 In this section I wanted to revel the key checklists or reminders I might use before making a major presentation. In the 80's we would regularly present to 000s of people and take part in lots of TV work including, Newsnight and the Money Programme. Some lessons were hard learned, a product of embarrassing encounters. It all makes for experience worth sharing!
Presentations It does no harm to have a flight list or "check list" of some key points or soundbites you wish to include during your pitch. Steve Jobs was a great presenter, the Apple team Tim Cook, Phil Schiller and Jonny Ives, they are all great at using key words and words that sell. Writing copy, the sub editors have long been expert at writing snap attention grabbing copy on the street stalls. make sure the headlines are intellectually honest and deliver the promise offered in the "Call to Action". Lessons to learn, listed below. Headlines that hook, content that kills with words that sell. Planning a TV appearance, get some professional coaching, look good, dress well, tuck in your jacket, don't let the lapels ride up, anticipate the questions, prepare the answers and above all prepare the sound bites. Soundbites are the the short keyword loaded messages you wish to leave on air, they will then be used throughout the day. Soundbites make good footprints and fingerprints to leave around the web. Watch the makeup It is suggested the TV appearance cost Nixon the election following the 1960 debate with Kennedy. Kennedy was tanned and relaxed, fresh from holiday, Nixon pale and shifty. Winning the intellectual argument with radio listeners, the TV appearance was a setback from which Nixon never recovered. I was once invited to appear on TV with Anita Roddick. It was a good cop bad cop thing. Anita was to represent the paragon of capitalist virtue, me the epitome of asset stripping capitalist opportunism. In make up, I noticed white powder was a predominant component of the facial mix for me. Anita, was getting all the colour and embellishment. Strong words with the make up and the production team, ensured a more balanced appearance on set ensued. Do the research Once on air, our research team ensured we were well prepared. We explained that frugal packaging, considered to be a virtue, guaranteed above average margins and returns on sales for the Body Shop in the 80s. The essential contribution to society of the product range, challenged by the existence of Pink Peppermint foot balm, hardly an essential component in the race to save humanity. Yes do the research and be prepared ... Enjoy these guidelines, check out the blogs below, lessons hard learned make for experience worth sharing.
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 Steve Jobs CEO of Apple Inc was a great presenter. While many presenters simply convey information, Jobs inspired. OK, he had some great products to help the delivery but what is it that makes a good presenter – Carmine Gallo, columnist from BusinessWeek.com analysed the launch of the MacBook Air in 2008 and extracted ten elements that combine to dazzle an own audience. Here is an adaptation of the original article.
1. Set the theme … “There is something in the air today.” With those words, Jobs opened Macworld 2008. By doing so, he set the theme for his presentation and hinted at the key product announcement—the ultra thin MacBook Air laptop. Every presentation needs a theme. Once you identify your theme, make sure you deliver it several times throughout your presentation. 2. Provide an outline … Jobs outlined the presentation by saying, “There are four things I want to talk about today. So let’s get started…” Jobs followed his outline by verbally opening and closing each of the four sections and making clear transitions in between. It helps to make lists and provide your audience with guideposts along the way. It always helps. 3. Be enthusiastic … Jobs shows his passion for design. During his presentation he used words like “extraordinary,” “amazing,” and “cool.” Most speakers have room to add some flair to their presentations. Audiences want to be wowed, not put to sleep. Next time you’re crafting or delivering a presentation, inject your own personality into it. If you think a particular feature of your product is “awesome,” say it. If you think the prospects are “huge” say so. If you are not enthusiastic about your own products or services, who will be? 4. Make numbers meaningful… When Jobs announced that Apple had sold 4 million iPhones to date, he put it in perspective by adding, “That’s 20,000 iPhones every day.” Jobs went on to say, “What does that mean to the overall market?” Jobs detailed the breakdown of the U.S smartphone market and Apple’s share of it to demonstrate just how impressive the number actually is. Numbers don’t mean much unless they are placed in context. 5. Create an unforgettable moment … This is the moment in a presentation that everyone will be talking about. Every Steve Jobs presentation builds up to one big scene. In this year’s Macworld keynote, it was the announcement of MacBook Air. To demonstrate just how thin it is, Jobs said it would fit in an envelope. Jobs drew cheers by opening a manila interoffice envelope and holding the laptop for everyone to see. Create a memorable moment in your presentation? Identify it ahead of time and build up to it. 6. Create visual slides … While most speakers fill their slides with data, text, and charts, Jobs did the opposite. There is very little text on a Steve Jobs slide. Most of the slides simply show one image. For example, his phrase “The first thing I want to talk to you about today…” was accompanied by a slide with the number 1. That’s it. Just the number. When Jobs discussed a specific product like the iPhone, the audience saw a slide with an image of the product. When text was introduced, it was often revealed as short sentences (three or four words) to the right of the image. Sometimes, there were no images at all on the slide but a sentence that Jobs had delivered such as “There is something in the air.” Inspiring presenters are short on bullet points and big on graphics. 7. Create a show … A Jobs presentation has ebbs and flows, themes and transitions. Since he’s giving his audience a show instead of simply delivering information, Jobs includes video clips, demonstrations, and guests he shares the stage with. Enhance presentations by incorporating multimedia, product demonstrations, or giving others the chance to say a few words. 8. Sell the benefits … While most presenters promote product features, Jobs sells benefits. When introducing iTunes movie rentals, Jobs said, “We think there is a better way to deliver movie content to our customers.” Jobs explained the benefit by saying, “You listen to your favorite song thousands of times in your life. But most of us watch movies once, maybe a few times. And renting is a great way to do it. It’s less expensive, doesn’t take up space on our hard drive…” State the benefit of every service, feature, or product. 9. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse … Steve Jobs could not pull off an intricate presentation with video clips, demonstrations, and outside speakers without hours of rehearsal. Jobs rehearsed the entire presentation aloud for many hours. Nothing is taken for granted. You can see he rehearsed the Macworld presentation because his words were often perfectly synchronized with the images and text on the slides. The entire presentation was coordinated. A Steve Jobs presentation looks effortless because it is well-rehearsed. 10. Don’t sweat the small stuff … just smile and move on Despite your best preparation, something might go wrong as it did during the keynote. Jobs was about to show some photographs from a live Web site, and the screen went black while Jobs waited for the image to appear. Jobs smiled and said, “Well, I guess Flickr isn’t serving up the photos today.” He then recapped the new features he had just introduced. Don’t sweat minor mishaps, move on. Few will remember a glitch unless you call attention to it. So there you have it. I must admit I hate rehearsals but will often rehearse critical sections of a delivery many times in my head before a presentation. As for the slides I must I break every rule in the book, cramming slides with lots of content and visual clips and screen grabs. Steve Jobs was a great presenter and Carmine Gallo helps us understand just why.  The secrets of great headlines - seven basic tips to write great headlines for your blog, e-mails, articles and much more.
1 The Teasers – who? why? what? when? where? Who writes the best headlines to always get attention? Why great headlines never fail to get attention What / Which headlines make the news When headlines always catch the eye. Where to find the best advice on writing a headline. Where are all the customers yachts? Keywords : Who, why, what, when, where 2 The teacher – how? How to make sure you write a really good headline? How to be an expert headline writer? How you can you avoid the big mistakes in writing a headline? How to win friends and influence people with great headlines? Keywords : How? 3 The Fear close – avoid mistakes and basic errors The Five biggest mistakes you can make when writing a headline. Seven deadly sins to avoid when drafting your headlines. Keywords : Mistakes, errors, sins, blunders, 4 The Lists addict – everyone loves a list Six great tips for writing a great headline. Three basic elements of the greatest headlines. Keywords : Numbered lists? 5 The Reveal Inner secrets of the top headline writers. What they don’t tell you about writing great headlines? Discover the secrets of great headline writers. Keywords : reveal, mystery, secrets, discover,? 6 Personalise – bring out the You in You The things you should know about writing a great headline? What they don’t tell you about writing great headlines? Keywords : You 7 The Promise of wealth fame and fortune Killer headlines that boost your sales and profits Killer headlines to grab attention and ensure your audience reads on. Keywords : wealth, fortune, sales, profits, success, authority, guarantee? Plus the bonus offer – Tips to develop better content. Use words that sell – great, huge, amazing, new, exciting, fast, speedy, best, boost, guarantee, proven, proof, simple, easy, solve, satisfaction, performance, success, best. In our next post we will publish the bigger list of “strong words for better content”.  Keywords from the Apple Keynote presentation, October 2012. Tim Cook and Phil Schiller blend in a wordle™ of the words that sell. Cook favors fantastic, Schiller is amazing and great. Use of cool, cools.
Tim Cook Absolutely Amazing, Amazing Amazing Amazing Amazing Amazing Astounding Beautiful Best Best Best Best Cool Cool Cool Coolest Excited Excitement Excitement Exciting Exciting Exquisite Fantastic Fantastic Fantastic Fantastic Fantastic Fantastic Fantastic Fantastic Gigantic Gorgeous Gorgeous Great Great Great Great Great Huge Incredible Incredible Incredible Incredible Incredible Incredible Incredible Incredible Incredibly Incredibly Incredibly Latest Phenomenal Phenomenal Powerhouse Remarkable Rewarding Stunning Stunning, Super fast, Super fast, Thrilled Thrilled Tremendous Unbelievable Unbelievable Unbelievable Phil Schiller Absolutely Absolutely Absolutely Amazing Amazing Amazing Amazing Amazing Amazing Amazing Amazing Amazing Amazing Amazing Amazing Amazing Amazing Amazing Amazing Astounding Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful Best Best Cool Cool, Coolest Excited Excited Excited Excited Exciting Exciting Exquisite Fantastic FantasticFantastic Fantastic Gigantic Gigantic Gorgeous Gorgeous Gorgeous Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Huge Huge Huge Huge Huge Huge Incredible Incredible Incredible Incredible Incredible Incredible Incredible Incredible Incredibly Incredibly Latest Latest Phenomenal Powerhouse Remarkable Remarkable Remarkable Stunning Stunning Stunning Unbelievable  Got a presentation to make, or interested in what makes for a great presentation, check out the Corporate Strategist guide to “Words that sell” and “Secrets of a Great Presentation”, the impact can be huge.
Presence Have Presence – It helps if you have presence, that unknown “je ne sais quoi”, the weight of personality, a kind of “charisma” always best if you like people, are empathetic and have “sympa”. The impact will be great. Comfortable Be comfortable – You have to be at ease, it relaxes the audience, avoiding a sense of foreboding in the room, the belief that something is going wrong is best easily avoided if you have presence are comfortable and appear to be in control. It is best to be cool. Preparation Prepare – Preparation and rehearsal is the key to a relaxed and comfortable presentation. Know your subject, be familiar with your material and ensure any technical issues have been ironed out. A smooth performance can be remarkable and stunning. Confident Be confident, that is “appear” confident, hold the stage, take time before opening the presentation, make sure you look left and right to all sections of the audience. Use the pause for effect and purpose. Don’t cling to the podium, be prepared to walk the stage. Enthusiastic Be enthusiastic, use the “words that sell” and weave them into your presentation. Huge, amazing, astounding, remarkable, results will ensue if you can sweep the audience along with your powerful vocabulary. Excitement is contagious. Passionate Be passionate, if you are talking about a new product or service, be passionate in the delivery. It is the only way to carry a crowd. Communicate Avoid jargon, make everything as simple as possible, don’t just talk about the product, explain what it does or what it is for, demonstrate the benefits and the bonuses. Explain clearly. Authentic Be Authentic – No one likes a fraud and the audience will soon detect a fraud, someone dishonest or uncomfortable with the subject, best to speak about something you know about and in which you strongly believe. Close with a bang Leave with an impact, that way the audience will know the show is over but more importantly, you will leave them with something to remember. Something, incredible, amazing, huge, beautiful, remarkable, fantastic, stunning, tremendous, ….. In a sales pitch? Don’t forget the magic of three, Step 1 : Show them they have a need, You have to show your audience or your client group, why they need you, your company and your product. Use statistics, stories or analogies to make your point and satisfy your audience, they will have the incentive to use you, your company or your product or services. Step 2 : Show them you can meet that need. Demonstrate how the problems identified can be overcome using your products or services. Step 3 : Show them you can meet that need, now This is where, visualization helps : The Apple guys are great, the iPad mini as thin as a pencil, the MacBook that fits inside the envelope. Build to the finale and close. |
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