Have you ever seen a demo where one of your co-workers was asked to use the product being demonstrated? Maybe it was a piece of software that doesn’t demo well, or a piece of equipment that looked heavy or complicated; but when one of your peers stood up and used it your objections disappeared.
Obviously, this is a very effective technique … when it works. Many times I’ve seen this technique fail. The audience member is distracted or shy and can barely stand up in front of their peers. Other times the technical expert is selected and the attitude is still: “of course she can do it, she’s a genius”. So, what should you do? You want audience engagement, but…
My answer: Yes, get your audience involved. However, ask your point of contact ahead of time to select someone who is not the brainiac of the group, but competent. Once you’ve identified this person, practice with them. A few minutes of practice will make a huge difference in their capabilities to use your product and you can say something like: “Jack spent less than five minutes this morning practicing with this system, and he’s doing pretty well, isn’t he?”
