Five Minute Friday - Events and No Shows

Today I want to talk about something that everyone seems to brush under the carpet and for some reason no one really wants to talk about and I don’t know why.

I want to talk about Events and No Shows.

Why do people say YES to an event and then simply do not turn up? It's baffling.

Now I’m not talking about the people that contact you an hour before an event with a last minute excuse why they can’t make it, and when they do contact you it's rarely by phone, it’s always a text message, email or Messenger, never by phone.

And you know the excuses I’m talking about:

• Kids are sick
• I got called into work unexpectedly
• Couldn’t get a babysitter

Now we know some excuses are totally legit, but we also know most are fabricated excuses. We’re not stupid, even if they think we are, but at least they contacted us, and we should thank them for this because it does give you an opportunity to invite someone that wasn’t on your initial list.

So let’s get back to the NO SHOWS

How often do you attend an event and lined up on the registration table are the name badges of the attendees that did not show up? It happens all the time, but no one ever wants to talk about it. It’s like it’s a taboo subject, but I think it needs to be discussed.

Someone said that you should focus on the positive, the people that attended, and not focus on the negative, the people that did not attend, and I totally agree. At the event it’s all about the positive, however after the event during your debrief I think it’s an ideal time to discuss who did and did not attend.

Was it the same people…again!

Of course some people may have legitimate reasons for not attending, and family and work commitments should always come first, but let’s be honest, they would be in the minority.

What about the NO SHOWS that don’t bother providing an excuse.

They don’t apologise for not attending and they make no mention of your event when you see them next. It’s as though it never happened, and maybe if they don’t say anything you won’t notice they didn’t attend?

What they forget is the name tags are usually on the registration table for everyone to see, so it does not go unnoticed…and often it’s the same people.

Skin In The Game

Kevin Miller, host of The ZIGLAR Show, and I talk about having skin in the game on Episode 15.  The more skin you have in the game, meaning the more invested you are, the more you will pay attention.

We were actually talking about giving advice to people. If advice is free…it’s not valued. The more people pay for advice, the more people listen, and I think this applies to events as well. When an event is free, regardless of the type of event…it’s devalued.

But what they forget is the event was not free to the host. The host may have spent many hours organising the event and invested their own money to make it a success.

I was talking with my book publisher recently and this subject came up in conversation and I came up with a funny analogy. If your mother invited you over for a Sunday roast and you said yes, would you not turn up? Of course you wouldn’t…it’s your mum and you know there would be repercussions.

You also wouldn’t make a last minute excuse.

I read a good quote recently, which I think has a lot of meaning.
“You cared enough to invite them, but they didn’t care enough to attend”.

Marc Mawhinney, host of The Marc Mawhinney Show, said in a recent podcast that 80% of entrepreneurs should never have started, because they just don’t have the right mindset.
He said that not showing up to an event, a workshop, or even an appointment never goes unnoticed and more often than not it’s a missed opportunity for business growth, and this is why they don’t make it.

I’ve invited a friend of mine, Dr David Weiman, who is a Psychologist in Pennsylvania, onto my podcast to discuss this subject in more detail, and to try and explain the psychology behind people not attending, making last minute excuses, or simply telling lies to get out of going to an event. (This will be released on the 15th January 2018 and should be episode 22)

So, I’m glad I spoke about this subject today and I think more people should. People need to hold other people accountable for their actions, or should I say inactions.

Are my expectations of people too high? I don’t think so, its simply common decency.
If you have any feedback please email tf@tysonfranklin.com 
Tyson E. Franklin https://www.tysonfranklin.com

Dr. Tyson E. Franklin