Master the Art of In-Booth Conversations

Marlys Arnold [00:00:00]: You're listening to the Trade Show Insights podcast, season 20, episode 11. I'm your host and exhibit marketing strategist Marlys Arnold, bringing you tools to improve your exhibit results. On today's episode, brought to you by the Exhibit Marketers Cafe. We're talking about some practical ideas and tips you can use to keep your in booth conversations focused, productive and on track. So I've got a returning guest today and I'm excited to get started with the conversation with her. All about communication strategies. But first I want to give her a good introduction. If you haven't met her before, if you haven't heard my previous interview with Rebecca.

Marlys Arnold [00:01:17]: Rebecca Murray is a communication strategist and edutainer who blends behavior, science, tech, know how and stagecraft to help people speak with clarity, confidence and influence. Whether she's coaching executives, emceeing events, or energizing teams, she transforms every interaction into an opportunity to shine. She's the founder of Showcase Your Shine, and she's passionate about transforming team dynamics by refining the art of listening, presenting and facilitating. As an unapologetic champion for voice equity, Rebecca teaches how to create spaces where every voice feels valued, fostering collaboration and shared wisdom. She's determined to put clients at ease and showcase their vocal shine, whether they're in front of another person, a camera, or an audience of thousands. Like on the trade show floor. She knows everyone can be a star. So welcome back to Trade Show Insights, Rebecca!

Rebecca P. Murray [00:02:21]: I am so excited to be here and congratulations on ... Well, you won an award recently, didn't you?

Marlys Arnold [00:02:28]: Well, yeah, my book won an award. Yes, the Best Indie Book Award. So yes, that was exciting. Thank you. And Trade Show Insights is now in season 20. So we're going to be having a celebration for that coming up. So I'll have more information coming along. So if you're listening, watch for that and be a part of that, that celebration.

Marlys Arnold [00:02:50]: But, but yeah, thanks for, thanks for being here and I'm anxious to talk about this because I think this is a skill that a lot of trade show professionals don't necessarily think about. But it's so essential. I mean, when you're in that booth and you're communicating with the attendees coming through, your communication skills are so important. So let's talk about. I know one of your big things is talking about voice equity. So what do we mean when we say voice equity? What is that?

Rebecca P. Murray [00:03:27]: Yep, I think of voice equity as equal opportunity for contribution or eoc, which means you're making room for all the voices in the room and that may be two of you in. In a conversation on a trade show floor, that could be your very, very, very big room. And in the spirit of voice equity, you think of yourself as sort of a. Like having a vocal baton in your hand and being willing to extend that baton to someone else so that they have an opportunity to share. Now, they may hand it back to you because they may just may have a question. Right. They may hand it right back to you with a go on. But at least you pause long enough, you're.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:04:15]: You're intentional about giving the opportunity to them.

Marlys Arnold [00:04:21]: So when you're in the trade show environment. So I, I think we can all think of examples of someone who is not good at voice equity. Like, you know, what you think of as, like, the slick trade show salesperson that just. That they just give their whole pitch and they don't come up for air and let the attendee ever ask a question that is not what you want to be. But how do you create that space for. For voice equity? Like, you know, how do you. How do you consciously think about it? So if you've got maybe a shy team member who's, you know, struggling to actually be maybe a little bit stronger voice, or how do you deal with an attendee who's, you know, you want to make sure you give them some voice equity? What are some strategies there?

Rebecca P. Murray [00:05:06]: Yeah, yeah. I think of it as a spectrum. On one end of the spectrum, there's the ultra brief. People who intentionally are ultra brief. Just get to the point right away.

Marlys Arnold [00:05:17]: Yeah.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:05:18]: Or people that struggle with their words so they come off as if they don't have much to contribute, but it's the fact that it's all. It's stuck in their head. On the other side of the spectrum is the ultra verbose, those people that you've already mentioned who don't seem to come up for air ever, or suck all the air out of the room. And did you know this, Marlys? This is an interesting fact about humans, that we cannot breathe and speak at the same time. And yet it seems that some people have figured out how to do this.

Marlys Arnold [00:05:56]: Yeah. Doesn't it? It's true. It's true. Yeah. There are some people that, you know, you. You think. Because when you're waiting for them to take that breath so you can jump in, and then they never do. And you're thinking, my word, how.

Marlys Arnold [00:06:11]: How do you do that?

Rebecca P. Murray [00:06:13]: Like, are you an underwater diver champion or something like that?

Marlys Arnold [00:06:16]: Yeah, exactly. It's like, is this the. How long can I hold my breath kind of thing. Or. Or I think, you know, my husband was a musician, you know, played the trumpet when he was in school. And I think they have a term called circular breathing or something, so they can, like, keep playing as they're breathing or something. So maybe that's a talent some people have. I don't know.

Marlys Arnold [00:06:37]: Yes.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:06:37]: But here's the thing that happens. And in somebody else's brain, when the person who. You know, I've pulled hundreds and hundreds of people on this. Which of these two traits, either the ultra brief or the ultra verbose, causes you the most stress and frustration? Hold up your finger. One for the brief, two for the verbose. And it's 99.9%. Two fingers. Verbose.

Marlys Arnold [00:07:06]: The verbose. Yeah.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:07:07]: Right.

Marlys Arnold [00:07:07]: Yeah.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:07:08]: So part of it is training ourselves to not be that person. Most people who are ultra verbose know this about themselves. Most people are aware.

Marlys Arnold [00:07:19]: Oh, you think? I think some of these people have no clue.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:07:23]: Some of them do not. Some of them do not. But some of them are nervous. You know, people get nervous.

Marlys Arnold [00:07:29]: Well, that's true. Yeah.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:07:30]: And in their head, they're hearing this, like, there you go again. There you go again. You're talking too much. You should stop talking now. And the more they think this thought about themselves, the more the. The words start coming faster and more furious because of their. They can see the other person's eyes rolling back in their head, darting off course. Somebody saved me.

Marlys Arnold [00:07:50]: And that nervousness.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:07:51]: The nervousness. Right, right. So part of that is awareness. That's a good thing. And then part of this is to make brevity part of your brand. If you're a person like that, you make brevity part of your brand. And brevity may not be that you don't get to tell your story. Brevity means knowing how to say stop.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:08:12]: Yeah, that's it.

Marlys Arnold [00:08:13]: Yeah. Well, and I think that is so key because, you know, like we said, you know, a lot of times it is a nervousness or a. Oh, my goodness. What. I've got to say something. What can I say? And you just keep talking. And so just learning to just pause.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:08:29]: Yes.

Marlys Arnold [00:08:30]: And I think that that's some. Sometimes the hardest thing because most people have this fear of silence. And so if. If there is a pause in the conversation. Well, like, it's kind of a. A common joke, you know, if you're in a group of people and all of a sudden, like, everybody's talking, you're having this great conversation, and then everything gets quiet. All of a sudden, there's Suddenly this very tense feeling in the air about, like, somebody say something, you know? So why do we have this big fear of. Of this pause? Yeah, yeah.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:09:01]: This goes back to evolution. And imagine yourself going through the forest. It's a dark forest. All the birds. You can hear all the forest sounds going on and on. And all of a sudden it gets quiet. Not even a bird. What does that tell you?

Marlys Arnold [00:09:19]: Danger.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:09:20]: Danger, exactly. So that's. That's what happens. In our brain. Silence means danger. This is another thing where we have to untrain ourselves. Because a monster isn't coming around the corner when there's a pause.

Marlys Arnold [00:09:37]: Yeah, yeah. No, no one is waiting to devour you.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:09:43]: In fact, you're going to get a gold star for your paws.

Marlys Arnold [00:09:48]: Well, and I always think it's funny, too. I. I could think of so many times where I've had a conversation with somebody and maybe I've been barely able to get a word in edgewise. And they just like, you know, and it's like. And then they get done and they go, oh, it's so great talking with you. I'm thinking, you didn't talk with me, you just talked at me. But I think sometimes if you are willing to be the person to listen, especially as the booth staffer, if you're. If you've got an attendee that's just rambling on and on and on, but maybe they're venting, you know, maybe they're talking about what they've been using and it's not working or they're frustrated or this, that.

Marlys Arnold [00:10:24]: And if you're listening and you can train yourself to really key in on what is the key point? What is it that's really at the root of what's bothering them? And then you just say one little thing. Yeah. You know, in response to that. Yeah. You may have just made a friend for life.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:10:41]: For sure. For sure. And the thing, too, is that we know developing rapport is important to do that at the start. And depending on where you are in the United States or in the world, you. You may need to spend, you know, more or less time building rapport. If you're in New York, two seconds. If you are in Seattle, it's going to be a few minutes, you know, but no longer than that. Right.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:11:06]: Because we do need to transition to. Is this prospect likely to be a good candidate for my product or service?

Marlys Arnold [00:11:16]: Exactly.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:11:17]: And getting to the bottom of that. And then, you know, what are the next steps? Do we need to take this conversation further than the floor to. To pursue this possible relationship, how I can serve you. Some people then get stuck, you know, because this person's talking, they're building rapport. They know you start feeling like this rapport building is going on a little too long and I need to interrupt this person. How do I do that? To get to the conversation, the real conversation that, that I'd like to have with them. The reason I'm here.

Marlys Arnold [00:11:52]: Exactly, exactly. Well, and you talk about interrupting with intention. Can you explain to us what that is and how, how does that look?

Rebecca P. Murray [00:11:59]: Yes. And I will say too, this takes practice, which is why I love doing workshops where people actually get to practice interrupting each other. Interrupting. Well, and thinking of. If you interrupt somebody. Well, this is not only a leadership skill, this is an excellent sales skill. This is a rapport building skill. And this is a gift to the conversation and to the relationship.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:12:24]: It is a gift, but many people have hang ups, of course, interrupting because of what we've been taught growing up, you know. What, what, what were you taught, Marlas, growing up about interrupting?

Marlys Arnold [00:12:38]: Well, I think I was probably taught that it was a bad thing, but as my training as a reporter.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:12:44]: Oh, okay, there we go.

Marlys Arnold [00:12:46]: I, I really, I don't have a problem interrupting some if I'm trying to, like, get them to the point, you know, and, and, and, and drill down to something. And so my husband reminds me sometimes that I'm using it inappropriately, but with.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:13:01]: Him on him, on him, like the reporter. You're doing an interview.

Marlys Arnold [00:13:06]: Well, and it's funny, just, just as a little bit of an aside, it's like, he's a storyteller, I'm a reporter. So sometimes he'll start in on something and I'm like, I'm like, but what actually happened? You know, I mean, you're something. And he's like, oh, that's right. I gotta get to the lead.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:13:23]: Yes, yes.

Marlys Arnold [00:13:24]: I said, yeah, you buried the lead. You know, you need to get to the point.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:13:27]: I have this. Can you see? This is probably. This might be backwards.

Marlys Arnold [00:13:30]: Let me read it. When someone's, when someone says. And to make a long story short, it's usually two way.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:13:40]: That's a card I picked up in a shop a few months ago. And I'm like, okay, that is mine. That was meant for me.

Marlys Arnold [00:13:46]: Yeah, yeah. I second that emotion. But yeah, but so how do you, you know, I know sometimes I need to interrupt and get somebody to the point, but how do I do that in a way that's not, you know, seen as rude? Rude.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:14:04]: Yeah, yeah, exactly. Exactly. So part of it is the tone, the face, and depending on who this is, you know, how gently you do it or how assertively you do it, sort of, you know, encompassing both, sort of warm, assertiveness. This is elegant interruption. Elegant interruption. And there are four different types of interruption that I've identified. And maybe, maybe, maybe with your interrogation skills or interview skills, maybe there's, maybe there's a fifth here that we will uncover together. Marlys.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:14:41]: So first is to distill, you know, those, those folks who tend to tell a story in a very circumloquitous way have a hard time getting to the point to, to jump in, gently distill it. They get the message, oh, gosh, I'm doing that thing again where I just use way too many words, thank you very much, and see if you're on track to move the conversation forward more quickly. The other is to redirect. This might be somebody who got way off course and we need to bring them back to the topic at hand. This happens a lot in sales situations, right? Especially if somebody is feeling uncomfortable and they. Sometimes people take the conversation off track on purpose, just subconsciously, because they're uncomfortable. They don't want to be sold, they don't want to say no, so they're going to talk about something else. So let's bring it back to.

Marlys Arnold [00:15:36]: Or they go down some kind of a rabbit hole, too.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:15:39]: A rabbit hole, exactly. Exactly. So we need the skills to, to, to recognize that and to eloquently bring the conversation back on course. The other one is to move on. And so this is where you've just learned that this person is or is not a good prospect at the booth. This also works very, very well in trade show settings where your job or networking events where your job is to meet many people and doesn't mean you'll never see that person again. In fact, you know, very often it means you're going to circle back to them again at some point in time. But while you're there, you need to capitalize on meeting as many people as possible.

Marlys Arnold [00:16:24]: Right, right.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:16:25]: And then the other one is more of an advocacy, is interrupting on behalf. So this would be the person who is in the circle or at the table who, you know that they have something to say and maybe they even try to contribute, but they're cut off or over talked, maybe because their voice is very soft, maybe because somebody doesn't respect them or somebody's even just being a jerk, you know what I'm saying?

Marlys Arnold [00:16:51]: And, and to interrupt.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:16:54]: Yes. Thank You.

Marlys Arnold [00:16:55]: But, but I think that's something. I try to do that when I see that there's like, you know, if I'm talking to two or three people and I see that there's one that's just kind of standing there, maybe nodding her head, I'll. I'll turn and say, so what do you think about that, Susie? Exactly. You know, and actually giving her permission to. Then suddenly, you know, jump in and share an opinion and she may go, oh, no, I totally agree. You know, and that's maybe all she wants to say if she's really shy or something, but at least you're giving that person permission. Another thing I was going to say too is when you feel the need to interrupt sometimes if you're in a face to face situation, sometimes you can just kind of go, you know, a gesture or, or go, oh, oh. You know, and with facial expressions or gestures or something, you're communicating.

Marlys Arnold [00:17:39]: It's like, oh, I've got an idea to contribute there. And sometimes for me, the hardest thing, one reason I interrupt sometimes is because I think of something that relates to what they just said and I know if I let them go on for another three or four minutes, it's not going to relate anymore. And I need to like, inject that thought right at that point.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:18:00]: Yes, yes, exactly. And when you do that, you can make a little bookmark so that you can get them back on track so that they can finish what they are going to say or. And very often from, by doing that, what you just said, you know, that does take the conversation in a different, even, even better or necessary direction.

Marlys Arnold [00:18:22]: Well, and you can even say something like, you know, hey, I want to get right back to that. But while we're on this point, I want to just say this or just explain why this works or something, you know, to kind of say, this is why I'm injecting this right here. But then I want to get back to what you just said.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:18:38]: See, I think this is the fifth form of interruption. So we just need to call this something. This is like the fork in the road, maybe, or the bookmark, you know, where you pause, talk about something before it moves on or becomes irrelevant, and then you press the play button again and you keep going.

Marlys Arnold [00:19:02]: Yeah, no, I really like that idea, you know, because I think that is really important, especially in a trade show conversation. Like you said, there may be something that you really need to cover and address in response to what they just said, but you're not wanting to just cut them off and not Continue the conversation.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:19:22]: Yes, yes, exactly. Because they may have the, for example, the wrong idea about something.

Marlys Arnold [00:19:29]: Yes.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:19:30]: Or their previous experience with a like, product or service.

Marlys Arnold [00:19:36]: Right.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:19:37]: Wasn't what, what you deliver. It was bad. And so they start in that. And you want to get right to that point of how to you differentiate your product or service from the experience that they had before we move on.

Marlys Arnold [00:19:53]: Yeah. And you're also kind of in. In that way, especially in that example, you're kind of giving them, giving them grace and saying, you know, hey, I'm sorry that that's happened to you before, but that's not really what should be happening or, you know, or whatever. You're. You're showing empathy. You're showing them that it doesn't have to always be that way. But then you let them continue with whatever it is they were saying.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:20:18]: Yes. Yes. Yeah. And I wonder, and I wonder how. How you were feeling about that at that time. So now you get them into the feeling of, like, how frustrated they were with that experience, how disappointed they were, because guess what? You were going to offer some, you know, you're going to be able to relieve their pain.

Marlys Arnold [00:20:36]: It doesn't have to be like this.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:20:37]: It doesn't have to be like this. Yeah. I love what you said about the hand gestures and the face. Just opening your mouth with, with direct eye contact. Just opening your mouth as if you want to say something. Raising your hand or your finger, like you said, like, I just want to, you know, and we cue into that, our subconscious cues into that. Okay, maybe I should stop now. So going, going back to these four now five.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:21:04]: So I knew you would give us another one. That was brilliant. The pause. The pause and play method. That's what I'll call it.

Marlys Arnold [00:21:10]: There you go. I like that. Yeah.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:21:12]: So we have what you've already mentioned, using the person's name. Using the person's name in. In a. To get them to stop just for a second. When we say somebody's name aloud, we articulate it as if we enunciate it exactly as they would, which is why I usually have people repeat their. Their names twice. It's confusing.

Marlys Arnold [00:21:41]: So.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:21:41]: And then I say it aloud first to hear myself say it before we start the conversation right at the start. So then I can. And hopefully remember their name. And Bob, you know, either. Either Bob with a little inflection, upward. Hey, Bob or Bob, you know, or like downward inflection. And then I have a sheet with some very, very simple phrases to use. One of the ones that it's Easiest to remember that I find works in many, many situations is the.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:22:18]: I wish. I wish. Hey, Bob. I wish. Let's say. Let's say we are wrapping up the conversation. Okay. I wish I had more time to.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:22:34]: With you to talk about this. I wonder if we could set up an appointment to. For me to reach out to you, if I could get your. Your information. Does that sound like. Like a reasonable next step?

Marlys Arnold [00:22:46]: Yeah. So we can continue the conversation?

Rebecca P. Murray [00:22:48]: Yeah. So we can continue the conversation.

Marlys Arnold [00:22:50]: Yeah.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:22:51]: Yes.

Marlys Arnold [00:22:51]: I love that.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:22:52]: I wish I had more time.

Marlys Arnold [00:22:54]: Yeah. And that's such a great way, like you said that that is showing them that you really want to hear more of what they have to say, but it also is giving you permission to get their contact information. That's a great way to lead to. Hey, can I scan your badge? Hey, can I get your business card? Hey, whatever. Whatever the next step. Step is. But that's such a gentle, elegant way to lead to that next step. I love that.

Marlys Arnold [00:23:20]: I wish we had more time.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:23:22]: Yeah, Bob, I have thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. I wish we had more time together. I wonder if we could. I could scan your badge so that I can reach out to you tomorrow. Does that sound good? And we'll schedule. We'll schedule a time for me to come out. We'll take a look at your, you know, your paint, whatever it is, Whatever it is, and see. And see if.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:23:46]: If we can work together. How does that sound?

Marlys Arnold [00:23:49]: Yeah.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:23:50]: Yeah.

Marlys Arnold [00:23:50]: I really like that as a way. And I think that's another thing that sometimes exhibit staff feel a little bit like, how do I, you know, how do I transition from this great conversation into, you know, the sales pitch or the, you know, the let's reach out and reconnect pitch or whatever it is, but for somebody who is a little bit more shy or something, it doesn't really want to just say, hey, let me get your contact information. They could say, I wish we had more time. Can I get your information so we can continue this? I think that is just such an elegant way to do that.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:24:26]: And it's so easy. It sounds so good to the other person.

Marlys Arnold [00:24:31]: Yeah.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:24:32]: You know, and one of a couple things that I. That I teach, too, like when you say, I wish, you know, you could put your hands together just gently in the prayer position. You can put one hand over your heart, like, hey, Marlys, I. I wish I've enjoyed our conversation so much. I wish I had more time to spend with you, but I know this podcast is 30 minutes long and. And that you have to have Time to say goodbye to everybody. So thank you so much. Not that we're ending right now.

Marlys Arnold [00:25:01]: I was gonna say we're necessarily.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:25:03]: We're not done.

Marlys Arnold [00:25:07]: But no, I think. I think that is really a key point. And if people walk away today from listening to this and that is the only thing that they take with them, I think that is going to be so key and really can change the whole dynamic in the trade show booth. But I want to talk about just a couple other things about some of the ways that we talked a little bit about dealing with the interrupters. But how do you deal with it when you are the one who keeps getting. Being interrupted?

Rebecca P. Murray [00:25:38]: Yes, thank you for asking that. Yeah, I love. I love that. And interestingly, women are interrupted more often than men. I mean, I think we know that. But it's interesting that men interrupt women more often and women interrupt women more often. Isn't that interesting?

Marlys Arnold [00:25:57]: Interesting?

Rebecca P. Murray [00:25:58]: Yes, yes. And it really doesn't matter how high you are up the sky scale in terms, you could be the CEO, you could be a Supreme Court justice. If you're a woman, you're going to be interrupted more often. So especially for women to have agency for their own voice, for their own vocal influence. And so. I love this. I love this sentence. Let me finish.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:26:26]: Please let me finish. I'll finish. You know, I have a whole. A whole list of very short. But you say it in a way that's not snarky.

Marlys Arnold [00:26:39]: Yeah, I was gonna say that's one phrase that can go snarky real easily.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:26:43]: Yes, yes, it could. It could. Yes, yes, yes. But I just updated this. I. The interruption. Well, actually, it's. Yeah, it's the handout that I give on interruption.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:26:59]: And so I just updated that particular.

Marlys Arnold [00:27:05]: Section.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:27:06]: I'm always listening, listening to conversations, listening how people deal with interruption and looking for the. The best phrases you could say. I'm sorry to interrupt. Excuse me for interrupting. And. And that's fine. That's fine, too, depending on how assertive you are. I will say, though, that for somebody who is serious, you know, in serial interrupter of you specifically, and you know this about this person, that happens every time, you may need to come across more assertive.

Marlys Arnold [00:27:51]: True.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:27:51]: With that person. So depending on who it is, certainly if it's a person that you just met for the first time, you're going to step back to that warm assertiveness. Sorry to interrupt. I'd like to finish. You know, I'll finish, and then I'd love to hear what you have to say next.

Marlys Arnold [00:28:14]: Which Again is kind of back to that pause and play method of like if you could just pause for a minute, let me say something I'm thinking about, then we'll get back, back to what is the phrase is like back to our previous programming or whatever, you know.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:28:31]: Yes, yes, yes. So here are a few. Here are a few. Excuse me, I'd like, Excuse me, Charlie, I'd like to finish. Thank you, Sandy. I'll finish this thought and then we can move on.

Marlys Arnold [00:28:44]: I like that one.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:28:45]: This is important. I'll finish and then happily yield the floor to you. So those would be. Some of those would be more for like, for meetings. If we were in a team meeting versus, you know, in a trade show situation. It's a little bit different, I would say, because you were trying to ingratiate yourself to that person. You, you want to make sure that you do not offend them or say anything that could even slightly come across as snarky or offensive. And if they are interrupting you, let's say this is a prospect.

Marlys Arnold [00:29:30]: Right.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:29:31]: And, and they're interrupting you, you just may go with it for that one conversation. Like, you just take note of it. Your goal is to find out, number one, are they a prospect for your product or service and number two, to get their information and to move forward with a, with another conversation.

Marlys Arnold [00:29:54]: Right. And you may find by their communication skills or lack thereof that you really don't want them as a client anyway.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:30:03]: Yeah, exactly, precisely. Or maybe somebody else on your team would be a better match than you.

Marlys Arnold [00:30:10]: True, true. And that's a really good point. Especially if you are somebody who is more of an introvert and you find that this person is constantly talking over you or interrupting you or whatever. Maybe handing that prospect off to somebody who is a very strong, very dynamic communicator on your team might help because then maybe they can hold their own with the person better than you can.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:30:34]: Exactly. And to make a little note and document, that would be very helpful to that next to the next person.

Marlys Arnold [00:30:44]: Yes. So that whoever does the follow up knows what they're getting into.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:30:48]: Right, exactly, exactly. And it. Isn't it interesting too, when it comes to clients and assessing their communication styles? I mean, I, I can remember many times where someone in the office would say, oh, this person's going to be a real headache for you. And then I go out and meet with them and, and we get along like, you know, a macaroni and cheese.

Marlys Arnold [00:31:13]: Yeah, right.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:31:14]: It's so it matching up with the right personality, the communication styles is. It's super important to pay attention to that.

Marlys Arnold [00:31:23]: Well, but the fact that you went into the conversation knowing that there could be some kind of issue so that you were prepared for that, that helped you. So that you weren't blindsided though, too.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:31:33]: Yes, yes, yes, Right. Yeah, exactly. I think also this, in these delightful conversations that we have on the trade show floor, once you get somebody talking about something and their passion comes through and, and you realize brevity, brevity is your brand. And when you speak, to try to keep it to 30 seconds or less, to speak briefly, don't get into these long explanations about how our product does this and that. The other thing, to train yourself against that and to keep them talking, but to guide the conversation through these brief contributions of your own that are. There are questions targeted to their pain.

Marlys Arnold [00:32:15]: Right.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:32:16]: And the hopeful, you know, just to suss out whether they are a good match.

Marlys Arnold [00:32:22]: I think it's such good advice. And speaking of brevity, I wish we could go on all day. We probably could go on all day talking about this, you and I, because this is a passion for both of us. But I want to thank you so much for being here, Rebecca. You've got so many great tips and I think there's so many things that people can take away from this. One of the key things being the more you practice this, the better you get at it. So I think that's a really good tip.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:32:48]: Well, I wish also, Marlas, that we had more time together as well.

Marlys Arnold [00:32:56]: Oh, this is great. So. But I do know you said you have a handout that you are willing to give to people. What is the best way for them to do that? We'll also put a link for that in the show notes as well. So be sure and go there. But what is the best way for people to connect with you and get that? Rebecca?

Rebecca P. Murray [00:33:13]: Yes, I have a downloads page on my website and this handout. And I'll give you the. Let's see, the link for that is just Rebecca P. Murray dot com. Rebecca P. M U-R-R-A-Y.com forward slash downloads. And let me, Let me just. And I will give you that link.

Rebecca P. Murray [00:33:39]: I'll provide that link for you. Oh, sorry. It's presentation dash downloads. The very first one that comes up is Quick reference guide, the Art of Interruption.

Marlys Arnold [00:33:49]: Ah, perfect. Okay, well, we will be sure to share that link in the show notes. So if you didn't catch all that just now, just go to the tradeshowinsights.com click on my interview here with Rebecca and you will find that link. So thank you so much for being our guest on Trade Show Insights again and for sharing all your wonderful tips and strategies and techniques for being a better communicator in the booth and beyond. And if you need support for all the other booth staffing issues like their behavior, how they interact in the booth, all of those kinds of skills, reach out to me. Follow me on LinkedIn or connect with me via email or and watch for I've got a whole new suite of tools that I'm working on creating to help you with your booth staff education. If you enjoyed today's episode and would like more, you can subscribe to the Trade Show Insights podcast and automatically receive future episodes on your chosen device. Simply search for Trade Show Insights in Apple, Spotify, or virtually anywhere else that podcasts are found, then click the subscribe button.

Marlys Arnold [00:35:15]: Trade Show Insights is protected by the Creative Commons Copyright License. You may feel free to share this recording with colleagues or embed it on your own blog, as long as it's shared in its entirety and is not used for commercial purposes. To learn more, please see the link in the sidebar of the show notes at TradeShowInsights.com. Well, that's it for this episode of Trade Show Insights. Be sure to check out our show Notes and archives at TradeShowInsights.com you can also connect with me using the social media links or the contact page on the site. I'm Marlys Arnold. Thanks for listening and be sure to join us next time for more tools to improve your exhibit results.