Wouldn’t it be wonderful if no one was tempted to just buy the cocktail party pass to a conference, if our iPhone notepads and handcrafted journals were filled with ideas and questions inspired by keynote speakers and panelists we’d been waiting all year to hear? What if we actually looked forward to PowerPoint presentations and didn’t hate the hotel for not serving coffee after 2 p.m.?

While there are certainly phenomenal blogging conference sessions that have changed the course of how women work and write online, there is a lot of room for many other sessions to get better. Here are five ways to take a conference session from meh to memorable.

1.  A highly-engaged audience. Pay close attention the next time you’re sitting in a session and it looks like everyone around you is taking copious notes. There’s a very good chance they are doodling, deep in Google Analytics or engaging in a fierce DrawSomething war with the person across the table. This is not a sign of a great conference session

“I find that the conference sessions I enjoy or get the most out of, either, as an attendee or a panelist, have a highly engaged audience,” says Adam Keats, Senior Vice President of Digital Communications at Weber Shandwick.

And that doesn’t just mean a hot-topic Q&A at the end of the hour. Keats says the stream of tweets quoting and commenting on the content discussed at the session adds value to the time in the room.

“When the content presented is solid,” he says, “you’re driven to engage with it.”

Tweets matter, particularly the positive ones, notes Missy Maher, Director of Modern Family Foresight at Edelman. But the signs of engagement can be be found without a single hashtag.

“Staying awake is key — no drooling or snoring,” Maher says, adding that head nodding should be up and down, not just down. Also, just staying in the room is a good sign. “No slipping out the back door!”

 

2. Start a conversation not a lecture. Standing at a podium or in front of a projected Power Point presentation can turn the best conversationalists into stuffy professors. Maher says blogging conferences are not a good venue for that vernacular.

“Stop the market-market speak,” she offers, “and talk like a normal person. Know who you are talking to — you are not talking to your agencies or your customers. Think about your audience. Talk like you are talking to a friend, not like you just graduated from Kellogg’s.”

Pepper the presentation with funny stuff, too, she says. It will help bloggers think about how they are creating or want to create their own brand, while also setting the tone for the time the audience and speakers are together.

“Use real-life examples and stories to get your point across. It’s so much more interesting when you can paint a picture in someone’s mind!”

Bloggers from the SITS Facebook community (part of womengetsocial.com) say they are looking for concrete advice but they also want to connect to the presenter.

 

3. Ease up on the ego. Stick to a simple introduction — name, company or site, title if necessary — and then move on to your point.

One of Maher’s top tips to brands who are presenting at a conference is to turn the focus to the people in the audience as soon as possible.

“Quit talking about yourself and your key messages,” Maher says, “and talk to bloggers about what they want to hear and relate everything back to your audience.”

This holds for panelists, keynotes and anyone who has the mic to their mouth. Hold the list of sponsors you’d like to thank and traffic goals you’re trying to meet for another time. Do say your name and one little bit of identifying information clearly and concisely so all those interested in hearing more details of your resume and the list of URLs where you write can find you at the cocktail party later.

Alice Shaffer, friend of SITS and Bloggy Boot Camp, echoes this.

 

4.  Don’t cover worn-out topics. And do offer your audience two or three great take-aways.

When outlining your presentation or pitching an idea for a panel, take ten minutes and scan through the schedules of last year’s major conferences. Chances are you will not only see themes, you will find the same topic replayed. Then take more time to find a new angle that will have attendees happily sitting on the floor when seats are filled. If you look at the topic and think, “Yeah, I guess I’d go to that,” it is time to veer left.

One great example: A full year after “how to monetize your blog” sessions left many seasoned bloggers bored, a session on “how to pitch campaigns with fellow style bloggers” was packed full at one blogging conference.  Attendees walked away with step-by-step advice on making pitches, brands that had already built a great reputation for working with bloggers were cited, and representatives from those brands were called out in the session. A twist on an eye-roller topic turned into an opportunity for brands and influencers.

The handouts helped, too. Offer the audience a few accessible insider tips that really will help them reach out, move up, think bigger. Here’s what several SITS bloggers said they want to walk away with when they are in a memorable session:

 

5.  Easy introductions. No matter how good a session is or how many people attend or leave, brands can make that hour productive and engaging simply by arriving a few minutes early.

Keats’s advice to brand representatives is to sit down at a table, introduce themselves to the people there and ask attendees why they are there. While it is best to be well-versed on the attendees, their blogs and businesses, he says most influencers are more than happy to explain what they are working on.

“The more you can understand how an influencer is looking at his or her business, his or her blog and content, the easier it is to identify opportunities that are mutually beneficial,” Keats says.

If a session goes sour, use that as an opportunity to talk to attendees, too. Ask the people at your table what they would have preferred to hear, who their dream panelists are, if they are speaking so you can be sure to attend their session.

And when all else fails, get in on the games. Your next brand ambassador, favorite blogger or best friend might just be the attendee you’re bonding with over Scramble with Friends.