Tackling Project Demo Anxiety

A day before my big demo, I decided to do a test run. All telltale signs of anxiety were apparent on me; sweaty palms, shaky hands, using filler words such 'hmm' and 'so', stuttering over words and my audience trying so hard to grasp what I was saying. Needless to say, my presentation was a disaster and to make matters worse, it was a zoom call. What would have happened if I was supposed to give a speech in person?

I knew right away that if I was to succeed in my demo presentation the next day, I needed all the feedback I could get from my 'pseudo-audience', no punches withheld. The amazing feedback I got from my Project Manager was an absolute lifesaver. And I would love to share them with you.

1. Start with 'Why'.

   Why did you start this project? Why did it interest you? Rather than jumping in and telling your audience what your product does, tell them why you decided to work on it and why you connect with it. It allows the audience to connect with it as well and appreciate it more.

2. Speak about your team if you worked with one.

   If you were picked by your team to demo the project, never use the word 'I'. Not only does it seem that you created the product on your own, but it also undermines the effort your team put in to make the project a success. Always use 'we'. If possible, create a page/slide that contains your team's profile and in a few words describe the highs and lows you had while working with them. They'll appreciate it.

3. What does your website/application do?

   After introducing your project, speak about its features, what problem does it seek to solve. To make things easier, have a Technical Design Document (TDD) before the commencement of your project which includes its features, frameworks used, and your app's target audience. This makes it easier for you and your team to explain the app's functionality. Also comparing your app to similar real-life products and doing a competitor analysis allows the audience to get a feel of your product and understand what it does.

4. Know Thy Audience

   I cannot emphasize this enough. Of what use is it to present your product using technical jargon to an audience who does not understand jack about code. Tailor your presentation to suit the audience.
   If they are not software developers or are not in the field at all, tell them more about the why of the product, what it does and how its cool features set it apart from its other competitors in the market. Check out this post for more tips.
   If your audience is leaning more on the technical side, you can delve more on the kind of stacks your product is using, frameworks and the likes.
   If they are a bit of both, try to balance it to suit both sides.

5. Feedback

   Make your audience feel involved. Ask them for their thoughts on how to improve the product. They are the ones who will eventually use it. Getting opinions from a non-technical point of view may open your eyes to new ideas which in turn leads to a better product.

For those wondering how my demo went, it was fantastic 😃. Sure I still had sweaty palms and shaky hands but going through the above tips and practising them allowed me to deliver my speech with confidence that even shocked me. I hope these tips help you as much as it helped me.