One of the keys to professional development is the networking and exchange of ideas that take place in conferences. I always find that I return from a conference with my batteries recharged and with new ideas and several new friends.

Here are a couple that might be of interest:

• For those of you in the San Francisco Bay Area, Emergency Management magazine is sponsoring a free emergency management summit on April 2nd. These regional events gather the leaders in emergency management, public safety and homeland security and provide a forum to share best practices, renew relationships and work on new solutions for both the problems that are anticipated-and those that aren't. For those of you in other locations, check out EM magazine's  website for dates and locations of other summits.

• The 23rd World Conference on Disaster Management (WCDM) is taking place in Toronto June 23-26. Conference will focus on four tracks: Business Continuity, Emergency Management, Crisis Communications, and Resilience and Risk Management. Topics will include the role of social media in emergencies, as well as a look at organizational, community and personal resilience. 

    

We tend to associate public speaking with work but, incredible as it sounds, it can be a form of recreation that not only brings enjoyment but hones skills you can use at work.

How can you make work fun? Think like Tom Sawyer - change the definition of work. Nobody likes to give a presentation but everyone likes to talk to friends. 

In one of my social groups we dedicate a monthly meeting to any member who wishes to talk about a research project or craft on which they've been working. These are not professional speakers (I actually taught a class on speaking to help out) but their passion and interest can generate some very interesting discussions. The plus is that, over the years, their presentation skills and my coaching techniques have both improved.

For a number of years my daughter studied improve theater. Those same skills later came into play when she gave speeches on internet safety to schools across the country. And she thought she was just having some fun!

My wife once asked my help in getting a PTA meeting under control through the use of meeting facilitation techniques. We were able to help a weak chair overcome a bullying principal to actually arrive at some effective group decisions.

So think about how you can do something fun that also helps hone your work skills. There's nothing that says you can't enjoy yourself while you're dong it.