A demonstration speech is a form of informative
speech where the speaker’s primary purpose is to teach the audience how to
complete a task (or process), and this is largely accomplished by demonstrating
the task (or process) through a series of steps.
“A
demonstration speech is a form of informative speech where the speaker’s
primary purpose is to teach the audience how to complete a task (or process).”
Demonstration
speech topics are numerous, including all of the following:
- How to prepare
a recipe (as in standard cooking shows)
- How to operate
a software application
- How to tie a
knot
- How to
calculate a mortgage payment
- How to swim the
back stroke
- How to process
a purchase order
- How to compose
a photograph
- How to line
dance
- How to design a website
- How to write a
limerick
- How to set up a
blog
- How to make
origami
- How to set up a blog
- How to make a delicious cake?
- How to learn many languages?
- and many, many
more...
The Demonstration Speech Outline
Just as there are many demonstration speech topics,
there are many ways to organize a demonstration speech. You will rarely go
wrong, however, if you apply this basic speech outline:
1. Start with why
2. Give a brief overview of the entire process
3. Go through the steps, one-by-one (for each,
describe it, then show it)
4. Allow time for Q&A
5. Summarize briefly
Each of these six steps is described below.
1. Start with why
A demonstration speech is about training the audience
to perform a task or complete a process. Just as with any educational task, it
helps tremendously if your audience is motivated to learn.
This is why it is important to tell your
audience how they will benefit from the knowledge you are about to
share. Once your audience knows why they are learning
this new task, they will be motivated to learn.
Will learning this new task or process help your
audience:
- Earn or save money?
- Earn a promotion?
- Build their range of skills?
- Save them time?
- Make their life easier?
- Provide enjoyment or satisfaction?
- Make them happy?
There are many ways to motivate your audience, but
one of the best ways is to open with a story. Paint a picture of how
their life will improve with this new knowledge.
2. Give a brief overview of the entire process
Before you dive too deep in the details, it is
essential to present an overview of the overall task or process.
- A brief, high-level overview of the steps involved provides a mental framework for the audience upon which they can hang the details as you provide them later in the speech.
- When learning a new task, some people in your audience will fear that it is complicated. An early overview assures your audience that it is not overly complex. For example, “We’re going to discuss how to cook a quiche in just four easy steps…”
- If you fail to present an outline, it’s difficult for your audience to see how the steps will fit together later on. The audience won’t have the necessary context.
- A great way to present the overview is with a diagram illustrating the steps of the task at a high level. You can refer to this diagram throughout.
- Along with the overview, you should also list the prerequisites needed for the task, and any assumptions you are making. For example, what is needed before one begins this task? What supplies or resources are assumed?
3. Go through the steps, one-by-one
From a speaker’s perspective, one of the best things
about a demonstration speech is that the core of your outline is
prepared for you: you simply need to go through the steps of the task in
sequential order. (Occasionally, you may decide to present the steps in a
different way, but be sure to let your audience know that you are breaking a
convention.)
Keep the series of steps as simple as possible.
Break the process down to the most essential steps that will lead your audience
successfully from start to finish. There’s no “best” number of steps, but keep
the number of steps as low as possible. Don’t present a 19-step process unless
your goal is utter confusion.
Defer optional steps for later in
your presentation (or, for the Q&A). It is best to avoid complicating
matters on the first pass.
For each step, you should:
- Explain the
purpose of the step (why is this step necessary)
- Explain the
step in simple, straightforward language (what needs to
be done)
- Show how to
complete the step (how it should be done)
4. (Optional) Discuss options, extras, or variations
Now that your audience has seen the task or process
demonstrated from start to finish, you can (if time permits) provide some
additional options or variations. For example, if you are explaining how to
cook a certain recipe, start with the basic version first. After that is done,
you can discuss alternate ingredients, different flavours to try, and other
ways to build on the basic recipe.
5. Allow time for Q&A
Many types of speeches benefit from taking questions
from the audience and answering them, and a Q&A session is particularly
well-suited for a demonstration speech. This allows the audience to seek
clarification on any of the steps which were unclear.
Depending on your topic and the forum in which you
are speaking, you may choose to take questions at the end, or you may invite
questions throughout your demonstration. Either way, monitor your time.
6. Summarize briefly
Finally, you should summarize the process briefly,
and recap the benefits which your audience will realize if they perform the
desired process or task.
How to Elevate Your Demonstration
Speech
Once you’ve mapped your topic onto the basic speech
outline given above, there are many ways that you can elevate the quality of
your content and the manner in which you present it to maximize the
effectiveness for your audience:
A. If you can, get audience members doing it.
Your options for audience participation are often
determined by how long your presentation is, the setting in which the
demonstration takes place, and the availability of supplies which can be shared
by the audience.
Having said this, it’s great if you can get the
audience participating in the demonstration. Actively engaging the audience and
having them perform the steps will improve the likelihood that they will
remember the steps and be able to carry out the task or process independently
long after your presentation. If the situation doesn’t allow for you to involve
the whole audience, try to get one or more audience members to help you out as
volunteers.
B. Visuals are critical for a demonstration speech.
Nearly every demonstration speech can be made better
by incorporating appropriate visuals to accompany your verbal descriptions and
instructions.
You have many options:
- Your body is
often the best visual.
If your speech is about some physical task to perform (e.g. throwing a ball), then the most important visual is your own body. You can demonstrate each of the steps individually, and “animate” the process at various speeds to enhance the demonstration. - Physical props
make it real.
There are two main types of props: “real” and models. Real props include the actual objects that are used when performing the task. Models include both “fake” versions of the real objects, as well as scaled-down versions. - Use photographs
or diagrams as necessary.
If your body and props aren’t sufficient, use photographs and diagrams. As you present these, it sometimes helps to immerse yourself in the photograph or diagram to animate the action that would be involved.
Whatever visuals you choose to include, be
sure that your audience can easily see them. If they cannot see your visual
(if it is too small, or their view is obscured), their understanding will
suffer.
C. Extend your demonstration by providing follow-up resources.
A single demonstration — whether it be a 5-minute
speech, or a 5-hour training session — is often not enough to guarantee that
the new knowledge is learned perfectly. To improve the likelihood that your
audience will successfully practice the task or process, it helps to provide
resources they can use after your demonstration is complete.
This includes (but is not limited to):
- Websites, books, pamphlets, or other expert sources which they can consult for deeper information, or more advanced training.
- Handouts you prepare which summarize the steps in the process, as well as diagrams or photographs which illustrate key details.
- Contact details so your audience can ask questions in the future as they try to apply the knowledge you have imparted.
Answer the following questions:
1. Why should you
know how to do a demonstration speech?
2. What is the
purpose of a demonstration speech?
3. What are the six
steps in the demonstration speech outline? Fill in the chart below:
Name of step
|
Why is this step important?
What do you do in this step?
|
|
1
|
||
2
|
||
3
|
||
4
|
||
5
|
||
6
|
4. What are three
ways to raise the quality of your demonstration speech?
Now watch the
following videos and answer the questions.
1.
Does the presenter in this video follow the six steps?
2.
What did he do well?
3.
What could he improve?
1 1. Does the presenter in this video follow the six steps?
2. What did she do well?
3. What could she improve?
1. Does the presenter in this video follow the six steps?
2. What did she do well?
3. What could she improve?
Fiesta Tortilla Roll-ups http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih8TkScsBiY
1. Does the presenter in this video follow the six steps?
2. What did she do well?
3. What could she improve?
Abridged
and adapted from: http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/demonstration-speech
