Many ESL speakers, when tasked to make presentations, commit the mistake of making everything sound too formal. Truth is, much of English has gone the informal route – including getting up in front of people and giving the details of a report.

Most audiences, in fact, prefer a relatively informal delivery. That’s because it’s less stuck-up and more natural. The more comfortable they are, after all, the less of a hindrance it will be to impart your message.

However, informal doesn’t mean unstructured. Presentations, after all, are best accomplished when everything is organized for the audience’s benefit. When starting a presentation, make sure everyone is clear about what’s going to happen. However, be vigilant about keeping everything brief (use your language software to help you if you’re struggling). Here’s how you do it:

1. Get their attention. Project your voice and pipe up: “Let’s get started.” If you have a more fitting “call to action,” use it.

2. Welcome everyone. Greet your audience and welcome them to the presentation. It’s small talk, yes, but it breaks the ice and gets the ball rolling.

3. Introduce yourself. Make sure the audience knows who you are by giving your name and a short blurb about your qualifications (company, position and such).

4. Announce the purpose of the presentation. Tell them flat out what the presentation will be about. What are they going to learn? What should they get out of it? Keep it tight, though.

5. Tell them how you want to deal with questions. This is huge. People raising their hands in the middle of a presentation can be distracting. Different speakers have different preferences, so make sure you tell everyone how you’d like questions to come.

While most trade show exhibits highlight individual product presentations, there are times when an exhibitor might do well to stage a live presentation/demonstration to better present, explain and demonstrate its products and services in the often confusing trade show environment.

The idea of staging a live product presentation/demonstration is not at all new. Many corporations over the years have successfully used the live medium to communicate complicated product information to large audiences. There are many products and services whose features, benefits and sometimes complex applications might be more easily and effectively communicated by staging a live presentation/demonstration type show, rather than trying to rely solely on individual face to face sales in an exhibitor’s booth.

Studies show that sight is the most used human sense and that 75% of all environmental stimuli are received through visual reception compared to 38% from audio messages. According to a recent University of California at Los Angeles study, 55% percent of what an audience learns comes directly from the visual messages.

A Wharton Research Center study has also shown that the retention rate of verbal only presentations is approximately 10%. However, when you combine visual messages with verbal communication, you increase the retention rate to nearly 50%. And a cleaver use of audio, visual with an added feature of a light entertainment factor promises to increase retention even more dramatically.

A primary objective in deciding to embark on presenting a live presentation/demonstration at a trade show should be to have enough time and environmental control to cleverly and clearly communicate and deliver your information to more prospects and customers at one time than you could with the standard form using individual booth duty personnel.

There are many advantages and opportunities to be gained by designing, developing and presenting a live product or business presentation at any given trade show.

According to Kristin Veach, VP of Marketing, Live Marketing, Inc. ([email protected], (http://www.livemarketing.com/) there are 5 important reasons to consider producing and presenting a live presentation/demonstration at your next important trade show.

1. Maximize Your Visibility
A live presentation serves as a magnet to draw your target audience-prospects, existing customers, strategic partners, consultants, investors and the press-providing many opportunities to retain key customers, reinforce a company’s branding and positioning, introduce new products and services, and generate qualified sales leads.

2. Effectively Communicate Your Message
A significant portion of a salesperson’s time at a show is usually spent presenting a company’s products, services or solutions one-on-one with prospects. A live presentation uses the most effective communications techniques to achieve impact, understanding, and memorability to deliver that message to as many people as possible. Attendees learn more in less time, and key prospects will more likely stay in the booth longer to discuss their needs with booth staff at a higher level. As a result, the sales team is freed to directly address prospects’ applications, answer specific questions, and discuss the next step in the process of making and closing deals.

3. Engage the Most Qualified Prospects
A live presentation attracts, educates, qualifies, and connects potential buyers with booth staff. After the presentation, “tire kickers” usually leave, while key prospects are identified so sales staff can focus their attention on those attendees having a committed buying interest. The sales team benefits by talking with a constant flow of informed and pre-qualified prospects, motivated to take the next step.

4. Increase Memorability
On the tradeshow floor, surveys have shown that live theatrical presentations and demonstrations are the single most powerful factor in increasing brand and product memorability. 69% of attendees rated live presentation strategies (product demonstrations and stage/theatre presentations) as a factor in influencing memorability, compared to 64% for product interest and 51% for a well-known company. (Source: Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR), “Most Remembered Exhibits: An Analysis of the Factors Affecting Exhibit Recall,” MCRR 5040.)

5. Built-In Follow-Up Mechanism
A live presentation contains a built-in mechanism to educate and motivate attendees and prospects to take further action-from initiating a follow-up conversation, to participating in a hands-on test drive, to taking action on messages heard in the event.

In addition, you’ll want to evaluate the following to help you decide if there’s a live presentation/demonstration in your trade show future by considering:

1. When your products and/or services are too complicated and difficult to explain in the short time frame of a trade show booth visit, a live audio/visual presentation/demonstration can offer an opportunity to present more in depth, technical and essential product information to get your message across the first time and every time there after.

2. When your corporate public relations strategy wants to expose most all trade show attendees to new product developments, financial and corporate advancement information or industry wide business developments and they also want to provide an opportunity for informal two way communications.

3. When you need a totally controlled environment from which to communicate complicated, detailed information to your prospects, customers, employees, dealers and/or distributors on a more selective basis.

4. When you want to combine light entertainment with your product or corporate business communications to better get your message across in a more professional theatrical type fashion.

5. When it’s time for your corporation to take a different route to trade show exhibiting and you just want to try something new, exciting, creative, memorable and fun to out distance the competition.

Once you decide to design, produce and stage a professional presentation/demonstration you’ll want to ensure that the people you hire are experienced and totally capable of guiding you and your management staff through the various stages of show development.

Your exhibit will need to be designed and constructed just like a modern theater including comfortable seating, proper ventilation, adequate sound system, proper staging allowing for front or rear screen projection and appropriate lighting. You’ll want to make sure that all rules and regulations of the trade show convention center are met before design and construction of your theater begins.

Before you begin the process of vendor selection, you’ll also want to create a document outlining your goals and objectives of the exhibit and live presentation/demonstration to ensure that everyone in your company is on the same page and that there will be no surprises. This important document will also be used to guide the vendors you select and provide them with a solid foundation on which to develop their proposals, plans, budgets and creative treatment documents.

The program material should be written, visually supported and produced to entertain, educate and inspire your audience while the key information messages are communicated, demonstrated and effectively presented. It is reasonable to design and create the presentation/demonstration to last between 15 and 20 minutes as long as it is cleaver, informative and rather fast paced. The finished presentation should be performed as written and produced time after time leaving little chance for mistakes, omissions or improvising.

Most trade show attendees seem to welcome an opportunity to sit down in a comfortable theater environment and be entertained instead of being asked to stand in an aisle or noisy booth while a dry sales pitch is presented by various levels of competent sales/marketing and or technical people.

It is also my experience to notice that most attendees will simply walk by most forms of canned audio/visual presentations being indiscriminately presented with the inexperienced exhibitor’s hopes of “grabbing” prospects and customers in the aisle.

Your overall live presentation goals and objectives can be accomplished by combining modern audio and visual technologies with creative entertainment techniques that promises to add a new and exciting dimension to your trade show exhibit program.

When tied to effective at show promotional activities and pre-show advertising and communications, your trade show live presentation/demonstration will become a must see on the show floor and be remembered by all who experience it.

After all, there’s no business like (trade) show business.

“What should I wear when I present?” One of my coaching clients asked me this question recently. While it might sound more like a question for a style consultant, like my colleague Teresa Morisco on her Wardobe 911 blog, it’s also an appropriate question for a presentation skills coach like me.

In addition to your presentation content and delivery, how you dress and present yourself can affect the success of your presentation. Like your non-verbal communications, how you dress should support the message you are communicating and not distract from it. What you wear is particularly important in a high-stakes presentation, but it’s also important in any presentation, especially if it’s your first time speaking to this audience or you’re very nervous.

Here are 5 tips for dressing for success while presenting, no matter what the occasion:

1. Dress appropriately
What is considered appropriate depends on the audience and the venue. For example, if I’m performing improv comedy for entertainment at the monthly meeting of a women’s social club, I usually wear nice jeans. If I’m doing an improv workshop at a Fortune 500 company, however, I wear a business suit. If you’re not sure what is appropriate, ask the meeting planner or the person who invited you to speak. And if you’re not sure what looks good on you or what is age-appropriate, consult a style expert like Teresa or work with the personal shopping service at any major department store.

2. Dress comfortably
No, I’m not talking about wearing sweats or pajamas, but appropriate clothes that allow you to breathe and feel comfortable. For example, if you’re wearing high-heeled shoes that hurt your feet or pants with a tight waistband, you will not be focused on communicating your message. I have a client who feels very warm when she’s nervous – so I suggested she avoid heavy sweaters and instead, wear layers so she can remove a layer (like a jacket) if she’s feeling too warm.

3. Do a dress rehearsal
If your outfit is not something you’re used to wearing, practice wearing it while delivering your presentation. For example, if you normally wear khaki pants and a polo shirt, practice wearing the suit and tie so you’re not fidgeting with the tie or your shirt collar instead of focusing on your message.

4. Consider your props
If you’ll be wearing a lavaliere or clip-on microphone, plan ahead how you will wear it. Lavaliere microphones can be clipped easily on a tie or jacket lapel, but if you don’t have one of those, you have to figure out where else you can clip it. Also plan where you will put the microphone unit, especially if you don’t have a pocket or sturdy waistband.

5. Bring or wear something meaningful
Many of my clients find it helpful to have with them an item with special meaning. Especially if you’re nervous, having some kind of physical reminder of something special can help calm your nerves. For example, you could wear a necklace that your husband gave you, the watch you received when you got promoted or the ring you bought on your vacation to Hawaii. You could even keep something in your pocket, like a religious medal, or bring a special pen or business card case. Of course, you should not play with the item while speaking and it shouldn’t be distracting (no bracelets that clink loudly when you move your arm). The item is not a superstitious good luck charm, but a reminder of support and a boost of confidence.

When you do a final check in the mirror before you present, you should be able to smile at yourself and feel confident. If you follow these 5 tips, you and your audience will be able to focus on your presentation rather than being distracted by your clothes.