Staging- “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players” W. Shakespeare

Hey, dear readers! I’m back again to tell you more about what I have learned lately. Today I’ll be talking about quite an exciting and interesting subject called Staging. To my understanding it is a matter of how you present your idea, the way you play a certain role in order to present a message indirectly and reflect its main points.

“You know all too well that the products you see in advertisements and brochures – from food and shoes to houses and database applications – don’t look much like they do in actual life. Teams of specialists spent long hours, and maybe even days, to make those products look absolutely perfect.

It’s called staging, and done professionally, it’s very effective. It sells homes, magazines, chandeliers, bedding, software, home stereos, specialty olive oil, and – well, you get the idea.” (Think ZigZag)

Staging is often used by attaching emotion to messages, advertising and spaces. In this way the message is emphasized and “acted” so that it touches the customer’s emotions. Once this is achieved it is easier for the customer to relate to the certain message, and he is more likely to remember and spread the ideas received. Also he is more likely to buy the product, because of the impact the advertisement for example had over his feelings.

Staging can be achieved through activating all the six senses of customers. “Sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing are the five most well know senses, but we also have a kinesthetic sense, which is also what some people mistake as a spiritual sense, because it is being aware of your surroundings. For example, if someone walks into a room without making a sound behind you, and you know that they are there, it’s because you sensed them unconsciously” (Answers).

Staging however doesn’t happen only in advertising. It also helps the companies internally. For example the way that the CEO stages his meetings, gives his employees certain impressions of how they are treated and what is required of them. For instance, if the CEO of the company wants the employees to feel valued, he would stand in the middle of the people during meetings, expressing in this way that he is one of them, and that they are all equal, because they work for the same goal. While if the CEO wants to implement a stricter and authoritarian style of management, he needs to stand on a stage above everyone, in order to send a clearer message saying “I’m the boss”. Therefore according to the message you want to send, you always need to think about how you can make it clear without saying it directly, how you can stage it properly.

Now if you think more thoroughly about staging, you will realize it happens to you every day. The way you talk and react to the people around you, the big posts you see on the streets or in the daily newspaper, the short spots you see on the TV, the music you hear when entering a store, the smell you feel in Abercrombie and Fitch, all this is staging my friends. And remember “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players” W. Shakespeare. Play your role accordingly.