The 2024 World of Learning conference and exhibition took place at the Birmingham NEC 8-9 October. Hari Patience-Davies, one of our L&D Free Spirits wizards, presented her knowledge on LEGO and Loglines to a packed audience and talked to exhibitors. Hari reflects on the event and shares a handy approach to adopt when at an exhibition if you’re not a natural networker…
As a freelancer or independent trader, these events are always a bit of an unknowable quantity, but the novelty of actually speaking face-to-face with people you’ve only ever connected with over a webcam or WhatsApp Group can be a real treat.
There was a full schedule of seminars within the free exhibition – so many topics it was hard to know which to choose! I enjoyed speaking on the Learning Design Live stage to a packed audience, and several speakers shared ways to improve learning from the world of stand-up comedy, change management and board games.
It can feel intimidating to just walk up and start conversations with people. When you’re at an exhibition like World of Learning – there’s an easy way to short cut your way to a conversation with the exhibitors – ask about their swag.
If you’re a pen fan wandering around an exhibition is the place to be. You can grab branded ball points and clicky pens galore – you never need to pay to restock your pen jar if you’re willing to wander around the stands. But picking up a pen isn’t always a great conversation starter, so if you’re feeling a bit stuck on what to say, look for the stands with the more unusual goodies.
I saw quite a few stands at World of Learning offering branded socks – I spotted Thirst, Vinciworks, Bridge and Learnupon handing out colourful ankle socks to passersby – Learnupon even upped the ante with some blue screen glasses available as well!
Making conversation about socks is a surprisingly easy way into a chat, just comment on the colours and it’s an easy path to small talk.
Several stands had reusable coffee mugs or water bottles up for grabs – Fuse even had a photographable display which was begging to be talked about.
These sorts of events always have a lot of edible snacks; you could pick up some Haribo while meeting the Directors from the Learning Network, tubs of penny sweets at Coaching Culture, and the Tony’s Chocolony bars wrapped in branded messaging (“life is sweeter with fewer spreadsheets”) at AG5 were an easy way to start a conversation about favourite chocolate flavours.
There was such a wide array of freebies to pick up that there must be something that would appeal to everyone. If you like to decorate your laptop you can always chat about stickers. A table full of d20 dice kicked off loads of gaming and D&D conversations, and green-fingered gardeners could discuss the mini metal planters just waiting for water at Blossom.
You don’t need an elevator pitch when there are giant foam fingers or chocolate bars to break the ice – just say hi and say “wasn’t expecting to see that here,” and let the conversation flow from there.
The main point to remember here is to have a conversation with the exhibitors, don’t just swipe their merch without having a chat. When you are self-employed mention this to them straight away and you’ll find you often have a different type of conversation with them.
World of Learning will be back in London on February 4 and 5 and you can register for your exhibition ticket now. The dates have also been released for the autumn event at the NEC – October 7 and 8 2025. Booking your hotel and travel early can be a great way to snag a cheaper rate if you are planning to attend either or both of these events.