Screen annotation
Stop circling things three times.
The first time I used a screen annotation tool in front of a room, I treated it like a whiteboard. More ink felt like more explanation. It mostly made the slide harder to read. The better habit is simpler: make one clear mark, let it do its job, and get out of the way.
Use a mark that says what you mean
An arrow says “look here.” A rectangle says “this whole area matters.” A highlighter says “read this line.” Those are tiny distinctions, but they reduce the amount you need to narrate. When the visual cue is honest, people can follow it almost before you finish the sentence.
My default sequence
I start with an arrow to establish the thing we are talking about. If the idea is broader, I frame it with a rectangle. Only then do I write or highlight. The order prevents the common live-demo problem of drawing while you are still deciding what the point is.
Leave the screen clean for the next idea
Auto-clear is not a gimmick. It is useful whenever the screen is moving quickly: a product walkthrough, source code, or a slide deck with several examples. Turn it on for a mark that only needs to exist for a sentence. When you lift the pen, the screen is ready for the next beat.
Drawing mode keeps a subtle state cue for the presenter, without adding it to the audience view.
One last rehearsal that pays off
Before people arrive, draw one arrow, one rectangle and one line of text over the material you will actually present. Check contrast, thickness and where the mark lands. That thirty-second rehearsal makes the tool feel like part of your explanation instead of an interruption to it.