Tradeshow Booth Cures - Knick-Knack Knockouts

Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art of positioning objects in conjunction with the movement of "chi', or natural energy, through our environments. Chinese philosophy purports that every object is capable having an effect, either positive or negative, on the energy inherent in all things as it flows and pools around us. Strategic use of Feng Shui elements like light and color of can do a great deal to contribute to our trade show success. But in today's competitive environment, it's necessary to pull out all the stops. Don't worry, we won't ask you to trot out a "dog and pony" show. Our approach is a little more subtle than that - all you need is a little smoke, and a few mirrors.

Okay, we were kidding about the smoke, but not about the mirrors. Mirrors are exceptionally useful Feng Shui devices, especially in regards to manipulating the flow of energy. In addition to their reflective qualities which help brighten up your booth, they are capable of deflecting negative energy. Strategically positioned mirrors can also be used to reflect your product, and this is an effective way of "increasing" your display space. If you do opt to use mirrors, try to find ones that are slightly convex. This will distort the reflected image a bit, but it will disperse any negative energy in it's path.

Plants, too, are an important tool of the Feng Shui masters. While you can't exactly landscape your booth, you can still tap into the power of botanicals. Plants are used extensively in Feng Shui to keep negative energy out while letting positive energy filter in. Place plants around the entrances to lead good energy (and people) into your reception area. Use them to soften the linear edges of furniture or corners. In Feng Shui, "rounder is better" because it allows energy to flow while presenting minimal resistance. Choose plants with rounded leaves and make sure they're planted in rounded strategically-colored pots.

Another widely-used Feng Shui implement is fruit! While the Feng Shui masters probably did not have the tired, poor, hungry masses at a tradeshow in mind when they studied its chi, fruit can serve a dual-purpose. Red apples or oranges, with their strong yang colors and rounded edges are excellent "bait". Hungry people won't be able to pass them by, and once inside "the matrix", they won't want to leave. Make sure you only have perfectly ripe, and perfectly fresh fruit on hand though. "Tired" fruit is an energy drain.

Finally, we turn our attention to the sense of smell. Even though our olfactory sense is our most powerful, it doesn't really affect the flow of energy so there are no scent-driven Feng Shui cures. But we'd be remiss if we didn't do something to evoke every possible sensation in our efforts to draw people to us. Traditional aromatherapy is designed to be therapeutic, but we have a more devious approach. Seed your reception area with a big plate of cookies or brownies and put a few drops of vanilla on a light bulb and the hungry masses that we mentioned earlier will come pouring in.

Patty Stripes is an editor for The Trade Show Booth, an online resource where she has posted various articles about improving your trade show booth performance and getting creative with trade show displays.