I have not posted in a really long time (besides the quote on building products from Steve Jobs), but I think this article is a great comeback post. All of us that have done product demos, be it for customers, internal, investors, etc, I'd say that this article is quite accurate.
Demo Gods to exist! Here's a small extract form the article (http://www2.rdrop.com/users/paulmck/DemoGods/):
"When you are planning a demo, you must appease the Demo Gods, or their wrath will surely strike you down, making you appear to be a total fool in front of your professor, your fellow students, your boss, your co-workers, or even the people you were hoping might become your customers.
The following time-honored rituals are unsurpassed in their power to appease the Demo Gods, and perhaps even to make them smile upon you:
Freeze your code at least three to four days before the demo. The "simple" changes made at the last minute will invariably cause the Demo Gods to smite your software, rendering it totally useless at the most inopportune moment.
Never exercise any capability in your demo that you have not thoroughly tested beforehand. If you have not tested it, it does not work, no matter how careful and clever you thought you were, and no matter how simple the code seemed at the time.
Test your code early in the project on the platform that is to be used in the demo. My lab partner and I failed to perform this sacred ritual in our Winter 2000 CSE509 project presentation. Sure enough, an unexpected incompatibility caused our project to fail. We did avert the wrath of the Demo Gods, but only by hauling my desktop PC into the classroom at the last minute.
Rehearse your demo as if you were rehearsing a play:
Time each portion of your presentation.
Brutally cut anything that causes you to run overtime. After all, if it is really all that interesting, the audience will ask you questions about it anyway.
Allow no less than three minutes for every slide in your presentation.
Allow at least five minutes for questions.
Anticipate some questions, and prepare backup slides for these questions. Do not present these slides except in response to a question that specifically touches on the corresponding area. To figure out which questions are likely to be asked, rehearse in front of a friendly audience.
Have backup hardware available. Rehearse setting it up, and time how long it takes you to set it up. Rehearse one team member doing part of the presentation while another is setting the replacement hardware up.
Bring backup copies of your slides, for otherwise your laptop will be certain to fail to work with the projector. A USB memory stick works very well for storing backup copies, and, speaking as someone who has lugged tens of pounds of acetate foils through all 24 timezones and four countries in a one-week period, I can assure you that USB memory sticks are a very welcome development! Another good backup approach is to place a copy of your presentation on the web.
Arrive early enough to set up and check out any equipment that you need for your demo.
KISS: "Keep It Simple, Stupid!". The Demo Gods are less apt to wreak havoc with simple things.
If you have not already done so, join your local Toastmasters club and work toward your CTM."
