{"id":29089,"date":"2018-02-20T11:35:13","date_gmt":"2018-02-20T11:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/?p=411"},"modified":"2023-01-26T15:32:26","modified_gmt":"2023-01-26T15:32:26","slug":"stunningly-awful-remote-demos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greatdemo.com\/es\/stunningly-awful-remote-demos\/","title":{"rendered":"Demostraciones a distancia asombrosamente horribles: la lista de las diez mejores formas de infligir dolor a distancia"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Stunningly Awful Remote Demos – The Top Ten List of Inflicting Pain at at Distance<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Would you like a horror story?<\/span><\/p>\n

I do a lot of \u201cprep\u201d demos with my customers, asking them to present live demos to me, over the web.\u00a0 I had been working with a customer and had seen demos from two presales folks up to this point, and both demos were effectively the same.\u00a0 The only differences were their styles of presenting \u2013 the content and the sequence of steps were exactly the same for both.<\/span><\/p>\n

We had organized another demo, from a third presales person.\u00a0 He starts off, over the web, with the classic phrase, \u201cCan you see my screen?\u201d \u2013 I reply, \u201cI think so\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He says, \u201cGreat!\u201d and\u00a0dives<\/em>\u00a0into his demo \u2013 and I realize he\u2019s doing the same pathway and talk track as his two predecessors.\u00a0 Ten minutes later he surfaces and asks, \u201cAny questions so far?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I answer, \u201cNope, I\u2019m good\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He dives back into his demo, continues for another ten minutes, then resurfaces and asks, \u201cAny questions so far?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I respond, \u201cNo, it\u2019s all clear\u2026\u201d\u00a0 And he dives back in\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

As many readers know, I time demos. \u00a0I said to myself, \u201cI have to run the experiment.\u201d\u00a0 I grabbed my coffee, left my office, went to the kitchen, refreshed my coffee, looked out at the view for a few minutes, relaxed for a bit \u2013 and at the nine-minute mark I returned to my office.\u00a0 Sure enough, in about 45 seconds, what do you think happened?<\/span><\/p>\n

He resurfaces with, \u201cAny questions so far?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNope, I\u2019m good\u2026\u201d is my reply.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, what is the horrifying thing about this? \u00a0He was in his talk track, just talking and mousing, mousing and talking; the demo was going\u00a0perfectly<\/em>, as far as\u00a0he<\/em>\u00a0was concerned.\u00a0 But \u2013 his audience was\u00a0gone<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 and he had\u00a0no<\/em>\u00a0clue I had left the room (and the demo)!<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s one horrifying example \u2013 here\u2019s another:<\/span><\/p>\n

You are watching a vendor\u2019s demo, over the web, and you are getting bored.\u00a0 Someone comes into your office \u2013 you mute your phone and chat with your colleague for a few minutes.\u00a0 She leaves and you turn back to the demo, still in progress, and un-mute the phone\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

After another few minutes of listening listlessly, you receive an email \u2013 you read and respond to it, then you idly review your Inbox \u2013 while the demonstrator\u2019s voice drones on about, \u201cAnother really nice thing about our software is the preferences options.\u00a0 Let me show you\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Does this sound familiar?\u00a0 Has the demo made a strong (positive) impression with you?\u00a0 Likely not!<\/span><\/p>\n

Now turn the both of these examples around and imagine that it is\u00a0you<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0your<\/em>\u00a0organization delivering the demo to one of your prospects\u2026\u00a0 Ouch!<\/span><\/p>\n

If your Remote Demonstrations are not as successful as you wish, consider using this list as an assessment tool.\u00a0 If these items \u201cring too true\u201d then you may want to contemplate some changes\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

The Stunningly Awful Demos (\u201cSAD\u201d) Remote Demos Top Ten List:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t Learn the Technology:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cGosh this is boring\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Assume that delivering a Remote Demo should be nothing more than mouse and talk, mouse and talk…\u00a0 Ignore all of the tools and capabilities that the folks at WebEx, GoToMeeting, Zoom,\u00a0et al<\/em>\u00a0have implemented to enable you to increase the level of interactivity with your customers.<\/span><\/p>\n

By all means, do not set up a session ahead of time with a colleague from your own company to try out and learn the capabilities in your web tool.\u00a0 Ignore the possibilities for driving interactivity offered by the various pointers, annotation tools, sharing options, whiteboards, video, chat, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, simply assume that your audience is paying rapt attention as you describe the seven layers of set-up preferences in your application\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 Don\u2019t Test the Technology<\/strong>\u00a0ahead of time:\u00a0 \u201cSorry, we can\u2019t seem to join the meeting\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Schedule a Remote Demo for, say, 11:00 AM with the customer \u2013 preferably with a large audience \u2013 and spend the first 15 minutes \u201cjoining\u201d the web session.\u00a0 This will ensure that your audience is bored and already contemplating leaving for another meeting or back to their desks to \u201cget some real work done\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

To maximize the potential negative impact, don\u2019t have your customer test their firewall or network\/computing infrastructure to make sure that the collaboration software will work in their environment.\u00a0 Leave this until the start of the meeting to increase the probability of technical challenges.\u00a0 After all, IT groups are absolutely delighted to see their end-users downloading unknown components onto corporate machines\u2026!<\/span><\/p>\n

Along the same lines, pay no attention to checking screen resolution, color rendering, sound level and clarity, font readability, full-screen mode and, of course, latency.\u00a0 It is best to find out that the audience can only see a fraction of your screen fifty minutes into the demo.\u00a0 Bonus points if they can\u2019t hear you adequately\u2026!<\/span><\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 Use a Fading Headset, Speakerphone or VOIP:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2026?\u00a0 Huh\u2026?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking of audio (pun intended), to maximize miscommunication, use a headset with old, dying batteries or VOIP with a poor connection on your end \u2013 or (gasp!) a speakerphone.<\/span><\/p>\n

With a speakerphone, you can appear to be yelling into the phone when you are speaking directly into it \u2013 and your voice will fade to a mumbling whisper when you turn back to your screen during the demo.\u00a0 \u00a0Bonus points for imitating the sound in a tunnel\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

For those using VOIP with non-terrific connections, welcome to the land of dropped phrases, words and syllables, \u201cNic op bop tis pref ont sys\u2026!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

4.\u00a0 Present to a Large, Unqualified Audience<\/strong>:\u00a0 \u201cWhy are we here\u2026?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Dramatically decrease your success rates by presenting demos to large, unqualified audiences \u2013 even better, encourage your customer to include people from multiple, disparate sites and time-zones.\u00a0 For the greatest (negative) impact, launch right into your demo without any mutual introductions, review of objectives or any brief qualification or Discovery with any new players (particularly high-ranking folks \u2013 best to fly blind and hope for a positive outcome\u2026!).<\/span><\/p>\n

5.\u00a0 Use a Flat, Monotonic, Passionless, Non-Stop Voice Delivery<\/strong>:\u00a0 \u201cYawn\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019ll have your audience sleeping peacefully in no time with this approach!\u00a0 Nothing says \u201cboredom\u201d like a flat, passionless voice droning on endlessly\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

It is always best to assume that your audience can see your eloquent gestures and hear your subtle changes in tone.\u00a0 And by all means, don\u2019t compensate for the inability of the audience to see you by putting more energy and dynamics in your verbal delivery.<\/span><\/p>\n

6.\u00a0 Move Your Mouse Rapidly and Continuously<\/strong>:\u00a0 \u201cWhere are the motion-sickness pills\u2026?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOh my God, he\u2019s got \u2018Zippy Mouse Syndrome\u2019\u2026!\u201d\u00a0 Few things excite an audience as much as trying to track a mouse moving like lightning via a web connection (or a house fly \u2013 fast \u2018n\u2019 random) \u2013 and lightning is a good analogy.\u00a0 The mouse appears briefly, then disappears, only to appear again in a flash somewhere else on the screen.\u00a0 The element of surprise is high, enabling customers to play Mouse Location Bingo.\u00a0 \u201cI wonder where the mouse will appear next?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Make sure to click much faster than the collaboration software can keep up.\u00a0 This will enable you to finish the demo a good ten minutes before your audience does\u2026!<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, remember to use your mouse to circle items on the screen \u2013 around and around and around and around\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

7.\u00a0 Eliminate Interactivity<\/strong>:\u00a0 \u201cAny questions so far\u2026?\u201d\u00a0 [Sound of crickets in an empty room\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve only got an hour for this demo \u2013 and the first twenty minutes were consumed with people connecting late, introductions and a corporate overview.\u00a0 You now have to pack sixty minutes of demo into the remaining forty left to you.\u00a0 Move quickly!\u00a0 Don\u2019t stop!\u00a0 You\u2019ve got a lot to cover!<\/span><\/p>\n

This plan will ensure that you minimize any possible interactions with your audience.\u00a0 Don\u2019t draw them into the demo, don\u2019t make it a conversation, and absolutely don\u2019t use any of the tips or tools that might generate real interactivity:<\/span>
\n \u200b<\/span><\/p>\n