The (conference) Hangover
Conference season is officially over. Legal Geek, PM Forum, ALM, Marketing Leadership Summit — if you’ve been anywhere near a name badge recently, you’ve probably come back brimming with big ideas, new contacts, and a mild Prosecco headache.
The perennial challenge? By next week, most of that energy will have quietly expired, buried under a pile of “quick catch-ups” and admin.
So, before the buzz fades, here are three ways to make sure your next conference actually changes something.
Enjoy.
#1. Jot down your “Big 3”
Take fifteen minutes to jot down the three ideas or insights that genuinely stuck with you. Not the generic “AI will change everything” stuff — the ones that made you pause.
Ask yourself:
- Why did that resonate?
- What problem could it solve in your team or client base?
- What would “trying it out” look like next quarter?
Then, share your top three as a quick LinkedIn post. It’s a brilliant way to process what you’ve learned, add your spin, and stay visible while your peers are still unpacking their lanyards.
AI top tip: If you’ve scribbled your notes by hand, snap a photo and ask ChatGPT to transcribe it. It’s weirdly good at turning coffee-stained scrawl into coherent sentences (better than some end-of-day panels).
#2. Pick your “three best humans”
Every event has them. The ones who made you laugh, made you think — or made you stay for one more drink.
Maybe it’s:
- The speaker who went against the grain and said something that actually made you think.
- The person in the workshop who just spoke your language.
- The person who owned the dance floor like it was closing arguments.
- Or the quiet operator who dropped a gem over lunch.
Connect with them on LinkedIn this week. Reference something you genuinely talked about, not just “great to meet you.” Then, keep the chat alive:
- Send them an article or update they’d enjoy.
- Invite them to speak to your team or join an internal session.
- Suggest a quick catch-up to compare notes post-event.
Networking works best when it’s about continuing the conversation, not collecting connections.
#3. Things we’ll do differently (guess what? There’s 3 of them 
)
All conferences end with a collective “we really should…” moment. The trick is turning it into something you actually do.
As a team (or just you and your long-suffering dog), agree on three tangible shifts for the next 12 months:
- Try one new BD tool or tactic.
- Block time each month for client-facing idea sessions.
- Start a quarterly “innovation lunch” to share new thinking.
Then, send around your notes from point one and get the conversation going about how you’ll change the status quo. It’s amazing how fast new ideas fade if they’re not shared, and how much faster they grow when others build on them.
Final thought
Don’t let conference season become just another round of name tags and warm canapés. Capture the gold while it’s fresh — because momentum, like hotel Wi-Fi, doesn’t last forever.
We’re building a team of voice enabled AI assistants to support you with BD activities and allow you to spend more time being human. Interested? We’d love to chat.
