Conferences are one of the best ways to build new skills, sharpen your strategies and make valuable connections – but getting there usually means getting your manager’s sign-off first. The key to a strong pitch is showing how attending will help you do your job better, support your organization’s goals and solve a real problem you’re facing. Cost matters too: attending virtually can be a more budget-friendly option, cutting out travel, accommodation and time away from the office – but even then, your manager will still want to see a clear case for why it’s worth it.

Below is a list of suggestions that may help:

• Review the Cannexus schedule and highlight the sessions you plan to attend and how they will benefit your work. Be specific. (e.g. I will learn new approaches to supporting neurodiverse clients or I will learn how to apply AI to enhance my productivity);
• If they apply to you, find out what if any Continuing Education Units/Credits will be granted from associations where you hold a membership for attending the conference sessions;
• Download the sample letter (*docx) to request attending Cannexus and customize it for your situation;
• If necessary, have a plan for who will cover for you at work while you are at the conference;
• Research the keynote speakers or other presenters and have specific questions lined up relevant to their topics and your work;
• Find out if other colleagues are attending the conference to demonstrate it is a must-attend event. Suggest to your manager that networking – whether virtual or in-person – with these peers can be invaluable;
• Point out that the exhibit hall gives you direct access to solution providers and their product experts – conversations that would otherwise take weeks of vendor calls to arrange;
• Post on social media such as LinkedIn about the conference speakers, agenda or the overall experience you anticipate, and then share some what others are saying about Cannexus with your manager;
• Have specific follow-up objectives and strategies you plan to implement after Cannexus (e.g. creating a strategy to engage faculty career champions or updating the content of your resume workshop);
• Have a plan to share what you have learned. (e.g. You will spend 20 minutes at the next staff meeting speaking about new trends presented at Cannexus; or write an article for your in-house newsletter or an association newsletter. Multiply the company’s investment.);
• Justify the cost of Cannexus by comparing it to other educational courses and offerings. Many alternatives will prove to be more time-consuming and expensive; and
• Highlight the value to be derived from this year’s hybrid Cannexus including access to all of the virtual session recordings for three months