2019 Creating a Demonstration Presentation

Creating a Demonstration Presentation

2019, Steven B. Zwickel

• Purpose 

Demonstrations may have one or more purposes. Some are strictly informative, while others are intended to persuade the audience to follow a particular course of action.

Instructive demonstrations teach the audience how to do something. Teaching means giving student not only instruction, but the ability to think critically about what they are observing. Professional educators know how to prepare lessons so that the audience can become competent at performing a task or running a process. Instructive demonstrations often include extensive explanations of the theory behind the activity. Examples include teaching students how to solve a math problem or training people to craft something.

Justification demonstrations help the audience understand why something is being done. It establishes the rationale for acting and demonstrates the reasons behind the activity. Examples might include a dentist explaining to a patient why a root canal is necessary or demonstrating different conditions that require testing water for contaminants.

Process demonstrations show how something is done. These are usually not activities that the audience members would engage in themselves, but about which they can learn. Process demonstrations may include explanations of the theory behind the activity. Examples would be an engineer describing how a nuclear power plant works or a demonstration of how they make baseballs.

Plan a demonstration with your purpose in mind. What do you want the audience to know or do when your demonstration is over?

︎✔︎Organize information so it explains the process clearly and concisely. Think in terms of a chronological or step-by-step method of development.

✔ As you go through your demonstration, teach your audience how to recognize and to analyze materials and outcomes for their merits and faults.

✔Assuming that there are options, tell your audience about different choices of materials, processes, and tools. Explain the differences so they can understand why you make the choices you make.

✔Alert your audience to any foreseeable problems and safety issues they may need to recognize.

• Outcomes

The most important outcome of a demonstration is understanding. A good demonstration is more than just giving instructions; it helps the audience understand:

✔How the thing is done

✔Why it is done

✔What makes it good or bad

✔Potential problems

• Explaining “Why?” Don’t assume that the reason for doing something is obvious to all. In some parts of the world, people don’t expect to be given the reasons for doing something, but Americans almost always expect you to tell them why. Giving them a reason "Because…" can be a powerful, persuasive way of convincing your audience to accept your ideas. Keep your explanations simple, but don’t insult audience’s intelligence. If you can’t explain why something is being done, you probably should not be doing a demonstration.

• Before you begin: PreparationThink your way through the demonstration first. This can be complicated if you’ve done it so many times you no longer need to think about doing it. For example, if you make coffee every morning, pretty soon you do it automatically, without thinking. The poorest demonstrations are those that are done on the fly, with little thought.

• Organizing a Demonstration: Start with an explanation of what you are demonstrating and why it matters. You can’t assume the audience knows this. The body should be a Step-by-step Process, followed by a conclusion in which you show how it turns out and discuss any alternatives.

• Creating a demonstration

1. List of materials needed for the process. Describe different options. Giving people choices makes them feel more empowered. 

2. List of tools needed and explain what these are used for, where to get them, and what options are available

3. List and define technical terms can be a useful handout to go with the demonstration.

4. Divide process into steps Number steps and illustrate each step during the demonstration. Too many steps will lead to confusion. If you have too many steps, sort them into logical groups to keep it simple.

5. Set criteria for evaluating results Alert audience to things that can go wrong. Discuss troubleshooting and focus on safety issues

6. Choose a mode for your demo 

✔ Live demo (watch me do it)

✔ Video (stop and start if needed). Good video needs storyboards, script, editing.

✔ Illustrated instruction manual should have lots of pictures. Have someone take photos (lots) as you go through the demonstration. Edit and label these for use in the manual.

✔ Handouts (go with a live demo or video).

✔ Workshop (do the demo and have the audience do it along with you).

Problems demonstrating software: 

✔ active window has unfamiliar icons and tiny text

✔ changes are not always obvious

✔ referring to online instructions means switching windows back and forth

Solutions: 

✔ Take screenshot, drop into PowerPoint slide and enlarge toolbar 

✔ Add clear, large labels to icons: Name the tools you are using and define terms clearly

✔  Be consistent with terminology 

✔  Pause between steps (don’t rush!)

✔  Point and move cursor deliberately è don’t wave it around

✔  Print out instructions and distribute as handout so you don’t have to keep switching windows.

7. Creating a “Ta-da Voila!” Watch cooking shows and you’ll notice the chef prepare the dish, place it in the oven, and, without waiting, pull out a completely cooked dish. This is the “Ta-da Voila!”—showing what the food should look like if all the steps are followed correctly. In just about any kind of demonstration it’s good to show the audience what the completed product looks like.

The Ta-da Voila also gives you some protection from Murphy’s Law (anything that can go wrong, will go wrong), because even if your demonstration fails, you will be able to show the audience what would have happened had everything gone well.

Summary

Demonstrations should explain:

✔ How something is done

✔ Why it is done that way (how much theory depends on the audience)

✔ What options (if any) are available 

✔ How to tell if the result is good or not

✔ Problems that may arise and how to solve them