Tips for Professional Speakers on the Road
After arriving at my final destination for a speaking engagement in late spring, I walked down to baggage claim, sat on a bench, and input my hotel address in my phone to catch an Uber. I had to go upstairs to “arrivals” to catch my Uber, and in a hurry, left my purse on the bench where I was sitting. As the escalator reached the second floor of the airport, I realized I did not have my purse with me. I raced back down stairs to where I had been sitting, only to find my purse was gone! It held all of my essentials: my laptop, and my wallet (ID, credit cards, day planner, etc.) For a professional speaker, this was a disaster!
Panic-stricken, I immediately went to the airport police office and filed a report. Two officers on their Segways retraced where I had been, while another began to look at video footage attempting to locate my purse.
In the meantime, they told me to cancel my credit cards that were in my wallet, so I did.
Long story short, I spent 1 1/2 hours in the police office. With no ID, worried about how I was going to get back home in 2 days, and no credit cards (although I did find $40 tucked in a secret compartment in my roller luggage), I still had my phone with me. I called my husband to give me his credit card number so that I could call another Uber to get to my hotel.
The good news is that security at this airport had seen the unattended purse, secured it, and it eventually made its way to the police station. The police called me as I was about to leave the station to catch my Uber with good news – they had my purse! There are so many lessons I learned from this experience.
I also asked fellow speakers their secrets for safer and less stressful travelling. Here are tips for from well-seasoned road warriors:
“Travel is tiring. Be alert when in airports and in other public areas and have a system so that you are aware of the location of your belongings.”
“I took a photo of my driver’s license and it’s on my Dropbox. I also have my Amex and other credit cards stored as contacts in my iPhone.”
“If I lost my wallet, I would cancel my credit cards after I got the car and hotel.”
“I took a picture on my phone of my passport and my Driver’s License. I also emailed my Amex number to myself and hid it in a folder that seems like nothing. That way, I’ve got options.”
“I keep a photocopy of my passport, my driver’s license and one credit card (front and back views) in an inside pocket of my luggage so at least I’ve got the info and can call banks if something unfortunate happens.”
“I always put a copy of my presentation on a flash drive, send it to the meeting planner, have a copy in PDF form, and email it to myself – just in case anything happens to my electronics when I travel.”
“The only thing I would add is to breathe and assume that you will get through it all one way or another. It’s easy to fall into stress traveling. When I get stressed travelling and I notice myself thinking “I’ll feel better when I’m checked in” I’ll catch myself and reframe my internal thoughts to “I can feel good right now and trust that I will be safe and sound soon.”
Do you have any travel tips or rituals that have worked for you for safer and stress-less travel?