The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience by Carmine Gallo

Transcription

1 The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience by Carmine Gallo In the corporate world, Steve Jobs might be considered a triple legend. First, he co-founded one of the most excitingly innovative technology businesses on earth, Apple. Then, after being fired, he returned to resurrect the company when it was on its knees, lifting it to stratospheric new heights. And third, to quote Carmine Gallo, he has now become the most captivating communicator on the world stage. "No one else comes close," says the author, who is, himself, a leading communications coach for major corporations and brands. "A Jobs presentation unleashes a rush of dopamine into the brains of his audience." Of course, it usually does the Apple stock price a power of good too. Charisma? It just oozes from him. Everyone worships Steve, wants to be like Steve. In fact, there are more than 35,000 YouTube clips of his presentations and people will camp in the street overnight just to attend one of his performances. Yet, on stage in his ritual costume black mock turtle-neck sweater, faded blue jeans and white tennis shoes he looks so laid back, so ordinary, so guy-nextdoor. Well, Gallo, an established author and columnist for BusinessWeek.com, has some great news for Jobs' admirers. We may not be able to emulate those first two legendary achievements but, with the right techniques and a lot of hard work, we can become just like Steve Jobs on stage. Yes, really. Gallo has analyzed every gesture, word, vocal inflexion, presentation slide and audience interaction in the Jobs repertoire. And he believes it can be done. "Once you learn exactly how Jobs crafts and delivers one of his famous presentations, you will realize that these exceptional powers are available to you as well," he promises. One caveat though: You must be passionate about your subject. You have to be talking about something you love, so that you can share your enthusiasm. There are three techniques that underpin a Steve Jobs presentation (Jobs and Gallo love to talk in threes): You create a memorable story with heroes and villains You refine and rehearse it to the point of exhaustion You deliver it with meticulously choreographed pizzazz Ready to learn how? Actually, Gallo chooses to switch around techniques two and three in the ordering of his book, since they both work together, so we will follow his route. 1 The Business Source All Rights Reserved

2 Creating The Story If you have an interesting tale to tell, with a good plot, plenty of twists and turns, entertaining characters, conflict, a dash of humor, and a happy ending, people will listen. But you wouldn't start constructing your story in a piece of presentation software, would you? Nor does Jobs. He favors a whiteboard to story-board his ideas, but a pen and paper are just as good. It's sort of brainstorming. To begin to work up the ideas for the presentation, think about the title, the headline the one key idea you want the audience to take away. A typical Jobs headline would be his memorable "1,000 tunes in your pocket," used to launch the ipod. You need to articulate why you are excited about what you will be talking about. And you want metaphors and analogies that will help you explain concepts and make comparisons. Then, write down the three (maybe four) key supporting messages you'll deliver. Three is important because that's about the maximum number of points we can retain in short term memory. Jobs will typically introduce his presentation with a road map by saying something like: "I have three things I want to talk to you about today." Whatever it is you have to talk about, it must, in Gallo's words, answer the one question that matters most to the audience: Why should I care? It's the benefits statement. Jobs again, on the iphone 3G: "It's twice as fast at half the price." The key point here is that the audience is not interested in you or your product. They're interested in themselves and how you are going to improve their lives. Now, it's time to identify the villain, the antagonist. Back in 1984, Gallo recalls, it was "Big Blue" IBM whom Jobs portrayed as a "Big Brother" force bent on PC world domination. The character doesn't have to be singular or potentially malevolent though. When the iphone was launched, the antagonist was just about every other Smart Phone purveyor in existence. (And, though not mentioned in the book, recall that when Jobs announced the ipad in January 2010, he fingered Amazon but acknowledged the bookseller had done a good job up to that point and that Apple was now going to "stand on their shoulders.") Introducing the antagonist segues into outlining the problem that your product, service or activity will help to solve. Enter the conquering hero your solution that will save the world and your escape route for the victims; your audience. It must be described in clear and simple, benefit-led terms. Jobs does not use jargon and has only the lightest of touches with data and statistics. That's it. As Gallo eloquently summarizes: "Jobs is the Indiana Jones of business. Just as great movie characters vanquish the villain, Jobs identifies a common enemy, conquers the enemy, and wins over the hearts and minds of his audience as he walks off into the sunset, leaving the world a better place." Put another way, the author suggests, a typical Jobs presentation follows 2 The Business Source All Rights Reserved

3 Aristotle's classic five-point plan to create a persuasive argument: 1. Have a story or statement that piques your audience's interest. (This would be where Jobs sets the background and provides an appetite-whetting hint at what is to come). 2. Pose a problem or question that needs to be answered. (Maybe this would be built around a shortcoming in the marketplace or the implied threat of the villain) 3. Offer a solution to the problem. (This is where he would bring on the hero the new Apple product, of course). 4. Describe the benefits of using the solution (in the vein of that "twice as fast..." statement mentioned above) 5. Deliver a call to action. For instance, Jobs might conclude a presentation with the words: "Now go out and buy one". The audience knows exactly what to do. Delivering the Experience Simplicity is a defining element of a Steve Jobs presentation. It's in his use of language. It's in his presentation slides, which frequently contain only one word or image. This latter point is a recurring theme of the book. The presenter (or, more likely, the product) is the focus not the presentation software. Bullet points are for grocery lists. Jobs doesn't use them. This isn't just an idea the author dreamed up. Cognitive research has demonstrated that those bullet points that we ditched in the previous paragraph are the least effective way to deliver important information. Spoken words have a greater impact than PowerPoint (or Keynote) words. If the slide has too many words and, even worse, the words don't match what you're saying, the audience simply gets lost, their brains overloaded. What is more, other research shows that pictures are far more effective than words when used as a support in a presentation. Scientists even have a name for this: Picture Superiority Effects (PSE). This may all come naturally to Jobs who is a Zen Buddhist and practitioner of the principle of kanso (simplicity), as the following examples show: Jobs statement: "I've got four things I'd like to talk to you about today, so let's get started. The first one is Leopard." Contents of slide: "1" It's simple, non-distracting and you know where you are on the presentation road map. And when you think of it, with slides like that, no one needs to copy down notes. You have their full attention. Too many presenters create what the author calls "slideuments" documents masquerading as slides. 3 The Business Source All Rights Reserved

4 "They act as a crutch for mediocre presenters who read every word on the slide, often turning their backs to the audience to do so," he explains. Thus: Jobs statement: "As we arrive at iphone's first birthday, we're going to take it to the next level." Content of slide: Picture of birthday cake with one candle. When it comes to presenting numbers, Jobs always provides a context that helps his audience understand from that "1,000 songs in your pocket" tag for the ipod to his graphical analogy for helping listeners gauge the scale of what it means to have 50 billion transistors on a memory chip. If the transistors were ants, lined up, they would encircle the globe twice, he said. In his use of language, Jobs sticks to the principles of kanso. But he also chooses emotive, zippy words like "gorgeous" and "amazing." And his ability to generate imagery can be sparked by stringing just a few words together into a short inspiring sales message. For example, when asked to describe the interface of Apple's new OS X operating system, he declared: "We made the buttons on the screen look so good, you'll want to lick them." To underline his point about simplicity and conciseness, the author compares analyses of presentations by Jobs and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, reported a couple of years ago in the Seattle Post Intelligencer newspaper. The research used an online tool that analyzed aspects such as sentence length and use of difficult words, plus a descriptor just labeled "fog." Jobs won hands down with half the sentence length and half the fog factor. (You can test your own sentences for clarity and conciseness using the same tool at Yet, no matter how simple your language, how graphical your slides, ideally no presentation should be a one-person show. The reason is, the author explains, that the brain craves variety, even when Jobs is in the spotlight. So he frequently shares the stage. This may be with a technical expert who can explain a particular, important aspect of a device's functionality, a venture partner who provides a valuable endorsement, or a customer providing a testimonial. It can even be done via a video link up, which is how Jobs even managed to share one of his presentations with Bill Gates. Another way of creating variety and stimulating audience interest is through use of props, especially by demoing product samples that can be handled and examined by the audience, which is what Jobs did when Apple launched the MacBook notebook computer, which was engineered from a single block of ultra-lightweight aluminium. In fact Jobs uses stage props in almost every presentation. Perhaps the pièce de résistance, though, of a Jobs presentation is his penchant 4 The Business Source All Rights Reserved

5 for delivering a surprise described by Carmine Gallo as a "holy sh*t" moment. When the super-slim MacBook Air was unveiled, for instance, the first the audience saw of it was when Jobs pulled it out of a skinny, plain manila envelope. "The secret to creating a memorable moment," the author explains, "is to identify the one thing the one theme that you want your audience to remember after leaving the room. Your listeners should not need to review notes, slides or transcripts of the presentation to recall the one thing. They will forget many of the details, but they will remember 100% of what they feel." Refining and Rehearsing Though he makes the whole process look natural, almost an ad lib experience, Steve Jobs actually scripts, learns, rehearses and rehearses again, every element of his presentation. He may spend days and weeks doing so because only perfection works for him. And that's not just the words, but also the gestures, the stage movement and the inflexion in his voice. Everything is designed for effect. He runs through it over and over, seeking feedback from observers and making minute adjustments to his format, so that he makes it look effortless. "The world's greatest communicators have always known that 'spontaneity' is the result of planned practice," observes Gallo. One of Jobs' key strengths is his use of positive body language and audience interaction techniques. Specifically, he uses three mechanisms: 1. Sustained eye contact. Because he's learned his script, Jobs doesn't need to read from notes (though he does keep some prompt cards concealed). There's not a lot going on on-screen while he's talking, so the audience is watching him. 2. Open posture. Jobs doesn't cross his arms or stand behind a lectern. Even when he's demoing a computer, he stands or sits so that the audience can see him fully, side on. He doesn't put anything between himself and the audience. 3. Hand gestures. He uses hand movements to complement his words. The old idea that public speakers should keep their hands at their sides is a kiss of death, says Gallo. Use your hands for emphasis but don't overdo it so that your movements appear robotic! Jobs also modulates his voice frequently during his presentations, adjusting for emphasis and effect. Inflection, pauses, volume and speed of delivery are all put to good effect. He frequently pauses between individual statements, letting them sink in, and, as he gets to his key point, speaks faster and louder. During the rehearsal phase, the author recommends recording your performance on video so that you can check your use of eye contact, body language, and vocal delivery. Be particularly concerned about your uses of filler words "ums" and "ers." In fact, it's a good idea to have someone highlight these in real time, as 5 The Business Source All Rights Reserved

6 you're delivering them. One technique is to get your colleague to clink a glass with a spoon each time you use a filler. It's a powerful antidote! You must also rehearse and be prepared to deal with off-the-cuff questions and comments. Though he doesn't say whether this is a Jobs technique, Gallo's solution is what he calls the bucket method. To use this, you identify the most common questions you're like to encounter, then sort them into categories, which he calls "buckets." Experience suggests there are usually about seven buckets. Next, prepare a single statement that broadly covers the issue in each bucket. Rehearse these statements and ways of applying them to any questions that arise. One tip that is definitely non-jobs related, is the way you dress for your presentation. It's the only area where the author definitely doesn't advise taking a leaf out of the master's book. He dresses down, says Gallo, because he's earned the right to do that and because he represents a company with a rebellious spirit. But Jobs didn't always dress in sweater and jeans. In the now-distant past he wore pin stripes and bow ties! So instead of advocating the Jobs casual look, the author calls on military hero US Army Ranger Matt Everson, (featured in the movie Black Hawk Down) who once told him: "Great leaders always dress a little better than anyone else..." To this, Gallo adds, on the advice of George Zimmer, founder of the Men's Warehouse, "appropriate for the culture." That apart, every other element of the Jobs repertoire the simplicity of his slides, the economy of his language and his relentless pursuit of perfection in his onstage presentation combine to create the master key of his performance: his ability to work without a script. That's not to say there is no script. It's just in his head. He learned it and delivered it just like a great actor. "Great actors rehearse for months before opening night," Gallo points out. "The audience would walk out if an actor appeared on stage with a script in hand. We expect actors to speak naturally, not as though they had memorized lines, even though that is exactly what they did. Your audience expects the same a conversational speaker who, instead of rambling, hits each mark precisely." We don't know precisely how Jobs approaches his script writing but the author offers his own five step formula for achieving the same result: 1. Write your script as full sentences in the notes section (that is, the part the audience doesn't see) of your presentation program. 2. Highlight the keywords and, glancing at these, deliver your practice presentation. 3. Edit your sentences, deleting any extraneous words, and practice again. 4. Memorize the one key idea you want your audience to take from each slide. And, yes, practice again. 5. Deliver the entire presentation again, without notes, using the slides as a prompt. 6 The Business Source All Rights Reserved

7 It's okay to create a note card for each slide with no more than three or four prompts but these are only a fallback. Your aim is to speak unscripted. In addition to reaching out and touching your audience with this impressive feat, there's a great bonus: You feel so confident about what you are doing that when the unexpected happens, as it undoubtedly will, you are far better able to deal with it. Even for Jobs, gremlins can strike during his presentations, such as the failure of his supporting technology. He shrugs it off, ad libs with a story about an incident in the past when something similar happened, or, if the technology still doesn't get going, he continues his presentation without the slides since they are not the central part of his presentation. "No matter how much you prepare, something might and probably will go differently from how you had planned," says Gallo. "Notice that I did not say that something will go 'wrong.' It goes wrong only when you call attention to the issue or you let it ruin the rest of your presentation. People are there to hear you, to learn something new about a product, service or initiative that could improve their lives." Jobs sets out to have fun when he presents. He is an "infotainer" because audiences want to be entertained. Most business professionals overlook this. They are caught up in "presentation mode" and get too serious. Jobs on the other hand, walks on stage with a big grin and maybe a joke or two. Conclusion Steve Jobs may seem to be just a consummate actor but there is a key difference: His is not a fictional role. He is talking about the real world of Apple, his passion, his faith in his products and his genuine amazement and pride in what they can achieve. The person you see on stage is the real Steve Jobs. Acquaintances and colleagues say he is exactly the same person off-stage. He wants to infect everyone else with his passion, so he does not want a stilted presentation to come between him and his audience. It's a straight one-on-one interaction with each member of his audience. He does this by carefully planning every element of that presentation, creating memorable headlines (most of which are usually picked up and used directly by the media), keeping his language simple and focusing on just three or four key issues. He rehearses like crazy. He relegates the role of the presentation software to principally a visual support function and he delivers variety by running videos and sharing the stage with others. He uses powerful body language to create a bond with his audiences and, though he may have memorized everything he wants to say, he speaks from the heart. Oh, and he never forgets to thank his colleagues and their families as well as 7 The Business Source All Rights Reserved

8 his audiences for their support. He may look like a one-man show but he knows he's not. 8 The Business Source All Rights Reserved