Life on the Floor

Booth Etiquette

Booth etiquette is simple: look ready, stay aware, and make the booth feel open.

Visitors decide quickly whether they feel welcome. Your posture, attention, screen setup, and team behaviour all matter before the first word is spoken.

Look Ready for Visitors

Use Simple Openers

A greeting is enough to start.

Avoid Booth-Closing Behaviour

These habits make the booth look closed or unprofessional:

• Sitting behind a laptop unnecessarily
• Looking absorbed in your phone
• Eating visibly at the booth where avoidable
• Forming an internal team circle
• Blocking the aisle
• Leaving bags or coats around
• Letting backstage clutter show
• Debugging technical problems in front of visitors
• Leaving without telling the team
• Ignoring someone because you are not the “correct role”

If you notice one of these, fix it. You do not need permission to protect the booth.

Stay Aware of Visitor Flow

The booth changes during the day. Sometimes it is quiet. Sometimes several people arrive at once.

Keep checking:

• Who is approaching?
• Who is waiting?
• Who is already being helped?
• Which colleague needs support?
• Is the aisle blocked?
• Does the booth still look open?

You are part of the whole booth, not only your current conversation.

If It Is Not Your Role, Still Act

Do not ignore a visitor because you are not the right person for the topic.

ENGAGE → DISCOVER → CHOOSE / ROUTE

Example:

“Hi. Let me understand what you need, then I’ll bring in the right colleague.”

You do not need to answer everything. You do need to keep the visitor connected.

Keep Personal Items Out of Sight

Personal items create clutter and can get mixed up in a crowd.

Keep these away from the visible booth area:

• Bags
• Coats
• Phones
• Food
• Private laptops
• Packaging
• Spare materials

Use backstage space, lockers, or the agreed storage area.

Keep Food and Drinks Professional

Eat away from the visible booth area where possible.

If you need water or coffee, prepare before busy periods. Leaving for “two minutes” can easily become much longer in a crowded exhibition hall.

Keep Technical Problems Away from Visitors

If something breaks, do not make debugging the visitor experience.

Do this:

• Stay calm
• Move to another ready screen if possible
• Ask a colleague for help
• Continue the conversation without focusing on the problem
• Fix the issue away from the visitor when you can

Do not sit in front of a visitor clicking through errors and hoping it will recover.

Communicate Before You Leave

Before you go for a break, tell the team.

Say:

“I’m stepping away for ten minutes. Who is covering the front?”

Check that the booth is still covered before you leave.

This applies to breaks, food, calls, side conversations, and quick visits to other stands.

Quick Booth Etiquette Check

Use quiet moments to reset.

• Screens ready?
• Aisle open?
• Booth clean?
• Personal items hidden?
• Materials tidy?
• Team facing outward?
• Visitors acknowledged?
• Break coverage clear?

Small resets prevent the booth from slowly turning into a storage room with people in it.

Survive the Day and Use Quiet Time Well

Trade-show days are long. Practical preparation keeps you useful, friendly and ready when visitors arrive.

Prepare Your Body Before the Rush

Small practical choices affect visitor experience.

• Wear comfortable shoes
• Keep water nearby
• Plan food before energy drops
• Bring a small snack if needed
• Coordinate breaks
• Store personal items away from visitors

If you wait until you are tired, hungry or thirsty, the booth will feel harder than it needs to be.

Keep Water Close

Get water before the booth gets busy.

Leaving for “just two minutes” can easily become much longer. Crowds, distance, queues and conversations can slow you down.

Eat Without Turning the Booth Into a Lunch Table

Plan food before you are empty.

Eat during agreed breaks or quiet moments, away from the visitor-facing area where possible. If the booth is busy, visitors should see a ready team, not lunch in progress.

Coordinate Breaks Before You Leave

Do not simply disappear.

Before you leave the booth:

• Tell the team
• Confirm who covers your area
• Say how long you expect to be away
• Return when agreed

Breaks are normal. Unplanned gaps are not.

Keep Personal Items Out of Sight

Use lockers or designated backstage storage.

Keep these out of the visitor-facing booth area where possible:

• Bags
• Jackets
• Personal laptops
• Packaging
• Phones not in use
• Other personal belongings

This is not only about theft. In a crowd, items move, get covered, or get picked up by mistake.

Use Evening Activities Professionally

Networking events, dinners, parties and informal talks can be useful parts of the exhibition.

Use them to:

• meet partners and visitors;
• understand the market;
• hear what people care about;
• build useful relationships.

Also remember: the booth opens again the next day.

Quiet Periods Are Working Time

When traffic slows down, use the time well.

FOLLOW UP → NETWORK / EXPLORE → RESET

Quiet time is not a signal to switch off. It is the moment to prepare for the next rush.

Reset the Booth

Use quiet moments to make the booth ready again.

• Tidy the booth
• Refill materials
• Reset demo stations
• Check equipment
• Clear visible clutter
• Review outstanding promises

A clean, ready booth is easier to approach.

Review What You Promised

Quiet time is the best moment to check your follow-ups.

Ask yourself:

• Who did I speak to?
• What did I promise?
• Did I record it?
• Who needs the next step?
• Does anyone need a handover?

Explore Only When the Booth Stays Covered

Exploration is useful, but booth coverage comes first.

Before you leave to explore:

• Agree who stays
• Confirm the booth is covered
• Say where you are going
• Say when you will return

If coverage is not clear, stay at the booth.

Use Exploration With a Purpose

Network Without Losing the Booth

Use appropriate networking opportunities when coverage allows it.

Good networking can happen during:

• quiet periods;
• organized event activities;
• partner meetings;
• informal conversations;
• evening events.

When you learn something useful, share it with the team. A small market observation can help the next conversation at the booth.

Rush Can Return Fast