4 ms·

Ask YC: Books/Links on giving better demonstrations.

5 points by Hates_ 19y ago

I fudged my through a demonstration this morning and really want to improve the way I do it. I'm not looking for info on presentations so-much but just books on how to give a better run through of software. Are there techniques I can use to do a better job next time a client comes in for a meeting and I'm left holding the ball.

mixmax 19y ago
I think that this is not the kind of thing you learn by reading a book - or sitting in front of a computer. It's a people thing. People have a knack for seeing through other people, whether they believe what they are presenting, like what they do etc. These are the things I would recommend if you want to do a great demonstration: - Love your product - nothing shines through like enthusiasm. Don't be afraid to show it either. - Talk to people, study their reactions, smile to the waitresses, hook up with girls (or guys if that's your preference), start conversations with strangers on the bus. Like in all other walks of life if you practice interacting with people you will become good at it. - Study great speakers when they do their thing - Start by looking at some of Steve Jobs keynotes. The guy is amazing. Bill Clinton and Barack Obama are great at it too. - Be prepared - Do your presentation until your girlfriend starts complaining that you talk in your sleep and she has heard more about you product while you sleep than she has heard about her other girlfriends sexlife. And that's a lot... Steve Jobs recites until everything is absolutely pixel perfect, and every eventuality is covered - and it shows. On their keynotes I heard that they have three independent AV systems. Just in case two of them break down. - Read Dale carnegies "how to win friends and influence people - it's much better than all the modern crap. It's from the 1930's if my memory serves me correctly. Good luck :-)
wallflower 19y ago
There are many things I can list. But I'll provide just one - get a tripod/camera and videotape yourself presenting. "Speaking Secrets of the Masters: The Personal Techniques Used by 22 of the World's Top Professional Speakers" is the best book I have ever come across on speaking as an art/science because it has many different insights.
dkokelley 19y ago
I don't know exactly what your background/experience is, but experience in sales will give you good, everyday practice interacting with other people and demonstrating on the fly. Like mixmax said, watch for Steve Jobs' presentations. He has a strange personality but his stage presence is outstanding. How to win friend and influence people (Dale Carnegie) is also really good. I would avoid most of the current "sales/presentation" self-help books out there. Most of them are not worth the paper they're printed on. One last thought, try and find a mentor or a coach and/or join a speaking club. Toastmasters (http://www.toastmasters.org/ http://www.toastmasters.org/) and the National Speakers Association (http://www.nsaspeaker.org/ http://www.nsaspeaker.org/) are good, but they may be overkill if you don't do demonstrations regularly or to larger audiences.
edw519 19y ago
Run, don't walk to: http://www.toastmasters.org/ http://www.toastmasters.org/ Listen to mixmax - all the books/info in the world are absolutely no substitute for practice. Find the smallest toastmasters chapter close to you (so you get more chances to present), join, and go every week, no matter what. In 6 months you'll wonder why you ever had to post this here. I always used my Toastmasters group to practice my sales presentations. It forced me to be ready by a deadline, and the people there provided excellent feedback. It gave me a chance to try new things, and best of all, it never cost me a sale. (Oops, just noticed that dkokelley suggested the same thing. See?)
sanj 19y ago
1. http://presentationzen.blogs.com/ http://presentationzen.blogs.com/ 2. Practice, practice, practice.
johnm 19y ago
(A) Presentation Zen both the book (that came out recently) and the blog: http://www.presentationzen.com/ http://www.presentationzen.com/ and Beyond Bullet Points, http://beyondbulletpoints.com/ http://beyondbulletpoints.com/ the book and online seminars. Yes, both of them are primarily focused on "static" presentations, however the focus on the telling a good story through your demonstration is the point. In presenting Krugle at DEMO06 (and winning a DEMOGod award, woohoo!), the biggest failing we saw in many of the other presentations was the fact that the "story" was a confusing, convoluted mess. (B) Spend a lot more time building and practicing your presentations/demonstrations than you think. Video yourself is great if you can do it but just standing up and actually running through the entire presentation/demo repeatedly goes a long ways. (C) For online/web demos, I always build a completely usable, static presentation (in Keynote/PowerPoint) using lots of e.g., diagrams and screenshots so that the presentation still works for the audience even if the network/server is down/slow. (D) Have a personality -- and bend it towards your audience. I.e., a presentation needs to be engaging/interesting to the audience. I.e., think at least as much about entertaining (in the best possible way) as you do about being e.g., informative. (E) Have fun! Hope this helps, John

5 points by Hates_ 19y ago

mixmax 19y ago

I think that this is not the kind of thing you learn by reading a book - or sitting in front of a computer. It's a people thing. People have a knack for seeing through other people, whether they believe what they are presenting, like what they do etc. These are the things I would recommend if you want to do a great demonstration: - Love your product - nothing shines through like enthusiasm. Don't be afraid to show it either. - Talk to people, study their reactions, smile to the waitresses, hook up with girls (or guys if that's your preference), start conversations with strangers on the bus. Like in all other walks of life if you practice interacting with people you will become good at it. - Study great speakers when they do their thing - Start by looking at some of Steve Jobs keynotes. The guy is amazing. Bill Clinton and Barack Obama are great at it too. - Be prepared - Do your presentation until your girlfriend starts complaining that you talk in your sleep and she has heard more about you product while you sleep than she has heard about her other girlfriends sexlife. And that's a lot... Steve Jobs recites until everything is absolutely pixel perfect, and every eventuality is covered - and it shows. On their keynotes I heard that they have three independent AV systems. Just in case two of them break down. - Read Dale carnegies "how to win friends and influence people - it's much better than all the modern crap. It's from the 1930's if my memory serves me correctly. Good luck :-)

wallflower 19y ago

There are many things I can list. But I'll provide just one - get a tripod/camera and videotape yourself presenting. "Speaking Secrets of the Masters: The Personal Techniques Used by 22 of the World's Top Professional Speakers" is the best book I have ever come across on speaking as an art/science because it has many different insights.

dkokelley 19y ago

I don't know exactly what your background/experience is, but experience in sales will give you good, everyday practice interacting with other people and demonstrating on the fly. Like mixmax said, watch for Steve Jobs' presentations. He has a strange personality but his stage presence is outstanding. How to win friend and influence people (Dale Carnegie) is also really good. I would avoid most of the current "sales/presentation" self-help books out there. Most of them are not worth the paper they're printed on. One last thought, try and find a mentor or a coach and/or join a speaking club. Toastmasters (http://www.toastmasters.org/ http://www.toastmasters.org/) and the National Speakers Association (http://www.nsaspeaker.org/ http://www.nsaspeaker.org/) are good, but they may be overkill if you don't do demonstrations regularly or to larger audiences.

edw519 19y ago

Run, don't walk to: http://www.toastmasters.org/ http://www.toastmasters.org/ Listen to mixmax - all the books/info in the world are absolutely no substitute for practice. Find the smallest toastmasters chapter close to you (so you get more chances to present), join, and go every week, no matter what. In 6 months you'll wonder why you ever had to post this here. I always used my Toastmasters group to practice my sales presentations. It forced me to be ready by a deadline, and the people there provided excellent feedback. It gave me a chance to try new things, and best of all, it never cost me a sale. (Oops, just noticed that dkokelley suggested the same thing. See?)

sanj 19y ago

1. http://presentationzen.blogs.com/ http://presentationzen.blogs.com/ 2. Practice, practice, practice.

johnm 19y ago

(A) Presentation Zen both the book (that came out recently) and the blog: http://www.presentationzen.com/ http://www.presentationzen.com/ and Beyond Bullet Points, http://beyondbulletpoints.com/ http://beyondbulletpoints.com/ the book and online seminars. Yes, both of them are primarily focused on "static" presentations, however the focus on the telling a good story through your demonstration is the point. In presenting Krugle at DEMO06 (and winning a DEMOGod award, woohoo!), the biggest failing we saw in many of the other presentations was the fact that the "story" was a confusing, convoluted mess. (B) Spend a lot more time building and practicing your presentations/demonstrations than you think. Video yourself is great if you can do it but just standing up and actually running through the entire presentation/demo repeatedly goes a long ways. (C) For online/web demos, I always build a completely usable, static presentation (in Keynote/PowerPoint) using lots of e.g., diagrams and screenshots so that the presentation still works for the audience even if the network/server is down/slow. (D) Have a personality -- and bend it towards your audience. I.e., a presentation needs to be engaging/interesting to the audience. I.e., think at least as much about entertaining (in the best possible way) as you do about being e.g., informative. (E) Have fun! Hope this helps, John