Demonstration Guidelines

A guideline for all demonstrators to refresh and inform you of rules you will be expected to abide by.

Please be punctual with all replies and fill out forms promptly.

• You will be expected to present a display of the work you will cover in your demo. This can be used as the 'finished piece' for your demonstration

• A nominal fee to help with your expenses will be given as a token of our appreciation for sharing your talent with the ICES members.

• No X-Rated material, jokes, pictures or cakes will be tolerated. Any other material considered in poor taste may be removed from display.

• Bring a "personal assistant" with you to the demonstration. The purpose of the personal assistant is to help during set up and break down, allowing you time to answer questions.

• Be Well Prepared. It is helpful to have pieces for each step made ahead to keep your audience's interest (such as a flower that takes an hour to do all of the detail work on each petal). Perhaps have an assistant to finish tedious work. Use non-glare colored coverings on your cake boards if possible.

• Present handout sheets (paper size 8 ½ "x 11") such as patterns, recipes or just a plain sheet of paper with your name and address to the audience. It is a nice remembrance for the viewers and good for note taking. International Demonstrators - please convert measurements to USA measurements .

• You may advertise a product orally (such as a book you have written or a product you are using), but this is a sharing of talent, not a chance to sell your products or your business. NO SELLING is allowed during demonstrations or in the demo area at conventions. NEVER SAY, "I won't cover that information now, BUY MY BOOK".

• You are an ambassador for the ICES organization. Encourage participation and speak well of the organization. We, as an organization, are what each of our members makes us. Help us be our very best.

Making the best use of the camera

The main reason for using video equipment is to be a magnifier, to enable the audience to see, perhaps for the first time, your work actually being done at that moment. The presence of the camera is always somewhat inhibiting to begin with, but you will find that it can be a considerable aid in conveying detailed information that would otherwise be lost to your audience.

Remember that the audience can usually see better on the TV screen than they can by looking at the actual object, unless it is very large, say 10" high. Even if you are working on a large object, only the front rows will be able to see all of the details. With the TV screens placed strategically in the various rooms we are striving for the majority of the people in all of the rooms to be able to see well. It will help greatly if you as the demonstrator will show your work in the direction of the camera and not to the audience, as you are probably accustomed to doing. When showing your work to the camera (the large eye for the room) hopefully everyone will be able to see.

Work as you normally do for yourself at home keeping the work on the table. Do not worry about the position of your hands. The cameraperson will find a position that will give the best results. It is not possible to avoid blocking the work occasionally with your hands, so forget about it. Because the cameraperson is located in a more or less stationary position they may ask you to turn your body slightly to make it more advantageous for the audience to see. Please work with your cameraperson to give your audience the best possible view of your demo. If time allows, go through some of your demo procedures with your cameraperson before your demonstration to allow that person to become familiar with your procedures.

The color reproduction is usually not particularly accurate, especially when under fluorescent lighting, so it is a good idea to pass some of the finished items around the audience, as you usually do. (Please do not pass any items or equipment that cannot be replaced or that is of value to you.)

It helps the audience to see more clearly if you use contrasting colors instead of matching colors, particularly when piping borders, figures, etc. The end result may look a little strange, but for a demonstration this is not important. White piping on a white surface is not very helpful and very difficult for the camera to pick up the detail.

The camera works best with objects about 4 to 5 ft. away, not close up, therefore all that is normally required is to keep the work in its usual position and just turn it occasionally to face the camera - and keep it as still as possible when working. The area of view of the camera when on telephoto is quite small (roughly your hands and wrists); therefore if the work is moved rapidly more than a few inches it goes off of the screen and it takes the cameraperson a moment to relocate and refocus.

Occasionally other objects obscure the work from the camera, such as containers, decorating bags, mixers, etc. If you can move these items a few inches on request and still work comfortably then that disposes of the problem. If you find, however, that particular item is necessary where it is then allow the cameraperson time to adjust as necessary for your audience to be able to follow what you are demonstrating.

Clothing

Nothing special is required in the way of clothing. We suggest that you avoid large or busy patterns, which may distract . Solid colors are probably best depending on what subject matter your demo covers. When you are seated and working on the table the color is not important from the point of view of the camera since the interesting work will be in close-up and the clothing will hardly be visible on the screen.

Work Surface

Be neat with your work and work surface. Remember that you are in view and the audience will hang on every word and movement. The color of the work surface (which should not be white because of the glare) is very important. Please work on non-glare (dull or flat - not shiny) surfaces if at all possible.

Hands

It is desirable that your hands be clean and well groomed since they are a major feature on the video screen. Ornate or noisy jewelry distracts from the view and your audience's ability to hear you distinctly.

Sound

Your voice is your other link with your audience. Please use the microphone provided for you. One of the largest complaints at the past ICES conventions is that people in the audiences could not hear. When a lapel microphone is provided, place it in the least offensive and most comfortable position possible and speak in a normal voice. Please use the microphone, no matter the size of the demonstration room. Speak clearly and slowly.

Keep in mind that we have people from many nations attending.

Remember the microphone will not pick up the questions from the audience, so if you can, repeat any questions before answering . This is always good practice even if there are no cameras around at future demonstrations.

The microphones are NOT connected to any other sound system and are used only to allow your audience to hear what you the demonstrator are saying.

Try not to get distracted from your demo subject.

Thank you for sharing your time and talents,

 The ICES 35^th Annual Convention and Show Demonstration Team