Dec 27, 2021 Rahul Sharma
Living in the zoom era, I have been part of 100+ demos, either as a presenter or as a reviewer. Too often, I see amazing product demos marred by poor execution.
Here’s a list of five simple tricks that can elevate your next demo experience.
Make your demo deterministic by (mostly) following a set of fixed actions. For instance, if you’re demoing a To-Do app, consider a list of 2-3 use cases e.g.,
While going freeflow and winging it might sound more tempting but that risks your demo for real-time bug discovery and other unfortunate scenarios. Sticking to a script would avoid those and impart a sense of confidence in your presentation.
If your app depends on 3rd-party APIs, stick to the examples you know that work. For instance, if developed a pizza delivery app which is using GMaps API to show locations, pick a location that you know works correctly e.g., New York, and stick to it during the demo. Do not change the location to, say Boston, during the live presentation.
Finally, don’t forget to rehearse your script before the demo!
Nobody likes to see 50 StackOverflow tabs next to your app, close them before you live share your screen. The same goes for reddit, hackernews, YouTube, and such.
If you cannot close your current set of tabs, minimize the browser window and open a new one with just your app.