Тop 5 benefits of attending a virtual conference

Over the last few years, virtual conferences have grown in popularity, and recent events have raised demand for virtual access to business expertise and interactive sessions conducted by professionals. When face-to-face meetings aren’t possible, virtual meetings are a terrific option – and they come with several specific perks.

We all may miss face-to-face meetings and the interpersonal element they provide. Virtual conferences, on the other hand, are just as useful as traditional ones in many aspects. You may also get the most out of a virtual event by taking the appropriate steps to maximize the experience.

What can you expect if you attend a conference online? And what are the benefits? In this blog, as we prepare for our LEO 5th Conference “United We Grow”, we’ll discuss the Тop 5 benefits of attending a virtual conference.

1. Virtual is global

Access to physical conferences is limited for many participants due to travel time, scheduling, and economic constraints. The pool of potential presenters is also limited due to the same. There is no need to travel and spend on flights and accommodations while attending an online event. No flights to worry about being canceled, no constraints on where you may go, no visa, packing, or other travel hassles, no time away from your job or family.

Lower fees coupled with the possibility to join from anywhere results in increased attendance… from all over the world! More attendees, and more diverse audiences, mean the standard of the networking experience is higher.

In a virtual conference, speaker variety may be significantly greater. They may participate from anywhere with an internet connection, and the option to pre-record eliminates time zone concerns.

For instance, our 5^th conference includes speakers not only from the US, but also from Germany, Italy, Nigeria, offering a truly global perspective for our LEO community.

2. Lower cost, greater value

Not only do virtual events save time, but they also save money. Getting the funding to attend traditional conferences may be challenging, and many organizations can only send one representative. Virtual conference tickets enable any company to sign up a larger number of employees.

At a face-to-face event, with multiple rooms and having to run from one session to another, it might be difficult to have the time to take everything in. Virtual conferences allow you to watch recorded sessions after the event, giving your ticket even more value.

LEO’s 5th conference is just $55 and $85 if you wish to receive your CEU certificate, so all team members can participate – a fantastic opportunity to learn together and discuss ways we grow as a profession and as individuals contributing to it.

3. Flexibility

If there is one thing that the last two years have taught us, it’s that flexibility is key! Work from home, study from home, and now your living room can double as a conference room.

Virtual events eliminate the need for conflicting speaker tracks, requiring participants to select between sessions. Furthermore, most virtual conferences provide session recordings, allowing you to fit them into your busy schedule and listen when it’s convenient for you.

4. Networking

Networking is more vital than ever, and virtual conferences make it simpler to do so than regular in-person meetings.

When we say simpler, we mean it will be easier to interact with experts who share your interests and concerns, and, most importantly, you will be able to keep in touch.

You may utilize our platform to communicate with our sponsors, join general conversation, and meet other attendees at the LEO’s 5th conference. It’s entirely up to you how much networking you do!

5. Interaction

You no longer need to be in a massive conference hall with hundreds of people to accomplish self-growth with virtual events. Through LinkedIn connections, chat, and Q&A sessions, you can now motivate, learn, and share information.

Join our upcoming conference United We Grow on June 23 and 24 for the opportunity to collaborate and explore this important topic, as well as discuss how we can be more connected and supportive of one another on a personal and professional level.

Our past conference feedback

It was a wonderful virtual conference! I attended 4 of the 5 LEO conferences and learned a wealth of knowledge every time!

I found this conference to be very enlightening. I truly believe that “united we grow” and I am looking forward to getting more involved in this fascinating industry to help raise the bar in our profession.

I found the conference very motivating. Many of us freelancers work solo and rarely encounter colleagues in the field. It is encouraging to know there are many out there pushing to have our work recognized and pushing forward to advance our training.

I really enjoyed the conference. I am not sure if this was intentional, but advocacy was a big theme, and I am leaving the conference inspired to apply some of the suggestions and advocate for improvements in language access and our profession.

I loved the conference, and I cannot wait for the next one.

I am so fortunate to be part of something like this, amazing professionals in the language field that gave me so much hope, and I look forward to growing not only as a professional but as a human being. Thank you.

Thank you for this excellent program! I deeply enjoyed getting to hear from these experts, and while I loved and miss going to conferences in person, these LEO conferences have kept me going, inspired, and encouraged.

The LEO virtual conferences have been the most welcome channel of access to the community of interpreters because they are virtual, they are timely and discuss topics of great importance to the profession, and because they offer a community voice to the individual freelance interpreters like me. Thank you!

Extremely pleased with the conference and truly knowledgeable presenters who are not just professionals but also individuals that care about our industry and are advocating for it. Every presenter had something insightful, new and contributed greatly to making the conference a great source of information and education. What a great experience for interpreters as a community. Kudos to LEO!!

I continue to be impressed by the quality of the presentations and the affordability of the LEO conferences. Thank you for doing such a great job.

An amazing conference from LEO, incredibly informative and instructional, looking forward to the next one.

I really enjoyed LEO’s 5 conference. Extraordinary presenters. Please keep me informed on future events. I learned one of the most valuable tools to improve myself: Communicative autonomy.

This was a great conference. I appreciate the quality and scope of the topics and the experience the presenters brought to the table. Thank you for making it happen.

Great line-up. Absolutely loved the live captions.

I am thrilled to have attended and not missed this 5th International conference. Thank you, LEO, and to all the sponsors and presenters for this conference. For me, it’s more than just a comprehensive linguistic education. Informative, supportive, productive, inspiring, compassionate, relevant, professional, ethical, legal, and advocating. I had never been a professional interpreter as grateful and proud as I am now after my attendance at this conference. Let’s Go, Lingo!

The conference generated insightful knowledge that continues to expand my skills and my professional qualifications. I really enjoyed it. Really informative and very engaging.

This was my very first conference and I absolutely loved it! Looking forward to the next one in December!

Once again, LEO’s Conference was for me a great learning opportunity, with excellent presenters/panelists. The presentation material was very current, insightful, and relevant to the profession.

This is my first virtual conference, and I learned a lot. I’m very impressed with all the panelists and presenters, and the very important information they presented. Thank you all so much!

LEO 5th was my first experience with linguistic education online. It was perfect. There is so much I learned. I really like the way everything was presented; everyone was happy, smiling, willing to share what they know. I was amazed. Thank you to everyone the organized this online event and thank you to all the participants, they did fantastic.

Such great panels. I have learned a lot. It helped me to make my decision to stick with what I am currently doing.

Thank you for the very informative and modern-style conference!

This was my 1st LEO conference… it was fantastic… top level panelists! Lord willing, I’ll be back in December for the next one.

I recently became a Certified Healthcare Interpreter with CCHI, therefore this was the 1st CEU event I’ve attended, and I found it to be very educational, friendly, and very professional. I am very grateful to have been able to learn different aspects and important information related to my profession from all the panelists. I gained a lot of pertinent information and learned from the participants’ comments. I was very pleased and am very grateful!! Thank YOU!!

A very dynamic and thought-provoking conference. Thank you.

This was a really beneficial conference. It helped me realize how important and challenging my profession is. I have been an interpreter for 20 years and it is something that I was looking forward to since I was a 7-year-old. Please keep providing these types of events. Looking forward to many more of them.

The variety of panels and individual presentations was a hit. I enjoyed each and every session. Thank you for your dedication in providing excellent content and lively presenters.

This was my first LEO conference. The variety of expertise and experience of the panelists was fantastic, I learned so much about not only my own field, but about other fields within the domain of language access. It was encouraging to see so many people committed to growing these professions together.

I am really glad that I attended! It helped me to understand and to get to know my profession on so many different levels, that we are a community that has a lot of work to do for the future of our profession and business. Thank you so very much.

Thank you, LEO, for the wonderful conference with a wealth of knowledge and tools to use as we continue to move into this new layer of interpreting. Panelists were knowledgeable and some “celebrities” within our profession. Thank you for the topics covered.

It was my first time attending this conference and I loved it. The caliber of all the presenters was first class. Having subject matter experts elevates our profession too. I feel empowered to advocate and defend my profession even more. Thanks for making it happen.

The conference was wonderful, and I am very grateful to LEO for bringing these topics to the forefront. For reminding us of our roles as advocates for the profession and for the LEPs we work with. It motivates me to continue, but it made me anxious. There is still so much work that needs to be done. From an educator standpoint, I know I can work with my students and apply some of the above, but there is still so much institutionalized discrimination that we need to fight against.

Thank you for providing such a great variety of knowledgeable presenters. The length of the conference was perfect and I enjoyed the virtual medium. (I think it is always better in person, but the conference was very well done) An additional benefit from a virtual conference is, while you can reach out to more presenters, you were able to keep the cost down.

Thank you so much for the great conference and great content. This is my first LEO conference but won’t be my last for sure.

Thank you for putting together such an impressive group of panelists and giving interpreters the opportunity to hear from them on such a wide range of topics. I learned a lot, felt motivated, and also gained perspective on areas of the field that I did not know much about. Thank you.

Although lengthy (advantageous for obtaining CEUs), this conference was very informative and was the motivation I needed. This conference challenged me in the area I am least confident in which is advocacy for the profession and taking more initiative when promoting the profession. Danielle Meder was fantastic!!!

It was a very, very informative conference! I really enjoyed the talk Mr. Bruce provided. All the presenters were fenomenal! I’m very pleased with all the information shared.

I am beyond pleased with attending LEO conferences. This is the second one for me and the information learned is so valuable. I am grateful to be able to participate and learn updated information in the Interpreting industry. Thank you!

I truly enjoyed the virtual conference. More time for Carla and Bruce. They are a wealth of knowledge. Everything was well-organized.

I loved all the sessions, I found all of them very interesting, insightful, and inspiring on how to become a better interpreter in the profession and for the community. This was my first time attending a LEO International Virtual Conference and certainly it won’t be the last!!! Looking forward to seeing you next time. Thank you.

This conference was absolutely phenomenal. Every presentation was very interesting and talked about relevant issues in our industry. It is such a pleasure to hear from such experienced and intelligent people.