Steve Jobs' Presentation Secrets
I just ordered Carmine Gallos'
book about the awesome presentation skills of Steve Jobs. Just a quick sneak preview of the best tips:
Steve Jobs presentation has all the elements of a great movie—heroes and villains, stunning visuals, and a supporting cast. And, like a movie director, Steve Jobs "storyboards" the plot. Before you go digital and open PowerPoint, spend time brainstorming, sketching, or whiteboarding. Remember, you’re delivering a story. Slides complement the story.
Your listeners are asking themselves one question: why should I care? Steve Jobs sells the benefit behind every new product or feature—and he’s very clear about it. Why buy an iPhone 3G? Because "it’s twice as fast at half the price." What’s so great about Time Capsule? "All your irreplaceable photos, videos, and documents are automatically protected and easy to retrieve if they’re ever lost." The Apple Web site also keeps the focus on the benefit, with features like "10 Reasons Why You'll Love a Mac." Nobody cares about your product or service. They only care about how your product or service will improve their lives.
- Sell Dreams, Not Products
Steve Jobs doesn’t sell computers. He sells the promise of a better world. True evangelists are driven by a messianic zeal to create new experiences. When Jobs introduced the iPod in 2001, he said, "In our own small way, we’re going to make the world a better place." Where most people see the iPod as a music player, Jobs presents it as tool to enrich people’s lives. Of course, it’s important to have great products. But passion, enthusiasm, and a sense of purpose beyond the actual product will set you and your company apart.
- Create Twitter-Friendly Headlines
Can you describe your product or service in 140 characters? Steve Jobs offers a headline, or description, for every product and each headline can easily fit in a Twitter post. For example, when Jobs introduced the MacBook Air in January 2008, he described it simply: "The world’s thinnest notebook." That one sentence speaks volumes. Jobs will fill in the details during his presentation and on the Apple Web site, but he finds one sentence to position every product.
In classic stories, the hero fights the villain. The same holds true for a Steve Jobs presentation. In 1984, the villain was IBM (), known as"Big Blue". Before Jobs introduced the famous 1984 television ad to a group of Apple salespeople, he created a dramatic story around it. "IBM wants it all," he said. Apple would be the only company to stand in its way. It was very dramatic and the crowd went crazy. Branding expert Martin Lindstrom, says that great brands and religions have something in common: the idea of vanquishing a shared enemy. Creating a villain allows the audience to rally around the hero—your product.
Jobs outlines the story—the narrative—at the beginning of every presentation. At the Sept. 9, 2009, music event, Jobs told the audience he would be talking about three products: iPhones, iTunes, and iPods. Along the way he provides verbal guideposts such as "iPhones. The first thing I wanted to talk about today. Now, let’s move on to the second, iTunes." Help your listeners follow the storyline.
Apple products are easy to use because they eliminate clutter. It's a design philosophy that applies to every Steve Jobs presentation. There are no bullet points in his presentations. Instead Jobs relies on photographs and images. Where the average PowerPoint slide has 40 words, it's difficult to find seven words on 10 of Jobs' slides. The technique is based on the idea that information is more effectively recalled when text and images are combined. For example, when Steve Jobs unveiled the Macbook Air, Apple's ultra-thin notebook computer, he showed a slide of the computer fitting inside a manila envelope. That image was worth a thousand words. "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication," Jobs once said. Be sophisticated. Keep it simple.
Neuroscientists have found that the brain gets tired after 10 minutes of any presentation. In other words, no matter how engaging the speaker, audiences will tend to tune out after approximately 10 minutes. A Steve Jobs presentation lasts about 1.5 hours but every 10 to 15 minutes, he breaks up the content with video, demonstrations or guest speakers. He doesn't give his audience time to get bored.
In every Apple presentation, big numbers are put into context. On Sept. 9, 2009, Apple Vice-President Phil Schiller said that 220 million iPods had been sold to date. He placed that number into context by saying it represented 73% of the market. He broke it down even further—and took a jab at the competition—by saying Microsoft (MSFT) was "pulling up the rear" with its 1% market share. Schiller learned his technique from Jobs who always puts large numbers into a context that's relevant to his audience.
Steve Jobs described the speed of the new iPhone 3G as "amazingly zippy." Where most business presenters use words that are too technical, vague, or confusing, Jobs' language is remarkably simple. He rarely, if ever, will use jargon that cloud most presentations like "best of breed" or "synergy." His language is simple, clear, and direct. Legendary GE ( GE ) CEO Jack Welch once said, "insecure managers create complexity." Exude confidence: speak simply.
Steve Jobs is closely aligned with Apple but his presentations are rarely one-man plays. Jobs shares the stage with business partners, musicians, and employees. In October 2008, Jobs invited Apple's chief design guru, Jonathan Ive, to give the audience a tutorial on how Apple created a computer frame from a single piece of aluminum. Jobs could deliver the information himself, but he offers the stage to others who have a unique role or perspective.
In addition to stunning visual backdrops (his slides), Steve Jobs brings props for show and tell. After introducing new products or features, Jobs will often sit down at a computer or pick up an iPhone and demonstrate how it works. These demos are simple, but often very dramatic. When Jobs introduced Macintosh in 1984, he walked to the center of a darkened stage and slowly pulled the computer from inside a black bag. He pulled a floppy disk out of his pocket, slowly inserted it into the computer, and walked away as the computer came to life.
- Plan a Water Cooler Moment
There's always one moment in a Steve Jobs presentation that is the water cooler moment, the one part of the presentation that everyone will be talking about. These showstoppers are completely scripted ahead of time. For example, when Jobs unveiled the MacBook Air, he removed the computer from an inter-office envelope to show just how thin it was. It's the one moment from Macworld 2008 that everyone remembers. Plan a showstopper.
Steve Jobs spends hours rehearsing every facet of his presentation. Every slide is written carefully, every presentation staged like a theatrical experience. Steve Jobs makes a presentation look effortless, but that polish comes after hours and hours of grueling practice. I don't believe Steve Jobs is a natural presenter. If you watch video clips of his presentations going back 20 years, you will see that he improves significantly every decade. The Steve Jobs of 1984 had a lot of charisma but the Steve Jobs of 1997 was a far more polished speaker. The Steve Jobs who introduced the iPhone in 2007 was even better.
Steve Jobs can wear a black mock turtleneck, blue jeans, and running shoes because, quite simply, he has earned the right to dress anyway he wants. For most communicators, it's best to dress a little better than everyone in your audience. Don't throw away the suit just yet!
Steve Jobs makes every keynote seem like fun. During the January 2007 Macworld keynote presentation, Jobs' clicker failed to advance the slides. Instead of getting rattled, Jobs paused and told a funny story about the time he and "Woz" (Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak) built a TV jamming device and had fun messing up TV signals in Wozniak's dorm at UC Berkeley. Once the slides were fixed, Jobs moved on as if it had been planned. He smiles, laughs, and seems to genuinely enjoy himself on stage.
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