ThemeDesign the session
CardCard 60 of 63
Questions5 to explore

Demo Solutions

Inspiration & examples that could lead the way

Showing the group a concrete example before you ask them to create something is one of the simplest ways to unlock better and faster thinking online.

Demo solutions are real or illustrative examples of what the group is working toward: a finished version, a comparable case from another context, a sketch that makes the goal concrete. They are not prescriptions. They are anchors that help people understand what good could look like before they start generating their own ideas.

In a room you might hold up a physical card, pull something off a shelf, or sketch rapidly on a whiteboard. Online a demo solution needs to be prepared in advance and shareable on screen: a slide, an image, a short video clip, a filled-in template. Improvised examples are harder to land on a screen where you cannot point at things physically.

The risk with demos is anchoring: if the example is too specific, the group converges on it rather than exploring. Present demos as 'one version of what this could look like' and explicitly invite the group to go in a different direction.

Online, specificallyOnline demos must be prepared as screen-shareable assets before the session, because pointing at something in the room or sketching live on a whiteboard does not translate and a verbal description alone rarely creates the clarity a visual example does.

In a remote session

The same building block as it plays out online: how experienced facilitators tend to handle it when the room is a screen. Illustrations to react to, not rules to follow.

Prepare examples as slides

Good facilitators build demo solutions into the deck as dedicated slides: a completed template, a comparable example from a real case, or a before-and-after. They do not rely on finding something during the session.

Frame as inspiration, not instruction

They name explicitly that the demo is a starting point: 'Here is one way this has been done. Your version might look completely different.' This keeps the group generative rather than reproductive.

Show more than one

When possible they show two contrasting examples to widen the solution space and signal that there is no single right answer. Two examples also prevent fixation on the style or format of a single model.

Use real cases where possible

Examples from real situations (from a previous session, a client, a published case) land better online than purely hypothetical ones because they signal that the work being done is based on what actually happens.

Questions to plan around

Use these on your own or in a group. There are no right answers, only better conversations.

What concrete example or demo will you show to make the goal of each key activity clear?
Are your demos prepared as shareable digital assets, or are they in your head as things you would point to in a room?
How will you frame the demo so the group understands it is inspiration rather than a template to copy?
Are your examples relevant and credible to this specific group and context?
What is the risk of anchoring with this example, and how will you mitigate it?

What trips people up online

A single highly detailed demo can shut down creative thinking; participants assume that level of finish is required and either copy it or feel they cannot match it.
Describing an example verbally without a visual on screen rarely creates shared understanding in a remote group; what you can see clearly in your mind is often vague to the group.
Using demos from a completely different industry or context without bridging the gap can confuse more than it inspires; always name the connection to what the group is working on.