It looks like Netbriefings has released a new or improved version of their web collaboration tool (http://www.netbriefings.com/solutions/econfpro.shtml). I haven’t yet seen it in action, but the collateral sounds good…!

Does anyone have experience using it for Remote Demos?


From their website:

Netbriefings Conference Pro Feature List
Flash-based Meeting Viewer - Participants only need a web browser and Flash to attend a meeting.
Cross-platform solution - Host or attend a meeting from a PC, Mac, or Linux computer.
Screen sharing - Show your entire desktop or a window on your desktop to all attendees. Annotate a shared display.
Zoom in on important areas.
Adjustable resolutions.
Full screen viewing for attendees.
Presentation sharing - Import a PowerPoint presentation and share it with meeting attendees. Display slide thumbnails and titles in a navigation window.
Annotate (and allow attendees to annotate) shared slides.
Support Flash slides including animations.
Full screen viewing for attendees. Whiteboard sharing - Share an interactive whiteboard and allow anyone to draw.
Support multiple whiteboards in a meeting.
Media streaming - Stream Flash videos or MP3 audios to all attendees and control their playback.
Allow everyone to annotate and draw on the shared video.
Picture sharing - Share a picture with all attendees and allow everyone to annotate and draw on the shared picture.
Control the zooming and panning of the picture.
Video/Voice over IP - Show up to 12 webcam windows with voice over IP.
File transfer - Transfer desktop files to meeting attendees.
Desktop snapshot - Take a desktop snapshot and send it to all attendees.
Pass presenter control - Promote an attendee to be a presenter during a meeting and allow the attendee to control a presentation or share his screen.
Remote control - Allows an attendee to control your desktop during a screen sharing session. Chat messaging - Send text messages or web page links to meeting attendees.
Open or restricted as configured by Moderator.
Attendee management - View a list of meeting attendees and their profiles.
Give attendees permission to draw on a whiteboard or a slide.
Remove unwanted attendees.
Lock the meeting.
Audio conference integration and controls - Control an audio conference from the attendee list, including mute, un-mute, hang-up a caller, or dial-out to a participant.
Full audio integration with toll-free audio service.
Meeting recording - Record audio and web conference as a synchronized
Flash-based recording on the server.
Viewers can play recording right in their browser without having to download any proprietary players.
Embeddable Content - Embed live meetings or archived on-demand recordings in any website. Polling/Quiz - Poll attendees with multiple-choice questions and monitor the responses in real-time.
Show polling results to attendees instantly.
Create impromptu or scheduled meetings - Instantly create and start impromptu meetings. Create a scheduled meeting and add it to your calendar.
Meeting invitations - Send meeting URL via email or IM, or simply ask a participant to join with a meeting ID.
Access control - Control meeting access with a password or to registered users only.
Publish meetings - Publish a meeting to the web site home page to allow anyone to join without an invitation.
Personal meeting room - Create a personal meeting room for all meetings.
Customize Meeting Viewer - Customize meeting viewer to display your own logo, banner, and background image.
Online content storage - Store presentation slides, video, and audio files in a personal content store online for accessing from any computer.
Activity reports - Activity reports log all meeting sessions, attendees, and time.
Export activity reports in XML or CSV formats.
User registration - Option to require user registration prior to attending a meeting.
Export registered user profiles for post-meeting follow-ups.
Feedback and comments - Allow participants to post comments and feedback to your meetings and publish them in the Homepage.

The “Rule of Three”

It is said that humans hear and retain information presented in groups of three very well. A Blog reader offered the following article that explores this further:

http://www.presentationmagazine.com/rule-of-three-836.htm (Thanks, Kevin!)

I certainly see the same effect and map accordingly in Great Demo! methodology. For example:

Questions:
- Great Questions (which we address right away)
- Good Questions (which we queue-up for later)
- Stupid Questions (which we also queue-up for later)

Bugs and Crashes:
- Cosmetic Bugs (which we ignore)
- Serious Bugs (we acknowledge, jump over and move on)
- Crashes (we acknowledge, direct attention away from the disaster, and move on)

General Great Demo! Method:
- Illustrate (show the Wow!, the main take-away, the end result)
- Do It (the fewest steps to get to that end result)
- Peel Back the Layers (in accord with audience depth and level of interest)

[And, of course, Learning:
- Adults learn by repetition (let me say that again…)
- Adults learn by repetition (one more time…)
- Adults learn… (yes, by repetition!)]

I’d be grateful for more insight into why the “Rule of Three” works so well – as well as other examples…

Great Examples of Using PowerPoint – Wonderful YouTube Videos

Very funny and excellent examples using PowerPoint (extra amusing for those who were/are chemists and related…)!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXFi7AdhhGk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRzCG3_LceI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-JhqMVHT8c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IydcSuhWoW0

Which Would You Prefer?

I often hear that companies “Eat their own dog-food…” to communicate the idea that they use their own products for their internal processes. Nice thought, but potentially rather unappetizing – and arguably an unsavory description of one’s own offerings.

I heard a wonderful alternative yesterday to communicate the same idea, “We drink our own champagne…”

Stunningly Awful PowerPoint Examples – Wonderful YouTube Video

For some, this may be a repeat posting, but well worth 4 minutes to review. Very funny and illustrative!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp8dugDbf4w

The Effectiveness of Odd Numbers of Bullet Items

A colleague commented that people appear to better absorb and remember lists when they are in groups of odd numbers (as opposed to even numbers). This includes bulleted PowerPoint slides, verbalized lists, and lists developed on whiteboards and other media.

I’ve noted, personally, that there appears to be a “power of three” effect – that people remember lists of three items very well. Conversely, we certainly know that a list of 10 words is very tough to remember…!

As a self-test, it would be interesting to read and compare/contrast your own marketing literature’s bulleted lists of features/benefits with that of your competition or related third parties…

Does anyone have feedback, comments or data regarding the effectiveness of remembering odd-numbered lists vs. even?

Public Great Demo! Workshop – San Francisco Bay Area

[Warning: Shameless self-promotion alert!]

In conjunction with the 280 Group, we are offering an Open (public) 1-Day Great Demo! Workshop in San Jose, California on November 19th.

You can find more information including an overview, agenda, location and pricing at the 280 Group website.

This is a terrific opportunity for individuals or small groups.

How About a “Do It” in Zero Mouse Clicks?

A recent Great Demo! Workshop participant semi-seriously suggested implementing a Forecast/Pipeline-screen-saver for VP’s of sales. This would be a terrific example of a “Do It” in zero clicks…! (And how many heads of sales wouldn’t like this idea?)

The Menu Approach Using a Spreadsheet

A recent Great Demo! Workshop participant cleverly noted that using a spreadsheet (e.g., Excel) for the dynamic process of a group voting on individual menu items of interest enables rapid sorting of the results. This yields a ranked, prioritized list of topics in accord with group’s overall interests.

Previously, I’ve used Word or PowerPoint for the same process, but have to drag-and-drop items to rearrange the order as a result of the vote. With a spreadsheet, multiple steps can be reduced to a couple of clicks!

Corporate Overview Presentation – The Good News and the Bad News…

A recent Great Demo! Workshop participant described a wonderful tactic he uses to introduce the fact that he will not be starting with a painful and boring corporate overview presentation:

He says, “Regarding our corporate overview presentation, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that I have a 90 slide PowerPoint deck that takes 40 minutes to go through; the good news is that I’m not going to inflict it on you!”

(Sighs of relief and occasional applause from the audience…)

Scroll-Zoom in Internet Explorer

Microsoft Internet Explorer provides the ability to zoom the view (enlarge or shrink) using Control-Scrolling-Wheel. This is a great way to help customers focus on the specific items you want them to see on the screen. Give it a try!

Another Webinar Listing Service – www.webinar-directory.com

We’ve come across a another website that provides the ability to post and search for upcoming webinars and past webinars: www.webinar-directory.com.

You do have to register to use the service… This could be a good service to use both as a marketing vehicle and to aid in personal or team-member growth. Check it out…