Attending a conference? Here’s how to make it worth your time.
Click here for a free conference report template.
If your employer sends you to a conference, they’re likely spending thousands of dollars on the registration, hotel, and travel. It’s smart to make the most of your time away. Here are ten ways to maximize your conference experience, retain more information, and act on what you learn, plus a detailed explanation of how to prepare a conference report.
How should you prepare to attend a conference?
Research the sessions. What sessions are most intriguing? Create a plan before you arrive. That way, you won’t be scrambling between sessions to decide on where you’re headed next. You may even need to select the sessions you want to attend in advance and submit your choices to the conference organizers.
Download necessary apps. To register for sessions, many conferences use apps. Take a moment to download any necessary apps, including ride-sharing apps. Then, upload any information the app requests, such as your attendee profile or a payment option for a ridesharing app.
Consider how you want to capture the experience. Before you jet off, consider how you’ll capture lessons learned. While it can be tempting to summarize what every speaker shares (this is likely how you learned to take notes in school), that’s not necessarily the most effective way to take notes at a conference. Instead, focus on writing down actions you can take after the event, questions for your team, or insights you want to share with your organization. Post-conference, focus on implementing key takeaways and initiating conversations with new connections and colleagues, referencing the speaker materials.
Block time to review your conference notes. Before you leave for a conference, block time to review your notes and materials during the conference, on the flight back, or the day after you return. According to research, within 1 hour, listeners forget an average of 50% of the information presented. This “curve of forgetting” also suggests that by day 30, you may only retain 2-3% of the original content.
How can you maximize your time at a conference?
Network strategically. Quality is usually more important than quantity when it comes to networking. (Unless you’re in a competition to collect the most business cards, of course.) To make more meaningful connections, consider talking to speakers after their sessions, seeking out smaller breakout sessions, or coordinating brief on-site meetups before you leave.
Take notes about who you meet. After you make a new connection, take a moment to jot down a note about that person on their business card, in your contacts list, a notebook or notes app, or a LinkedIn connection request. The goal is to remind yourself why you connected and what you want to follow up on after the conference.
Allow for breaks and downtime. A conference can be overwhelming, especially if you work from home or typically aren’t as social at work. Allow yourself breaks during the day to recharge and rest. Find a quiet corner or schedule a 30-minute break before dinner to stop by your room and refresh.
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How can you learn from your experience when you return home?
Use a take-action system. It’s not enough to re-read or review your notes; You want to be strategic. Here is a systematic process to highlight actions as you review your notes.
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Immediate to-dos.
Place items in this list that you can complete within the next few days. For example, “Request email engagement data for marketing campaign from IT.” You can check off these simple tasks quickly and move forward.
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Scheduling.
Next, list the meetings or conversations you want to coordinate with people you met at the conference or with coworkers with whom you want to discuss your learnings. For example, “Schedule a call with Tom to learn more about leveraging AI for internal communications.” These calls don’t need to happen immediately but scheduling them while the ideas are fresh in your mind will keep them from slipping away.
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Call notes.
If you’re scheduling calls weeks in advance, add meeting notes regarding what you want to discuss, and include links or pictures of your conference notes and materials. These detailed notes are a gift to your future self.
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Future action items.
You may also have action items that aren’t quick, simple, or immediate but still valuable. Add these items to a list you can check later, add reminders to your calendar, and consider sorting them by time sensitivity. For example, “Reformat the internal comms report to highlight engagement data.”
Share your conference experience. In addition to the action items, you may have knowledge you want to share with your organization or team. Make it happen. Teaching others what you learned can help you internalize the information. Depending on your personality, you may want to host a lunch-and-learn, contribute an article to your organization’s internal newsletter, facilitate interactive workshops, or prepare a written report (more on that below).
Create a conference report. After you attend a conference, you may need to write and submit a conference report. Here are five things to know.
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What is conference report
A conference report is a document that summarizes the key information, insights gained, and people you met during the conference. You may also evaluate the conference, assessing whether it was relevant to the organization and a good use of time (or not).
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What key points should you include in a conference report?
A conference report should include the following sections, if applicable:
- Conference overview
- Session overviews: title, presenter(s), and a brief summary
- Key insights, findings, themes, discussions, or debates
- Recommendations or action items
- Conclusion
- Appendices (e.g., conference handouts, slide decks)
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What’s the purpose of a conference report?
A conference report makes it easy to share knowledge by distilling hours or days of content into a digestible format. It doesn’t always make sense for an organization to send multiple people to every conference, but a conference report can summarize the most important information from key sessions to share with a broader audience. You can also use a conference report to justify future attendance at the conference or to make a case for attending a different event next year.
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Who’s the audience of a conference report?
Your audience will likely be your manager, team, and anyone else who could benefit from the material. Each of these stakeholders may be interested in a different portion of the report. Your manager may want to ensure that your attendance aligns with your career goals and roles, while your team members may want to review the key takeaways or check out the slide decks.
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How to write a conference report?
A conference report is a bit less engaging than an in-person conference, so you’ll want to keep your documentation concise. Include the most important information and provide sufficient context for readers to understand, while eliminating unnecessary details. Use headings and bullet points to help different readers easily find the information most relevant to them.
Conference report template
Use this template to help get you started.
- Conference Overview
- Conference Name:
- Date & Location:
- Organizer or Sponsor:
- Conference Purpose:
- Your Role/Participation (e.g., attendee, speaker, exhibitor):
- Brief Summary (2–3 sentences):
- Session Overviews
- For each session you attend, record the following:
- Session Title:
- Presenter(s):
- Summary: (Brief overview of the topic, objectives, and key takeaways)
- Key Insights & Themes
- Major Insights: (Bullet points summarizing the most important insights)
- Trends & Themes:
- Notable Discussions or Debates:
- Recommendations & Action Items
- Suggestions for the Organization: (e.g., potential initiatives, resources to explore, processes to improve)
- Personal or Team Action Items: (e.g., trainings to attend, people to follow up with, ideas to implement)
- Ideas to Share with Colleagues:
- Conclusion
- Overall Value of the Conference:
- Was it Worth Attending? Why or Why Not?
- Would You Recommend It to Others?
- Appendices
- Linked or Attached Materials
Make the most out of every conference
Attending a conference is just the beginning. Before settling back into your routine, revisit your great ideas – and the fantastic notes and materials you took home – during your previously scheduled time blocks! As you review your notes, focus on to-dos you can check off over the next few days, schedule meetings, and organize future action items. You can maximize your conference experience and help transform your work with a few intentional changes.
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