I think we are all agreed that it is important to stay up to date with the industry and our profession.
Websites like this one, podcasts, videos, professional body membership and online learning platforms make it easier than ever to do this. We can choose what we focus on, when we want, and where we want.
As a result, our continuing professional development can be more than just a box-ticking exercise.
Over the years I have attended many in-person events, including conferences, to stay up to date – and they are still a great place to go for high-quality CPD. But the landscape has changed; we have more choice with the rise of online conferences.
Online: engaged or distracted?
I’ve been fortunate to chair The Paraplanner Conference for the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment since 2016. We returned to gathering in person in 2024 after a few years meeting online.
Online conferences are a fantastic way of reaching a global audience and enabling people to engage, even if they cannot justify being out of the office for a day (or more). We can hear from incredible speakers from other countries that would have been beyond the budget of many conferences.
Online conferences are a very good thing. But are we really engaging with the content? Even in ‘cameras on’ meetings we are prone to distraction from notifications: email, Microsoft Teams, Slack, WhatsApp.
Despite our best efforts we are easily distracted. That momentary glance at a message could mean we miss a key point or nuance as we refocus.
Attending an event where our camera is off requires even more discipline. As the silent fly on the wall, we are freed from the social norms that prevent us from attending to messages or even household chores while we ‘engage’.
We might be physically present, but our engagement could be quite limited. Often, we do not seem to see this as a problem because we can just catch up with the recording (or even ask our AI assistant to summarise it).
In-person: a crutch for the easily distracted?
With a bit of discipline, we can successfully park the notifications, concerns of the moment, and tasks that demand attention for an hour or so. But, speaking for myself, it can be more challenging to do this for a full, or even a half, day. This is one area where in-person conferences can help.
Our field of view, and our focus, will be on the speaker. We will be attentive to their words, posture, and message. It’s unlikely that we will have messages pop up in our line of sight or feel the urge to do the ironing.
Attending in-person conferences requires more investment than their online equivalent – not just financially. Time to get there, time away from work, time away from home. Our time is limited, and we must invest it wisely.
If in-person conferences are merely a crutch for the easily distracted, their days should be numbered. However, I think they can be far more than this, if you put the effort in.
