I make presentations in other states. In no general order:

Get there the day before and stay overnight, bring your favoirte comfort food snacks from home. Arrange to visit the lecture facilities the day ahead.

Have a packing list and adhere to it.

Make a few copies of notes and keep them in a few places.

Bring handouts, twice the amount you need. Email or fax copies of the work to the organization leadership for review and comment--they'll advise you on how to tweak it for their group, if need be.

Stay overnight again and drive home relaxed.

Speak often with the organization leaders before your presentation--familiarity with the leadership will bring confidance.

I also try to stay overnight before and after an out-of-town presentation and try to meet some of the locals before I speak (usually over a meal).

May I ask if the group pays for your hotel bill? I ask because I am soon to do my first long-distance presentation and I forgot to include that additional cost when I gave them my fee. If I stay overnight, it won't be worth it. If I drive that day, I'll be tired and more nervous than ever.

Call them immediately and say you forgot to mention the hotel bill but hope they agree that comes under "expenses."

Ginny, cough up the bucks for the hotel room if you must. But do take that job--you can't get a second one if you don't ever do a first one. Doing the presentation is everything.

Also, forgot to add one of my ultimate personal faves. New silky undies, bra and makeup items are a MUST. They are a great boost of confidence. If things don't work out in your favor you still have the undies and eyeliner ;-)

And one more thing to do--check out your local neighborhood college and schools to see their listing of courses for continuing/community education, look for lecturers that teach confidence skills. Last Spring I took a three hour course at Hofstra called "How to make a good presentation a great one." Courses like this are worth every penny.

T

I took the job--it's just the hotel bill I forgot to ask about--and now I'm afraid it's too late.

As far as presentation skills are concerned, I belonged to Toastmasters for a number of years and I cannot speak highly enough about their program. It is inexpensive and very, very useful. I got more out of it than I can say. I should go back for a refresher.

All the above points are great. For this particular presentation, they paid the hotel and raised the initial payment to accomodate the travel. All this was done upfront and the original fee offered would probably have covered the hotel and the travel, but not the presentation cost. I have given talks at this venue/event before, this was the first time though that they offered to pay.

In preparing for talks a distance away, the logistics of how toget there (drive/fly), overnight stay etc. determine what you can take. So make sure that you know the format of the presentation expected and that things like screens, cables are there and ready for you.

I love the idea of silk undies - confidence when you walk into a room is partialy based on how you look, knowing that you look and feel good works well.

Ginny - if you haven't told them that you need to stay overnight, ask them to recommend somewhere local to the site. Most areas have moderately priced hotels. You may not make a profit on the the talk, but at least you will not be in debt for it - and the hotel is tax deductable (I think). It IS good for the resume to be able to say that you give presentations in X,Y,Z states, or in my case, I used to say 'across the midwest states, including Chicago'. Depending on the type of event you are doing - would you consider staying with the hostess/host? I have found this alittle uncomfortable at times, but have successsfully hosted one or two speakers, when I needed to. This is easier to do if you know the host. I did several presentations to Herb Society groups, and it is expected that you are hosted by the chair of the group (or someone else) and generally I knew them anyway. Another factor to consider, is what time you are scheduled and the time it would take to drive. Some garden clubs meet for lunch and have the presentation afterward, so I have been known to leave at 8am, drive 3hrs, meet the ladies, do the talk, socialize for 30mins or so and head back in time for supper. Over 3hrs would be too far in a day, particularly if you hit bad weather and it takes 4hrs!!!

The venue is very variable - conferences in hotels, garden clubs in peoples houses - make a big difference, so knowing beforehand is very helpful. The venue I really do not like is the garden show/home show type event. You generally cannot have images, the audience is somewhat mobile - ie uses the chairs for a rest, rather than for you, and you have to compete with the vendors.

Hey Eddie,

Do silk undies help you in your talks:)

Great ideas everyone, Isnt it fun to get to travel for a talk. Just to reiterate. Make lists... for each of your talks make a list of things you need to take, slides or computer(and a couple of back up copies of presentation), handouts..... Check and double check.

Paul