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Subject:Re: FWD: About training opportunities From:Dan Hall <Dan -at- cooper -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 14 Dec 2000 08:03:45 -0800
Anon has stumbled into another prickly mess.
>My company sees no value to itself in its employees speaking
> at a conference.
Wow! What a great loss for your company. What "poverty of imagination!"
Tom hit it right on the head when he suggested that you need to explain the
benefits of being a presenter at a conference rather than a mere attendee.
First, there's the PR benefit. Your company's name is inextricably linked to
an excellent presentation by an expert on _insert topic_. Generally,
conferences ask for presenters who are on the cutting edge, or who have
knowledge/expertise in a particular area. What better opportunity will you
have to link your company and _topic_ excellence in the minds of the
attendees? Being present and visible is key here. It's why all those three
person companies with negative revenue go further in debt to have a booth at
Comdex.
Which brings us to the (potential) business benefit. It isn't only (or even
mostly) worker bees who attend conferences. Decision makers are there too.
When a company starts looking for someone to _insert service here_, they're
going to look for someone who can do the job right. Your outstanding
presentation from the conference will be remembered. And it is quite likely
that if your company is seen as a company of experts, you're going to get
the call (other things being equal.)
Then there are opportunities for recruiting. Passing out business cards as a
presenter can be much more effective than doing the same as an attendee.
Most people want to work at companies that are tops, and one measure of that
(rightly or not) can be your participation as a presenter. Passing out
presentation notes with your company's contact information is another good
idea.
Beyond this, (and I would argue that this is the main point) there is the
benefit your employer receives from your research into your topic. This
actual expertise can become a valuable internal resource. At Cooper, we
often take presentations from public speaking engagements that explain our
company goals and methods and use them as training tools for new employees.
In fact, if you can swing it, giving an excellent internal presentation on a
topic in which you are well versed can be a springboard to selling the idea
of external presentations.
There's more, but that's a good start.
HTH
Dan
dan -at- cooper -dot- com
All opinions in this e-mail are solely mine, and
Cooper Interaction Design disavows all knowledge
of and responsibility for them.
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