Tips for Demo Presentations

Tips for Demo Presentations.md

Tips for Demo Presentations

Why this presentation?

• I had a hard time with demos on a tough client. Reviewing one ticket could sometimes take up to a half hour. I felt that I could do better.

Know your audience.

• Are you showing off features to marketing people or technical people? Tailor things for those audiences.

• If you have a mix of things to show, like technical backends and frontend designs, batch them together by audience.

  • Tell folks, "We're going over some of the frontend stuff now and after that we'll get to the backend stuff..."

• This helps to keep the right people paying attention.

Have your demo ready to go

• Watching a demo site save a node for nearly a minute is a real buzzkill, so when possible use multiple windows to show states. Have an edit window and a view window.

• Sometimes the demo will involve showing a process. When there is dead air, keep talking.

  • Boring stories are generally better than silence.

• Turn off notifications and hide (or close) anything not related to the demo.

Your first job is to inspire confidence.

• Do not start out with an apology or disclaimer. If you are not prepared, do not demo.

  • A bad demo can be worse than no demo.

• Start with a smile and a thank you to everyone for being there. Be positive.

  • It sounds corny, but just saying "Happy Thursday" can start a demo off on the right foot.

Set the stage.

• Make sure that you give context for what you are showing off

  • Mention the requirements.

• Bonus points if you mention how this demo ties to something that someone said or mentioned.

  • "Sheryl, you reported this bug last week and I'd like to make sure that you see that we've fixed it."

Avoid the real estate tour

• Show them only what they need to know to evaluate your ticket or task.

– Explain it in terms that show them how this helps them, the project, and the project's goals.

• You should be proud of the work that you did but remember that the client cares about things that may be different.

If questions come up

• Have a way to take quick notes during the demo, in case there are questions.

• Resolve fast questions immediately. If it is taking too long, bounce the discussion to the end of the demo or schedule a call.

  • Remember that there are usally a lot of people on a demo call. Respect their time.

• Keep the requirements in mind. Sometimes a client will change their mind or scope when seeing your demo.

  • If there is a change, remind the client that acceptance of the ticket doesn't mean that a feature is done. We can always add another ticket to update functionality.

Wrap up with a summary and a smile.

• If relevant, summarize the discussion to make sure that you have a good understand of what has to happen after the meeting.

• Thank everyone.