Boredom is quite natural after all!

Boredom is quite natural! - Michael Rossié

A few days ago, a high-ranking manager asked me for my opinion on his customer days. In various major cities, business partners and potential customers had been invited for lectures and good food. In an upscale hotel, five welcome speeches ("I also have the pleasure of welcoming you here...") were recited by important people, four text-heavy PowerPoint presentations on "customer-relevant" topics were presented, each starting with a look into history, and as a giveaway, there was a plastic pen with a logo. This was followed by a top-notch finger food buffet. I told him straightforwardly that I found it deadly boring. Only the salmon appetizers had reconciled me. To my great surprise, he did not get angry or pensive, but laughed heartily and said he had already suspected that. He mentioned that it would have been hardly bearable without the food. "Why do you do it then, if you know it's so boring?" I asked him. "Do you think you can attract new customers and retain old ones with boredom?" "That's just how it is," he joked cheerfully. "That's what the customer expects. And there were twenty customer service representatives on site, and they did a great job." That's how it goes today: You attract customers with an exciting topic, impress them with food and location, and rely on human contact during breaks. Otherwise, it's just yawning boredom. The question now is why not start with the food right away. Then there would be more time for the red wine. And the five-digit sum for stage, lighting, and sound would have been saved. Can't it be done differently? Yes: Everyone off the stage who has nothing to say. Anyone who repeats what has been said, who thanks for permission that no one has given them, and turns their presentation into a university lecture: Off the stage! The most important thing companies take from their customers is their time. And let's not assume that all decision-makers just want to get away from home as quickly as possible and don't care where, as long as it's warm. If I talk the ears off a customer, I drive them away. Whether it's a company party, a sales event, or a customer event. The more interesting the event, the stronger the bond to the company. If the speakers, decision-makers, and presenters would put the matter a bit more in the background, stand up front like normal people, and say: "It's really nice that you have two hours for us. There is an exciting reason for our invitation. Now comes an exciting idea or story." The listeners would have sympathy for the speaker, then for their cause, and ultimately for the company. After that, the salmon appetizers taste twice as good. The boredom would be gone. Boring events are not an end in themselves. And whoever tells me that it has to be that way will wake up at the latest when they one day stand in front of empty seats because despite glossy invitations, no one comes. Here is a phrase bingo for the next party. Cross out when you hear an expression. The first one to have a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal row full of crosses shouts "Bullshit Bingo." For more information about Michael Rossié, click here: https://www.speakers-excellence.de/redner/michael-rossie-medientraining.html