13 Ways Trick or Treating is Like a Attending a Work Trade Show

It’s almost Halloween and our kids are already organizing their friends and scheming the most efficient route to take for the biggest candy haul ever. As the topic came up at the dinner table, I started offering trick or treat advice. We discussed the difficult choice of going on your own versus a large group, determining where to start and what path to take and suddenly, it dawned on me that I was offering lessons learned from attending numerous technology trade shows over the years.
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As I started writing things down, I determined that trade shows are really just an adult version of trick or treating and here are 13 reasons why:

• Everyone has a bag.
• You start out with a route in mind but never end up following it.
• You walk around aimlessly looking for free stuff.
• There is always someone who gives you something you don’t want.
• Sometimes nobody has anything worth taking.
• The concept of “please take one” is liberally applied.
• It’s best to go on your own. It’s no fun to be slowed down by a big group, waiting for stragglers.
• Some people get totally dressed up. Others…. not so much.
• Someone always wears too much makeup.
• There are always those that you hope you don’t run into.
• When it’s over you have to dump everything on the floor and sort out the garbage.
• You always wish you had worn more comfortable shoes.
• You always feel like it was better last year.