In just one week the #SitecoreSYM party opens its doors in Nashville and the Fishtank team is fired up to welcome folks with some special surprises for attendees! Make sure to go say hi to Dan, Derek, Theresa, Jeff, David, and Carson who will be repping the team!

For some of them, this is their first Sitecore Symposium and so here are 10 tips from my experience at previous events:

1. If the party is rocking, those next-day morning sessions can be rough. The speakers lined up to speak at the morning-after slot are probably tired and wondering if anybody will be there. Bring some energy with you into that room and help them out! That smiling face does wonders to help folks get over the after-party lag.
2. Treat yo' self! The partner area has a lot of booths and folks who want to try to scan as many badges as possible, and they will trade you good loot for that email address. Who cares if you aren't actually planning on buying the partner services! Often, those partners will just be happy to have you bring their logo around different places. I still have my Hedgehog/Symposium water bottle from almost a decade ago in my van!
3. Get those phones out! I know, it seems counter-intuitive to be on your phone during a riveting session, but there are a lot of folks who can't be at the event and want to know what's happening. Take pictures, share on social media, write an article... let others see what you saw! (Except at the party... maybe keep the phones away for that one 😉)
4. Find a bag. I mentioned the swag earlier, but often it can start to add up with all those water bottles and charging cables and little rubber ducks... You'll want something big enough to put it all in. Some booths might even have bags as part of their swag! (hint hint)
5. Make the most of breakfast and lunch. This can be hard for most people (including me) to randomly sit down with strangers at an event and start chatting them up. However, I found I always learned so much from just talking to people about what they were seeing in the sessions or in their real experiences.
6. The Tuesday reception is worth the time. Free food and drink and you get to hang out and meet with a lot of your friends without the pressure of having to go to sessions or lose your entire evening. It's early enough not to interfere with some late dinner plans with your team and late enough so you don't feel bad if you take a trip to the bar. It's not as big as the party, but it's a nice kickoff.
7. See the city. Make sure you block off some time for getting to know Nashville. There is some absolutely insanely good food there and the music is amazing. When I was there a few years back I really enjoyed visiting different venues, though I missed out on getting into the Bluebird Cafe since it was closed for a private event.
8. Know your limits. I am a person who needs to get a good amount of sleep to function and I'm not a big drinker (if at all). There is a lot of opportunity to party and go out late and if you can handle that, that's super, but you need to know yourself and what you need to recharge for the next day.
9. Thank the speakers. If you really liked a presentation, make sure to go up and let them know, even if you don't have questions! It feels really great to get off the stage and hear good things about what you just spent weeks (if not months) preparing. There is a lot of marketing stuff that is happening and people are ultimately pitching products or services, but usually the individuals just want to do a great job and tell a story or share their experience. That little bit of kindness can be huge!
10. Find Tamas Varga. He is one of the kindest humans you will ever meet and truly believes in the community around Sitecore. Tell him about something awesome you've been working on, or ask him what he's been seeing from others. Tamas always has a great story to tell!

Have fun next week everyone!