by Heather Myklegard on
Conferences are a big deal. After travel expenses, dining, and time spent away from the office, you finally get there. The event is one-four days of intense information. New contacts. New ideas. New solutions. You feel motivated and enthusiastic to get back to work and implement all of the new and exciting things you have learned. Your colleagues are excited. The keynote speaker has pumped you all up and you are on fire! What helps even more is the beautiful ocean views from your hotel window or the exciting city streets filled with new people, live music, and interesting and exotic food. Then the conference is over. You get back on the plane and you head back home. The buzz is now just a low drum. You hit a wall and are exhausted from your trip, and know that tomorrow you will be back in the office and back to the grind. So, how do you stay on that pink cloud? How do you stay motivated after the conference is over? Here are four easy tips to keep that motivation fresh and alive!
Blog: As soon as you get home, or even at night while at the conference, write down your thoughts. If you have a blog, write an article about the things you have learned. Share your knowledge with your followers. Make the content valuable and interesting, and others will share your article and continue the conversation. If you do not have blog, put together some slides to share with your team when you get back to the office. It is always best to write down your thoughts while they are fresh in your mind.
Connect: Most likely, you made several new contacts at the conference. Connect with them on all your social media platforms. Send them an e-mail telling them how much you enjoyed meeting or working with them. Share with them what you found the most helpful at the conference. Ask to connect with them on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Tag them in your posts while at the conference. You can continue to motivate each other even after the conference is over by keeping in touch.
Inspire Your Team: Hold a team meeting as soon as you get back to the office. Throw together a slide show of the top five take-aways from the conference. Delegate team members to start implementing new ideas and best practices. Encourage feedback from your team. Even though they weren’t at the conference, they may have some very valuable pieces to include.
Sign up For Another Conference: Remember how good you feel after the conference. Write it down. Now sign up for another conference, and when you are dragging your feet about going, remind yourself how much you learned and how motivated you feel after a conference. Much like going to the gym, we always feel great after we are finished.
Hopefully, these four easy tips will help you keep that momentum going strong even after the conference is over and you are headed back to your office.
