Making a trade show presentation can be intimidating, particularly if you’re presenting to a room full of industry insiders at a convention rather than speaking with visitors at your trade show booth. Whatever your situation, these tips will help you speak successfully and impress anyone who hears you.

Know Your Company, Your Product, And Your Trade Show Booth

This tip seems like common sense, but knowing your facts becomes more difficult when you are under pressure. Discussing your product with someone at a convention is nothing like making a sales pitch in a regular retail store. You need to know everything completely, and be prepared to answer a wide variety of questions. Plus, you’ll need to handle distractions without becoming disoriented or distracted yourself. You will make your trade show presentation against a backdrop of noise and the speeches of others if you are presenting on the convention floor. These noises are incredibly distracting for you and your audience, so you need to be more focused, confident, and knowledgeable to compensate.

If you have the honor of presenting in a closed room, you have almost certainly earned your right to be there because you’ve been judged as a good speaker. People will come specifically to hear what you have to say. That’s a lot of pressure, even for someone who is a naturally good speaker. Ensure that you know your facts, or the stress may drive them right from your mind.

Practice Your Trade Show Presentation Beforehand

Although many gifted and seasoned presenters can give a spontaneous speech just moments after stepping into the booth, the rest of us benefit from a whole lot of practice. If you expect to be interacting with customers, see if you can get friends and family to act as visitors to the trade show booth. Have them ask you probing questions, and ensure that you can answer everything quickly, effectively, and in a way that is favorable to your company. Try to replicate the convention atmosphere if you can: turn on loud music or have the conversation in a public place if possible.

When you are presenting to a larger audience, the stakes go up. Luckily, it’s also easier to practice. You can write almost your entire presentation ahead of time, allowing you to practice it in full. See whether the convention center will allow you to practice in the room you’ll ultimately use.

Speak Up And Be Confident

If you know what you’re talking about, and you’ve rehearsed what you’re saying, there is no reason to be shy or meek when giving your presentation. You have every right to be confident. And when you are confident, more people will listen to you, and you’ll appear more trustworthy. With solid knowledge, lots of practice, and healthy confidence, you’ll wow the crowd at any convention. You’ll promote your business, develop your reputation as a good speaker, and help turn leads into customers.

When your business grows to the point that you have the opportunity to expand into the overseas market or even if you hold a position in a company that involves business negotiation, it can be a very exciting time, especially if you get the chance to do business in China. In either situation, most people get all wide eyed at the idea of the profits that can be made but if you aren’t careful you can throw all of it away with one wrong move. You may thing you can answer the question “what is business etiquette” but when it comes to the business culture of China, there are a lot of unique rules that come into play.

The business culture of China is much more structured than in the west and adhering to their rules is of the utmost importance when entering into that market. In the United States, business etiquette doesn’t get discussed as much because most of the business negotiations styles are standard. We wear suits, exchange business cards, prepare, present and end with a hearty handshake. What is business etiquette in the U.S. involves guidelines but they’re very different in China and are based on nurturing the relationship, respect and cultural considerations. You’ll need to bow your head when you are introduced and be ready with a business card and your business cards must not be bent or worn in anyway. You’ll have to wait to be properly seated at meetings and make sure to speak clearly and not jump to conclusions or interrupt anyone. Showing respect is one of the most important factors that come into play when it comes to the business culture of China.

Chinese negotiation style is also unique and can take years to master, but there are some things you’ll want to keep in mind that will help, even if it is your first time at the table. First of all, bring plenty of business cards with you. You’ll be exchanging them a lot and you need to make sure yours are in perfect condition and have your information printed on the back in Chinese as well. Don’t flick the card at anyone either, hand it to them directly and when you receive one lay it out on the table after examining it, and make sure not to put it away until negotiations are finished. Secondly, learn the art of Guanxi which is very important when it comes to the Chinese negotiation style as well and this means you’ll need to have a hookup. You’ll need to have someone along with you that the group you’re negotiating with knows and trusts. Social status is very important in China, and other countries as well, so make sure that your group isn’t just made up of rookies; have someone there both groups can trust.

Chinese negotiation style is also built around a certain level of distrust, at least in the beginning. You’ll need to make sure that you have someone there who is Chinese to make the negotiations more comfortable. When you speak directly to whomever you are meeting with, use short and quick sentences that are to the point. This will help make you appear professional, legitimate and even save face when it comes to your business approach.

Americans and most of the west put their money on innovation and talent but in China loyalty, honor and respect are the most important aspects of any business partnership. Once you’ve met these aspects, the business relationship and profits will follow. Make sure to adhere to their structured Chinese negotiation style so that you can flourish in the foreign market. By understanding the business culture of China you’ll be much more likely to succeed.