, I would like to share some tips for you to make this a more pleasant experience.
1. Wear comfortable clothing and walking shoes. You will be walking long distances between your hotel room, the classes, and for meals. Dress business casual - sneakers and jeans are fine with a company logo shirt. Shorts, sandals, or beachwear are too casual. Suits are too uncomfortable.
2. Carry bottled water with you. Like I said, you will be walking alot and Vegas is a desert town. Stay hydrated.
3. The hotels in Vegas do not want you to stay in your hotel room. They want you to go out to eat, etc. so you will get sucked into the gambling tables. If you call the front desk and ask, they will deliver a small fridge (and even a microwave) to your room for free or a small charge. This is worth it. You can keep cold drinks and snacks in there. So when you get back to your room and want to kick back on your laptop you won't have to go out for basic refreshment. Most people don't know they can ask for this basic equipment and the hotel doesn't want you to know that it is an option.
4. Carry business cards. This is a networking event. You will meet people. They will ask you for a business card. If you don't have a business card, you can print some out using card stock and a printer on your own. It takes just a few minutes, will save time and make you look better at the conference.
5. Plan for down-time. By Wednesday your head will be spinning and you will be exhausted from all the classes, the walking, the evening parties, and the ding-ding-ding of the slot machines. Schedule some time for you and your companions to explore Vegas or just take some time to read or watch a DVD in your room. By pacing yourself, you will get a lot more from your Thursday and Friday classes.
6. If you don't like a class, leave. There is nothing that says you have to stay for an entire class...maybe you already know what he is saying, maybe he is a poor communicator, maybe you can't follow the class because it is too advanced. Switch rooms. The class schedule is in your little badge holder....take it out and see where else you can go. Switch to another class. I have jumped to as many as four different classes in the same hour. It's great! I get a taste for different instructors and if I find someone I like, I may check out one of his other classes later that week or get his business card, so I can email him later.
7. Don't be shy! Feel free to walk up to an instructor and introduce yourself. Ask questions (but don't be a nuisance). Be sure to tell someone if you liked their class and why. Fill out the comment sheets at the end of every class. Autodesk studies those and gives them full attention.
8. Check out the expo hall about two hours before it closes. If you run a user's group, go around to all the vendors as they are packing up and see if they have any extra freebies and give-aways you can have for your next user group meeting. The vendors don't want to have to ship this stuff back to their office and by giving it to a user group, they are gaining some extra exposure (free advertising!) for their company. Your user group members will love you!
9. Write notes on the back of the business cards you collect. When you get home, you will have a bunch of business cards and no idea who these people are. Make a note on the business card, so you know who they are and why you have their card.
10. Take good notes. At the end of every day, organize the top ten things you learned that day. You will be amazed by what gems you have gleaned. It may not seem like a big deal at the time, but by the end of the week, you will have a nice collection of tips. You can use your notes to create a Powerpoint presentation to share when you get back to the office or at your next user group meeting.
I won't be at AU this year, but I will be flying in to Vegas on Friday for a softball tournament. My team, the Surro Sluggers, took second place in our division. We will be playing in the World Softball Tournament in Vegas the weekend after AU. My team is an all-woman team. I play catcher. If you would like to get together with me that weekend, email me. I'd love to meet up with old friends and new.
