Many hotels and conferences give you a badge, sometimes on a free lanyard. They might ask you to return the badge or lanyard or both so that the organisers can use the items again. Often they cannot use the lanyard again because it has the date of the event, so next year's lanyard will be a different colour, for novelty, or to go with a new theme or venue, and with a different date.
If the badge is not collected, I save the badge in my suitcase for my next trip. But then, I am a hoarder and recycler. Many people are tidy minded and hate clutter and like to travel light and prefer to give back an unwanted badge. But I carefully keep mine.
At my next networking event, if I arrive before the badges are given out, or no badges are given out, I have one ready to wear. On a recent trip I was given a badge in the name I did not want to use. I was at a writing conference and wanted to use my writer's name which was on the books I was offering for sale in the book room. If your name is wrongly spelling, or the badge shows your married name instead of your maiden name or business name, you might find it handy to swap over the cards.
Swapping the cards is also a handy option if the new conference offers cards which are typed and in small writing and your previous card had bold felt tip pen writing which could be seen at a distance. You might also prefer a neat Italic script, rather than untidy handwriting.
If you don't like the writing on the card you have been given, sometimes you can reverse it. If it is double size and folded in half, turn it inside out.
Some lanyards and cards are designed with the name on both sides, so that if the lanyard is put on back to front or turns itself, the writing is still visible.
You could keep a stencil in your luggage or briefcase or the laptop bag if you are likely to want to add your name or company name to a badge.
Failing all else, you can insert your business card, or a return address sticker, on a blank card.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.
If the badge is not collected, I save the badge in my suitcase for my next trip. But then, I am a hoarder and recycler. Many people are tidy minded and hate clutter and like to travel light and prefer to give back an unwanted badge. But I carefully keep mine.
At my next networking event, if I arrive before the badges are given out, or no badges are given out, I have one ready to wear. On a recent trip I was given a badge in the name I did not want to use. I was at a writing conference and wanted to use my writer's name which was on the books I was offering for sale in the book room. If your name is wrongly spelling, or the badge shows your married name instead of your maiden name or business name, you might find it handy to swap over the cards.
Swapping the cards is also a handy option if the new conference offers cards which are typed and in small writing and your previous card had bold felt tip pen writing which could be seen at a distance. You might also prefer a neat Italic script, rather than untidy handwriting.
If you don't like the writing on the card you have been given, sometimes you can reverse it. If it is double size and folded in half, turn it inside out.
Some lanyards and cards are designed with the name on both sides, so that if the lanyard is put on back to front or turns itself, the writing is still visible.
You could keep a stencil in your luggage or briefcase or the laptop bag if you are likely to want to add your name or company name to a badge.
Failing all else, you can insert your business card, or a return address sticker, on a blank card.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.
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