You’ve signed up for a virtual event. Maybe you’re interested in the topic. Perhaps someone you admire is on the panel. Maybe, you believe that what you’ll hear will help you do your current job better, learn how to land your next job, or build your network.

So you registered. And without doubt, you’ve every intention of attending. 

The question is - will you reap all the benefits that you can? Or will you make (again) the mistakes you have probably been making since virtual events became the norm in 2019?

Mistake 1: You didn’t show up!

If you’re like most PhDs, there’s a 50-70% probability that you won’t show up for an event you signed up for. Perhaps you forgot. Perhaps something urgent, important and unavoidable happened. Perhaps you’re just tired and couldn't find the energy. 

I know I’ve been guilty of all of the above at some point or the other. However, the only legitimate reason to miss the event, is door #2 - something unavoidable that is both urgent (had to be done right then) and important (it MUST be done) came up. 

Here’s how you can avoid the other two situations. 

• Don’t forget: Put the event on your schedule and set yourself reminders. If you’re still using a manual calendar - a quick reminder - it’s 2022. Please, please go digital. Most event registration tools today put the event on your calendar and include the link to join. Most calendars can be set up to give you multiple reminders that work for you (from the day before to 15 mins prior), and sync across your devices. 

• Regain your energy: 

  • Consider - why does attending feel exhausting, difficult or scary? “Fear of the name increases the fear of the thing itself” - Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Name the cause, take a deep breath, accept it exists and tap into the determination that helped you do the 98th experiment after 97 failed. You can do this!

  • Get yourself a snack (preferably healthy) and hydrate (preferably sugar free)

  • Remind yourself why you’d registered in the first place. Close your eyes. Visualize that you have achieved the goal. How exciting is it? 

Mistake 2: You didn’t turn on your camera!

So you’ve gathered up your courage and your energy and you’ve joined the meeting. You quickly hit mute, and turn off your camera if it was automatically set up that way and you wait in the wings. Hoping to listen quietly, learn something, make no waves and move on.

Well - here are a few truths. 

1. It does not matter who you know. It only matters, who knows you!! Whether you want advice, references, introductions, or a job, it won’t matter how well you think you know someone, if they can’t even recall who you are.

2. It is a generally accepted fact that most people recall faces more easily than names. It is also generally accepted that after leaving an event where we meet many new people, we’ll only recall a small fraction of them.

3. At most virtual events, there are more participants than can comfortably fit on a single laptop screen. Further, most video platforms show the participants who have turned on their video on the first pages.

So if you attend an event but never turn on your camera, how much are you sabotaging your own chances of being recognized and remembered by those who should know you?

Mistake 3: You did not interact! 

In the last couple of years I’ve delivered talks and trainings at numerous universities and institutes in multiple countries. Invariably 20-50% of the participants jump off when they hear the “B”-word. 

Yes, you guessed right. BREAKOUT rooms. They get announced and we watch participation fall. At ProPhounD’s “Get Unstuck” seminar, 50% of the participants jumped off. 

Most PhDs know that different fields of science often disagree on the definitions and details of how things work. However, whether it is pedagogy, cognitive neuroscience, or cognitive psychology (the sciences of teaching and learning), they are agreed on one thing: Doing is more important than listening when learning.

By avoiding interaction, you immediately sabotage your own learning. 

You ALSO sabotage your memorability. Because guess what, other attendees (including speakers) “remember” through doing too! Whether it is listening to you speak, having a conversation with you in breakout rooms, or answering your questions - when they “do” they learn and they remember. 

So when you avoid the breakout rooms, you are giving yourself a triple whammy!

• Losing an opportunity to learn

• Losing an opportunity to network

• Losing an opportunity to be remembered

Do this instead!!

1. Show up

2. Turn on your camera

3. Interact with the speaker, panelists, and attendees