When you do attend a session, workshop, etc. don’t just listen….in fact don’t just take notes. As a speaker, I don’t look at my part being that of simply a dumping of information. I have two primary goals whenever I speak:

1. Give everyone at least one idea, action item, etc. that they can take back with them.
2. Begin a conversation.

Too often conferences are just a blip on the radar. A successful conference is one that has an effect that spreads. I’m not just talking about spreading the content through twitter…though a great start (and I’m still kicking myself for not kicking off my session with my twitter ID and a hashtag) but it goes beyond that.

Don’t just take notes, process them later. Look over your notes and create action items based on what you’ve learned and experience. What good is inspiration if it remains static. Of course those action items can come from things outside of sessions and keynotes too.

Stay connected. This is the area I am terrible at. I just spoke at the HOW Design Conference and met some outstanding (these people truly stand out) people. What a shame it is to wait a year to connect with them again. Keep the conversations going, continue to develop the relationship. For me that means make a list of people to stay in contact with on a continuous basis. For me I keep that list fairly short, to help make it an achievable goal but I also have a list of everyone that I met that I will try to stay in touch with as well. Again, this is the hardest area as life and busyness get in the way.

In fact can I ask you to help me? If you’ve heard me speak will you do a couple of things for me?

• Connect with me at the conference.

Remember, I don’t usually go in with a team. And as much as I’m an extrovert, I don’t like to crash your group. So please say hi, let’s go to lunch, all that good stuff.

• Reach out afterwards

Again, this doesn’t come naturally to me and honestly, I don’t know if what I said resonated. If it does please stay connected through email, twitter, you name it.

• Give me feedback

I take my position as a speaker seriously. I want to be sure to give you everything that you are expecting out of your time at the conference. That’s why I always try to leave lots of room at the end for questions. If I can do things better, and I know I can, let me know so that I can bring the best content, engage you more, and ultimately give you what you need to do your work better.

To me conversation should be a big part of your conference experience. If you go, and only listen and never leave ‘sponge mode’ I think you miss out. Meet new people, share stories, make friends. Whenever I speak at a conference or to a group, my main objective is to give them something they can take away with them…I have a feeling that the Unplugged conference will give you much to take home.

If you can’t make it to Unplugged, still find a place to have conversation with others that battle similiar battles, and dream similar dreams. Another great option is a local lab.