getting the most out of conferences
figure 1. five groups of abstract figures arranged in small clusters, with the focus on two central groups of three. the group of three on the right have an unmet need which the group of three on the left are able to meet.
Conferences can be overwhelming. There’s the temptation to get the most out of your investment, attend every session and networking opportunity possible. Give in to this temptation and you can risk burning yourself out. Or worse, you can unintentionally create a never-ending to do list that doesn’t help your business.
These five steps help you get the most out of attending a conference. Use the associated worksheets for planning, note taking, and idea implementation (no registration required to download zip file with PDFs).
step one. SET THREE (OR LESS) GOALS.
Avoid spreading yourself thin by trying to do everything. Racing from session to session is a great way to go crazy. Write down what you want most out of the conference:
new connections,
new tools or technologies,
recent knowledge on a subject, or
something else.
Take a few moments daily, either at the end or the beginning of the day, to monitor progress on your goals. Also, if your goals have changed or your approach to meeting them isn’t working as you want, feel free to update your plan.
step two. CHOOSE SESSIONS BASED ON YOUR GOALS.
Download the conference app or get a copy of the conference schedule before you arrive onsite. Using highlighters, one color for each goal, identify which available sessions support your goals.
When you discover multiple sessions at the same time, select the one that best matches your goals. If a chosen session isn’t what you expected, don’t be shy about walking out. Your time is valuable.
step three. REVIEW NOTES TO DISCOVER INSIGHTS RELATED TO YOUR GOALS.
Resist the temptation to try and capture everything you hear. If you’re an excessive note taker, make your post-conference life easier by taming your potential TO DO lists.
Spend some time each night before going to bed (or each morning before you start the next day) teasing out what’s most important to you. Reduce each day’s fire hose of knowledge to three insights. Then, put your detailed notes away.
step four. MAP OUT AN ACTION PLAN FOR THE ONE THING YOU LEARNED.
With ideas fresh in your mind, revisit your goals and think about one thing you learned from the day you can implement to achieve those goals. Also, consider how you’d measure success. (A TO DO list not tied to what will make you successful is busy work.) At the end of the conference, sketch out action plans.
step five. PRIORITIZE YOUR POST-CONFERENCE ACTIONS.
Depending on how long your conference is and whether you map out an action plan for each day, you can go home with three to six plans. For one person, that’s easily three to six months of work at least! (If you’ve got a team and can delegate a few action plans, feel free to choose all.)
figure 6. On the left, stylized three-phase marketing and sales funnel with groupings of three abstract people moving through until bottom grouping appears with a heart in a cloud bubble. On the right, an abstract editorial calendar for May with a paintbrush, heart, and three stars one of which has a dollar sign in it. for May.
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