Big Conferences, Small Conferences, and Why Both Matter

I’ll admit this upfront. Saying YES to myself and attending empowHER 2026 still takes effort.

Which is funny, considering I created it.

I’m currently sitting at the National Sports Forum in St. Louis, and I love this conference. It’s big. It’s jam-packed with learning. There are facility tours, nonstop networking, side conversations, team bonding, and that buzzing energy that reminds you why you’re in this industry in the first place.

There’s so much value here.

And like anything, there are also trade-offs.

For me, large conferences take a lot of energy. They can feel overwhelming at times. With over 1,000 attendees, it’s easy to hide in the crowd. You can float from session to session, collect notes, shake hands, and still leave without ever really being seen.

That doesn’t make big conferences bad. It just makes them what they are.

Over the years, I’ve also attended smaller conferences. And if I’m being honest, I used to think they were small because they weren’t fully built yet. Or because they hadn’t “made it.” Or because not enough people wanted to go.

I was wrong.

They were small by design.

Smaller conferences create a different experience entirely. You connect faster. You don’t hide. You have real conversations instead of transactional ones. You learn more because your nervous system isn’t in overdrive. You leave feeling energized instead of depleted.

And here’s the thing we forget. Most big conferences started small. Every major event you know today began as a handful of people in a room who believed in the idea.

That realization is one of the reasons I decided empowHER would be small by design.

No breakouts.
No packed schedules.
No overwhelm.
No hiding.

Just space to think, connect, and actually integrate what you’re learning.

There’s research to back this up. Studies on adult learning and professional development show that people retain more information and report higher satisfaction when learning environments allow for interaction, reflection, and psychological safety. Smaller group settings increase participation, deepen relationships, and improve confidence, especially for women and underrepresented leaders.

Networking research also shows that while large conferences increase the number of connections, smaller events dramatically improve the quality of them. Stronger ties. More follow-up. More collaboration. More long-term impact.

On a personal level, conferences of any size can be powerful. They pull you out of your day-to-day. They remind you that you’re not alone. They spark ideas you wouldn’t have had sitting behind your laptop.

Professionally, they can shift careers, build confidence, and open doors.

The key is knowing what season you’re in and what you actually need.

Right now, I love being at a big conference like NSF. I’m learning, reconnecting, and absorbing everything I can.

And I also know why empowHER matters.

It’s not meant to compete with big conferences. It’s meant to complement them.

It’s for women who want depth over noise. Connection over collection. Growth without burnout.

Sometimes the most powerful rooms aren’t the loudest ones.

They’re the ones where you can’t hide, and you don’t want to.