Rather than believe the (rather biased) opinions of long-time Connect attendees, we thought it would be best to check in with some first timers to see what they wanted to get out of the annual employee communications conference and whether or not it met their professional development goals.
Elizabeth Rasberry, Cox Communications
With limited funds for professional development, what made you pick the Connect conference?
I started my communications career in external so being relatively new to all things internal, I researched various conferences and training courses. I heard great things about this conference, so I registered.
What were you hoping to learn at Connect?
I’m looking to learn tactics that I can use immediately in my day to day work. I’m also looking forward to connecting with IC professionals to learn firsthand about what has worked (or not) from people in the trenches every day serving internal stakeholders.
Did Connect meet your expectations? Come up short? Exceed them?
Connect exceeded my expectations. I have a notebook FULL of notes from the conference. The speakers were excellent and I met so many great people. One thing I didn’t expect? That attending would be like a group therapy session. It was so nice to be validated and connect with people facing some of the same challenges.
Can you share one key learning from your favorite session? How will you use this in your work?
I learned so much in the Numbers to Stories session. I could have stayed for 2 more hours! I have set aside time this week to reformat one of my reports so that it’s easier to read and incorporates the 4Cs (clean, color, contrast, context). Jackie was excellent!
Would you recommend Connect to other communicators? If so, what one thing would you say to convince them to attend?
This conference is a must attend! If you communicate to employees and want to sharpen your skills and meet some rock stars, you should definitely attend.