Tips for engineers giving demos
After watching software engineers demo their work (or doing it myself) many, many times, I wrote up some tips on how to make demos more effective – especially when you’re showing off your work to others in the company.
1. Connect what you built to why it matters
Give enough context to directly connect what you built to higher-level company goals, or describe it in terms of how it will help customers.
Even when it seems obvious to you, connect the dots from what you’re doing to why it matters. Do this every single time.
2. Never type “Test” or “Example”
It only takes a little more effort to use a real-world example. Demo the feature using the same lingo, and in the same way, that your customers will actually use the software!
3. Demo live in production
While scary, this gutsy move will be noticed and respected, and it shows confidence in what you’ve built. Just be prepared with a backup plan in case something goes wrong.
4. Practice
Recording a practice run and watching it back is the single biggest thing you can do to improve the quality of your demos.
Sending that recording to someone for feedback ahead of time can also serve you well.
I've been on both sides of this and can confirm it's really helpful: If someone on your team will be giving a presentation/demo (big or small), ask them to send you a @Loom practice run for feedback ahead of time. Even if you don't watch it, the presentation just got 3x better.
5. If you’re taking questions…
- Keep your screen share going until there are no more questions.
- Don’t let questions derail the meeting.