Most people arrive at an exhibition with an idea of where they need to go.
They have a list of businesses to visit, people to meet and products they want to see. If the event covers a large showground, they may even have worked out the quickest route between them.
There is nothing wrong with having a plan.
In fact, a little preparation can make the difference between a worthwhile visit and a day spent repeatedly checking the map and wondering what you might have missed.
But I have always believed there is value in walking the whole show.
Not simply moving between the stands you already know but making time to explore the areas you might otherwise overlook.
It is very easy to remain within the familiar.
We naturally gravitate towards the businesses, products and people connected to our own area of work. They feel relevant, we understand what they do and the conversation is usually easy to begin.
The problem is that familiarity rarely introduces us to something completely new.
Some of the best ideas I have taken away from exhibitions have come from stands I hadn't planned to visit. A product may have caught my attention; a demonstration may have made me stop or I may have noticed an approach that could be applied in a completely different way.
It might not have been directly related to the project I was working on at the time, but it changed how I thought about a future one.
That is one of the real strengths of an event such as The Showman's Show.
The industry it represents is incredibly varied. Walking around the showground brings you into contact with structures, equipment, technology, production services, welfare facilities, sustainability solutions and countless other elements involved in delivering an event.
You see individual products, but you also begin to understand how everything connects.
Something displayed in one area may solve a challenge you heard discussed earlier in the day. A conversation with one exhibitor may give you a reason to return to another. The more of the show you experience, the clearer the wider picture becomes.
Walking the whole event also gives you an opportunity to see how different businesses present themselves.
Which stands make you stop? Which demonstrations attract a crowd? Which teams make it easy to begin a conversation?
You start to notice that it isn't always the largest or most elaborate presence that has the greatest impact. Often, it is the exhibitor that communicates clearly, creates a welcoming environment and understands what visitors genuinely want to know.
There are useful lessons in all of that, whether you are attending as a visitor, an exhibitor or both.
Of course, walking the whole show takes time.
At a busy event, it can be tempting to rush between appointments and promise yourself that you will explore later. More often than not, later disappears. A meeting runs over; another conversation begins and suddenly people are starting to pack away.
My advice is to include that time in the day from the beginning.
Leave enough room to take a different route, walk through every section and stop when something interests you. You do not need to have a detailed conversation on every stand, but you should give yourself the chance to discover what is there.
It also helps to return on the second day if you can.
The first visit may be about planned meetings and essential conversations. The second can offer the freedom to revisit something you noticed, explore the areas you missed and speak to people when the pace feels slightly different.
Exhibitions bring an enormous amount of knowledge, creativity and experience together in one place. Limiting yourself to what you already know means experiencing only a small part of what they can offer.
The stand you nearly walked past could introduce the idea, person or solution that makes the entire journey worthwhile.
So, arrive with a plan, but make sure that plan includes getting a little lost.