Let’s face it: when we work for someone else it can be hard to find the time to attend all the events that we want, no matter how good they may be for our professional development.
This goes for conferences, lunch-and-learns, seminars, breakfast events… and even events like TEDxWinnipeg!
While it breaks our hard to admit it, we understand your boss has a responsibility to make sure that you’re using company time wisely, which means if you want the day off to attend TEDxWinnipeg 2018 you may be feeling the pressure to come up with a list of reasons why you deserve a ‘PD’ (Personal Development) day to attend on June 13, 2018.Luckily we’ve got you covered! Follow along and we’ll help you show your boss that attending TEDxWinnipeg 2018 isn’t just good for you; it’s good for the company.
Study Up
Before you ask for anything you need to be prepared to explain why you deserve it. This means spending some time learning about our speakers (our speaker interview series on our blog is a great way to do get to know everyone this year) and make a list of the benefits of attending this year’s event, including:
- The skills you’ll learn that you can apply in the workplace.
- How attending will help you be in-the-know about the latest trends in your industry.
- How attending will challenge your current way of thinking.
- Networking with other professionals in your field.
- Attending will benefit your organization as a whole by implementing the new strategies you learn.
By doing your research beforehand, you’ll be prepared to communicate the benefits to your boss and answer all of their questions. Plus, knowing everything there is to know about will show your boss that you’re genuinely interested in attending!
Pick Your Path
This year’s theme is “Challenge” so take note of the talks that will be the most challenging – personally and professionally – and list why. Make a “Top 5” list of speakers whose talks will be the most relevant to what you do, or to your place of work. For example, if you work in finance then you’ll want to include Gord Parke’s talk about bitcoin, and Sparsh Agrawal’s talk about the exciting developments of using nature-based algorithms for financial portfolio management.
Practice Your Pitch
Just like our speakers have to rehearse to present their ideas to the world, we recommend pulling all of your information together and practicing how you want to pitch it to your boss before you book your meeting.
If possible, include a cost breakdown including the cost of your ticket (which also pays for the full day of talks on June 13, mid-morning & mid-afternoon coffee breaks, and a light lunch) and how you’ll use what you’ve learned in the workplace so they can see the tangible ROI of attending.
Go For It!
The final step is taking the plunge and asking for the time off! Set a time to meet with your boss and show them your proposal. Make sure to show them that you’re taking their perspective into consideration and remember to be specific in emphasizing exactly how TEDxWinnipeg deserves a PD day.
Give your boss some time to think about it (this is where that list and proposal comes in handy) and make sure to follow up! There are only ___ days left before the big day and tickets are going fast!
If you’ve already got approval to take the day off to lean, grow, and be challenged with us, great! Register to attend TEDxWinnipeg 2018 now.
