Don't let conference inspiration vanish when you return to work

Have you ever attended a conference and left full of energy with lots of best-
practice advice and ideas, only to feel immediately deflated when you return to the
office and get swept up by the everyday stress? Maybe that's happened this year after attending one of the SCM summits?

In the upcoming issue of Strategic Communication Management, Sue Dewhurst, Melcrum's leader of the Black Belt training program in Europe, offers her advice for maintaining the momentum.

"Keep in touch with people you meet at conferences, by phone, email or arrange to meet for lunch or coffee," says Sue.

"I still meet up with some of the people I met on the very first Black Belt program. Between my schedule and theirs, we might only make it very occasionally, but I always enjoy catching up with them and I'm constantly inspired by the things
people are doing and the plans they're making. And you never know what opportunities you might find."

Keep reading to find out what other pieces of advice Sue Dewhurst has to share.

"Events like the SCM summit always leave me with a spring in my step. I feel energized from hearing about the positive difference other communicators are making and I always come away with new ideas. I also love the opportunity to catch up with people I've not seen for ages. But then of course, it's back to work again and the everyday stresses and strains start to take their toll.

So how can you spark that kind of energy and inspiration outside the conference room?

Here are eight approaches that work for me:

1. Talk to strangers
(Within reason, and obviously keeping safety in mind.) As someone who gets curious about how people got to where they are and what they've learned along
the way, I have a tendency to ask questions. Last week I got chatting to the owner of a small chain of local shops about what had made her leave her corporate job and start her own business ten years previously.

Her story was pure inspiration. I left the shop feeling full of energy and determined to make a start on some of those dreams I haven't yet put into action.

2. Read more
Even if it's just for ten minutes a day. Next time you catch a train, don't buy yet another magazine from the newsagents or pick up the free paper. Take one of
those books standing unopened on your shelves or an industry magazine or article
from your "I'll read this when I get the time (but I usually don't)" pile.

3. Discover social media
For those unbelievers who think you haven't got time or can't see the point, just try it. Find a blog that sparks your interest and sign up to its RSS feed. Follow someone on Twitter. If you're already converted, sign up for something new today.

4. Keep in touch with people you meet
Pick up the phone, drop them an email or arrange to meet for lunch or coffee. I still meet up with some of the people I met on the very first Black Belt program.

Between my schedule and theirs, we might only make it very occasionally, but
I always enjoy catching up with them and I'm constantly inspired by the things people are doing and the plans they're making. And you never know what opportunities you might find.

I first met Sally Hinder, my co-trainer on the UK Black Belt program, over lunch at a Melcrum conference. We started chatting, found we had a lot in common and two years on we devised two new Black Belt levels together.

5. Keep things for a rainy day
I carry a notebook with me to jot down new thoughts, I have an "ideas" folder in my inbox, a big noticeboard above my desk to pin up pictures or quotations, and more bookshelves than is probably healthy. If I'm working on something new or I'm feeling uninspired, I know I'll always find something to spark my thinking and help me move forward.

6. Spend time with radiators
No, not the metal objects that keep you warm in winter. I mean those people you know who always have something positive to say and radiate that kind of energy that leaves you feeling better than you did beforehand.

As opposed to the ones who can be relied on to reel off ten reasons why things won't work and five things that are going wrong in their day.

If you want to feel energized and inspired, spend time with radiators, not drainers.

7. Look to yourself for inspiration
Try a quick exercise much-loved by life coaches: email five of your closest friends or colleagues and ask them what three things they value most about you, what they think you most underestimate about yourself and what you've done that they think you should be most proud of. You might feel a bit daft for asking, but the responses will make you feel all warm and fuzzy and you'll want to keep them for a long time.

8. Tell someone else they've inspired you
Send an email to the speaker who sparked ideas for you at a conference, that person whose blog you read regularly or the author of a thought-provoking article.

Positive psychologists point out that we actually feel better ourselves if we give to others or make a point of noticing and writing down the things we feel grateful for. And you'll make the other person's day, too."

Until next time,

P.S. Melcrum's SCM London Summit is now SOLD OUT! But take a look at our program of events for 2010 including social media, change communication and employee engagement.

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