Steve Jobs - secrets of a great presenter

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.

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