Presentation Skills That Will Take You to the Top (Collection), 2/e

70. How to Beat the Demo Demons

Plan B and More

When companies bet the farm on new products, they often throw an elaborate launch party for industry influencers and the press. These Big Tent events are often centered on a demonstration of the precious newborn product. As anyone who has ever attended or, more to the point, participated in these events knows, the Demo Demons can strike suddenly, smiting the demo with a software crash, hardware jam, dropped Internet connection, frozen screen, power outage, blown lamp, dead battery, mouse malfunction, pop-up screen, or sound system failure.

Pure common sense, anticipation, preparation, and redundancy will avoid or counteract most of the physical and logistical pitfalls, but there is still the vital ...