Members often tell me that one of the most impactful experiences in a Tessitura user's career is attending TLCC.

But sometimes attendees feel overwhelmed. They're not sure how to prepare for the opportunity. Here are tips I've gathered from past attendees of the Tessitura Learning & Community Conference (TLCC) to help you maximize the experience.

Book early and save!

Register early to get the best rates.

Registration opens roughly three months in advance of the conference. The earlier you register, the lower your rate, plus you can access limited availability programs such as our hands-on training workshops.

Reserve your hotel room

Once registered, make sure to reserve your hotel room. These rooms can fill fast, so reserve your room as soon as your conference attendance is confirmed.

You've registered! What's next?

Start with your team.

Attending a conference is an investment. It’s important to understand what your organization wants to get out of TLCC. Bring together a cross-departmental steering group to discuss your priorities. Identify unique business problems you are trying to solve across your teams. Are there new technologies or strategies you want to explore? Are there trends you want to learn about? This advance planning can help establish goals for the conference week and shape your Tessitura roadmap.

Plan your networking.

Tessitura has a vibrant and award-winning online community. Attendees tell us that meeting fellow community members in real life increases the value of these relationships exponentially. Whether it is peers from a similar type of institution, colleagues in a comparable job role or members with a shared identity in one of our many affinity groups, everyone has a place in our community. And at TLCC we give you an opportunity to gather and talk about these commonalities. These groups provide validation, connection, problem-solving, support and help grow your career. Many community connections have gone on to expand beyond the Tessitura walls into real friendships and even a few marriages! Explore the online communities in advance to start engaging with these folks beforehand and help shape the conversations in person.

Start building your schedule.

Distribute participation.

About a month before TLCC, the full conference schedule becomes available online. Whether you are the only one attending TLCC or you have a team attending, it’s time to decide how you want to spread out assignments. Strategize how to maximize coverage to achieve your goals. There are multiple options to choose from during each session block and some teams meet together to draft and assign session attendance.

Sign up for something new.

Once you have your bases covered, you may want to find an opportunity to challenge your comfort zone. Is there a training offered on something you could benefit from learning about? Is there a topic that doesn’t apply to your job role directly but could expand your impact? Broadening your knowledge can make you a better workplace collaborator and help advance your organization’s use of Tessitura. This not only helps your organization, but it can also grow your career.

Plan how you will refuel and bring the conference home!

Don't forget to build in time for networking

 We know the conference can be intense, so we build in time just for networking. Take advantage of these opportunities to get familiar with our conference sponsors and their offerings. Another way to fill your cup is to visit Tessitura members in our host city. Members are eager to show off their venues to you.

Decide how you want to bring it all home.

And probably the most important tip I’ve heard from our community is to plan ahead for how you want to bring the conference learnings back to your organization. If you establish your organization’s goals at the outset, you can prioritize your time and your takeaways. It can be tempting to come home and want to do everything at once. Selecting a few quick wins that you know will have the biggest impact on your organization is the best way to ensure success. Having this vision in mind can also inform how you take your notes and how you share your takeaways back with your team when you return.

We know how precious your time is and are grateful that you choose to spend it at TLCC. I hope these tips help you get the most out of your TLCC experience. If you have other tips about preparing for TLCC, I hope you continue to share them with us.

We can't wait to see you at TLCC!