\u201cThere are always three demos for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave.\u201d
\n\u2013 Dale Carnegie, paraphrased<\/p>\n
It is exhausting to watch the small outline of a mouse zip around the screen, circling this, then that, then flinging itself in sweeping arcs, abrupt stops, and the occasional twitch \u2013 all in the first minute of a demo! So:<\/p>\n
\u00bfQu\u00e9 hay en este art\u00edculo para usted?<\/p>\n
Not easily!<\/p>\n
The standard Mac and Windows mouse cursors are too small and too insubstantial for effective demos. Both offer a thin black outline and white body which are fine for your propio<\/em> work. After all, usted<\/em> (generally) know where your mouse is and where it is going!<\/p>\n However, that thin outline and white body can be tough to see as a demo audiencia<\/em> member.<\/p>\n \u00bfSoluci\u00f3n?<\/p>\n Increase its size and fill it in to make it stand out clearly. I\u2019d recommend increasing the size 2x and use black for the fill. Here are instructions for the current versions of Windows and iOS (thanks, Google!):<\/p>\n Windows 11:<\/strong> \u201cYou can change the mouse cursor in Windows 11 through Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Mouse > Additional mouse settings, or by going to Settings > Accessibility > Mouse pointer and touch. The first method lets you change entire pointer schemes or customize individual cursors by browsing for .cur or .ani files. The accessibility option allows you to quickly adjust the pointer’s size and color.\u201d<\/p>\n Macintosh:<\/strong> \u201cTo change the cursor on a Mac, go to System Settings > Accessibility > Display > Pointer to adjust its size and color.\u201d<\/p>\n Do it now! Next, share your screen with a colleague (over the web) or grab a colleague (in office) and ask for feedback: How easy is it to see the mouse? Too large, too small? Adjust and refine!<\/p>\n If you are working from a large monitor and are presenting over the web to an audience that is using smaller monitors or laptops, they may todav\u00eda<\/em> have challenges seeing your mouse clearly. That\u2019s due to the \u201csqueezing\u201d of your very high-resolution screen down to your audience\u2019s more limited screen resolution, making everything on your screen look correspondingly smaller.<\/p>\n That includes your mouse y<\/em> all text and graphics elements. Do some tests to see the impact yourself.<\/p>\n \u00bfSoluci\u00f3n?<\/p>\n You may need to cambiar<\/em> the resolution of your monitor to match or get closer to those of your audience.<\/p>\n Next, where do high-ranking audience members tend to sit in a demo meeting, particularly in face-to-face demos?<\/p>\n Up front? Not typically! They tend to sit in the rear of the room.<\/p>\n And are they generally younger or older? Well, it depends on the nature of your prospect and vertical, but in many organizations the highest-ranking people also tend to be the oldest.<\/p>\n And how are their eyes and their vision?<\/p>\n They\u2019ve likely seen better days (my apologies for the pun)! So do them and yourself a favor by ensuring that the most (ahem) seasoned<\/em> folks in your audience can see everything you desea<\/em> them to see. One of the best ways to do this is to grab one or more of your most mature (in age) colleagues and test, both in face-to-face situations and over the web.<\/p>\n Have you ever seen a demo where the presenter circles their mouse around and around and around (and around and around) a screen element? One circle is helpful; each additional circumnavigation is simply annoying!<\/p>\n And eventually, that constant gyration actually tires<\/em> audience members\u2019 eyes, forcing them to look away!<\/p>\n \u00bfSoluci\u00f3n?<\/p>\n Move your mouse smoothly and deliberately to the screen element you wish to highlight. Circle it no more than una vez<\/em>, then stop your mouse so that the pointer points<\/em> directly at the element. For most cursors that means your mouse should stop slightly below and to the right of the desired element.<\/p>\n Practice this: It may take a while to make it an unconscious, consistent habit!<\/p>\n Let\u2019s run a quick experiment: Open an existing document in MS Word. Now, choose \u201cReview\u201d and then \u201cNew Comment.\u201d (Or \u201cSuggesting\u201d and \u201cAdd Comment\u201d in Google Docs.) I\u2019ll bet that your mouse seguido<\/em> your eyes as you hunted for these two commands, whizzing back and forth across the top of the screen until these commands were located!<\/p>\n When we mouse for ourselves, our mouse cursor tends to follow where we are looking. But that is no<\/em> a good practice for demos! Every additional non-productive mouse movement fatigues our audiences\u2019 eyes and brains.<\/p>\n \u00bfSoluci\u00f3n?<\/p>\n Look, find, and entonces<\/em> move.<\/p>\n In your demos, no<\/em> mover<\/em> your mouse<\/em> until you have located, with your eyes, the command, button, or screen element you wish to click or highlight. Entonces<\/em>, move your mouse smoothly and deliberately from its current location directly to that element.<\/p>\n Bonus best practice?<\/p>\n Once you have found that element, circle it once (if desired), next move your mouse so it points directly at the element, and then take your hand off your mouse<\/em>!<\/p>\n I have found that inanimate mice raramente<\/em> move on their own\u2026<\/p>\n I opened this article with, \u201cIt is exhausting to watch a small outline of a mouse zip around the screen, circling this, then that, then flinging itself in sweeping arcs, abrupt stops, and the occasional twitch \u2013 all in the first minute of a demo!\u201d This manic movement is the key symptom of a horrible, but curable demo disease known as \u201cZippy Mouse Syndrome.\u201d<\/p>\n Zippy Mouse Syndrome is a common affliction amongst those who move mice in demos. But aimless circling and wild movements make it hard for prospects to stay engaged. Here\u2019s a true story to give you an example of this debilitating affliction!<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a Zippy Mouse!<\/p>\n We were on booth duty the morning after a long, but enjoyable evening on Bourbon Street listening to Dixieland. Well, I\u2019d<\/em> been in a club taking in the music, Kevin had been elsewhere and had returned to the hotel on the late side of night or perhaps more accurately, the early side of morning.<\/p>\n While I wasn\u2019t feeling my best, Kevin appeared to be his normal, remarkably chipper and vibrant self. Or perhaps it was a few healthy doses of caffeine.<\/p>\n While Kevin staffed a demo station, my job was to trawl for prospects lurking in the shadows just beyond our booth. Many folks would stand just out of range, so to speak, and I\u2019d learned that if you walked directly up to them, you\u2019d likely scare them away into deeper water.<\/p>\n Instead, I applied what chemists would call an SN2 backside attack. I would note my target\u2019s location and circle around, finally approaching them from behind and sidling up alongside. After a moment, I\u2019d ask, \u201cWhat caught your attention about our booth?\u201d<\/p>\n Surprised, they\u2019d admit they were interested in one product or another but were clearly holding back, cautious to engage. I\u2019d ask, \u201cWould you like a brief demo of that offering?\u201d<\/p>\n Most prospects replied, \u201cSure.\u201d And I\u2019d escort them to Kevin\u2019s demo station.<\/p>\n To fully set the scene, you need to visualize a very bright, earnest, smiling character in his late twenties, attired in a button-down long sleeve shirt topped with a handtied bowtie. Nearly a clone of Pee-wee Herman (in his prime)!<\/p>\n The gentleman who I brought over to Kevin this particular time had a deep Texas drawl that was slow, mellifluous, and filled with inspirational homilies.<\/p>\n Our software was a rich database of organic synthetic reactions, with the ability to search for specific chemicals, reactants, and products. After showing a brief and compelling example of what the tool could do, we would invite our prospect to suggest their own search.<\/p>\n \u201cWould you like to look for something you are working on?\u201d suggested Kevin.<\/p>\n \u201cCould ah? Why, certainly!\u201d our prospect replied. He drew a few structures on a sheet of paper and Kevin got to work forming a search query. As Kevin labored, the mouse moved furiously around the screen and as he paused to think, the mouse twitched, circled aimlessly, and migrated wildly from location to location.<\/p>\n \u201cSon, y\u2019all should put the brakes on that mouse,\u201d intoned our guest.<\/p>\n Kevin glanced up and smiled, then returned to drawing the desired reaction.<\/p>\n Our prospect watched for another moment then gently reached down and placed his hand on Kevin\u2019s, saying, \u201cSon, y\u2019all\u2019ve got a real zippy mouse there! Can ya sloooooooow it down?\u201d<\/p>\n There were two pieces of good news that came from this interaction. First, this prospect hizo<\/em> end up licensing our software and became a strong supporter, serving as a reference, and providing terrific talks at our users\u2019 conferences.<\/p>\n Second, Kevin hizo<\/em> learn to slow his mouse down.<\/p>\n Moral: Zippy Mouse Syndrome is curable!\u201d<\/p>\n (\u201cThat\u2019s a Zippy Mouse\u201d is one of the 35 short stories in Suspender la incredulidad: Una colecci\u00f3n de historias de ventas, preventas y marketing (y lecciones aprendidas)<\/em><\/a> - (\u00a1Que aproveche!)<\/p>\n Thankfully, no surgery or drugs are needed. Practicing smooth and deliberate movements, including Look, Find, and Entonces<\/em> Move will help you form the habits that yield markedly improved demos and grateful audiences!<\/p>\n Click-Click-ClickClickClickClickClickClick\u2026!<\/strong><\/p>\n I was watching a demo from the founder of a startup who was excited to share his new technology. I was amazed, but not in a good way, of how fast he drove through his software!<\/p>\n If clicking the most buttons and commands in the least time and moving as fast as possible from screen to screen were an Olympic sport, he\u2019d have definitivamente<\/em> qualified for the finals! However, demos are where \u201cslow and steady\u201d truly wins the race.<\/p>\n Your objective is clear communication, not speed. Execute a function, point precisely, and describe what the feature provides, how it solves your prospect\u2019s business issues, and the value your prospect can expect to enjoy using the feature. Summarize as appropriate, particularly for longer pathways.<\/p>\n Then pause.<\/p>\n Let your audience take it in. Give them a chance to offer a comment or an observation or frame a question. Linger lovingly over your most exciting and valuable capabilities \u2013 give them time to sink in and resonate!<\/p>\n If you are limited in time, then apply the inverted pyramid<\/a> approach and choose the algunos<\/em> most important ideas to present. (And note that it is rare that we are no<\/em> limited in time!)<\/p>\nBe Aware!<\/h3>\n
Older Audience?<\/h3>\n
Please Stop!<\/h5>\n
Look, Find, and Then Move<\/h3>\n
Una historia real<\/h3>\n