The mantra around here is to Go Ugly Early. By now, you may have read enough about that, and you know that you need to just try a few new things and see how they work. But when it comes to rolling out a new piece of technology that you and your clients will be using, the following rules may help you avoid potential trainwrecks.
1. Try the stuff out first. Always. Even if it something small like playing a recording into your teleclass, you will want to take time to rehearse how it works. Try to 'break it' and see where you end up. The more you know about how to get the stuff working again the better. It always amazes me how calm I can be when I am doing something by myself, but if I have to push a button to queue something up with live paying clients on the line, I can 't find the right button.
2. If the application is something that you need your clients to use, have somebody else try it out for you. My clients and friends span the technology spectrum from people who write code to people that use a fax machine to send hand written documents. Know where most of your clients fall on the technology curve and err toward the non-technical side. Then pick somebody who fits that profile, and have them execute the basic commands that your users need to be able to do. That way, if you are writing some type of user guide for people, you can address the sticky points along the way.
3. Go with the basics, and add features as you go. When you are rolling something out, even if it is an internal application for your self, begin by using only the essential elements of the program. Once you get familiar with that, you can venture off into the land of bells and whistles. If this is something that your clients will be using, doing it this way will keep them from going into overwhelm and having tons of questions about very unimportant features. The best part is, when you add the right feature at the right time, you get another chance to surprise and delight your clients, and in this case, the surprise is a good one!
4. Have a back-up plan for what I call the complete Power Failure. What can you do if the whole thing just crashes in the middle of your presentation? For example, If you are a large user of Web Conferencing, then sending people a copy of your presentation ahead of time will allow them to look at the slides the old fashiioned way, on a piece of paper.
If for some reason, the technlogy side lets you down, just remember that unless you are in the business of coaching people on using technlology, they aren't paying you for that area of expertise. You will be forgiven as long as you make a speedy recovery and get back on track and fulfill your purpose which is to deliver valuable, usable information.
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