Speaking at conferences and being careful about what I wish for

Today, I was privileged to get to speak at the first MAUI Day in London. (I expect to write more about the conference overall and the things I showed--some for the first time anywhere--in the coming days.)

One of the aims of the talk was to get people thinking about something in a new way. 

Based on conversations with many of the people I spoke to after my talk, I was successful. 

However, what I didn't realize is that "you've really got me thinking" is a bit of a conversation stopper.

I need to let people have time to think.
I helped people recognize that something they thought to be an unchanged absolute doesn't have to be that way.
The status quo isn't the only option, and there are simple and not-so-simple ways of making significant change for the better.

For people who have been doing something for many years, to suddenly be shown and accept something new can be a lot to take in.

I wanted people to appreciate the situation so we could start having conversations about improving things.

I'm ready to have those conversations now, but others need more time to process their thoughts.

It would be nice if there was another conference next week where we could continue the conversation once people have had that mental processing time. Sadly, that's not the way attending conferences works (especially when so many attendees had travelled a long way to be there).  It's also rare, in my experience, for a talk to potentially change people's ideas on such a level. 

Still, overall, it's definitely a positive situation. 

And I'm looking forward to some of those future conversations.