Milking Conferences

I'm not talking about conferences on milking (Do those exist?), I'm taking about getting the most out of a conference.

I've heard it said, "Education without implementation is just plain entertainment."

Information overload is a polite description of the intensity I've experienced at most conferences.

I've been reflecting on this since returning from a 2 day conference last week, wondering how do I best make sense of all the madness?

I realized the key for me is going 3 deep:

Level one: Letting the stuff hit me as it comes, scribbling notes like a mad man as I do my best imitation of a sponge during the actual conference.


Level two: Going back through.  I have to take time to reflect and chew on my notes, otherwise it was all useless.

Level 3: Rewrite the highlights.  Much like I did in this BLOG, sifting through the big ideas and processing what stuck out to me and why and how I'll implement it is huge.  I'm even creating handouts to share w/ friends at my next Eagles Club meeting... they say teaching something is the best way to learn it.

How do you get the most out of a conference?