8 The Art of Demonstration

Introduction

The demonstration speech is usually a lot of fun for the audience, because there is a high level of participation. It can also be quite practical: the audience learns skills that they can actually use in their daily lives. There is also the wow-factor of props. Including objects in a presentation is one of the proven ways to get the audience’s attention and interest. This chapter will help you choose an appropriate topic, break down your demonstration into simple steps, and apply the Four P’s of Demonstration: Props, Plan B, Participation, and Patter, to help your audience stay engaged throughout the presentation and remember what you taught them.

Choosing a Topic

Make sure your topic is appropriate for your audience. Find something that most people don’t already know how to do, and that you, personally, find interesting. Consider your audience as well. What new skill would be likely to appeal to this group? You are encouraged to draw from your cultural background. Remember that enthusiasm is contagious! If you are excited about what you are about to show us, it’s likely some of that excitement will rub off on us. You can show us how to make something, or how to do something. However, this is a demonstration. You are not merely explaining something to us, but also showing us how to do it.

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Structuring the Presentation

Introduction

In your introduction, let the audience know what you will be teaching them how to do, why this skill matters, and how you learned how to do it. Your professor may also provide additional guidance about what goes into this section. The introduction sets up the audience to understand what they are about to learn, and it motivates them to pay attention as you teach them. Sharing with us how you gained this skill builds credibility with your audience. If the audience doesn’t trust your expertise in the speech subject, they will not be as focused during your speech. It also may be helpful to introduce your supplies before you begin the actual demonstration and let us know where and how we can obtain these items. Additionally, this is a good place to define any specialized vocabulary terms needed for this presentation.

Steps

Your speech should take us through chronological steps of the task you are teaching. Be sure to include transitional words, such as “first,” “next,” and “last.” You will be giving the audience both a verbal understanding of how to do this task, along with a visual representation. Depending on the type of topic you choose, your audience may also do the task along with you. Thus, the demonstration speech utilizes several learning styles and is an ideal way to teach people.

Conclusion

As you conclude your speech, remind us what we have learned and how this new skill will benefit us. Use phrases such as “Now you know how to…” or “This will help you…” to signal to the audience that you are wrapping up. The conclusion also reinforces what you have taught us. It’s also a good idea to allow some time for questions from the audience at the end.

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The Four P’s of Demonstration

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.

Importantly, however, 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 accidentally 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 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. This talk is called patter, like the pitter-patter of raindrops. 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.

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Conclusion

Demonstration is a skill that is used all the time in the professional world. Perhaps a colleague will ask you how to do something, or you may be asked to participate in a formal training situation. You might also support a home business or personal brand by posting a how-to video on social media. Using these demonstration speech guidelines will help you become an instructor from whom people will want to learn.

Works Cited

Gallo, Carmine. Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World’s Top Minds. Macmillan, 2014.

Giannoukos, Georgios, et al. “The Andragogy, the Social Change and the Transformative Learning Educational Approaches in Adult Education.” Journal of Education and Practice, vol. 6, no. 10, 2015, pp. 46–50.

Han, Jan. “Korean Food to be Served in Space.” The Korean Times, 11 Apr. 2008. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2008/04/123_22360.html. Accessed 29 Sept. 2023.

Hemmert, Nancy Grass. Public Speaking in American English: A Guide for Non-Native Speakers. Pearson, 2007.

Lucas, Stephen. The Art of Public Speaking. 12th ed., McGraw-Hill, 2014.

Powell, Susanna, et al. Stand and Deliver: High Impact Presentations. 4th ed., Pearson, 2014.