One of the key ideas of Aikido is to deflect your opponent\u2019s<\/p>\n
energy and momentum or use it against them.<\/p>\n
The same idea can apply to demos!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\"Si est\u00e1s pasando por un infierno, sigue adelante\".<\/p>\n
- Winston Churchill<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I was delivering a demo and halfway through the meeting<\/p>\n
a hostile audience member said,<\/p>\n
\u201cHow come your software sucks so bad and costs so much?\u201d<\/p>\n
(This is verbatim!)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I responded, \u201cThis requires more development<\/p>\n
than I\u2019d like to invest right now.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m going to capture it here on the whiteboard,<\/p>\n
along with all the other questions.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll plan to address it later on during our Q&A session.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This was acceptable to everyone, but I hesitated<\/p>\n
before adding it to the list.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The classic method of \u201cparking\u201d the topic would be<\/p>\n
to write it as it was expressed.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
However, I didn\u2019t want the audience staring at<\/p>\n
\u201cHow come your software sucks so bad and costs so much?\u201d<\/p>\n
for the balance of the meeting.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
And a slightly distilled version like,<\/p>\n
\u201csoftware sucks, costs so much\u201d<\/p>\n
wouldn\u2019t improve things.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I recalled a lesson I\u2019d learned in a training session<\/p>\n
that discussed reducing prospects\u2019 questions to their<\/p>\n
\u201cNeutral Pillars,\u201d which is a terrific method<\/p>\n
of capturing an idea with a positive spin.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I applied the Neutral Pillars approach and wrote down,<\/p>\n
\u201cQuality and Value\u201d on the whiteboard.<\/p>\n
Much better: a bit of verbal aikido!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Moral: Park hostile questions and use Neutral Pillars!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Discussion: Note that if I had written down<\/p>\n
the question verbatim or distilled it, the audience<\/p>\n
would be seeing that text the balance of the demo.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Instead, I identified two relevant Neutral Pillars,<\/p>\n
translating \u201csoftware sucks so bad\u201d to \u201cQuality,\u201d<\/p>\n
and \u201ccosts so much\u201d to \u201cValue.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
These were the words the audience saw on<\/p>\n
the whiteboard Parking Lot for the balance of the meeting.<\/p>\n
Much better!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Want more bitesize engaging stories and lessons learned?<\/p>\n
See \u201cSuspender la incredulidad\"<\/em> https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/yc7rsrmy<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n