Apple co-founder
Steve Jobs is credited with reshaping the world of computers, music, mobile
phones and entertainment. Well, add another revolution to his
list—presentations. For more than three decades, Jobs has been turning product
launches into an art form. His presentations are like theatrical experiences
and every slide is created like a piece of poetry.
The good news is that
his techniques, sharpened over the years, can be used by anyone who wants to inspire
an audience. Here are seven ways to create a “Jobsian” presentation:
1) Create a “holy smokes” moment.
Every Steve Jobs
presentation has one moment that leaves everyone in awe—the water cooler
moment. These “moments” are scripted ahead of time to complement his slides,
the Apple Web site, press releases and advertisements.
In 2008, Jobs pulled
the MacBook Air out of a manila, inter-office envelope to show everyone just
how thin it was. Bloggers went nuts and it was the most popular photograph of
the event. The slide simply showed a picture of the notebook halfway out of the
envelope. No words, just pictures. If you have an image that can say a thousand
words, don’t clutter your slides with anything but the image.
2) Unleash your inner Zen.
Speaking of clutter,
Apple presentations are strikingly simple. There is very little text on a Steve
Jobs’ slide. While the average PowerPoint slide has 40 words, it’s difficult to
find that many words on ten of Jobs’ slides.
During a presentation
on September 9, 2009, when Jobs returned from a health-related absence, he mentioned
that the iPhone app store was celebrating its first anniversary. A slide
appeared with a birthday cake holding one candle. This is what psychologists
call “picture superiority.” It simply means that ideas are more easily recalled
when presented in text and images than in text alone.
3) Introduce an antagonist. Every great
drama has a hero and a villain and Steve Jobs is a master at creating drama. We
see this technique as far back as 1984 when Apple first introduced the
Macintosh.
Jobs set up the
product launch by painting a picture of IBM bent on “world domination.” Apple,
he said, would be the only company to stand in its way. The crowd went nuts. e
also can argue that the current “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” ads are hero vs. villain
vignettes played out in 30-second ads. This is important—an antagonist need not
be a direct competitor. It can be a problem in need of a solution. But a
presentation needs a villain so the audience can rally around the hero—you, your
brand and your product.
4) Stick to the Rule of Three. The Rule of
Three is one of most powerful concepts in writing and you should incorporate
the idea in your presentations. It works like this--the human mind can only
retain three or four “chunks” of information. Steve Jobs is well aware of this
principle. His presentations are typically divided into three parts. Jobs has
even been known to have fun with the principle. At Macworld 2007, he introduced
“three revolutionary products;” a new iPod, a phone, and an internet
communicator. After repeating the three products several times, he disclosed
the big announcement—all three would be wrapped up in one, the iPhone. The rule
of three turned into a water
cooler moment.
Ask yourself: What
are the three things I want my audience to know? Not ten or 20 things, just three. You can get away with more points
when communicating in written form (like an article) but stick to three in public
presentations and verbal conversations.
5) Share the stage. Think about a
presentation as a theatrical event. It’s rare that a one-man or one-woman play
succeeds on Broadway, so why try it in your presentations?
Jobs rarely gives an
entire presentation himself. Instead he surrounds himself with a supporting
cast— employees, partners and customers. He had a large supporting cast for his
presentation last September including Apple’s VP of product marketing Phil
Schiller and iTunes software designer Jeff Robbin. At least four game
developers took to the stage as well. Songwriter Norah Jones capped it off.
Of course, you’re not
going to have Norah Jones wrap up your next presentation, but try to share the presentation
stage with another team member (or customer) if possible.
6) Create Twitter-friendly headlines.
Apple makes it simple
for the media to talk about its products—the company writes the headlines for
them. Now, reporters will tell you that they like to come up with their
own headlines, but
why then did hundreds of them use “World’s thinnest notebook” to describe the MacBook
Air? Because that’s the way Steve Jobs described it, and frankly, it’s hard to
come up with a better way of saying it.
Jobs always describes
a new product with a concise phrase that fits well within a 140 character
Twitter post. What’s an iPod? “One thousand songs in your pocket.” What’s
Genuis Mix for iTunes? “It’s like having a DJ mix the songs in your library.” If you can’t describe
what you do in one sentence, go back to the drawing board.
7) Sell dreams, not products. Steve Jobs
is passionately committed to changing the world and his passion shows in every
presentation. Anyone can learn the specific techniques he uses to create
visually creative slides, but those slides will fall flat if delivered without
passion and enthusiasm.
When Jobs introduced
the iPod in 2001, he said that music was a transformative experience and that
in its own small way, Apple was changing the world. Where most observers saw a
music player, Jobs saw an opportunity to create a better world for his
customers.
That’s the difference
between Jobs and the vast majority of mediocre leaders and presenters —Jobs is genuinely
committed to changing the world and he’s not afraid to say it.
About
the Author:
Carmine
Gallo is a communication skills coach for some of the world’s most admired
brands. He has worked directly with CEOs, executives, managers and sales
professionals for companies including Intel, IBM, Chase, Nokia, The Home Depot,
Clorox, Dreyer’s, Bank of America, SanDisk, Cranium, Hyundai and many others
By Carmine Gallo