A few years ago I wrote ‘the spaces in between’:

“I’ve never been to a session at a conference that has taught me more and been more engaging than the ‘spaces in between’ the sessions.

Connecting with distant friends and colleagues; Engaging conversations about teaching, learning, and leading; Topical discussions and meetings over coffee and meals; And getting to know bright people who have similar jobs but unique life and work experience that open my eyes to things beyond what I tend to learn and in my scheduled blocks of conference time… these are the moments that make a conference a rich leaning experience… it’s the spaces in between.”

Sometimes I’ve actually skipped sessions to connect with someone to have a learning conversation, like I did with David Jakes, Jeff Richardson, and Barbara Bray. Other times the conference is an opportunity to connect with people and find time outside of conference times, like I did with Shelly Sanchez Terrell, Kathleen McClaskey, and Remi Kalir… And these are just examples I took the time to record for podcasts, there are so many other conversations that were rich learning experiences, which were often better than the conference presentations themselves.

I’m not trying to say that conference presentations don’t have value, but rather that rich conversations in the spaces in between sessions can be even more interesting and valuable. Put these experiences together and a conference can be such an inspiring place to learn.

…And it’s keynote time… so much learning to be done today!