The other day I did a flyout to a flyover. My teaching demonstration was given to an intro class, and I did it as such. I taught a piece of research of mine that fit in with what the students are studying in their intro class. The presentation went smoothly and many students indicated to me through their body language and their questions that they understood the points I was making. I did not teach a chapter of my dissertation, which is well above the heads of Gov 101 students and which would have required me to explicate a number of concepts that are completely foreign to them but which are known to PhDs.
When it came time for the interview by members of the department (six tenured faculty and one AP present but not questioning), at least two were furious that I had not presented my dissertation. I pointed out that it was a teaching demonstration and not a job talk, and I had tailored my presentation to my audience. I thought there might be trouble when a second faculty member expressed his anger at the presentation and mostly repeated the comments made by the earlier faculty member.
Is my application going in the wastebasket? Where is it written that your presentation has to be about your dissertation, especially when the presentation is to a roomful of freshmen?
What can I do at this point to smooth things over?