Dave Egan is appearing here as guest blogger for Evo Exhibits. Lisa Apolinski, the regular columnist here, is guest blogging in Dave’s space. To see Lisa’s column, click here.

What separates highly productive people from the rest of the population? Is it genetics? A work ethic, hammered into them since their first lawn-mowing job at age 11? Or is it a learned behavior?

The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Some may be born with it, some may have had it thrust upon them, and for others it remains a day-to-day practice, working toward the ideal of being more productive.

In the field of exhibiting, trade show managers are, almost by default, multi-taskers. When you’re in the office, there’s the “regular” work that needs doing, in addition to the pile of forms that need to be completed and returned for upcoming shows and events. Equipment and services must be ordered. And then there’s travel to be planned, messaging to be decided, graphics to proof, reservations to make, meetings to be organized, scheduled and held. And from those meetings (usually) comes more stuff to do.

It’s enough to make a trade show manager wish he or she had become a dentist!

But first, a caveat: being more productive doesn’t mean getting more stuff done (although that’s as close as some people get). Instead, it means getting more of the right stuff done. And that’s where a lot of people fail: by not focusing on what needs to get done, in order to meet your own—or your organization’s—goals.

So where do you start? Some people would suggest a trip to The Container Store or Staples for boxes and folders. And while that might be a good idea, that’s organization, not productivity. Chances are, too, that organizing your desk or office isn’t the most important matter for you to attend to just now.

For answers on where to start, I turned to Tony Wong, president of Digital Onion and founder of Pointman Project Management & Leadership, a California-based project management training and consultancy group.

Tony offered these suggestions on how to increase your productivity, which are as pertinent for trade show professionals as they are to anyone else in business:

1) Work backwards from goals to milestones to tasks (break big jobs into smaller chunks).

2) Stop multi-tasking.

3) Be militant about eliminating distractions.

4) Schedule times to check your email.

5) Use the phone when it’s more efficient (don’t hold a conversation via email).

6) Work on your own agenda (don’t let other people dictate your schedule).

7) Work in 60 to 90 minute intervals (your brain’s actually working while you’re taking a break).

You’ll notice there’s very little in Tony’s list about getting your own work done. Instead, his list focuses on how to avoid procrastination and distractions that keep you from getting your own work done. A study by Dr. Gloria Mark at the University of California found that employees are interrupted, on average, every 11 minutes! That’s why it’s imperative to rid yourself of those distracting people and things that conspire to throw you off track, and then stay focused on Step #6: working on your own agenda.

According to another study (this one at the University of London), constant emailing and texting reduces a person’s mental capabilities by an average of ten points on an IQ test (5 points for women and 15 points for men. But then, the women reading this already knew that).

Dave Egan is head writer at Writers Direct Group, a full-service outsource writing resource for live trade show presentations, event theming, product demos, website content and other written- or spoken-word business communications. Contact him at Dave@WritersDirectGroup.com or 877-7GET-WDG [877-743-8934].

When you are developing your trade show booth, are you efforts supporting your brand or detracting from it?  I know that the knee-jerk reaction is to say, of course I am helping it!  But are you really?

Helping – You are constantly reviewing your graphics and signage to make sure you are up-to-date on your brand and image.  You also are keeping your signage simple and consistent.

Hurting – You think your booth graphics are fine, even though you have been showing the same thing for the past 5 years.  Or, your signage shows an older image or logo or even color scheme than what you have now.  Even worse, you have mixed branding within your booth (old meets new meets confusing).  You have your tag line, which is already expired, in your main signage (that is always a no no!).  Your images are out-of-date (or the products you are showing in your graphics, while visually interesting, and no longer available or you have better and newer images).

 
Helping – You are not afraid to brand your booth.  You have signage at the three crucial levels (floor/eye level, mid range, and at the top where you have clear view of your brand from an entrance or show floor area).   Not to mention, you have your brand in the lobby of the convention center, on monitors, in the daily guide (you get the picture).

Hurting – You think since you have one sign that you can see from right in front of the booth, you are good with your signage.  Unless you have people in shirts with your logo directing attendees as they park their car or walk into the convention center where your booth is, you are missing out on having everyone know where you booth is (and that is what you should be shooting for).

Helping – You are using all means of technology to ‘brand’, including website, video, giveaways, graphics, shirts for booth staff, lanyards, brochures, thumb drives, etc.  If it is sitting still for a second, it is getting your logo on it (I have even put stickers on trash cans in the booth – which also prevents the cans from sprouting legs and walking off to another booth).

Hurting – You are branding the way you did back in 1985.  Minimalistic or simplistic for your demo or amount of items in your booth = good.  Doing the same for your branding and how you are getting your brand message out = bad.  Use every opportunity to support your brand, and there is no such thing as overkill.

The trade show should be your ‘loudspeaker’ to showcase your company and support your brand.  Be sure to turn up the volume, and keep your support structure modern and engaging.  Your attendees will notice, and that is the end game.

Lisa Apolinski is a writer and blogger, and has had the pleasure of being a trade show manager for over 11 years.  She currently lives in San Diego, close to the convention center.