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If you want to really get your audience to remember a
point, try “show and tell”. If done right,
demonstrations can make an unforgettable impression on
an audience.
No one in the Washington D.C. hearing room will ever
forget Nobel Prize Winning Physicist Richard Feynman
immersing some rubber O-Ring material in a cup of ice
water to demonstrate the cause of the explosion of the
Space Shuttle Challenger.
It turned out that the insulation around the infamous
shuttle O-Rings, which had properties similar to
styrofoam, became dangerously inelastic at 32 degrees,
the temperature on the day of the Challenger launch.
Feynman demonstrated the problem by immersing the
material in a glass of ice-water and showing how
inelastic the material became at freezing point.
The Secret to Powerful Demonstrations
To have the same high impact with your demonstrations,
follow three rules.
·
Rehearse the demonstration several times to make sure it
works.
·
Keep it simple.
·
Don't demonstrate more than the listener is interested
in seeing.
The Case of the Five-Gallon Drums of Titanium Oxide
Several years ago, Danny Daye had a wonderfully simple
demonstration to prove the value of his new internet
service WorldWideTesting.com when he spoke to a
conference of venture capitalists. He wanted to
demonstrate the value of providing on-line quality
assurance for commodity products that could be purchased
over the internet.
When his turn came to make his pitch, he lumbered
on-stage carrying two cumbersome five gallon drums. He
stacked the identical drums on top of one another,
slowly adjusting them so that the labels would face the
audience.
"That is Titanium Oxide," he said. "This pharmaceutical
grade chemical sells for $100,000 per container. More
about that later." He went on to explain how his
quality assurance service was critical to giving
companies confidence in the commodity products they buy
over the internet.
Finally, to close his presentation, Daye pointed to the
top drum and said, "That one is pharmaceutical grade,
worth $100,000. This bottom one, is industrial grade,
worth $320. From where you're sitting, like buyers on
the internet, how would you know the difference? With
World WideWorldWideTesting.Com you will know."
Great demonstration! Simple. It worked. And it made a
very persuasive point.
At Speechworks we help our clients learn how to give
communicate in a way that connects and persuades. If
you’re interested in becoming a great communicator give
us a call at 404-266-0888 or check out our website at
www.speechworks.net |
