Take It Off

I have attended my fair share of conferences and conventions in my career as a Certified Meeting Professional. I was just at a conference for faith-based meeting planners a couple of weeks ago. I have blogged on the over-the-top designs of conference nametags (see my blog What’s in a Name Badge?) and the fact that the accessories for some lanyards and nametag holders make me feel as though I might be tomorrow’s act at the Golden Nugget.

I have also planned enough conferences and conventions to know the value of the actual information associated with a nametag or lanyard. From across a crowded tradeshow floor, I can tell whether or not someone is a speaker, exhibitor, or attendee. I can tell you with certainty if they are decision-makers ready to do some serious business or if they are here to absorb the incredible education offered. I can very quickly spot someone from the outside who doesn’t belong here at all and could perhaps pose a security threat to someone I’m responsible for.

In a large convention center setting where there are multiple events happening at the same time, there is an unspoken reassurance when you step into an elevator with a group of people and spot someone with the same conference nametag on. As you walk across miles and miles of carpeted cement, often great conversations happen because you identify with another person as having basic common interests by attending the same event. Occasionally you bump into someone from the same state, with the same last name, or who holds the same credentials as you.

If you have read my blog for any length of time you know that I am just short of obsessed with safety. I make sure my events have a risk assessment, risk mitigation plan, communication plan, contingency plans, and emergency action plans in place. No, I’m not paranoid. I worked in medicine for many years before becoming an event planner. Also, my mother was a flight medic and firefighter before retiring, my sister is a critical care paramedic and firefighter, my father was an EMT before he passed, my husband does security at our church, and now my son is a corpsman in the Navy. Being prepared and taking care of others just runs in the family.

Thinking through the highest-risk situations and most probable emergency scenarios you might encounter at your event NOW while you are not in crisis and developing a plan on how you will respond NOW while adrenaline is not pumping through your veins, you’re not waiting on EMS, and someone has not been found unresponsive in their hotel room, is the BEST time to talk through how you want your team to respond, who you need to call, and all the steps that need to happen in between. Just sayin’.

But what never ceases to amaze me is the very simple act a person can perform that goes a LONG way to protecting themselves; especially if you are a single person traveling to a conference, especially if you have to walk any distance between your hotel room and the conference center, especially if you’re attending a citywide event where you leave the safety of the convention center/hotel connection and venture out into the real world for even just a moment.

Take off your nametag.

It may sound so silly, but if someone is looking to distract you, your name, your company’s name, and often where you’re from are written on your chest for all to see. Someone who can appear to be a friend could be a foe in disguise. It pains me to see people walking alone on a sidewalk with their nametag on, exhausted after hours of absorbing information and marching around the tradeshow floor, oblivious to their surroundings, nametag a glaring billboard around their neck….

I work in the faith-based, nonprofit, and association markets. Generally, the people I encounter have the best intentions in their hearts. However, the real world doesn’t operate with the same moral standards. I live outside of Chicago, where night after night after night, on the news, we hear about the number of people killed or wounded to the point we’ve become numb to the information.

Folks, here’s my public service announcement for the day. Please, when traversing between your hotel and the convention center, take off your nametag. You should do it so often and without thinking that the event security people should have to ask you for your credentials.

Do you have a conference safety tip? Please share it here or send me an email!
We need to help each other out!

Be sure to share this blog with those you know who attend conferences & conventions, your friends, and those you know who plan events! Oh, and like it too!

Do you partner with volunteers? Visit tracybaer.com to learn more!