Going on the road with your craft gives you a chance to share your skills with others. Planning the event well will give you confidence and help to 'sell' yourself.

Before you get there it's essential that you do a little homework.

1. Who are your audience?

The organisation that engaged you will be your first step in planning your presentation

When will you start and what is likely to be their state of mind as they listen to you? How long have you got to sock it to them? What are they expecting from you?

Many's the time I've been 'on' after a group of ladies have finished lunch or had a chat. My preference, if I have the opportunity, is to talk to people at the start of their meeting rather than after all the meeting paperwork. If I come on after they've talked about the paraphernalia of their group's ins and outs then I may not be the main thing on their mind.

Talking first means that their minds are not full of any other information (that I know about) and I can get straight on with things.

It helps to have some idea of what they want from you in terms of the level of presentation. The most important factor is some indication of how long they want you to 'speak' for.

When I say speak, I really mean 'perform' because if you just speak you'll lose them. In your planning you need to think how to wow them with only sensory stuff. Don't just rely on the voice. Go for the other senses too. Include things to touch and look at if appropriate. It'll also take their eyes off you.

2. What are their interests?

Do you know what their interests are? Do you know their abilities and levels of skill in your area?

It may seem basic, but knowing something about the audience's level of skills will help you to pitch your 'performance' more accurately. If they are professionals they will expect a certain level from you.

If they are a general interest group then be general. If you don't know, ask. It will help in your planning.

3. What do you know about the venue?

How long will it take you to get there? What equipment might you need to take? What about light, and the position of the chairs? Do they have the table space and covering that you need? Can you park nearby?

I always plan out timings to the venue carefully and leave plenty of time to set up. Look at a route map, check the route and add on time for other eventualities (filling up with petrol).

You may have decided to take other equipment with you: projectors, PC's etc. Find out what you can reasonably expect to be there already (but does it work?). Ask about the light in the room. It's important that they can see you well enough and you can see them (well the whites of their eyes anyway!).

I once had to set up behind grouped chairs. The audience faced away from me to begin with, listening to their Chairman and then at the appointed hour, 50 or so chairs scrapped the floor and turned their full attention 180 degrees to face me and my table. Both scary and comical!

Finally, if you are carrying heavy boxes it's important that you can park nearby to save your back. Think about taking a trolley of some sort to help you as you can't rely of assistance.

At one venue a lady sent to help me most certainly couldn't have lifted anything. If in doubt, be prepared to do it all!

They are basic ideas but they'll help get you on the road to success. Don't forget that you'll need to think about planning what you do and thinking about your resources and samples too.

Thinking a little about what they want first will help you to plan what you want out of the experience, and how you can bring both together.