Remember Who You Represent: DEMA’s Nicole Russell put it simply: “Remember you represent your company. Be friendly, welcoming and professional whether you’re exhibiting, buying or simply walking the floor.” That doesn’t end when the exhibit hall closes. DEMA has receptions, dinners, parties and plenty of socializing. But we’re still surrounded by customers, colleagues and others in our industry. Enjoy yourself, but know your limits. I learned this lesson the uncomfortable way. One year during setup, a fellow exhibitor recognized one of my booth assistants from the previous show. What he remembered wasn’t ScubaDoRag or something wonderful she had done in our booth. He remembered how intoxicated she had been the year before. And I did not know. That stopped me in my tracks. She had been on her own time, but a year later, that was the memory connected to someone who had represented my company. Once an im- pression has been made, you don’t get to go back. Watch Your Finprint: Divers should understand this better than most. Put us underwater and suddenly we’re learning a whole new awareness of where our body and fins are in space. We learn our finprint: how much room we actually occupy and how our movement affects the people around us. DEMA SHOW continued
A busy show floor isn’t so different. Your footprint may include a group conversation spreading across an aisle, the rolling bag behind you or standing in front of another ex- hibitor’s booth while you finish a story. Again, none of this requires a rulebook. It requires noticing. Where am I standing? Is someone waiting? Am I making it easier or harder for the people around me to do what they came here to do? Professional Doesn’t Have to Mean Stuffy: DEMA is built on experiences, travel, adventure, stories and friendships. We should laugh, reconnect, welcome a newcomer and send someone toward a booth they shouldn’t miss. Professional courtesy isn’t about making the show more formal. It’s about making room for all of that while remembering why everyone is there. After all these years exhibiting, I’m still learning, too. Others experience the show from different sides of the aisle or notice things the rest of us stopped seeing. These are my observations from one corner of the show floor, not the final word.
The best show culture isn’t created by a list of rules. It’s created by an industry willing to share what it’s learned.
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