Chances are that you do attend or you will attend a lot of conferences throughout your life. That’s what learners do.
You’ve most likely already attended several conferences in the following categories:
- Business conferences
- Religious conferences
- Hobby conferences
- Family-strengthening conferences
- Parent-teacher conferences
- Online summits (they have them on just about every topic!)
- The list goes on…
And at the end of those events, if you’re like us, you probably walked away with 50 pages of notes, a pocket full of business cards, and hundreds of ideas to implement “someday.”
But we want to DO something with the information we learn, or these conferences become nothing more than ways to fill our time, right?
So, life architects, this podcast (and the basic outline below) will walk you through three simple ideas that will help every conference you attend to have a positive impact on your life.
Idea #1: Go with questions.
Before you even get to the conference, write down 3-5 specific questions you would love to have answered during the event. These questions will guide you and will have a greater impact than you might think.
Idea #2: Use symbols in your notes.
As you’re recording thoughts and ideas, add easy-to-find symbols into your notes so you can pull out the most important information once the conference is over.
These can be done digitally or on paper, but here are five suggestions (we describe them more in the podcast).
Idea #3: Create a one-page sheet with your key takeaways.
You will definitely want to keep all your notes (Evernote is perfect for storing them digitally!), but it is incredibly helpful to distill your notes into one page, with the action items at the very top. Then you set calendar triggers to review these notes after a day, a week, a month, etc.
Click here if you’d like to download your own copy of this template.
This is what you will implement first.
Makes it easy to get the most out of a conference, don’t you think?
You’re investing time and energy (and often financial resources) just to be there. These are three ways you can make that investment really matter.
There’s a link above to download your own printable note-taking template, or you can make your own!
Either way, we want to hear how your next conference experience goes. We’re hoping it’s awesome.
To connect more with us here at LearnDoBecome:
Download our free guide: Five Life-Changing Habits Most People Overlook.
Take our free productivity class and learn about our STEP program. (Steps to Everyday Productivity keeps your emails at zero, gives you mental clarity, and helps you set up a seamless system to manage all your papers, projects, ideas, and tasks.)
(Want to review the transcript of today’s podcast? Click here or on the image below!)
Great ideas! I’m a stay-at-home mom who loves learning from webinars and podcasts. I like taking notes on these, but then I rarely look at them again. I’m going to gather notes from webinars/podcasts on similar topics, call it a conference, and use these ideas!
LOVE that idea, Mel! Please let me know how it goes. 🙂
I thought of this bullet journal stencil picture when you talked about the symbols you use in your notes.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/21/8d/f9/218df91c2dfe8cecba3dfef9f35b8e84.jpg
That is awesome! Thank you so much for linking to that. Super cute. 🙂
Thank you- this is just what I needed. Glad to have checkd out your site. I have been to 4 conferences in the past 3 months (not typical) and I have pages and pages of notes. I will go back through my notes to create the master action plan, upload it plus a picture of the notes online for safekeeping, and then schedule time to review the plan on a regular basis.
I wonder how to keep the action plan realistic when there is so much that is good to know (and to share)? I don’t really have a specific focus but rather general interests in which over time I have narrowed…. but not quite sure how to make a specific brand for yourself. I see my comment has changed direction here! Sorry! I know of you, April, from the Power of Moms but today I realize that you and your husband run this site. Is there another podcast that talks about how you decided this specific focus is what you were and are going to do? Thanks!
So glad this was helpful for you!! We have more ideas for a follow-up process, but the STEP program will totally cover it. 🙂 So glad you joined!! More soon. xo
Hello Eric & April,
I have just found your site and am really enjoying what I have read and listened to so far.
I like your idea of a one page summary from conferences and plan to put this into practice then next time I go to a conference or seminar. I’m also thinking how I can apply it to podcasts and blog posts which inspire me and I make a few notes from.
This podcast reminds me of a talk I heard from ‘The Brain Guy’ Terry Small http://www.terrysmall.com/ in which he said that if you make handwritten notes during a talk (or lecture/sermon etc.), you will remember a much greater percentage of what you heard, even if you never look at them again. Of course, if you do review the notes then your retention goes up so much more. So your one page summary and then reviewing of the summary will improve your retention of what was spoken as well as giving you the opportunity to put into practice the action points you set yourself.
Thank you for putting these podcasts and blog posts together. I enjoy the conversational style between husband and wife.
Blessings,
Angela
Angela, this is AWESOME. Love this information, and I look forward to checking out Terry’s podcast! Thanks for being with us and for your kind words. They mean so much!
Hello April,
Thank you for your reply. I should clarify that I heard Terry Small speaking live a few years ago. He also said that we remember much more if we take notes by hand than electronically. Unfortunately I don’t think he has a podcast, but he does have a blog with interesting posts on your brain and ways to improve how you use it.
Blessings,
Angela
The concept of the executive summary reminds me of what my son’s piano teacher wants him to do: when he goes home from a lesson, he needs to practice everything he just went over in his lesson because he will learn and retain what he has learned faster and better. Great podcast!!
Yes! Such a great parallel! Thank you so much, Dana! This literally has helped me through DOZENS of conferences. 🙂 Hope you can utilize it in the future!
Thank you for this information and tool for all those NOTES! Do you have a suggestion for incorporating photos that I take of powerpoint presentations during the conference, or video’s even?
I typically come home with information in an array of formats. Handwritten notes, photos of powerpoint presentations, videos and even audios . I’ve never been able to come up with a solution for having them all in one place. I have never tried to put photos/videos/audios in Evernote, is it possible?
Hi JoAnn! You can add photos/video/audio in Evernote. 🙂 You may be limited by account restrictions depending on which account you have – free vs paid – but it can be done. A quick Google search pulls up lots of tutorials. Evernote is amazing!
I have been going back and listening to all your podcasts. I did 4W2F and am in ARISE. This one is perfect as I’m going to my first in-person conference since COVID. Thank you so much! I will be much more organized now, and I know where I will save my notes too. I’m grateful for this program.
So proud of you, Jen! I hope that the conference is a wonderful experience for you. We’re grateful to have the chance to know you here at LearnDoBecome!
Hello April and Eric,
Thank you for these helpful tips! I love to learn and am always finding new things to learn about. I am currently a forever student, literally! I am in my middle 50s, attending school part-time, and will be completing my bachelor’s degree in Health Informatics in April 2024. I have always struggled with taking notes. Not sure if this is a common issue for others, but in between the time I hear something and writing it down, I forget what it was I wanted to write down. Then I just missed the next few minutes of the discussion. Do you have any tips for me in this situation? I just joined STEP about a month ago and I am just loving all that I have learned so far. Unfortunately, I have always been retroactive instead of proactive up until this point. It is so wonderful not to have anything renting space or even owning part of my brain! So in Dave Ramsey’s words — screaming “I’m rent free!!”
Maria, we’re so happy to hear that these tips were helpful to you. And, hooray for the progress that you’ve already made! As for taking notes while listening, there may be additional tips for you here, https://learndobecome.com/video-transform-your-pile-of-notes-into-a-positive-roi. Wishing you all the best as you continue learning!
Taryn, thanks for the info and encouragement!
Hi April,
I’m searching for ideals for a
Company conference I am
Planning and came across this on Pinterest. I love the notes for conference thank you for the template! I hope all is going well with you. It’s been a long time since we were together in Phoenix!! Thank you for this fun article Amy Trickett Practice Promotions
So glad this has been helpful! I still use this method for every conference, and it has made a huge difference. Sending my best!