7 The Art of Demonstration

The Four Ps

Here are four things to keep in mind while you are developing and practicing your demonstration: Props, Plan B, Participation, and Patter.

Props:

Many speech topics will require you to use actual objects while you demonstrate. For example, you can’t show us how to create a fishtail braid unless you have something to braid. The props don’t have to be the actual object you would use in real life. You have the option of bringing in something that represents that object. If you are showing us how to change a baby’s diaper, there is no need to bring a baby into the classroom. Instead, you could change the diaper of a doll or a stuffed animal. However, sometimes a substitute simply will not do. If you are showing us how to efficiently slice and serve a pineapple, you really need to bring in the pineapple. **Make sure that you don’t become so caught up with your props that you forget to connect with your audience.** Even when you are doing intricate work with your hands, be sure to periodically pause and make eye contact with the people observing the demonstration  while you speak to them.

As you prepare your props, make note of any that may be difficult for the audience to see from their seats. It is perfectly acceptable to pause your demonstration and walk over to the audience to show them something up close. If you have time and a big enough space, you can invite your audience to come up closer to see the details of your prop and how it is used. One thing you want to avoid is having your audience members pass something around to each other during your speech. This takes the focus away from your presentation. If you need to include handouts, or pass out materials, do so before or after your speech.

Plan B

The trouble with a live demonstration is that things can and will go wrong. The matches won’t light. The paper tears when you try to fold it. See if you can anticipate everything that might possibly go wrong with your demonstration and have a plan in place to deal with those catastrophes. It’s also a good idea to have a completed version of what you are demonstrating hidden away so that you can show us how things were supposed to turn out. This is also helpful if your speech is going over time. You can truncate a few of the steps for the audience and show us the completed version that you’ve already prepared. Julia Child was famous for doing this on her cooking show, The French Chef. Sometimes she would accidentallly burn the food she was preparing, or it wouldn’t come out like it was supposed to. Julia was unfazed in these situations, and she would pull out a prepared dish so that the audience could all see how the recipe was meant to come together. Murphy’s Law tells us that anything that can go wrong, WILL go wrong. The more you are mentally prepared to deal with these challenging situations, the less stressed you will be as a presenter. When an accident happens, it won’t catch you off guard because you have already thought through how to handle it.

Participation

Research into andragogy, the art and science of adult learning, shows that adults will learn more when they are active participants in the learning. There are three ways that people can participate in your speech. First, socially – they may speak out and make comments. Second, mentally – they may think about what you are saying and wrestle with it in their minds. Third, physically – they can do something. If your demonstration is simple, it would be great to have your audience follow along with you. For instance, if you are showing us how to do Dominican Bachata dancing, we can get up and learn the steps (physical participation). However, if your demonstration is complex, such as demonstrating how to make kimchi, we might not be able to do it with you. Still, you can always ask the audience questions to get them to participate socially. “Who here has tried kimchi?” “What did you think of it?” If you are pressed for time, it probably isn’t a good idea to ask for audience responses. Instead, pose a thought-provoking question to have the audience participate mentally. “Imagine that you are taking a trip to outer space. What food will you request to be served on your journey? Be sure to follow up by connecting your question to the speech topic. For example, to relate the question about taking food into space to the topic of “How to Make Kimchi,” you might go on to say, “In 2008, Korean astronaut Yi So-yeon requested kimchi, a fermented dish with the potential to explode in the vacuum of space. Although scientists had to tweak the recipe, kimchi made its way into the International Space Station so that Yi So-yeon could have a comforting reminder of home. Today I’ll be showing you…”

Patter

The last thing to remember is that you need to stay engaged with your audience throughout the demonstration, even while working on your task. We call this “patter,” like the pitter patter of rain drops. Continue to provide commentary for your audience while demonstrating, perhaps giving us additional examples or fun facts about your project. You can also elaborate on your experience in doing this skill, and what helped you learn how to do it. What we want to avoid is that awkward “dead space” where you are so focused on what you are doing that you forget about the audience and we sit there in silence.