Tara Roehl is a private practice Speech-Language Pathologist based in the Boulder, CO area. Find out more about Tara Roehl and her private practice by clicking the button below.
I’m the queen of accessories – especially at conventions! Some for function and some for fun… here are a few of my favorite ones!
-Tara, the Speechy Keen SLP
Being aware of Denver weather, as well as our “sense of style” can help make packing a bit easier for you! I hope today’s video helped you make those final decisions for what goes and what stays!
-Tara, the Speechy Keen SLP
Piggy backing on my last video, there are some things that should just NOT be worn at the convention. As in, don’t even put them in your suitcase. And yes, I’ve seen them all…
-Tara, the Speechy Keen SLP
What to wear is often a huge question mark in a lot of people’s heads. In today’s video I cover some general rules and you can see examples below!
[Last year’s blog post on this topic]
-Tara, the Speechy Keen SLP
I always have a few versions of these in my bag – and no, I don’t mean the labels. But I have some of those too! Click play to find out why and how to make sure you can represent yourself and give out contact information quickly and professionally!
My “mini” cards [referral link]
Information I include on my labels…
Name, address, e-mail, phone number, webpage
-Tara, the Speechy Keen SLP
Put that Amazon Prime membership to good work and get some needed gear before the convention begins!
Battery Pack Blog Post (2014) • My Favorite Battery Pack
Accessories Blog Post (2014) • Keyboard, Stand, Adapters
(be sure to get adapters for all types of projectors!)
Bonus from last year (that I completely forgot to mention!)…
Power Strip Blog Post (2104) • My Favorite Power Strip
-Tara, the Speechy Keen SLP
Every year I try to do something a little different with my blog series, and this year is no different. I’m heading into my 8th ASHA Convention and this year it’s in my town! Follow along as I give out my favorite convention tips and tricks, as well as share some Denver “insider knowledge”. Starting with this amazing view of the Denver skyline!
-Tara, the Speechy Keen SLP
I have always been “snap happy”. I’ve been a picture person since I was young! Having a baby has sent that into overdrive. Like, 50-100 photos on an average day isn’t rare. One of my requirements for my phone is that it has a GREAT camera. So many friends were getting blurry photos with their iPhones and other smartphones, I knew it would just drive me crazy. And, because my photos are taken on my phone, they are uploaded to Intagram and FB from my phone. Instagram offers a little “fun”, but I wanted to do a LOT more with my photos. I began searching and playing. Since I started doing more with my photos, a TON of people have asked me what apps I use. I figured it would be easier to direct them here than continue to retype my answers again and again.
NOTE: I am an Android user. Some of the apps are available on both Android and iOS, and I’ll try to note when it is. But keep in mind, I have never used the iOS versions of these apps!
“Labels” are the colored strips with text. They often look like something that has come out of a real label maker or text written on masking tape, washi tape, etc. I am picky with these, I don’t like it to look “junky”. Some of my favorite apps are…
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 maskingtape |
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This is the trick to putting a bunch of related photos into one image for sharing via social media. I prefer ones that create square collages. Then I can quickly plug it into Instagram, which then shoots it out to Facebook and Twitter. I’ve tried quite a few, but it really comes down to two for me.
 PhotoFrame |
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 Photo Grid |
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Sometimes you want to do just a bit MORE. Maybe add some clip art, some “chalk drawing-like” text or images. A photo needs “touch-up” or even “blacked out” . Maybe even some silly arrows or talking bubbles? That’s when I go to my editor for the extra “ooph”. Now, I have a LOT of editors, and I use them all for different things. But I have a few I use more frequently for “common” edits or even more specialized features …
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 PicsArt |
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 Real Bokeh |
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Here are some examples of these apps in use!
Used: PicArt
Used: LabelBox
Used: PhotoFrame
Used: Real Bokeh
Used: PicsArt
Used: Beautiful Mess
Happy Editing!
– Tara, the Speechy Keen SLP
TOMORROW! The ASHA Convention is TOMORROW! Can you believe it’s finally here?! You’re flying or driving into Orlando any minute now along with thousands of people who share a similar passion for people. The excitement in the air will be thick, right along with the crowds.
May I make a suggestion to increase your chances of finding friends over the next few days?
If your profile picture is a logo, obscured, your adorable baby or pet… we won’t be able to recognize you! For just a few days, change it to a very clear picture of just your face. This will increase your chances of being spotted in the crowd and finding your social media friends!
Each morning, post a selfie of what you look like that day! We’ll all love to get a sneak peak of your outfit, and it will give us all social clues for finding you! Hashtag it #asha14selfie just for fun! I can’t wait to see everyone’s style!
Do NOT be afraid to walk up to a tweeter and say hi! Even if you can’t remember their name, use their twitter handle! Trust me, there is nothing more flattering than someone walking up and saying “Are you SpeechyKeenSLP??” And there is nothing you regret more than NOT saying “hi”. Be sure to take as many selfies with your twitter friends as possible – this weekend is sure to be one to remember!
So get settled into your room and get a good nights rest – tomorrow it all begins!
– Tara, the Speechy Keen SLP
Well isn’t that amusing?! It took me until now to realize I’m off by a day! Ah well, I’m sure you will all forgive me! Today will be all about finding people at the convention and helping those who aren’t around!
Twitter will be your best friend at ASHA! There are a few rules to follow when tweeting at ASHA. If we can all be on board with these guidelines, we’ll all be happier!
Some people are just NOT fans of live tweeting. Others are popping in, halfway through the day, and have NO idea where you are or what your are talking about! A nice “FYI” tweet at the beginning of each day gets them onto the same page! I typically say something along the lines of“Heads up followers: It’s day 2 of #ASHA14 – I’ll be live tweeting throughout the day!”
People reading at home, or even those in other sessions, want to know what lecture/talk you are in! At the beginning of every session I give the title, speaker and session code! This helps for a variety of reasons. First, we can quickly know if it’s a talk on Executive Functioning, Fluency, Dysphagia, etc. That’s pretty critical information! Secondly, if we are REALLY enjoying your tweets we can look up more information on the speaker, or even jump over to that same session if the one we’re attending ends up being a snooze. And finally, it helps people keep different talks sorted – they know when you’ve switched, who is in the same talk, etc.
#ASHA14 is a community! We are chatting, following, meeting up – all through Twitter! To make sure we see all of your fantastic tweets from a inspiring talk at ASHA, be sure to include the ASHA hashtag!
As you can imagine, with a large community live tweeting, it can be hard to keep straight what session everyone is in. It is also hard to give credit to the speaker when you only have 140 characters to spread their smarts to the twitter world! At #ASHA14, every session is given a unique code.A great way to keep all of the tweets “organized” is to tweet #a followed by the session code. Twitter only recognizes hashtags that include a letter! For example, one of my talks has the session code 1212. So, put #a1212 after tweets from my session! That allows people to search tweets from specific sessions, and even “chirpstory” them into one post.
– Tara, the Speechy Keen SLP
