I am so excited to share with you the 10 things not to do while at Microsoft Ignite.

Whether it is your first time to attend such big conference, or you have been before, it makes a lot of difference know some time management tips and know how to discover Microsoft Ignite news and updates.

Microsoft Ignite is about connecting and sharing knowledge, whether you are in one of those deep dive sessions, or even connecting with other peers in the Expo showcase and connecting with partners. Wearing comfortable shoes makes all the difference, so do not forget that.

Finally, Microsoft Ignite Safety Tips blog post will help you ensure you will have safe conference experience. Check it out!

Check out 10 things not to do while at Microsoft Ignite in this post 🙂

10 things not to do while at Microsoft Ignite starts with giving our self time to digest all activities at the conference without burning yourself. You just have to accept that you cannot do everything while in Ignite. Ignite is about bringing tech people together to connect, socialize and learn new things. It is a place where you will have thousands of like-minded peers all around you, sharing your same passion about Microsoft technologies.

Remember that sessions are all recorded, and you can watch them when you are back at home. What you cannot have when you are back, is the actual conference experience, and the chance to connect and meet new people.
Go around, introduce yourself, have conversations with people sitting next to you, walk through the expo hall and ask the experts. Do not focus only on tech things, spare some time to meet new people and building your professional network.

Thousands of people will be at Microsoft Ignite, and the convention center has amazing wireless services most of the time. Be a good wireless neighbor, and remember that everyone is trying to connect online, so turn off your streaming sites, and do not try to consume lot of bandwidth. Sometimes when you are attending a session, the instructor is trying to use the wireless network to do his demo. When this happen, try to minimize your wireless activity to give the instructor some extra bandwidth for the demo to work well.

Do not forget to drink water and have some snacks whenever you can. Just keep your body hydrated always. You will get a cool Microsoft water bottle, so use it.

Satya Nadella will be speaking at the Ignite keynote, and you do not want to miss that. The key note hall gets filled quickly, so make sure you arrive at least one hour before the keynote to reserve a good seat. Key note is the most unique experience in Ignite for me, and I will make sure to get an amazing seat this year.

As Ignite contains hundreds of sessions of all types, and each session is in different part of the convention center, make sure you have planned all your favorite sessions that you would like to attend. Also, make sure you have secondary session to attend just in case. You might also make sure you know where each session is located, so that you do not waste time asking around how to reach there. At least, make sure to write down the session room number.

Ignite is full of opportunities, so go outside your comfort zone, and do not stick with things you are master in. Say for example you are in Office 365 expert, you should not reserve your whole agenda on Office 365 sessions. Go and attend new cloud stuff, perhaps an AI, or Azure Backup or even Azure OMS. Ignite is great place to learn what is new in technology, and not only to make you better in things you already working on.

During the first day of Ignite, on Monday, there will be a welcome reception, where food and drinks are served. To me, this is a great way to kick off your Ignite experience and meet new people. I usually try to meet new people at the welcome reception and just enjoy my time.

You will get a lot of swag and T-shirts during Microsoft Ignite. Make sure you keep space in your bag for all the swag and cool t-shirts.

Microsoft Ignite nights are full of community gathering, parties and events. The fun continues after conference hours. There is a good chance that the hotel you are staying in, is hosting one of those gatherings. If you try to catch each of those night events, you will be so tiered and will not make it till the end of the conference. Give yourself time off to rest, so that you can save your energy for the conference sessions and activities.

During my years of attending Ignite and TechEd, I usually pick the most crowded table during lunch time, and I sit there. I see like 8 people sharing the same food table and not even talking to each others. I start by introducing myself, and ask people to do the same, and start talking about what I am working on. Do not pick an empty isolated lunch table to have your lunch, join a group and have a nice chat.

Those were the 10 things not to do while at Microsoft Ignite. I hope I can see you in one of Microsoft big conferences, and cannot wait to meet new people and connect. If you like this post, then please share it and follow me on Twitter. I wish you a safe trip to Ignite.