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New Jersey colleague would proudly Apronounce : “ I always say what I mean . What you see is what you get .”
I was confused by this – knowing that I regularly fail to say what I really mean . Of course all businesses have their own phrases and statements which mean something completely different – a sort of private language .
This is a game best played with politicians . They say : “ We are focusing entirely on delivering our programme for the good of the hard-working people of this country .”
Which means : “ Please stop asking questions about how many children Boris has ” or “ We refuse to talk about the cost of gold wallpaper .”
Or parents saying to their children : “ There ’ s nothing to worry about ” which means : “ There definitely is something to worry about .”
Here are a few from our own world . We say : “ We have polled our exhibitors and they tell us that they are very enthusiastic about moving from Venue A to Venue B .”
We mean : “ Venue B have offered us a free tenancy for next year and a 50 % rate for two years after that . Given the sales numbers so far , I am grabbing at this god sent opportunity to cut costs .”
We say : “ We are deeply committed to sustainability as part of our company philosophy . Therefore we are not laying carpet to save waste .”
We mean : “ We can ’ t afford £ 2 a square metre for the carpet .”
We say : “ Yes , I am the brand director for the show and I am the person ultimately responsible for its success and failure . Please bring any problems to me .”
We mean : “ I have no idea what is going on . No one reports to me – sales staff report to the group sales director , marketing to the group marketing director etc and I can ’ t even send out an email without the group data director approving .”
We say : “ The numbers are down , but the quality is up .”
We mean : “ Well , the visitor numbers are definitely down . We haven ’ t a clue
Phil Soar
What we say and what we mean
Phil Soar deciphers the true dictionary definitions of common exhibitions industry expressions
whether the quality is up .” We say : “ Our exhibitors have been telling us that they really prefer to make their own dinner dates in Solihull , so we will not be running an exhibitor party .” We mean : “ That ’ s £ 50,000 saved .”
We say : “ That ’ s a really helpful follow up to your suggestions .” We mean : “ Still no ”
“ Our commitment to sustainability means no carpet …” We say : “ The industry tells us that the travel and hotel costs , as well as having staff outside the office for a three-day show , are hurting them . So in response to customer demand , next year we will change to a two day event .”
We mean : “ We can negotiate a 25 % tenancy cost rebate from the NEC .”
We say : “ We have a very robust judging system for our prestigious awards with a group of completely independent utterly reliable judges .”
We mean : “ I haven ’ t a clue how that could have won .”
We say : “ It ’ s my fault for not explaining the budget carefully enough ” We mean : “ It ’ s your fault ” We say : “ Let ’ s run that great idea up
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