It sounds like you did what works best for you and your friend, which is great.
I hate to say it, but I think it really depends on the person(s) as to how they would like to learn the game.
I'm like you, I would prefer to start simple, and gradually increase as you go along. But I've played 2 demo games with beginners to Malifaux, but they were both long time Warhammer and Warmachine players - so they picked up on the rules quickly. We just dove right in and by the end of turn 3 or so, they pretty much had all the basic concepts down.
If I were to demo another game for a beginner, I would just ask, how would they like to proceed, in small examples, or just dive in.