Latest / Back in 10 / Episode 13: Meeting Mayhem - Conference-Ready or Not?

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Episode 13: Meeting Mayhem - Conference-Ready or Not? · Back in 10

• 0:00
  Chris Stone: Alright, ladies and gentlemen, boys and
• 0:03
  girls, children of all ages.
• 0:06
  It is the Bostonian Bombshells in 3, 2, 1.
• 0:12
  Jen Steadman: Back in 10 is a podcast for dental leaders who do it all
• 0:15
  and need 10 minutes to themselves.
• 0:17
  Savanah Carlson: It's about real conversations, not curated ones, the
• 0:20
  kind that happen off the clock, behind closed doors, and between the chaos of
• 0:24
  running a practice and running life.
• 0:27
  Jen Steadman: Hosted by Savanah Carlson and Jen Steadman, two women who've led,
• 0:32
  learned, and laughed through it all.
• 0:34
  Savanah Carlson: This show brings honest stories, leadership truths, and
• 0:37
  the occasional sassy take on what it really means to lead in dentistry today.
• 0:41
  Jen Steadman: Because sometimes the best leadership happens when
• 0:45
  you step away for 10 minutes.
• 0:47
  Savanah Carlson: This is back in 10.
• 0:54
  Hello everyone.
• 0:56
  Welcome to back in 10.
• 0:58
  I'm Savannah.
• 1:00
  And I'm Jen, and I am.
• 1:03
  I am beyond flattered that I was just introduced as a, a Boston bombshell.
• 1:09
  Wow.
• 1:10
  We wow.
• 1:10
  Wizard.
• 1:11
  Damn.
• 1:12
  I know.
• 1:13
  He said he was thinking about that one all morning.
• 1:15
  You were thinking about us, Chris.
• 1:17
  Thanks.
• 1:17
  No, listen, we, I knew I had the recording.
• 1:20
  Chris Stone: I knew I had to come up with a knockout intro.
• 1:25
  So
• 1:25
  Savanah Carlson: that was, I mean, that was Knockout was good.
• 1:28
  You dropped that bomb like it's hot.
• 1:31
  Chris Stone: Aha.
• 1:32
  The bombshells.
• 1:33
  Ooh, I love it.
• 1:34
  With the accent too.
• 1:35
  There you go.
• 1:36
  Bombshells.
• 1:36
  Hmm.
• 1:37
  Yeah.
• 1:38
  Savanah Carlson: Boston Bombshells.
• 1:40
  Hell yeah.
• 1:41
  Yeah.
• 1:41
  There you go.
• 1:43
  I'm seeing some future swag.
• 1:44
  Okay.
• 1:45
  Yeah, I bet.
• 1:45
  After this, I, I, no, probably during this whole recording
• 1:49
  I'll be thinking about like.
• 1:50
  Different images like grenades, bombshells, how can we do this?
• 1:53
  Like that's what happens when you have a marketing brain.
• 1:56
  You just see something and you're, you always think, how can I improve
• 2:00
  this for my user experience?
• 2:03
  And then how will it impact everyone else?
• 2:07
  Mm-hmm.
• 2:09
  Mm-hmm.
• 2:10
  That's what I do with
• 2:10
  my left side of my brain.
• 2:13
  Jen Steadman: Yes.
• 2:14
  It's a beautiful left side of your brain too.
• 2:15
  I do have to add.
• 2:17
  Savanah Carlson: Sometimes it's a little scary, but.
• 2:21
  All public products are great.
• 2:24
  Chris Stone: She's a Butte.
• 2:25
  Yeah, she's a Butte clock.
• 2:27
  A real Butte.
• 2:29
  Savanah Carlson: Oh my goodness.
• 2:31
  Now, I know what reference you're making, and Jen might know what reference you
• 2:35
  were making, but for the audience, what reference were you making, Chris?
• 2:39
  Speaker 4: Christmas vacation, Christmas vacation.
• 2:44
  Chris Stone: I'm in the Jelly of the Month Club, so Christmas vacation is timeless.
• 2:49
  It doesn't have to be Thanksgiving or Christmas to watch the movie.
• 2:53
  It really doesn't.
• 2:54
  And every time I watch a movie, I pick up something different
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: when we start into our holiday podcast.
• 3:02
  Oh man.
• 3:03
  We have to have something about holiday desserts because Savannah
• 3:06
  has a sweet tooth problem.
• 3:08
  Me
• 3:09
  Chris Stone: too.
• 3:10
  Savanah Carlson: Honestly, I could look at a brownie and get diabetes.
• 3:13
  I just love
• 3:15
  sweets that much.
• 3:16
  Jen Steadman: Addie made a trifle for the 4th of July.
• 3:20
  And used brownies instead of cake.
• 3:23
  So it was,
• 3:24
  oh, brilliant
• 3:25
  Brownies and Chocolate Pudding and Cool Whip and score bars and it was
• 3:31
  money and then it doesn't get soggy the cake.
• 3:34
  So then you can make it well ahead of time and it, it will
• 3:37
  get that cake's consistency after like 24 hours in the fridge.
• 3:40
  Queen, it was Addie, I know you're listening to this.
• 3:43
  That was brilliant.
• 3:44
  Auntie Savannah would love for you to make her that as a treat.
• 3:49
  We're up this morning to talk to you all about conferences.
• 3:57
  Woo-hoo.
• 3:58
  Yeah.
• 3:59
  What's good?
• 3:59
  What's bad?
• 4:00
  What should you bring?
• 4:01
  What should you leave behind?
• 4:03
  Should you bring an extra suitcase for all that swag?
• 4:07
  Yeah.
• 4:07
  Conferencing is conference upon us, right?
• 4:10
  Yeah, it's starting up.
• 4:11
  And Savannah, you and I have been to many, um.
• 4:16
  Even before we met many years ago and then together and yeah.
• 4:21
  Sabina, you're a great roomie.
• 4:23
  I do have to say
• 4:24
  Speaker 3: you are too.
• 4:25
  We, Jen, I travel very well together.
• 4:28
  I would, I know in the past we've discussed that we also show up to the
• 4:32
  airport wearing the same exact outfits.
• 4:35
  Savanah Carlson: Yeah.
• 4:36
  Weird.
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  Like
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  Speaker 3: generally, but we also travel very well together.
• 4:39
  We like to share our dishes 'cause we like to try new foods and Yeah.
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  And we're totally fine going back to our rooms early at night to put on
• 4:49
  under eye masks and watch Titanic.
• 4:52
  Yes.
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  That might happened.
• 4:55
  That might have happened.
• 4:57
  Savanah Carlson: Yeah.
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  That, that might have.
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  And just.
• 4:59
  Kind of roll 'em with the punches because let's be honest, there's lots of things
• 5:03
  to look at while you're traveling.
• 5:05
  Yeah.
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  And lots of different people.
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  And I think that's one of the things with conferences too, especially if you have to
• 5:10
  travel, is like getting prepared and going to the airport early and we're, y'all
• 5:16
  know we're from Boston and Logan Airport.
• 5:20
  Like you have to get there significantly earlier than any other airport.
• 5:24
  I swear it is not for the faint of heart.
• 5:29
  I think one of the things with even just getting ready for conferences, I think
• 5:33
  is, you know, talking to someone about it, finding your friend, find a buddy,
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  just, you know, get excited about it.
• 5:40
  Talk about your outfits, because let's be honest, that's a thing.
• 5:43
  It's like, what are you wearing?
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  Is there events that you have to prepare for?
• 5:47
  Um, you know, is there night activities and different things that you're doing?
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  And just kind of understanding what's going on.
• 5:55
  Um.
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  I will say I've also been that newbie going to a conference for the first time
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  and have no stinking clue what I'm doing.
• 6:01
  So it's okay to not really know and just go with it.
• 6:07
  And you just have to be, be prepared for that.
• 6:10
  Yeah, and it it with the, having a conference buddy, I always like to look
• 6:15
  at the size of the conference that I'm going to and that will really put some
• 6:20
  pressure on me to whether or not I can.
• 6:23
  Meet everyone I need to meet in a, in the short amount of time I'm there.
• 6:27
  Or if I have to discuss with my NCE buddy.
• 6:30
  Okay, look, we need to talk to these 50 different dental industry
• 6:35
  vendors, sponsor speakers.
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  I can't do it alone.
• 6:38
  Let's compare lists and see if we can divide and conquer and accomplish
• 6:43
  a lot in a minimal amount of time.
• 6:46
  Um.
• 6:48
  'cause once you start to talk to a certain vendor or an industry leader, when you're
• 6:53
  having a, a really strong conversation that is, uh, meaningful, which you
• 6:59
  should, when you meet these vendors at conferences, uh, the time just flies you.
• 7:05
  I, I would go to a specific vendor saying like, I'm just gonna stop in.
• 7:09
  I'm just gonna say hi, see if anything is new with the app.
• 7:13
  And then I'm gonna be on my merry way 45 minutes later.
• 7:17
  I'm still at that booth.
• 7:19
  And to your, um, feedback on being a newbie.
• 7:26
  At any type of event.
• 7:28
  In that scenario, it's, I found it very valuable to go into all the
• 7:32
  public online forums ahead of time to see what the chatter is, see what
• 7:37
  the vibe is, making sure it's my kind of vibe if I'm gonna jive with, with
• 7:42
  who's gonna be there or if I'm gonna have to like, be my lone wolf and get
• 7:46
  nitty gritty and do what I need to do.
• 7:48
  Um, but those online forums are really, really helpful.
• 7:52
  As a newcomer to any type of study club, meeting, conference and figuring out a
• 7:58
  game plan for yourself for being there.
• 8:01
  Jen Steadman: Yeah, and I think, look, when you're a newbie going
• 8:05
  to a conference, because Savannah, you and I have been there.
• 8:08
  Mm-hmm.
• 8:09
  You, if you are an introvert, you need to be prepared.
• 8:14
  To be an extrovert when you first get there.
• 8:18
  Right?
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  You don't need to talk to everybody.
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  I'm not saying, you know, showing show up in all sequences, but sit down at a
• 8:25
  table and just say like, hi, I'm Jen.
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  I'm from Boston.
• 8:30
  You know, what do you do?
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  Tell me a little bit about yourself.
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  Mm-hmm.
• 8:33
  And have even like, have a few questions that you want to ask just to get to
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  know people kind of prepared in your head because it'll make it a little bit
• 8:41
  easier to come out if you've thought about those, you know, um, for dental
• 8:45
  specifically, I would say, you know, like what type of practice are you in?
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  How long have you been at your practice?
• 8:51
  You know, are you generally your specialty?
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  Um, are you a member of a local study club that you have, you know.
• 8:57
  Um, what classes are you taking?
• 9:00
  Just if you have some of those in your head, especially if you're an introvert
• 9:04
  and if you're nervous about going, it just makes it so much easier just
• 9:08
  to come out and be like, hi, I'm Jen.
• 9:10
  You know?
• 9:11
  Um,
• 9:11
  Savanah Carlson: and we're not asking you to befriend everyone you meet.
• 9:15
  No.
• 9:16
  Being an acquaintance I is absolutely fine.
• 9:20
  You don't have to become best friends with everyone you have a conversation with.
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  That's not the point of going to conferences.
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  You're there for.
• 9:27
  Hopefully you're there for education, um, and or find products that are gonna
• 9:31
  make your practice successful, but.
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  The bonus of going to any type of meeting and conference is
• 9:39
  making those network connections.
• 9:40
  But we're not telling you, you must do this to be successful.
• 9:44
  Not the case.
• 9:45
  Jen Steadman: No.
• 9:46
  And look, it's also just to, like, if you're walking in the halls, you might
• 9:50
  see a familiar face and that's good, you know, just to kind of wave and just smile.
• 9:54
  Um, smiling is a big thing.
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  If you just walk around and smile, people are gonna say hi.
• 9:59
  Just.
• 10:00
  Just smile.
• 10:01
  Right.
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  And I think that's a huge thing.
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  So kind of, you know, preparing for that aspect of it, um, is definitely helpful.
• 10:09
  I think, you know, clothes are a completely different thing.
• 10:12
  The different things that you're bringing.
• 10:14
  Um, Savannah, I have a question for you.
• 10:17
  What is the, your top three things that you never forget to pack for a conference?
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  Like it's your must.
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  Savanah Carlson: A sweater or a blazer of some, like some
• 10:28
  business casual sweater or blazer.
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  They, they don't lie to you when they say it's gonna get
• 10:33
  cold in that conference center.
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  It gets freaking frigid in most meetings and conference centers just
• 10:40
  to keep it comfortable for the vendors and speakers in the bright lights
• 10:43
  and the energy of having to speak.
• 10:47
  Um, so sweater or blazer, um, I. Would bring my laptop or my iPad with the
• 10:53
  attached keyboard for note taking.
• 10:56
  Uh, I've transitioned out of traditional note taking because I wanna make sure
• 11:00
  my notes are accessible at the end of the day so I can send a follow
• 11:06
  up to my doctor and or to other.
• 11:10
  Team leads saying, these are the really cool things that I've learned today.
• 11:13
  Can't wait to to touch base when we get back.
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  Just give them a highlight of what I'm learning.
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  That's why I do everything digitally now.
• 11:22
  Um, that's number two.
• 11:25
  And then number three, an an extra bottle.
• 11:29
  Anything like this, a travel bottle to refill on your own so
• 11:33
  you're not having to find cups and glasses all the time everywhere.
• 11:38
  I think those are my top three things.
• 11:39
  Yeah.
• 11:39
  Hydration.
• 11:40
  It gets really dry in, in the hotels and everything.
• 11:44
  So yeah, those are my top three I think.
• 11:46
  Good.
• 11:47
  Love them.
• 11:47
  Yeah.
• 11:47
  What are yours?
• 11:48
  Number one, every time I travel is my travel pillow, but it's not,
• 11:53
  you know, it's not a like a. It is a mini like foam pill pillow.
• 11:59
  It's a memory foam pillow.
• 12:00
  I have a really bad like neck and back, and if I have an awful night's sleep,
• 12:04
  I am no good to the world the next day.
• 12:07
  So I bring that little pillow with me everywhere.
• 12:11
  It's like toddler size, but it works perfectly for me.
• 12:14
  So that's number one.
• 12:16
  Anytime I go anywhere.
• 12:18
  Number two, similar to you, like I really wanna have all my
• 12:21
  notes and everything electronic.
• 12:24
  Because I'm a Mac user, I, everything is connected, so it's like, whether
• 12:28
  it's my iPad, my phone, I always make sure that I have like one
• 12:31
  document with all of my notes.
• 12:33
  Um, and usually I'll separate it by day.
• 12:36
  So that way I am like, wait, what happened?
• 12:38
  Because usually I can think of, I'm like, okay, I know that I talked
• 12:40
  to them, when did I talk to them?
• 12:43
  Versus it just, just separated out by day is usually a little bit easier.
• 12:47
  The third thing, an extra like phone charger, a device
• 12:52
  charger, um, because I'll say.
• 12:57
  Yeah, an external charger.
• 12:58
  Yeah.
• 12:58
  Because what I found is, especially in different conference centers, like
• 13:02
  with wifi and all that stuff, and if you don't have good connection,
• 13:05
  it just sucks your battery.
• 13:07
  So I always bring in extra like external brick charger everywhere.
• 13:12
  Mm-hmm.
• 13:12
  Even for my watch too, like my Apple watch, like I have like the
• 13:16
  one that has the attachment on it.
• 13:17
  That's been one of the best things.
• 13:19
  And uh, I've also made friends by offering my charger to people
• 13:24
  that their phones are dead.
• 13:25
  So there
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: you go.
• 13:27
  I have seen more often now at meetings and conferences, they
• 13:32
  do offer charging stations too.
• 13:36
  So look at the maps for that.
• 13:37
  But I am with you in bringing that external charger when it comes to a tire.
• 13:43
  Let's, let's just quickly jump a little bit into that.
• 13:47
  Yeah.
• 13:48
  Um, you mentioned that it can get a bit chilly, um mm-hmm.
• 13:53
  I always err on the side of business casual for every type
• 13:56
  of dental meeting and conference.
• 13:58
  It just makes me feel confident and put my best self forward as opposed to showing
• 14:03
  up in leggings or like my gym wear.
• 14:07
  And there, you know what?
• 14:08
  No hate, no hate to anyone who does that 'cause your're on your off time.
• 14:13
  But are you on your off time or are you on your professional time?
• 14:18
  Something to think about.
• 14:20
  Appearance is, is.
• 14:22
  Big when it comes to attending these conferences if you are
• 14:25
  in a leadership position and it adds to you being a professional.
• 14:32
  Savanah Carlson: Yeah, and I think, you know, with that, you wanna make sure
• 14:35
  that whatever you're wearing, even like.
• 14:39
  If you're not wearing gym attire, you're still comfortable.
• 14:42
  So like, don't wear pants that are too tight that if you sit down, your button's
• 14:46
  gonna pop, or you know it's gonna cut you the wrong way and not be comfortable.
• 14:49
  'cause you're gonna be sitting for a while.
• 14:51
  Right?
• 14:52
  I've been there, been been there.
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: I've made the mistake of wearing Spanx and
• 14:58
  then a jumpsuit over the Spanx.
• 15:00
  Do you know how long it takes to get into the bathroom and have to.
• 15:04
  To take a tinkle, oh, and take the Spanx down.
• 15:06
  I literally had to open the door and say, I'm sorry, this is awkward.
• 15:12
  Is anyone comfortable unzipping my jumpsuit?
• 15:14
  For me, I had, I mean.
• 15:16
  God knows how I got it on that morning, but getting it off, I
• 15:19
  was like, I need, I need help.
• 15:20
  Who's gonna, who in this restroom can help me right now?
• 15:23
  Unzip this jumpsuit?
• 15:24
  No, that's an urgent matter.
• 15:25
  Be very mindful of spans.
• 15:28
  Jen Steadman: Yes.
• 15:28
  And just what you're wearing.
• 15:30
  Right, because, and I've found this before that like I'd have a jumpsuit
• 15:33
  on and then a blazer, like I'm very comfortable like in a blazer.
• 15:36
  It's like my.
• 15:37
  You know, it's like a, I don't know, just makes you feel a little bit
• 15:41
  more confident, like, and I could feel like completely put together if
• 15:44
  I just have like a jeans, jeans and a t-shirt on and have a blazer on.
• 15:48
  But having a blazer, a badge, your bag, and a jumpsuit and a belt on.
• 15:54
  Girl, that's easily gonna take me at least three minutes to pull
• 15:56
  down and drop trow so I can go pee.
• 15:59
  And when I gotta go, I gotta go.
• 16:01
  So be mindful of where the restrooms are.
• 16:04
  Definitely look for those, because sometimes they are in Timbuk two, I've
• 16:09
  been there, that they're in Timbuk two.
• 16:12
  And your shoes.
• 16:13
  Speaker 3: Comfy shoes, ALS looking ahead at the size of the space in the venue.
• 16:19
  Some venues are tiny, like it's a hop, skip, and a jump to get from
• 16:23
  your room to the the event center.
• 16:25
  Totally fine.
• 16:27
  Some places it's a marathon trying to get out to where you need to go.
• 16:32
  Being very mindful of your footwear and bring band-aids, you'll get blisters.
• 16:39
  I always have extra band-aids and blister pads just
• 16:42
  Savanah Carlson: in case a pair of sneakers is totally fine too.
• 16:45
  You know, it's totally fine and it's in right now.
• 16:50
  A nice pair of like crisp white sneakers like it's in.
• 16:54
  All right, everyone.
• 16:55
  Our break ended, oh, over five minutes ago and we are still chatting
• 16:59
  in the hallway, but you know, we're not done talking about this.
• 17:02
  So join us later this week for part two of our meeting Mayhem Sessions.
• 17:08
  Thanks for spending a few minutes with us on back in 10.
• 17:11
  Jen Steadman: If something made you laugh, nod or feel a little more
• 17:14
  human, share it with a friend and make sure that you're subscribed.
• 17:17
  Savanah Carlson: You can also follow us on Instagram at back in
• 17:20
  10 Pod for more behind the scenes updates and probably a little chaos.
• 17:25
  Jen Steadman: We're not here to have it all figured out.
• 17:28
  We are just here to tell you the things that we wish someone had told us
• 17:32
  Savanah Carlson: and remind you that leadership doesn't
• 17:34
  have to be perfect, just real.
• 17:37
  We'll be back in 10.