Product demos

Thanks, HMK for some research work done from your desk. Being a demo man myself I agree with all but one of Dave's findings (which I think is a really good average). I may not be bugged by the competition as much as Dave is (or was) as I tend to visit people rather than speaking in front of an anonymous crowd. This gives me the advantage to demo with some really rough peaces of software. I do and I enjoy doing so. Demoing early betas means you get the chance to make some adjustments very early doors. You also get a feeling for what turns people on and what doesn't. As long as you are prepared for some real rough crashes you'll be fine. This, by the way may be another point of disagreement with Dave. I don't think crashing is all that terrible. The software that we (at extragroup) trust crashes very gracefully and you will always be given the chance to make a humourous remark about it happening. I don't mind. Having said this, during periods of heavy beta testing I always inform my audience that I am about to demo rough ("cutting edge" sounds better) software. This invariably helps because peole feel part of it. May it crash or not. Who cares? Last but not least I get bored by version x.y.z. after 7 days. Demoing new and exciting features keeps me alive, even if 50% of all new features are not working (which is rarely the case). How are you going to sell a ? 5,000.00 product if you yourself are not shaking with enthusiasm for your brand new product?