Sometimes a client’s technology is so dense, so impenetrable, that you realize in spite of every effort to “lighten it up,” presenting it is likely to be about as riveting as watching paint dry. So what should you do? You can fight it and emerge with something a shade less boring, (watching grass grow?) or you can use what you have and turn it to your trade show advantage.
But how? Here’s one approach: Make that ridiculously smart engineer or tech wizard the star of your next trade show. Give them an audience. Get them up on stage. Let them show off your latest technology or service.
JUST DON’T PUT THEM UP THERE ALONE.
This software superstar is not a professional speaker and probably doesn’t have the ability to attract and engage large crowds. But you know what? They don’t have to. Partnering your expert with a professional presenter is one of the most effective ways to use them.
Your professional presenter provides the media savvy. They grab the crowd and warm them up. They set the stage for your “Tech Guru.” This concept is enormously effective when packaged as a Larry King, interview-style trade show presentation. It’s fairly intricate to execute, but it’s like gold when pulled off right.
Steps to a Mesmerizing Sit-down Interview/Presentation
Here are the nuts and bolts (or at least the way WE do it):
First, behind-the-scenes and before the trade show, I sit down with the technicians or product marketing personnel to carve out that basic 10-minute presentation and technology demo. I tell them to imagine they’re presenting to an audience of laypeople — not to “dumb it down” completely; just to dial back the tech-talk. I write down (or record) everything they say. Then, I take that 10 minutes and break it up into several smaller and more digestible pieces. I develop questions that will elicit those pieces as responses. The intent here is to create a Q&A format, instead of a speaker going on ad nauseam with a long list of features and benefits.
The day of the show, our professional presenter pulls in the crowd. They deliver a short (one minute MAX) high-level messaging pitch. Then, they get the audience excited about what’s coming up. Introduce that “special guest” — that software developer or product manager. We use every bit of talk-show fanfare we can muster. Give them rock star status. Then, give them the stage! At this point, our presenter simply walks into the audience with his hand-held mike and assumes the role of interviewer (or Grand Inquisitor).
For the next 10 minutes, the audience is treated to a real dialogue based on the 3-4 minute segments that have been prepared. In addition to keeping the presentation moving along, you’re also “breaking the fourth wall” by creating a “conversation” between your expert and his audience.
The interviewer can even facilitate a REAL Q&A with audience members for the last two or three minutes.
To wrap it up, the interviewer jumps back on stage, thanks his “special guest” and does a 30-second wrap-up and call-to-action.
So, instead of a cringe-inducing 10 minutes, you have an interesting, substantial, entertaining interview before a standing-room-only, engaged crowd. You may not be blessed with George Clooney as your tech expert, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make that person a star.
Do you have an industry-related question you’d like answered on “Hey Newman”? Send him an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
No trade show booth is an island. You will always have neighbors, and they will be on every side of you. And your relationship with those neighbors can make or break your trade show experience. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a 70×70 and they’re in a 10×10, they can still be a valuable ally or a mortal three-day enemy.
We’ve all seen or experienced booths playing “can you top this” with the volume knobs on their PA system. We’ve all seen or experienced presentations ruined by pyrotechnics, blaring rock and roll, or screams of “HEY !! WHO WANTS TO WIN AN iPAD??”
If you do a trade show, it’s either happened to you or it will happen to you. But whether you wage all-out war or have a peaceful and mutually beneficial negotiation is YOUR choice.
Waging Trade Show War
The situation: Day One of the Trade Show. Your neighbor’s first presentation of the morning is deafening. The sales reps in your booth can’t have a conversation. Something has to be done or it’s going to be a long three days.
Your response:Those jerks are too damn loud. I’m going straight to Show Management. They’ll come over with one of those dB meters and get those clowns to TURN IT DOWN. If they don’t, I’ll just turn mine UP !
Their response:Oh yeah!? Well, TWO can play at that game. I’m going to keep my dBs right at the legal limit all day long. We’re going to do four … no SIX, 10 minute presentations an hour. Yeah, That’ll show ‘em. Maybe throw in a little feedback to REALLY make their day. By the end of this show, they’ll wish they never messed with me.
Conclusion: OK, this is obviously a lose-lose approach. Not unlike making the decision to call the police instead of just asking your neighbor not to play their new Metallica box set at 2 in the morning. Use this “call the cops” approach at a trade show and the three days will be hell for both of you.
Peaceful Trade Show Negotiation
The situation: You’re at the Convention Center on the set-in day. You’re rehearsing. Running through your presentation. Checking your sound system. The guy at the next booth is doing the same. And he’s got MUCH bigger speakers than you do. So in the “volume knob wars,” you’re gonna go down. What do you do?
Your response:Hey! How’s it going? Looks like we’re both going to be doing live shows here. What kind of presentation are you doing? (Really listen.) Well, I’d like to introduce myself to see if we can coordinate our schedules so we’re not fighting each other for three days. Are you presenting on the hour and the half hour? Great. What if I go at 15 and 45? Just know that when I do have my presentations, there may be pretty big crowds and it might get kind of loud. But, just know that if it DOES get too loud, you can give me a signal and I’ll turn it down.
In fact, since it looks like we’re not competitors, how about if I mention you guys at the end of the presentation and see if I can send some of that traffic your way?
Their response: Hmm. Nice guy. I should try to stay on schedule and make sure my volume doesn’t go to “11.” I wonder, if I send some of my crowds to their booth, if I can score one of those cool blinky balls they’re giving away … or two …
Conclusion: Compromise. Wage Peace. Establish a relationship. I guarantee you, you’ll have a better show. You’ll have more fun. And you might just pick up some more business.
Do you have an industry-related question you’d like answered on “Hey Newman”? Send him an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
Did your Sunday feel like it was missing something? Did it lack a certain flavor and creativity and intellectual stimulation that you had been carrying into your Mondays? My Sunday was certainly lacking something … and that “something” was Mad Men.
So what is it about this window into the world of 1960s ad executives that has put us into a collective withdrawal since the season finale? It’s easy to say the writing is superb and the performances are first-rate. But more specifically, the messages embedded in the advertising storylines are endlessly captivating.
Today I’d like to talk about the ad campaigns themselves. Don Draper and his cohorts understand that in any kind of writing — especially advertising — everything has to be “big.” They understand that, in writing, you don’t give the central character a chest cold; you give him a terminal illness. What makes the plight compelling is how high the physical or emotional stakes are. So, Don or Peggy figures out what’s life-changing about a swimsuit or briefcase or floor wax and ups the ante.
There’s real brilliance in elevating a tray in a slide projector to the level of poetry by calling it “The Carousel.”
The Draper campaigns illustrate that when marketing any product, the statements have to be bold and the benefits colossal. From a trade show perspective, it’s our responsibility to figure out what those “big” benefits are. Challenge yourself to figure out what’s life-altering about your product so that it truly stands out. You can’t afford to piddle around emphasizing the “small stuff” because if you take your product for granted, the audience will, too. Your message needs to be honest and believable, but it needs to be memorable!
That’s how I view my job as a trade show presenter: What can I say that will transcend this product or service? What’s the hook? What’s the differentiator? What can take this technology from being an inanimate object and make people feel its impact on their lives?
I’m not talking about making your trade show audience cry (necessarily), but why do we have to think of your enterprise server or security solution or other product you’ve designed, built, and devoted so much time to, as just the next temporary thing? Why can’t it be something “bigger” … something with a higher purpose?
That’s the artistry in advertising and marketing: making a human connection in everything you do.
I remember as a child sitting at the dining room table as my dad loaded up “The Carousel” to show us the latest round of family pictures. We kids fought against it then but are so grateful for those memories now … especially since Dad’s gone. It was only possible (and that device was only in our home) because someone looked at that object and asked, “How do I turn this into something beautiful?”
It’s not just stuff that you make; it’s stuff that can change people’s lives, change their perceptions and change what they do and need. Don’t tell me about the speed of your processor or the capacity of your drive. Tell me what this will do for the guy in the third row whose work life is really difficult, and his home life is suffering as a result. That’s what “mad men” do: They ask, “What is it that will get someone to look at this in a totally different way?”
So, I ask you: What’s life-changing about your product? Don’t rest until you have the answer.
Do you have an industry-related question you’d like answered on “Hey Newman”? Send him an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
Hey Newman, when I do a product pitch at a trade show, I just don’t feel like I’m connecting with the audience. What can I do to get them to perk up? –John from Chicago
Nine times out of 10, this mystical “connection” comes down to presenting toyour audience instead of presenting at your audience. I’m talking about basic presentation techniques — ones that sound painfully obvious until you watch an actual live presentation and see things going horribly wrong. Today, I’d like to talk about one of the biggest offenses: ear prompter abuse, which is a problem so prevalent it should actually be criminal, as in, haul that guy off the stage and put him in solitary so he can’t hurt anyone …
If you’re using a prompter and you’re just repeating lines being fed into your ear, then here’s what you have to do to be successful:
1. Avoid eye contact with attendees at all cost, because it might distract you from the voice in your head.
2. Don’t stray from the script because you might miss something you’re told or get off track.
3. And don’t move or act in any way that might distract you from the instructions of your puppet master.
And 4. If you want your audience to remain conscious, ignore the first three instructions.
When it comes to trade shows, “live presentation” is synonymous with “live performance.” It’s more important that you’re captivating your audience than it is to say anything in particular. Engage in eye contact at all times.React to bad (or good) body language with constant course corrections. Change your cadence, timbre and points of emphasis based on the energy of the crowd.
Believe me, blank stares are a lot worse than going a little bit “off script.”
As in most areas of life, change can be very good — even if it comes in the middle of a live trade show presentation. As an actor back in the early days of my career, I did a lot of live theater, including one show that ran for almost two years. I had to go into each performance reminding myself: “You’re not reciting these lines; you’re creating them.” I had to perform the words every night as if it were the first time they were leaving my lips — as if the situation I was in was brand new. Each performance had to feel fresh and unique and alive …
The trade show environment is no different. An audience wants authenticity and engagement. They want to feel that you actually give a damn about what you’re talking about and that you’re passionate.
If all you’re doing is delivering a staged recitation of a marketing white paper … then your audience might as well be reading it online (where no one will see them sleeping).
One final tip:
If you want to use an ear prompter the right way, be sure to buy the best equipment available and get training from an expert. In my mind, the best ear prompter guy in the business is Brian Collins at Ovation.
Do you have an industry-related question you’d like answered on “Hey Newman”? Send him an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
Hey Newman, I’ve seen a number of your trade show presentations, and they tend to be very “theatrical.” But what if your client doesn’t want a lot of flash and dash? What if they just want a “straight” presentation? –John via Newark airport gate
No problem! At Magnet Productions, we do a lot of “straight” presentations. But what we NEVER do is boring presentations. A presenter (even if he’s not doing a game show, magic or escaping from a straitjacket) can STILL command an audience’s attention and keep them entertained with little more than a microphone and a great story.
The key is to simplify the message and tell that story in a way that will engage your audience.
One great technique for this is creating a dialogue. When developing your script, ask yourself what questions an attendee might have. What are their “pain points?” Incorporate these questions into your spiel. You can pose them to yourself on behalf of your audience, but here’s a more effective approach: Put the questions on index cards and hand them out to several audience members before the show. Cue them to ask the questions at the appropriate time (perhaps rewarding them with a trade show giveaway). Make the questions interesting, or dare I suggest, funny. The substance of the question is real. And, of course, the answer is real. But now, instead of droning on to a zoned out audience, your people are engaged, curious and entertained.
Regardless of your approach, the key is to break up those big blocks of trade show talk. Twelve minutes of non-stop tech is going to bomb. Divide it into four “chapters” with questions or equally thoughtful interludes. Nothing over the top; no balloon animals. Just moments during which you can check the pulse of your audience. And resuscitate them if necessary.
In terms of visuals, remember that PowerPoint is death. Try a dry erase board instead, like that guy in the UPS commercials. His presentation of the information is utterly simple, but it’s still interesting. So, be a little unpredictable — even with a “straight” presentation. It will go a long way to holding your audience and having a successful show.
Have an industry-related question? Send “Newman” an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
I recently had the pleasure of spending some time in Tuscany. Not surprisingly, one of the big highlights was the food. Oh, the food! Exquisite, delicious … and simple. More than anything, what I re-learned in Tuscany is how phenomenal something uncomplicated can be. Most meals contained one spice, one main ingredient and one sauce or dressing made from a fruit or vegetable plucked from the garden just outside the kitchen window.
Simple is tasty. Simple is beautiful. And simple is memorable.
Simple is tasty. Simple is beautiful. And simple is memorable.
One afternoon, my travel companion and I took a hike in the Chianti region on a return leg from Volpaia to Radda. As I reflected on the incredible Tuscan meal we had just shared, I found myself thinking about trade shows. (OK, it only lasted for about five seconds, but still …) What I walked away with was a renewed desire to bring a “menu” of simple, succinct messaging back home with me.
Ninety-five percent of the time, trade show messages are too complicated. Yes, the technology may be intricate or advanced, but the telling of story doesn’t have to be. It fact, it needs to be simple. It needs to have two or three high-quality ingredients just like the meals in Tuscany (perhaps the technology, a feature and a benefit). Whatever those ingredients are, they need to be mixed in as simple a way as possible … and that’s it. Delicious, digestible, memorable.
Every time I ate a meal in Tuscany, I thought to myself, “This is so simple. I can cook this!” But I’d need that sage. I’d need olive oil that good. I’d need red wine that fine. I’d need noodles and tomatoes that fresh.
Hiking in the Chianti region, reflecting on great meals and great messaging.
So, Part I is keeping it simple, and Part II is having the right components. What it looks like when you don’t have the right components is those people at trade shows trying to sell “vaporware” — essentially mixing a whole bunch of stuff up in a convoluted mirage of messaging. In reality, there’s nothing there. It’s “The Emperor’s New Trade Show Product” hidden in a complicated presentation.
If you have the right components — if you have compelling technology — then have faith in that. Have faith that what you’re there to talk about is worthwhile and just find the simplest possible presentation of that information.
Be a Top Tuscan Chef. And whip up something delicious at your next trade show.
Hey Newman, all you have to do is pick up a newspaper to see that we’re in a VERY serious climate right now. I know as a trade show presenter, your approach is to balance content and comedy. Are you still finding it appropriate to be funny, or are companies so sensitive about everything that they want strictly informational presentations? —Karen from P.A.
Karen, you’re right. A lot of companies are in a serious mood right now and are concerned whether laughter in presentations is appropriate. Generally speaking, companies have the tendency to hide behind, “We have a serious message.” The fact is, every organization has a serious message. Business is serious stuff. But there are a million ways to communicate that message.
Haven’t we all gone to the movies where we’ve seen a “serious” film, and found ourselves laughing? You might be laughing through your tears. Or crying through the laughter. But the power of the film, its message still comes through.
If you’re going to impart information — especially if it’s difficult-to-grasp, complicated information — people are more likely to remember it if they’re laughing about it.
I had a Chemistry teacher in high school who made the dullest material come to life through story-telling, crazy props and even costumes. His classes were like 45 minutes of stand-up punctuated by the occasional explosion. I’m sure you have your own version of that science teacher, and I’m sure you remember a lot of what they taught you.
To appreciate the lasting power of humor, all you have to do is walk up to someone on the street (preferably 30 and up) and say, “Remember ‘The Puffy Shirt’ episode of Seinfeld?” Instantly, that person’s face will brighten and they’ll start quoting lines from it … despite how many years it has been since that person saw it on TV. For my generation, you can do the same experiment reminiscing about the campfire scene in “Blazing Saddles,” or your favorite Monty Python sketch.
There’s plenty of evidence to support laughter as a highly effective memory device. When you have a booth of people laughing about something, you can ask them two hours later “what was so funny?” and they’ll be able to tell you not only what was funny, but the substance behind the joke. They remember. And in the same way, they will remember your company and your featured product or service.
I have watched scores of trade show presentations over the past few months, and the vast majority of them are horrible. About as riveting as watching paint dry.* No laughter. No smiles. Just a lot of vacant stares. The presentations are little more than a staged reading of a product white paper, followed by, “Thank you very much” and “Here’s your free shirt.”
Ask someone what they remember two hours after a presentation like THAT, and they’ll say, “Um … well I did get the free shirt.”
(By the way, I actually did find a video of paint drying on YouTube. Watch it and judge for yourself.)
Have an industry-related question? Send “Newman” an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
Hey Newman, we’re in the midst of scripting our next trade show presentation. It’s coming in at 21 minutes. Is that too long? –Walter in Las Vegas
No problem, Walter. As long as you can talk three times faster than normal and bring it in at SEVEN.
Seriously, here’s a question for you: If you only had that seven minutes to tell your product or brand story, what would you say?
Imagine you’re the point person at a big trade show presentation. You’ve set up a small theater in your booth. You don’t have a professional presenter, so it falls on you to entertain, stimulate and inspire this throng of attendees that’s formed around you. The microphone has just been placed in your hand and you have to go … now! You have only seven minutes and then the mic goes dead. That’s it. You take a deep breath and step in front of the crowd. With such limited time and so much on the line, what do you say?
This is the essence of a compelling trade show presentation. It’s not how much you can say; it’s how little. What actually is your message when you’re “forced” to distill it down? The reality is those people in your audience are visiting 25-30 booths a day. They will only walk away remembering two or three key points, along with the “feeling” they got from the message and from your energy and enthusiasm. So, what are those two or three points they cannot leave without?
If you’re finding it difficult to answer that question, there’s an approach that can help: If you had to offer up all your messaging on just one piece of paper, what would you say? Many of my clients have 200 products and a worldwide audience. They deserve at least 10 pages, right? It doesn’t matter. No one is going to listen to that. It has to be ONE page — and not 2pt type!
Try to challenge yourself on that single page. Make a list of all the corporate jargon you’ve ever heard, read it over carefully, and then toss it. There are immense benefits in brevity, and even greater benefits in originality.
Now it gets even harder. Cut that in half, and give it to your booth staff as a guide for talking with attendees. Condense it even further and give it to the crowd gatherers as an elevator speech. For them, it’s perhaps one great phrase that encapsulates what you do and what your presentation will be about.
Many years ago when I began producing trade show presentations, I would have my client tell me their story. Their WHOLE story. That typically ran 45 minutes or so. Armed with that and a FedEx package filled with white papers and product brochures, I would craft what I believed was a tight, entertaining seven-minute draft. I’d present it over the phone and await my client’s response. Often they would rave about the comic framework, tell me that it really “moved well,” but then mention that unfortunately, I had extracted the “wrong” seven minutes. My heart would sink and they would say, “What we really want to talk about is ‘this.’” It was one of the things they’d mentioned, but there was no way for me to know that this was where the emphasis was supposed to be. The client didn’t know at the time, either. It proved to be a clarifying exercise, but not a particularly efficient one.
Now, I work with every client to first find out what they care about. And then I keep at them until we can fit that on a single page. We talk about the big deliverables. We talk about the key messages. We talk about how this product/service/brand will make people’s lives better. With this, I can begin structuring the routine and build the “right” seven minutes. I add in the entertaining elements, and this time, when I do the read-through, it’s 95 percent of the way there.
This may be more work up front, but it pays off in fewer iterations and a much better (and tighter) script.
Oh, and on the off chance you think it’s impossible to get your message across in only seven minutes, take a look at what professional trade show presenter, William Hall is able to do in just a One Minute Presentation.
Do you have an industry-related question you’d like answered on “Hey Newman”? Send him an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
We recently participated in a major Chicago trade show that was not very well attended. In the pictures I saw online after the event, most booths looked like carpeted ghost towns. The writer of one story said you could have easily held a sporting event in the aisles. The only picture I saw featuring a massive throng of people happened to be a shot of our booth, during one of our live presentations. People were packing the aisle, and I remember thinking one thing: “WHEW.”
I don’t say this so much to toot the Magnet Productions horn as to illustrate an extremely important point: Having a live presenter made all the difference in our client’s success at this show. In fact, it was the difference between an empty booth and a full space clocking 2,000 leads (out of a trade show attendance of 7,000 total) … and this in a relatively small booth.
There were other live presentations at this show, and those booths had similar experiences. We heard comments like: “I didn’t understand why we needed a live presenter until today.” Another said, “Some people are already packing up, and we’re still packing them in. And this: “It’s not just that we got a ton of really good leads, it’s that everyone in the booth — our entire staff — had a really good time at that show. And that’s a first.”
You can’t predict the size of the crowd in these changing times, but you can protect yourself against a failed trade show experience. Think of it as preventative medicine: Booking a live presenter is like preventative medicine against an empty booth, ensuring good return on your money and good leads from the show.
When the trade show doors open and the first crowd comes through as a mere trickle, you know that you’re going to be in for a long three days — particularly if that trickle is on the morning of Day One! That’s exactly what happened in Chicago, with most of the booths staffed by people ready to pounce on anyone who came near. Pretty intimidating for a trade show attendee.
Instead, at our client’s booth, our live presenter would stop people in the aisles, offering to teach them a mindreading illusion.
“Come look at this! It’s amazing ! I am going to prove to you that we know EXACTLY what you’re thinking. And then, if you hang around, I’ll teach you how I did it.”
And attendees would watch … and then a few people would come by and watch them … and then some people would watch them … and then the presenter would take the stage and deliver our client’s message … to a standing-room-only crowd.
What I think it comes down to is this: Trade shows may be seeing a drop off in the number of attendees. But this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t exhibit. What it DOES mean, is that when you DO exhibit, make it count! If, for example, you are committed to a show that is only going to be attended by 7,000 people, you’re not going to want to come home with just 50 leads. The best medicine to prevent that is to have something going on in your booth that will make it THE place to be. And that something is a live presenter.
Hey Newman, in honor of Halloween, I thought I’d ask: Do crazy costumes and characters at trade shows actually accomplish anything? I usually just shake my head and move on. –Dan in Des Moines
Dan, the short answer is “sometimes.” Costumes and theatricality can be great, but it’s essential to really engage your audience—whether that’s onstage during a live trade show presentation or by having a giant gorilla wandering the trade show halls.
Over the years, Magnet Productions has been involved in many highly theatrical trade show presentations, including parodies of hit shows such as CSI, phenomena such as Star Trek and physical humor classics like The Three Stooges. In each of those cases, one thing became abundantly clear: You’re bound to attract attention and get people to stop and look (important), but a mere “act” won’t hold attendees’ attention for long (essential).
The problem with a traditional performance is you’re not playing to a captive audience. There’s so much stimuli and so many things to see at a trade show that it’s much too easy for someone to watch your Star Trek parody for a minute or two, laugh at the halting delivery of Captain Kirk’s lines and then move on to another flashy booth. Attendees will zone out and they will walk away.
So, what’s the answer? Break the “fourth wall.” Address the audience directly. Incorporate them into the show. Make funny asides to the crowd. Invite people to play along and show them you’re not taking yourself too seriously. If you’re going to do TheStooges, get someone up onstage to be the reason Curly takes a pie in the face.
Having a sense of humor about the whole thing is incredibly important, and when you can laugh at what you’re attempting, you can take advantage of what the situation offers. If you hire a life-sized banana to walk the trade show floor handing out flyers, people are going to think he’s just a model in a silly costume. So, have him jump up onstage, take the microphone from your presenter and be even more tech-savvy than your own product marketing people. Shock the audience! Defy their expectations. Play off obvious contrasts. Give attendees the unexpected … so that they’ll stay with you for more “unexpected.” And as I’ve talked about before in regards to magic acts, make sure that costume presentation immediately reveals itself as a legitimate way to communicate important client information in an entertaining (non-boring) way. The costume or character must be a device to tell a compelling story.
The star of the show is never the guy in the banana suit; the star of the show is the company.
Do you have an industry-related question you’d like answered on “Hey Newman”? Send him an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.
