I love doing demos, either attending or giving them. I’ve written so much on them in the past;
Software Sales Demo are a Thing
Reading those titles, I could still come up with more content to write on demos.
This is why I’m always surprised to hear that someone doesn’t want to give a demo. As a developer, the demo is the culmination of your work to show how you took words and made them into something tangible, how you took an idea and gave it legs. It doesn’t matter how you present, what PowerPoint you put together, or the bugs on your plate, all that matters is what you show, what you built, and what you created.
There is going to be feedback from it (don’t ever leave a demo without it) that will help you get better and improve.
The leader’s role in the demo is quite simple, pinch in and support, but do not overtake, don’t make it yours, it’s theirs. If something is broken, distract the audience while they fix it, if the questions do not pertain to the demo, push them out.
But let them ride it out, good or bad, the leader’s role is to know when to step in and this can be hard for many to do because they see the demo as a reflection of themselves. To that end, if you are feeling that way, make time to see the demo first before showing to others so you can have that level of comfort but otherwise, let them run with it.
They will become better because of it.
