Lesson 8: Preparing Your Demo & Telling Your Story 🎤

Welcome to Week 6! This is the final week of the program, and it's all about preparing for Demo Day. You've built an amazing project — now it's time to show it off! We are so excited to see what you've created.

🎯 Learning objectives

  • Understand how to structure a compelling project demo.
  • Learn how to tell the story of your project: the problem, the solution, and what you learned.
  • Practice your presentation skills and get comfortable talking about your work.

1. What makes a great demo? 🌟

A great demo isn't just a list of features. It's a story. It should have a beginning, a middle, and an end.
  • The Beginning (The "Why"): Who is your Community Hub for? What problem does it solve for them?
  • The Middle (The "How"): Show, don't just tell. Walk through the key features of your application. How does it solve the problem you identified?
  • The End (The "What's Next"): What did you learn? What are you proud of? What would you build next if you had more time?

The 5-minute demo structure

Here's a simple structure you can follow for your 5-minute live presentation:
  • Intro (30 seconds): Introduce your team and the community your hub is for.
  • The Problem (30 seconds): Briefly explain the problem your community faces.
  • Live Demo (3 minutes): Walk through 2-3 key features of your application. This should be the bulk of your presentation.
  • What We Learned (30 seconds): Share one key takeaway from your experience.
  • Q&A (30 seconds): Thank the audience and open it up for questions.

2. Telling your story 🗣️

Every team member should have a speaking role in the presentation. Here's a sample division of labor:
  • Person 1: The Storyteller. Sets the stage, introduces the community and the problem.
  • Person 2: The Live Demo Driver. Shares their screen and walks through the application.
  • Person 3: The Closer. Wraps up with what the team learned and what they're proud of.

✅ Exercise: Script your demo

  1. As a team, decide who will take on which role.
  1. Write a rough script for your 5-minute presentation. You don't have to read it word-for-word, but it helps to have a plan.
  1. Practice, practice, practice! The more you run through it, the smoother it will be.
How to self-validate: Open a Zoom or Google Meet room with just your team, hit record, and run through the full 5-minute presentation. Watch the recording back. Did you hit all the key points within the time limit?

3. Final touches 🛠️

This week is also for final bug fixes, polish, and making sure your app is ready for Demo Day. There are no new feature tickets this week — the focus is on quality.
  • Bug Bash: As a team, go through your application and try to find and fix any bugs.
  • README: Make sure your project's README.md file is up-to-date. It should explain what your project is, who it's for, and how to run it locally.
Good luck with your preparations! We can't wait to see what you've built! 🎉