How to Give a Demonstrative Presentation

Did you know there are at least three ways to eat an orange? Could you demonstrate them effectively in front of a group if you had to? The basics of giving an effective demonstrative presentation are the same no matter what your topic.

Things You'll Need

• Cassette Tape Recorders
• Video Cameras
• Full-length Mirrors
• Props
• Index Cards

Instructions

1. Pick your topic if you can. If you have a choice on the topic of your presentation, choose something you are proficient at doing. If you don't have that choice, become an expert fast.

2. Learn who your audience will be so you can use material that will be of interest to it. Also pay attention to where your presentation will be given, what you will wear and how much time you will have to explain your procedure.

3. Determine the steps needed to adequately explain and demonstrate what you will be doing. Write the steps down on notecards and number them for easy reference.

4. Practice, practice, practice. Complete the steps in the written procedure before getting in front of a group to make certain you have not missed any steps and to ensure that the procedure actually achieves the desired result.

5. Decide on the visual aids you will use to help your audience picture exactly how the process should be completed. If you can't actually reproduce the procedure in front of a group, you may want to consider drawings, posters or props to help explain what should be happening at each step.

6. Rehearse and time the delivery of your presentation. You may need to come up with additional points to add time or delete some items that are interesting, but not essential to the procedure to whittle some minutes away.

7. In your introduction, establish your expertise on your subject. The advice and instructions of an expert will be far more credible than that of the average Joe.

8. Prepare interesting and informative comments to accompany your demonstration that will support the evidence you are showing. For example, you could say, "Not only is slicing the orange along the equator the least messy way to eat this fruit, it also gives you the opportunity to pick out the seeds before getting them into your mouth."

9. Reiterate your key points in "sound bites" during and after your presentation. Repeated sound bites will help to ensure that the important steps stick in the minds of your audience long after they leave the room.

10. Close with a bang by using the information you gathered previously about your audience to help make your presentation personally significant. Use a mind-blowing statistic or a graphic example to show how your presentation can apply to their lives.

Tips & Warnings

• Practice in front of a mirror or video camera if you can. This way, you can see the presentation points you need to work on, like improving your posture or eliminating nervous tics and twitches.

• Speak directly to the group making eye contact with as many people in the audience as possible. Enunciate and speak in a lively and conversational manner to keep the people in the audience engaged throughout your entire presentation.

• Avoid using an overhead projector if you can. When the lights go off, the eyelids of the audience get heavy.

• Don't drag this thing on too long, because even the most interesting topic will get old if you have to sit and listen to someone blather on about it for an hour and a half. The typical length of a demonstration speech is between 5 and 8 minutes; anything over 20 to 25 minutes is nearing overkill.