Looking back over my career, one thing is clear – there is one skill above all others that has been the driver for everything I have done – Public Speaking. I am in the process of writing a book, so have been looking back over my life for stories, and as I did so, a pattern emerged that I had not noticed before. Almost 80% of my speaking has been at Trade Shows and industry conferences.
Yet it’s a topic that seems to be seldom spoken or written about.
I think the reason for this is that professional speakers avoid these speaking opportunities because they don’t pay. Actually, I discovered that they do pay, but not in the way people expect. The event organisers don't generally pay for speakers, but I have made a good living from being paid by clients to speak or by coaching clients to speak at these events.
I say that event organisers don’t pay – they will pay for a celebrity or thought leader keynote speaker to draw in visitors to their trade show, business expo or industry conference. All their speaker budget goes into a small number of high-profile sessions that will get them lots of PR in the local media and get their ticket sales up.
But having attracted a good audience and a large investment from businesses to have stands or booths at the event, the organisers then need to make sure that the visitors stay, and that is the role of the breakout or concurrent seminar or workshop programme.
The success of any trade show depends upon getting that mix of entertainment, education and trading right. It’s a hugely collaborative process between the event organiser and the exhibitors. The exhibitors want to be there so that they can capture leads and convert some to good, long-term clients. The visitors come along because they are hoping for some ideas and products that will help them to make their business or personal lives more successful.
Because most trade shows or exhibitions are themed, it's also an opportunity to get away from the office for a day and meet up with some old friends and make some new contacts. The staff on the trade show stands will work hard during the day, but often play hard at night, so it’s a bit of a jolly for them and it’s a chance to check out the competition.
The role of the trade show speakers is to provide a programme of interesting content to make coming to the event worthwhile and provide a reason for visitors to stay longer than it takes for a quick walk around the exhibition. They also have a role in attracting potential clients to their stand or capturing new leads to be followed up after the show.
Most of the speaking opportunities on the programme will be offered first to the exhibitors, either as an inducement to get them to the show or, in some more successful shows, as a paid-for opportunity; ie, the speakers pay to speak, rather than the other way round.
However speaking at a trade show, especially at the larger events, is not for the faint-hearted. Trade shows are noisy places. There is a constant background noise of chatter, electronic gadgets, video players, music, and Tanoy messages. The seminar rooms are often just a tent or marquee in the exhibition hall, so the speaker has to compete with the nearby café, noisy exhibition stands and the speaker in the next event space.
Some speakers will be delivering their presentations on exhibition stands. I have often been employed to deliver a presentation in this way for clients like the BBC and Xerox, and we made a point of making enough noise to attract attention and draw in a crowd. At the same time, I had to contend with noise and the audience constantly moving, talking or on their phones.
So, realising that I have a huge amount of experience in all manner of trade shows and industry conference events, I have decided to start sharing a lot of what I have learned from 40 years of trade show and industry conference speaking.
Looking around on the internet, it’s clear that trade shows are still as popular as ever, and there are a huge number of opportunities to speak. For anyone wanting to accelerate their career, trade show speaking is a great opportunity once you master the skill. And it is a definite skill, quite different from regular public speaking.
If you are scheduled to speak or are planning to speak, I have a small gift that may help – I have created a Trade Show Speaking Survival Guide – a short PDF document full of tips and tricks for trade show speaking, and it’s completely free.
Just follow the link below to grab your copy now, and at the same time, you will be added to my mailing list to receive regular articles about Trade Show and Industry Conference speaking.
