Trade Show Talk Podcast

We often hear we should provide "wellness" opportunities at our meetings and events. And we all likely know we should be taking better care of ourselves also. Dr. Kim kicks off this episode with this realization – self care is important. It's not selfish, but essential… And we should start there before providing the opportunities for our participants.

She provides all sorts of sensible tips and tactics we can all put to use, and we thought this was the perfect time to talk about it as we look towards a new year. Will it be a new you? The most important thing is to be realistic and to make incremental changes so we don't get overwhelmed.

"Byte-sized" tips from Dr. Kim in this helpful episode!

Our guest

• Dr. Kim (Kim Bercovitz, Ph.D.) - DrKimTV.com

  Dr. Kim is a thought leader who has pioneered conference wellness since 2012. She helps meeting professionals who value their attendees' well-being and education by offering wellness and life coaching services that provide novel sponsorship and attendee engagement opportunities.

  Dr. Kim is a certified Life/Health Coach, professional speaker and creator of Wellness Lounges and Coaching Clinics– for both virtual and in-person events. A health behavior scientist, she has a Ph.D. in Community Health from the University of Toronto where she was an adjunct professor and is a former National Cancer Institute of Canada postdoctoral fellow. She worked at renowned Toronto teaching hospitals, consulted to pharmaceutical companies and health organizations, and taught chronic disease exercise classes.

  Outside of academia, Dr. Kim embodies wellness: yogi and yoga instructor, is what she calls a mindfulness maven (trained in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Mindful Self-Compassion) and ALSO a dance diva (salsa dancer). She's based in Washington DC and has 2 grown kids and a golden retriever puppy.

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The "Trade Show Talk" podcast is publishing two episodes per month, focusing on a different theme each month. If you'd like to be a sponsor or a guest or you have a topic to suggest we cover, please let us know by emailing [email protected]. And we'd love it if you'd share, rate, and review episode 21 and the show also!

The content shared at our events is a GOLDMINE of a resource for organizations. Truly, events are their own marketing channel, and we should be curating that creative content to use throughout all of our marketing materials.

We continue our content theme on this episode with the amazing Miguel Neves. He brings a unique perspective having served in so many roles within our industry. Now serving as an editor-in-chief, he is seeing our industry from both a 30,000-foot-view and having boots on the ground with his own events.

We discuss the different opportunities we have to curate content from our events, how selecting speakers can have an effect on that content, how we can "up-purpose" our content, and more.

Are you up-purposing the content that comes out of your in-person and online events? We would love to hear about it.

Our guest

• Miguel Neves, Editor-in-Chief of Skift Meetings Miguel likes to describe himself as a "curious creator and caring curator of computerized content and a conscious connector of charismatic characters". He lives and breathes the event tech sector and is deeply engaged in the global online community of business event professionals. Miguel is a Portuguese soul who built a career in the UK and is now raising a young family in southern Denmark.

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The "Trade Show Talk" podcast is publishing two episodes per month, focusing on a different theme each month. If you'd like to be a sponsor or a guest or you have a topic to suggest we cover, please let us know by emailing [email protected]. And we'd love it if you'd rate and review episode 20 and the show also!

The content we provide at our meetings and events is a crucial element of the experience. Did you know there is a ton of research around the psychology of content?

Our guest on this episode is a thought leader in our industry on the topic. Victoria gives us a ton of things to think about that we can implement right away to make a difference.

Did you know your participants get a BETTER experience with your content when they listen through headphones? It's true! The music you select matters too.

Providing content that creates a more impactful experience for our participants is something we should all strive for, and you will walk away with so many learnings.

Our guest

Victoria Matey is an event psychology advisor and co-founder of Matey Events, a business event consultancy.

Victoria believes that experiences take place in people's minds first and foremost. By offering insight into human behavior, she helps eventprofs deliver more remarkable events with less effort. She provides ideas, strategies, and science-backed solutions for increased engagement, retention, and revenue.

Victoria is the author of "Event Psychology Lab" online course and the "10 Principles of Strategic Event Planning" book. She leads the Event Psychology club, a community and the top resource for eventprofs looking to transform events with brain science insights, and hosts the podcast "What If I Told You," where she interviews behavioral scientists and practitioners about human psychology and mind.

In addition to receiving Ford Foundation IFP Fellowships and IFP Alumni Awards, Victoria has been recognized by Smart Meetings as a Top100 Smart Women in Meetings, a ChangeMaker by MeetingsNet, and in 2022 she was named the Meeting Professional of the Year.

AMAZING resources shared in the episode:Headphones vs speakers researchWhat if I Told You podcastEvent Psychology Lab online courseEvent Psychology Club communityBehavioral Science playlist

Two books Victoria recommends on the topic-

"7 1/2 Lessons About the Brain" by Lisa Feldman Barrett

"Design for How People Think" by John Whalen, PhD

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The "Trade Show Talk" podcast is publishing two episodes per month, focusing on a different theme each month. If you'd like to be a sponsor or a guest or you have a topic to suggest we cover, please let us know by emailing [email protected]. And we'd love it if you'd rate and review episode 19 and the show also!

Event marketing and marketing an event are different things… and they are inter-connected. On this episode our guests share the state of the industry as they are seeing it through working with a variety of corporate clients over the years.

Several strategic themes resonate throughout this show… be authentic, be purposeful, be critical, be agile, and always show value.

It's important to look at your event portfolio holistically. Determining the events to hold and attend, to sponsor, and to speak at – looking at all of these things with a critical eye is something that should be done annually. Having an "outsider" help you do this is also a way to help take the emotion out of these decisions.

Particularly poignant in this episode is the talk about measuring everything you're doing to PROVE the value of events (and to promote change).

These two event profs have a ton to teach us!

Our guests

Gordon Stake - Managing Partner, Event Marketing Partners

For more than 25 years, Gordon has led teams that help clients achieve their business goals & marketing objectives through face-to-face marketing. He is active in the industry, including sitting on the Board of Directors for the Corporate Event Marketing Association (CEMA), the Experiential Marketing Measurement Coalition (EMMC), and founding the Technology Event Marketing Strategy Council (TEMSC), and was on the leadership team of industry tradeshows & conferences such as PC, Unix, and Networks Expos.

Angela Krzysko - Vice President of Marketing, Event Marketing Partners

With a career split between client and agency sides, Angela brings a keen sense of accountability to business goals, along with proven experience at crafting marketing strategies designed to drive demand, extend relationships, and build brands.

A talented strategist, her focus is helping organizations achieve their business objectives through event marketing and integrated communication strategies. Smart strategy and exceptional execution are at the heart of every plan that Angela helps to craft.

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The "Trade Show Talk" podcast is publishing two episodes per month, focusing on a different theme each month. If you'd like to be a sponsor or a guest or you have a topic to suggest we cover, please let us know by emailing [email protected]. And we'd love it if you'd rate and review episode 18 and the show also!

There are some people in the events industry who personify the creativity, class, and kindness we should all aspire to, and our guest on this episode is one of those people.

Throughout her career Tahira Endean has been on a path of both learning and educating. In her latest venture she has joined the education team at IMEX Group as Head of Programme.

Everything in the meetings and events industry provides different opportunities for growth of knowledge, relationships, and revenue. Trade shows are one of those great opportunities and Tahira talks through all of the ways exhibitors and show organizers can maximize these experiences.

Get a notepad out for this packed episode.

Our guest

Tahira Endean CMP, DES, CEDWriter, speaker, connector, collaborator

Tahira is designing people-centric, purpose driven events, living in Vancouver, BC. She is head of Programme for IMEX Group. The more complicated the event seems, the more useful she will be to you! Developing events for our industry peers allows her to bring creative energy to events and use the combination of ubiquitous technology and human nature to create relevance for our participants.

Tahira's book, "Intentional Event Design, Our Professional Opportunity", was written from two decades of experience producing events and designing environments where trust is nurtured, driving growth for participants and organizations. She is an Instructor, Certified Event Designer, and Digital Event Strategist. http://intentionaleventdesign.ca

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The "Trade Show Talk" podcast is publishing two episodes per month, focusing on a different theme each month. If you'd like to be a sponsor or a guest or you have a topic to suggest we cover, please let us know by emailing [email protected]. And we'd love it if you'd rate and review episode 17 and the show also!

There are many layers to a successful exhibition both from the organizer side and the exhibitor side, and our guest on this episode helps us understand some of the intricacies.

He talks about how exhibition organizers have an incredible opportunity to help their exhibitors be more successful!

And on the exhibitor side -- does everyone on your team have the same objectives? Does your team actually determine what you want your "return on objectives" (ROO) to be in advance of your events? Having a strategy, being consistent, and following up are all going to help us derive more value and success from our exhibitions.

Our guest

Stephen Murtagh

He is "The Exhibition Guy" whose true passion is exhibitions and being a part of organizers and exhibitors success, having spent more than 28 years in the space. Stephen has trained in excess of 4,000 exhibitors and major organizers, and he's a keynote speaker at major exhibitions. He's the author of two books: "Exhibiting at Shows" and "The FlipChart Business Book."

Stephen is also a founding member of the Exhibition Think Tank Globally, and a member of the Irish exhibition organizers Association. Awards: he was shortlisted in 2019 and 2020 in the Exhibition News Awards in the UK, and was an Outstanding Exhibition Influencer in India in 2022.

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The "Trade Show Talk" podcast is publishing two episodes per month, focusing on a different theme each month. If you'd like to be a sponsor or a guest or you have a topic to suggest we cover, please let us know by emailing [email protected]. And we'd love it if you'd rate and review episode 16 and the show also!

Technology is an integral way for participants at our events to be fully included. For each and every event to be accessible for every human.

One way to do this is to get around language barriers–allowing participants to both speak and listen in their own language, using technology. This is also important for those who are hard of hearing or deaf, which is what we think about the most, but translating languages is important too!

A.I. is the key and it can be utilized using your smartphone.

Our guest on this episode was sought out by our host because of the advancements in AI and the very slick way people can be INCLUDED.

Our guest

Lakshman Rathnam Founder & CEO, wordly, Inc

Lakshman is a successful leader and technologist, with strategic vision and creativity for developing innovative products with a focus on value creation for the customer. He has managed technology and product teams to deliver world class consumer electronics products.

With his keen sense of the technology landscape Lakshman has pushed the envelope to help companies stay ahead of competition. He thrives on stepping out of his comfort zone to solve challenging problems. Lakshman has authored more than 25 patents across the technology spectrum.

His latest venture, Wordly Inc., introduced to the market in 2019, is aimed at enhancing business productivity and engagement through language inclusivity.

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The "Trade Show Talk" podcast is publishing two episodes per month, focusing on a different theme each month. If you'd like to be a sponsor or a guest or you have a topic to suggest we cover, please let us know by emailing [email protected].

Accessibility and inclusivity are not spoken about nearly enough. This month we're covering another super important topic with both episodes.

While "tourism" is thought about as people "vacationing," it's about so much more. The travel industry is becoming more accessible, which makes it more inclusive. This also has an impact on the meetings and events industry because of the travel involved with in-person events.

"Awareness leads to change... and awareness leads to education... and education leads to change."

Read that again: Awareness leads to change.

Both guests on this episode are doing incredible work to bring about awareness that leads to change. Jake is doing it with his Travelability events, and Alana through her research and educating college students.

We dig deep into looking at this not as something that's simply performative, or just abides by the law, but as something that is morally right. Making it so that an estimated 20% of the population can travel freely, and where people of color feel safe when they travel is important.

Every destination, hotel, airline, event organizer, and more can make incremental changes to include people with disabilities. And we can all be allies to people of color and those who have disabilities.

The tricky part? Not all disabilities can be seen. Listen and let us know what you think--can you help make a difference?

Our Guests

Jake Steinman Jake is the founder and CEO of TravelAbility, whose mission has been to educate the tour and travel industry about the need to make travel easier for people with disabilities and to provide access to the features, resources and services that will make the travel experience inclusive for everyone. Since 2019, TravelAbility has developed an ecosystem that includes an annual conference, an industry newsletter, an online resource hub, The Accessibility Playbook instructional manual, and Accessible Journeys, a quarterly digital magazine to promote disability travel.

Alana DilletteDr. Alana Dillette is an Associate Professor in the Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at San Diego State University where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses with a specific focus on leadership development. Her research interests include exploring issues around diversity and inclusion in the hospitality and tourism industry. More specifically, she studies the intersection between tourism, race, gender & ethnicity and is a leader with Tourism RESET as an initiative coordinator.

Currently, she is working on research to gain a better understanding of how systemic racism has shaped the hospitality and tourism industry for Black travelers and professionals. Dr. Dillette works to continue building bridges between industry and academia and can also be found online in publications such as AFAR Media and Conde Nast Traveler.

Resources from Alana & Jake

Explorable Podcast

Tourism RESET

National Society of Minorities in Hospitality (NSMH)

Links to online features: The Conversation article; The Trip Doctor - Traveling While Black

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If you enjoyed episode 14, please take a moment to rate and review the show!

The "Trade Show Talk" podcast is publishing two episodes per month, focusing on a different theme each month. If you'd like to be a sponsor or a guest or you have a topic to suggest we cover, please let us know by emailing [email protected].

This is our second show this month around the very important topic of sustainability in events. On this one we talk about standards, helping us learn more deeply how we can all make a difference on this front.

The Events Industry Council (EIC) has emerged as our industry's authority for educating and providing standards and resources for sustainability. On this episode we have an expert from EIC who gives us so much to think about on a variety of ways we can make our meetings and events more sustainable and responsible.

Having certifications and standards ratings is the perfect way to make sure every single supplier and organizer of events has insight into all the ways we can make a difference. From selecting the right venue, to menu selection, to determining whether an event should be held in person or online–Mariela shares a ton of thoughts and ideas with us that we can all put into practice.

Plus, we get some "hot off the presses" industry news from TSNN's Rachel Wimberly.

Our Guest

Mariela McIlwraith, CMP, CMM, MBA, is the Senior Vice President, Industry Advancement for the Events Industry Council (EIC) and Chief Sustainability Officer for the EIC Centre for Sustainability and Social Impact. Representing more than 30 member organizations with over 103,500 individuals and 19,500 organizations, the Events Industry Council promotes high standards and professionalism in the events industry.

Mariela is also the co-author of Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility in the Meetings and Events Industry, a part of the Wiley Event Series, is the Executive Editor of the Events Industry Council Manual, 9th Edition, and co-author of Meet Better: 167 Easy Ways to Make Your Events More Environmentally and Socially Responsible.

Resources from EIC:

• Sustainability Standards and Registry
• Center for Sustainability and Social Impact
• Sustainable Event Certificate Program

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The "Trade Show Talk" podcast is publishing two episodes per month, focusing on a different theme each month. If you'd like to be a sponsor or a guest or you have a topic to suggest we cover, please let us know by emailing [email protected].

There's no question our industry needs to have sustainability at the forefront. Our guests on this episode are on two sides of the aisle, so to speak. We have one corporate planner who has made it a priority with his team, and a B-Corp business owner who has made it her BUSINESS!

What is clear is there are small efforts we can make that will make a difference, incrementally. AND it's important that we measure how we are reducing our carbon footprint in all ways. Both guests share a lot of strategies, tips, and ideas to help us all be better in terms of our industry's impact on the planet.

Our Guests

Amanda Simons

Principal of Honeycomb Strategies, Amanda has worked globally specializing in sustainable business operations in the hospitality, event, and tradeshow industry for over 16 years. Amanda works with a diverse client group from non-profits to corporations to identify unique strategies and execute innovative sustainable management programs. Her key focus areas are in supporting sustainable tradeshows, creating sustainable destination management strategies for CVBs and DMOs, and through industry research and corporate benchmarking for a more sustainable future. Throughout her career, she worked to advance industry adoption of sustainability initiatives helping to develop industry standards such as APEX/ASTM Event Sustainability Standards and the TRUE Zero Waste certification for events.

Amanda lives in Portland Oregon. She holds a Master's Degree in Environmental Management and Graduate Certificate in Sustainability from Portland State University, as well as a Bachelor's Degree in Economics and Finance from Sonoma State University.

David Stevens

David is a Silicon Valley native and is celebrating 20 years of being in events full time. He is currently the 4x "Fittest Male #EventProf." He finds these workouts bring balance and higher levels of productivity to his day. He has worked in various capacities in the events world including agencies, non-profit associations, experiential marketing, incentives, concert and tour production, is a former GMIC NCC Board Member, and is currently the head of events at Alation, the leading enterprise Data Catalog company.

Resources from Amanda:

• B-Corp Certified SWAG providers
• Bee's Knees Sustainability Blog
• Additional Sustainability Resources

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The "Trade Show Talk" podcast is publishing two episodes per month, focusing on a different theme each month. If you'd like to be a sponsor or a guest or you have a topic to suggest we cover, please let us know by emailing [email protected].