How to Squeeze Every Drop of Learning from a Conference

As you read this, I’m jet-setting my way to Brisbane. I know Melbourne to Brisbane isn’t exactly the Côte d’Azur, but please, let a gal dream! I’m heading to the Professional Speakers Australia Annual Convention 2025, and honestly, this is always one of the highlights of my year.

These are my people. Fellow speakers obsessed with using the stage to inspire, challenge, and spark change and always in service of our audience.

The conference is intense—four days of brilliant back-to-back workshops, keynotes, deep-dive learning, and fabulous cocktail dinners. And this year, the pressure’s on. I’ll be delivering a mainstage keynote. No big deal. (Okay, huuggee deal.)

Some of my biggest breakthroughs, including the idea for my last book, X Factor: Unleash your Presenting Superpower, came from an offhand comment during a session. That’s the magic of these spaces: inspiration sneaks up on you.

But four days of sitting for hours? Listening at full throttle? Networking non-stop? It’s exhilarating but also a marathon for the brain (and the feet). Here’s how I make the most of it without burnout:

📌 Move – Morning walks and meditation help me clear my head and keep my energy up.

📌 Reflect Between Sessions – I don’t wait until I get home to process takeaways. After each session, I jot down one action I’ll take immediately. In between sessions, I might call my team, test a new app or even connect with a client, trying to immediately apply this one idea.

📌 Leave White Space – I don’t cram my schedule. Sometimes, I get my best ideas by skipping a session to sit silently, review my notes, and reflect on my learning. But I do get serious FOMO, so I buddy up with someone who can share key takeaways from the sessions I skip. That way, I get reflection time and the highlights—the best of both worlds.

📌 Hydrate (and Outsmart the Sugar Traps) – Conferences = carb & sugar traps, and my sweet tooth doesn’t help! My rule? Water first, always. It keeps me sharp, dodges the sugar crashes, and makes that one perfect espresso even better.

📌 Talk to as many people as possible – The best insights often come off-stage, in hallway chats, coffee lines, and lunch breaks. Everyone’s there to connect, so start the conversation! Hat tip to the amazing Warwick Merry, who does this with style.

📌 Ask Better Questions – Instead of “What do you do?” ask: “What’s exciting you right now?” or “What’s one insight from the conference that’s changed how you think?”. The answers are gold.

📌 Take a ‘Digest Day’ – I don’t dive back into work after a conference. I schedule a day to organize my notes and map out next steps. Otherwise, all that brilliance gets lost.

By the time you hear from me next, I’ll be post-conference exhausted—but buzzing with ideas.

Until then, I’m off to soak it all in.

I’d love to hear from you—how do you make the most of learning opportunities?