Although recent news clips inside Las Vegas casinos show people walking through the halls of luxury hotels without masks and placing their bets without employing six-foot social distancing protocols, I’m happy in some ways the pro AV industry isn’t headed to Sin City next week for InfoComm 2020. [related]
While I’ll certainly miss seeing some longtime friends and maybe making new ones (or at least learning more about some new AV products and upcoming projects), the idea of packing more than 40,000 people in such close quarters with uncertainty about the pandemic in the air still makes me a bit queasy.
On top of that, I’m not sure I’m quite ready to get on an airplane just yet, even those that are keeping the middle seats open and assuring potential passengers that their cleaning protocols have been greatly improved in the past several months in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
I know this flies against my attitude toward going back to Fenway Park, since I don’t understand why fans won’t be allowed in the stands if Major League Baseball actually has a 2020 season.
One other major difference from the way things were when I last traveled for work—to the NSCA Business & Leadership Conference in late February—is the handshake has likely been relegated to the dustbin of history at this point, and that makes me wonder how I’ll greet friends and strangers.
It’s especially sad to see the handshake go away because I’ve always loved the phrase “handshake agreement” and the photos of company leaders after they decide to get together through a merger or acquisition. Kinly and AVMI did a nice variation on that after their recent deal though.
New Greetings in Socially Distant World
I’ve never been much of a hugger, although I’m certainly willing to make exceptions in some cases. (You know who you are.) John M. O’Connor recently posted an article on Forbes with suggestions for new greetings to replace the handshake. I wonder which one of these we’ll see most at InfoComm 2021?
- Make eye contact and nod
- Nod, smile, and use a phrase (such as “Nice to meet you!”)
- Repeat someone’s name back to them
- Use a pen or your phone to keep your distance
- Fist bumps and elbow bumps
- Namaste (hands pressed together in front of you), not quite a bow
I’m happy to see O’Connor’s list doesn’t include any mention of tapping feet together, especially since my shoes log some serious miles when I’m at a trade show as large as InfoComm (or the much-larger Integrated Systems Europe in February). I’ll keep my feet to myself if you promise to do the same, OK?
I still expect not shaking hands is so ingrained as a greeting for me and many others that it will be a hard habit to break. That’s one of the many reasons I’ll come to the next trade show or AV industry conference armed with a bottomless supply of hand sanitizer, as I probably would have anyway.
I’ve never been much of a trend-setter but I’m glad I have some time to work on my new greeting before I see anyone in the AV industry in person again. Don’t worry, though. I’ll teach you how to be cool and still be safe.
