Starting to Freak a Little.......

[JoyfulChef]

Hello all!

I may be thinking too much, but I have my first real show next week and I'm wanting some really good down to earth advice on what not to do or what absolutely to do.

Can anyone help me calm my nerves? I was fine up until today. Maybe I'm PMS -- LOL -- or because I'm turning 40 on Saturday! ARGH!!

Thanks !!!!

 

[heat123]

First, Take a deep breath! I know how you feel!

I was deathly afraid of public speaking when I first started! So much in fact, that I almost did not want to sign up to do this! But I practiced the recipes and used my tools and did a few practice runs before my very first show and watched the live kitchen show 3-4x! And go figure, my first show was huge (13 ladies) all looking at me! I will tell ya it get's easier with practice and time! Now I actually have fun doing it! And I hope you can enjoy yourself too! If you are relaxed and having fun so will your audience!

Good luck!

 

[JoyfulChef]

Thanks! How much of the recipes did you actually prep before hand?

 

[mistym]

Practice and CheatDo the show to your cat, do the show to the wall, do the show while making dinner...plus what I did, and still take with me, are index cards with a step by step guide to what I should be talking about!! If you get off track to take peek and they will set you straight.

Don't sweat it, tell them they are honored because they have attended your very first show and if there are any questions that you can't answer, write it down and call them back later. My director came with my on my first two shows so see if yours is available to come so she can help you out.

Silly things I learnt:

Take house shoes cos if you are presenting on ceramic tile you will get cold toes - LOL

Put your gloves on while talking about something to avoid dead air

put your dirtys in the sink and hope the host washes them while you take orders

take an extra tea towel and have it handy for spills, dirty hands during demo

Get the PC timer and clip it too your apron so you don't forget about your recipie

Ask your host to preheat the oven right after your introduction


ummmmmmm....take extra order forms incase people ruin thier own...

ok, i think thats all i can think off for now!

Misty

 

[pamperedgirl3]

I personally try to prep as much as possible beforehand. That way I'm not concentrating so much on the recipe as on the products. A good rule of thumb is to prep any repetitve steps. If you have to chop, chop most of it ahead of time. If you have to cut bread, cut most of it ahead of time. Measure your flour, brown sugar, etc. & put in the measuring cup or in a prep bowl. Hope that helps! Good luck!

 

[letscook04]

Hello all!

I may be thinking too much, but I have my first real show next week and I'm wanting some really good down to earth advice on what not to do or what absolutely to do.

Can anyone help me calm my nerves? I was fine up until today. Maybe I'm PMS -- LOL -- or because I'm turning 40 on Saturday! ARGH!!

Thanks !!!!

Welcome to the 40 club!! I just turned 40 in July and it was not that bad!!LOL

I still get nervous before my show after 2 years!! Tell everyone that this is your first show and they will understand. What are you making? How many people are coming? I would just stick with one recipe.
If you do a search for "show outline" that someone posted may help you.

GOOD LUCK!!! Relax and Have FUN!!

PS let us know how you made out
PSS HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Colleen

 

[Teresa Lynn]

simple basic things

Let them see you wash your hands if you are in the kitchen for the demo (excuse yourself before beginning the show otherwise & tell them you're going to wash your hands now is a good time to fill out their name & address on the receipt)
Don't lick your fingers
Don't touch your hair

you will have to develop your own style. I ALWAYS take my dirty dishes home in a rubbermaid tote to wash.... gets me out quicker, & honestly there have been a few homes where the sink wasn't clean enough for me to feel comfortable washing my dishes.

ALL of my demos are in the kitchen I feel more comfortable there & prefer an island or counter over a card table, tile over carpet if i drop anyhting.
Plus, I think it's easier to imagine buying a food chopper, stone or cookware if I'm in a kitchen setting versus a sofa.
Good Luck!
Teresa

 

[JoyfulChef]

Thank you all for your advice! It's a big help and thank you for the birthday wishes! God I can't believe I'm going to be 40 -- what happened to the time? LOL I'm very excited about this new venture but I just wish the nervousness will end. LOL May never end! Anyway, I'm making the chicken fahita pizza -- I made it the other night for the family and it was really really good! I did decide to prep a lot of it before hand. I think that's good advice! I was told there's going to be about 18 guests! What a nice kick off to my first show! She has also told me that there's a few bookings too!

Thank you all for sharing! Any other advice is always welcomed and I'll let you know how it goes, too!

 

[TinasKitchen]

Joy,
Happy Birthday!

I have to admit that although I would love to do more shows, I do about 4 a month. I still get nervous and I've been doing them since March. I forget to talk about things all the time and I remember when i get home. I do not wash my dishes at the hosts house b/c I want to get in and get out as quick as I can.

I would say just try to remember to talk about the products, host benefits, specials, recruiting, use cards if you have to
Be yourself as much as you can!
I found doing the game queen of the shoppers helps people have fun and its easy b/c I read it off the paper! lol Give a twixit clip or something.

Umm I cant think of anything else except Good Luck.. You'll do fine. And remember, you only have your first show once!

 

[tlennhoff]

Joy, practice a few times as others have mentioned - you can pretend to make the recipe or just tell your family to deal with the same food so much this week. 18 people and bookings already this should be a great show. Let them know this is your first time and that if you forget anything you'd love the PC fans to help out.

 

[PamperedMelanie]

Good luck! I am on my fourth show tonight and I am still nervous, but it does get better!

With my dirty dishes, I just tuck one of those super stretchy kind of trash bags in my red tote then I open right in there and put all my stuff right back in the tote inside the red crate when it is dirty. It's super easy that way and I don't have an extra tote to take and then have to wash out.

You'll do great!! My first show, I told a couple people that came early it was my first show then didn't tell the rest of the people. After the show I said "well, how did I do for my first show"? and got very positive feedback and one lady said "that was your first show?! I would have never known" so that was great!!

Have fun!!!

 

[JoyfulChef]

Thanks again, eveybody! It's so weird. Some moments I'm so excited and I can't wait and then a moment hits me and I get paranoid! LOL Maybe I'm go a little schitzo! LOL I am very excited though! I just want it to go great and I want to be a big success.

I'll just have to use my humor!

 

[Pampered Laura]

What a lot of people dont know... is that I have a HUGE GIANT HORRIFIC fear of public speaking. I felt afraid and terrified before my first 50+ shows, and now, it's not as bad, but I still get butterflies.
Things that you HAVE to do:
Bring your demo products and catalogs/order forms/calculator
Play w/your products so you know how to work 'em.
Don't lick thy fingers.
Don't play with thy bangs whilst in thy face.
SMILE
Laugh at yourself
Take orders
Go home!

 

[Chefgirl2]

All of the advice is great! The beauty of this business is we all are different and that makes it fun!

I will do a show in any room...maybe not the bathroom. Just heard on a PC CD -(Supply # av11) Build Relationships/Better Host that one consultant had a great show in the bedroom of a trailer. It was the biggest room, they just set up a card table and it worked. Last night I had the "My house is too small excuse." I came back with that line and got a booking!

When I am not in the kitchen I ask my host to stir fry, microwave and take items in and out of the oven. I have the host do some of this even if I am in the kitchen so we don't have 5 minutes of repetitive action. I can move onto the next step, keep them entertained and then I ask her to give us feedback on what she though of the item. I find that if I get the host to use it she will rave about it and usually end up owning it. I think this also helps with sales and bookings.

I rarely ever do my dishes at a show. I end up chatting with the host and staying way to late. I quit when I heard a guest say "Yeah, I heard you didn't leave until 10:00." Unless I have a second show that day they go in a white garbage bag in my crate. When I was letting my host clean them I was ending up broken items or with a lot of missing items that the host accidentally put up as hers. Or worse, if I did them, I would end up taking their stuff home with me! Once I had 5 items from a show! Yikes!

Share your story in a fun light hearted way and let everyone know what you want out of your business.

Try to keep the show around one hour (not too long like this reply). I tell my new consultants to have the host set the timer for 45 minutes. When it goes off she has 15 minutes to wrap it up and do a door prize drawing.

I use humor a lot and none of these lines are original:
Laugh at yourself if you make a mistake (you can tell I didn't struggle through 5 interviews for this job!)
If you drop something clean it up, apologize and let everyone know you are insured. (I could even burn your house down and it would be okay!)

Good luck and have fun!