Andrew Darlow Images Intl.’s Post

It's been a little over a week since I invested the time to go check out REConvene hosted by Moses Kagan, Simran Kagan, and their amazing team. I always give some time to reflect and process and since the genesis came from Twitter, here are my thoughts: 1️⃣ - As far as "unconferences" go - this has easily been one of the best I've ever attended. Being in the MF space and medical device space prior, I've been to more than my share of "industry" conferences at big convention centers with suits, and speed networking and all that crap and this is definitely not that. 2️⃣ - It's more of a well-curated low-key experience with intentional space for deep connections, inspirational ideas, and a chance to get outside your comfort zone. 3️⃣ - The variety of attendees at all stages of the game (and in different spaces) made for fun conversations and the ability to both give and share experiences for those who may be earlier on in their journey, and the opportunity to learn from those who are also farther along their path than you may be as well. 4️⃣ - The openness and honesty among the speakers was great. Those are the conversations I'm used to and enjoy in my professional circle, but in most public venues the quiet part never gets said out loud. (Although it's the most useful for those who are on that path) I always find that when I take the time to invest, experiences like these leave me recharged and reaffirm my focus and mission. I also always make it a point to get at least 1 thing that will change my business and speed up my evolution and I received that in spades. Hat tip to Moses Kagan for a well-executed event, and to all of my new REConvene friends. PS - Artem Tepler - You would have enjoyed this my friend....

humble brag alert 🚨I used to hate conferences, WHY, I'll get to that. It's been a year of being on stage LOTS, so this message I got on Friday makes me feel I'm giving some value. People who attended conferences pay A LOT. For small businesses it could the only external learning event they invest in their social team ALL year. For so long, it was full of generic shite (still is lets be frank) talking absolutes or stuff you can Google "Content is king" bollix "You need to be relatable" explain this shite "Authentic" what the fuck does that mean? Give context. Thankfully this year I've been to many and it's SO much better. For me, two I'll try to do two things. 1) Entertain you, if you don't get a giggle or pissed off with me, I failed AND/OR 2) Pull back the curtain on the work I've done and explain how it's done. Stuff you can't goggle. If I do one, it justifies a day out, if I do both bang on the money. If I do neither, go ask the manager for a refund. What REALLY is the best event out there right now?

First meetup in my home state, don't leave me hanging DSM! If you're new here, I host meetup events whenever I travel to bring my LinkedIn connections to life. I open up my network so others can expand theirs. It's a low-key opportunity to meet professionals from a variety of industries. We meet, chat, network, and avoid awkward conversations. Since I'm bringing relative strangers together I prepare a list of back-up discussion topics*, here they are: Iowa weather, LinkedIn, Caitlin Clark, ground temperatures (ANF- IYKYK), Simpson vs. Central rivalry, family/pets, favorite pens, dream vacation spot, nerdy hobbies. Ground Rules: Come as you are, no name tags. No sales pitches. Here are the event details: Happy Hour: March 11 @ Range Restaurant + Cocktail Bar, 5:00-6:30pm Coffee Chat: March 12 @ Smokey Row (Des Moines), 8:00-9:30am Tagging a few people that I would love to connect with while I'm in town: Trevor M., Dave Won, Michael Novotny, Nathan Seberg, Beth Shelton, MBA (she/her), Tiffany N. Berkenes, Bernie E. Stone MA, MBA, Anna Nalean, Bobby Nalean, Nate Boulton, Brian Steffen & Sharon Steffen, Daniel Carver, Nate Nims, and Erin Disney. *We have yet to refer to the list of discussion topics, the conversation always seems to develop organically.*

A free Webinar on how to reward your team for Christmas! (and as a special treat it's hosted by me....)

Great tips for anyone presenting anything. From all hands meetings to giant crowds, these are pretty dang useful.

You are invited to attend one of our ONLINE Complex Mess gatherings next week! 🌟 8am AEST, Tuesday 6 August (good if you're joining from America) 🌟 6pm AEST, Thursday 8 August (good if you're joining from Europe) Of course, it doesn't matter where you're joining from, choose the time that suits you best! We expect these sessions to go for 60-90 minutes, depending on how chatty people are on the day. And we will go ahead even if we only have one or two people sign up 😁 - you have to start somewhere! We are going to try running the gatherings, as much as possible, as we do when we meet in person. What does that look like? 🐾 Arrival - getting present, setting intention. 🐾 Conversation - why was it important that you're here? And, if we get to it (!), What is a tension that you’re grappling with that is not going to go away? 🐾 Reflection and closing. That might not sound like much, but in our experience that's often plenty for a good conversation!! In true Complex Mess style, we fully expect these gathering to be a bit messy at least at first, but we think that's part of the charm! So it will be quite experimental - we will learn what works and make adjustments as we go. If you're interested in joining us, please have a look at the "Community" page on the Complex Mess website, especially the group agreements and group practices as well as the summaries of previous conversations. If you think this is right for you email, DM or contact us through the website to sign up. 🎈 And just a reminder that we have our next in-person gathering on Wednesday 7 August, from 6-8pm in Melbourne. Be in touch to register or find out more! meredith@talkingfutures.com.au

With conference season in full swing, I wanted to take this opportunity to go over some ground rules on how we should treat each other. You're likely to run into adversaries (both personal and professional) at these events, so let's all try our hardest to keep things civil. This is mainly meant for folks who are newer to the conference scene, but it never hurts for seasoned conference goers to review: - Physical, in-person violence is never the answer. Fight it out on LinkedIn. - Don't go after people's personal insecurities. Yes, I've sized up from an L to an XL. I'm doing my best here. - In that same vein, yes I got these pants at Costco. They're quality pants and I'm tired of lying to myself. - Don't visit a single booth over and over and take all of their swag. People are going to notice if you scurry across the conference floor with an armful of branded water bottles. - Please don't throw sharp, hard and/or wet objects at others. We’re encouraged to pack light and probably only brought enough shirts for the day. - Everybody be excellent to everybody. With that said, let’s all have a safe and fun finish to conference season. I’ll see y’all in Las Vegas for dbt Coalesce!

What speakers think will get them to the top of their industry: - a flashy demo reel - endless amounts of talk options and topics - only taking paid gigs - being selective about who they network with - saying yes to every gig that comes your way What actually gets speakers to the top of the industry: - a demo reel that shows an accurate representation of what it’s like to work with you - finding their niche - getting creative with value if they can’t outright “pay” you to get on stage at their event - expanding your network, referring other speakers, finding ways to serve your people - walking away from gigs that don’t match your message or your audience — Want to learn more about becoming a top of the industry speaker? Hi, I’m Grant. A former professional Speaker and the founder of The Speaker Lab. We help speakers get booked and paid to speak. Follow along to learn more. 👋

Here's me speaking at my first big SaaS event, the 2018 SaaStr Annual conference. What the photo hides: I was a ball of nerves. Even the thought of speaking used to make my heart rate spike, my body shake, and my voice crack. While this never totally went away, here's what helped me get through it & learn to love public speaking: 👉 Remember that the audience is rooting for you. They're not judging you. They're trying to learn from you. The goal isn't to impress them, it's to deliver your insights with clarity so they can get smarter. 👉 Practice more than you think you need to. Physically rehearse the talk, record it, time it, rewatch it. Do it again. Do it in front of someone else. 👉 Memorize the first 90 seconds. The beginning is the hardest part. Once you’re through it, you’re on autopilot. 👉 Don't force an energy or personality that's not natural to you. I'm not the highest energy person in the room. You won't find me dancing on stage. But I love a great chart & have a dry sense of humor. The more I leaned into what felt natural to me, the more comfortable I became. 👉 You don't need to do it alone — I certainly didn’t. During this SaaStr talk, I co-presented with Blake Bartlett (that's how I even got a chance to speak in the first place). We worked with a speaking coach starting two months before the talk. And I got an assist from my pharmacist, which worked wonders 👌 Finally, just do it. If I look back on my career, the talk at SaaStr gave me a huge confidence boost to start creating content & sharing it externally. That would've never been possible if I let my nerves get the better of me. Happy conference season to all who celebrate 🎤