I attended my first National Speakers Association convention earlier this month in New York City - 2008 NSA Convention: NSA Rocks NYC!  Friends told me the experience would be incredible, and they were correct.

 The one idea they did better than any other conference I have attended that will add value for readers is how they set up and followed up a return on investment of attending the conference idea.

a) Pick 3 specific goals for what you want to learn or accomplish from this event.
b) Estimate your investment in this meeting – registration, travel, lodging, even indirect costs, such as lost time, if it would have been billable
c) Create a list of potential action steps to accomplish your 3 specific goals
d) Determine resources needed and completion dates on those 3 items
e) Estimate benefits in the next year, and
f) Create a targeted return on your attendance at the event.

For those interested in more details about the Association on how their meetings or products might interest you, the website is www.nsaspeaker.org/  .