Professional Development Follow Up
When the meeting is over, the connections begin. Here are three ways that I quickly follow up after a professional development meeting.
Type My Notes. My notes are taken on the agenda or my iPad. If you return to the pages for inspiration, congrats!, but I never do. I always take my hand written notes and type them out narratively on my computer. This is an amazing way to reflect on the session and add context to the message.
Email Business Cards. After taping the business card in my planner on the session’s date, I email every person who gave me their card. This is a friendly way to save their information in my contacts and provides them with all of my information. If you don’t have your direct contact information including in your email in the email signature - add it now!
Write & Mail Notecards. Here is the magic! I spend the next day hand writing notes to every person on the agenda. If the name is on the agenda, they are getting a note of appreciation from me. This is super special for speakers to receive a note thanking them for their expertise, time, and support. My typed notes are helpful so I can add a line from their presentation that impacted me. Adding my business card provides them with my information, if they’d like to contact me. If you are the event planner, it’s a nice touch to provide the speaker’s business mailing address - sometimes finding their work address takes longer than writing the note.
These are three quick ways to make the most out of your professional development sessions. Take the time to follow-up and start building strong relationships.
Yours truly,
Dr. V
