How to get the most out of attending UXLx
Updated March 2024
Conferences can be overwhelming — there’s rush of sessions, conversations, insights to take in. When you’re investing your time and money to be better at your job, you want to make the most out of the whole conference experience.
To help you with that we’ve prepared a quick and easy guide to help you get the most out the upcoming UXLx.
Let’s get conference ready!
Before the conference
1. Pick your workshops in advance
On UXLx’s website you’ll find a brief summary about each workshop, which normally includes the topics covered, key takeaways, what kind of exercises will be done, and if there are any requirements for attending.
If you look closely to the programme beforehand you’ll be able to tailor the ideal training plan according to your needs. Once you’ve got that all planned out you just have to wait for the 22 of April.
🗓️ On 22 April 2024 at 3PM (Lisbon time) the online registrations for the workshops will open. Attendees will receive a link by email to register. The workshop seats will be available first come first served until the room capacity is reached.
Although there will also be an option to register in-person at the UXLx 2024 check-in desk during the event’s dates (for the workshop seats still available by then), registering in advance guarantees you’re able to join the sessions you selected in the first place.
- How to know the best sessions to attend?
Sometimes you know straight away which sessions to attend. Maybe because you’ve been following the speaker’s work or the workshop summary is clear and immediately draws your attention.
Other times you might be wondering which are the best sessions for you to attend. If that’s the case, watching videos of the conference speakers might be a good help. First, you’ll have a better idea of which angle they’ll be taking. Then you’ll also get acquainted with the topic they’ll dive into. Also, if it’s not the first time your hearing the idea, it’ll be easier to keep up and come up with better questions. Many of our speakers are also published authors so reading their book or their blog posts is also a good way to go.
In UXLx’s website you can find short bios of our speakers as well as any works they might have published.
2. Follow UXLx social accounts
Before and during the event we post useful information about sessions, side-events, exhibitors, etc. so keeping an eye on UXLx social accounts will help you stay on top of everything.
You can also search the conference hashtag to see who else is attending the conference and establish your first connections.
Of course we’ll also be sharing the most relevant information for all attendees via email.
👉 Facebook | X | LinkedIn | Instagram |Medium
3. Consider your hotel location and book it in advance
If you want to stay close to the venue, there are plenty of options available from 3-stars to 5-stars hotels. Bear in mind that the area is in high demand so you better book early.
If you don’t find one that fits your budget nearby or would prefer staying closer to Lisbon’s downtown, then know that Lisbon offers hundreds of options for your accommodation. Our tip is booking a place close to a metro station. This way it’ll be easier to reach the venue, which is located at a 10-minute walking distance from Oriente metro station.
👀 Look for discounts
Before booking your trip, it’s always smart to check the conference website and see if there’s any flight or hotel discounts.
✈️ UXLx’s official carrier is TAP. You can find a 10% discount code and to claim it on our website.
🏨 Our preferred accommodation partner is Meliã Lisboa Oriente, a modern 4 Star Hotel overlooking the river Tagus. You can get 10% discount with the promocode you find on our website.
4. Set an out of office reply
When you’re at a conference you want to make the most out of your time there, soaking in all new insights and networking with like-minded people. You don’t want to be distracted with replying to any requests from your teammates and clients. Setting an out of the office reply will prevent people from expecting something from you back at work.
5. What to pack?
Well, we’ll not list the essentials like your clothes or toiletries but a few other things that might get in handy.
- Phone and laptop chargers — Beware that Portugal uses European electric plugs 🔌 so you might need to bring an adaptor. At the venue, we provide abundant power strips to charge all your gear.
- Business cards — Pack your business cards and hand them out at every relevant opportunity.
- Sweater or jacket — Although in May you can expect bright sunny days and a temperature around 22ºC, nights might get a bit chilly so you better pack some warmer clothes too.
- Sunscreen — UV levels are normally quite high so some solar cream might keep you from turning into a red lobster.
At the conference
1. Arrive Early
Arriving early is particularly important on your first day at UXLx as you’ll need to check-in to receive your badge and register for workshops (if you haven’t done it beforehand). Take the rest of the time to get familiar with the venue and start saying hi 👋 to other attendees.
On the following days, arriving early will prevent any delays with transportation. You can take the time to explore the area surrounding the event’s venue or mingle with other attendees waiting in the main hall for the morning workshop to start. You’ll also find complementary tea, coffee and snacks.
🕗 Remember UXLx opens it’s doors at 8AM for check- in & workshop registration.
2. Share your experience with #uxlx
Photos by the welcome sign. Pictures with other attendees. Quotes from keynotes or workshops. Live-tweeting. There’re plenty of ways to get spotted, connect with other attendees and get discussions started. Just remember to tag your tweets and stories with the #uxlx.
3. Remember what you learn
Although at UXLx there’s a maximum of two workshops per day, there’s still a lot of information to take in. Between workshops, talks, one-on-one chats, side-events, you’ll find yourself drowned in notes and names pretty hard to remember. To prevent you going back home with a mess of business cards and notes, try to keep everything organised as the conference goes. Did someone shared with you their business card? Write on the back the what you talked, what session or event you met them in. Whether you prefer to take notes in your laptop or tablet, or a more old school notebook, writing things down is a great way to remember what you learned.
4. Network with fellow UXers
Conferences are also about the community and the people who attend them. At UXLx this is particularly relevant as it gathers professionals from all over the world (44 countries in 2024!). This means a more diverse audience, coming from different technical backgrounds and working within different cultural environments.
There’s plenty of networking opportunities during the day where you can see what others are doing, share new ideas, build relationships, and make connections with other within the field.
- Join everyone at lunch and at the side-events
Every day at UXLx there’s a 1h30 lunch break and lunch is included in every ticket type. This way, instead of having everyone looking for a place to eat and spreading through different directions, attendees can mingle and make connections while enjoying a meal with some very Portuguese (and delicious) flavours.
Our side-events (Welcome and After parties) are a great way to network with like-minded peers in a more relaxed setting, over a couple of drinks and nibbles.
5. Connect with the speakers
UXLx speakers are world-renowned experts, most of them published authors, who you probably have heard of and admire. We encourage our speakers to stay for the whole event and join our side-events so it’s easy to have one-on-one chats with them.
6. Stay off your phone
We’re not saying you should disconnect completely but when you flew a few thousand miles to be at a conference, you need to take advantage of the in-person interaction opportunity it offers. Being always on your phone may be a barrier for that to happen. Putting it way when your waiting for a workshop to start or during coffee breaks will make you look more approachable and it’ll be easier to get the conversation started with other attendees.
7. Attending with co-workers? Divide and conquer
If your going to the conference with a few other co-workers then try not to attend the same sessions. That will maximise how much you learn and the insights you take back to the company.
When back at the office you can plan a Redux session to share the main insights with each other and with other teammates who didn’t get the chance to attend. We also provide printed materials and share workshops slide decks so you can take it away to share with the rest of the team.
8. Enjoy the city and have a great time!
When you’re travelling to a conference in a different city or country you should also take some time to relax and see the sights. UXLx is set in the beautiful and sunny Lisbon. There’s plenty of ways to enjoy the city whether you’re only staying for the conference days or staying for a few extra days.
In UXLx’s Medium you’ll find a list with a few articles with tips and tricks to discover Lisbon.
After the conference
1. Follow up
There’s no reason someone you meet at a conference should be a one-time-only contact. As soon as you get back to the office, send LinkedIn requests or a follow-up email to the people you met while everything is still fresh in everyone’s minds. You might even want to schedule a call or face-to-face meeting with someone you want to do business or collaborate with.
Maybe you’ll also want to do a follow-up on a topic or with the speakers.
2. Share your knowledge
Hopefully you’ll go back to the office with a truckload of knowledge and an extra boost of inspiration which will certainly be useful for your team. Set aside some time to compile the notes from your sessions and pass on what you learned.
You can also leverage the notes you took in sessions to write a blog post. That will help you reflect and remember what you learn, while also sharing knowledge with who wasn’t able to attend.
3. Stay on the loop
Throughout the year we end up releasing videos from the talks, creating new opportunities to spark discussion around the topics.
You can also join our newsletter to get all UXLx updates first-hand.
We’ve put together all these tips for getting the most out of UXLx 2024 in a little PDF document.
👉 How to Get The Most out of UXLx 2024 (PDF)
🎟️ Haven’t secured your ticket for UXLx 2024 yet? 😯 Better grab it before they sell out. 💨
💰 Discounts for groups (buy 5 tickets and get 1 free) and associations are available.
If you need to convince your boss to let you attend UXLx, here’s some help.
