You're in the middle of a product demo with technical glitches. How do you keep the presentation on track?

I like to break the tension with a joke. My go to jokes are : 1. It’s not a live demo if it all goes smoothly, right? 2. The demo gremlins are back.

Have a backup option planned in advance. Keep a deck with screenshots in it or include key highlights in the presentation deck. If the UI isn’t cooperating then pivot into the slides or vice versa. If the tech can’t be salvaged during the call know when to “call it” and pivot to a discussion format. - You may have to shorten the length of the call to respect everyone’s time and then follow up immediately after with either make up resources or a reschedule. - Make sure that everyone who joined got some value from the meeting and the key topics/objectives were at least covered. Worst case is people watching you struggle with tech for 20 minutes and then scrambling to rush through the rest of your content.

Based on my experience you should focus on: 1. Describe the Situation Clearly: Let your audience know what is happening in straightforward terms. For example, “We are currently experiencing a temporary issue with our website that is affecting some users’ ability to log in.” 2. Explain the Impact: Communicate how the glitch affects them without diving into technical details. For instance, “This issue may cause delays in accessing your account information.” 3. Provide Reassurance and Next Steps: Reassure your audience that you are addressing the problem and outline what they can expect next.

Based on my experience you should focus on: 1. Pre-recorded Demonstrations: Have a pre-recorded version of your demonstration ready to go. This ensures that you can still showcase your product or service effectively, even if technical issues arise during the live session. 2. Interactive Q&A Session: If the live demonstration fails, shift focus to an interactive Q&A session. Engage your audience by answering their questions in real-time, providing detailed information about your product, and addressing any concerns they might have. 3. Distribute Supporting Materials: Prepare comprehensive supporting materials, such as brochures, fact sheets, and comparison charts, which you can distribute to the audience.

Engaging while multi-tasking a backup or detour is what has worked best. If something goes sideways while presenting a live screen - pause or stop sharing. Get back to the tell portion of what you are showing and lead with open-ended questions to draw out responses from your audience. If what you planned just isn't going to work, admit it, ask permission to move forward and should time be left you can revisit or provide them with some support materials that highlight what you planned to look at together.

Based on my experience you should focus on: 1. Collaborative Commentary: If technical issues arise, have your colleagues step in to provide additional commentary or context. They can share insights, anecdotes, or deeper explanations of key points. 2. Divide and Conquer: Assign specific roles to each team member before the presentation. This way, if something goes wrong, everyone knows their responsibility. For instance, one person can handle the technical issues while another continues interacting with the audience. 3. Demonstrate Cohesion and Confidence: When colleagues seamlessly step in to support each other during a hiccup, it showcases strong teamwork and organizational efficiency.

You are the only one who knows what you want to show the customer. Be intelligent about it. Mistakes happen & it is critical to be smart about. Changing the talk track on the fly to suit what works is a critical skill that sales engineers carry in their back-pocket.

Two key points to remember: 1. Stay Calm and Acknowledge the Issue: First, address the problem calmly and acknowledge it to your audience. A brief, confident statement like, "It looks like we're experiencing a technical issue. We'll get this resolved as quickly as possible," maintains transparency and reassures the audience that you are in control. 2. Engage with Q&A or Discussions: While the technical issue is being resolved, shift focus to an interactive question-and-answer session or a discussion. This keeps the audience engaged and gives you the opportunity to provide valuable information and insights about the product. Encourage questions that relate to what you intended to demonstrate, maintaining the flow of your session.