How to Present Like Steve Jobs Lessons from his Apple iPad Presentation

How to Present Like Steve Jobs Lessons from his Apple iPad Presentation How to Present Like Steve Jobs: Lessons from his Apple iPad Presentation A few weeks ago, McGraw-Hill sent me Carmine Gallos new book, The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs. Gallo is a top presentation-skills coach; hes also one of my favorite columnists on Businessweek.com. Apple just launched the iPad, a new tablet computer. The McGraw-Hill PR team suggested that I compare the iPad presentation to Gallos points on Jobs presentation secrets. Timely idea! Gallos new book identifies 18 characteristics of a successful Steve Jobs presentation. In the analysis below, I highlight a few from Jobs iPad presentation. Create Twitter-Like headlines In the past, Apple used Twitter-friendly headlines to introduce new products including: MacBook Air. The worlds thinnest notebook. iPod. One thousand songs in your pocket. Heres the Twitter-friendly headline for the new iPad: “iPad is our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. In the book, Gallo tells us that effective headlines are concise, specific, and contain a personal benefit. The iPad headline wins points for brevity, but it fails the specific and personal benefit criteria. Heres why: Not specific. The iPad press release makes a marketing 101 mistake, It does not tell the reader what the device is. For instance, the press release does not mention the term tablet computer. The press release says the device is thinner and lighter than a laptop or netbook, and as a reader, I tentatively deduce that the device is a computer. No credibility or personal benefit. The MacBook Air and iPod headlines are grounded in fact. World thinnest notebook. 1,000 songs in your pocket. The iPad headline proclaims that it is magical and revolutionary. Magical devices do not convey personal benefit to me, especially without concrete reasons to believe. Develop a Messianic Sense of Purpose Steve Jobs loves the Messianic moment, and this Wednesdays presentation was no different. One of the early slides highlighted the following Wall Street Journal (WSJ) quote: Last time there was this much excitement about a tablet, it had some commandments written on it. (Interestingly enough, Jobs could have followed the WSJ quote with a self-effacing comment. Instead, he embraced the Messianic comparisons with an indifferent Before we get to that The curious remark wasnt lost on the audience; they chuckled in the background.) Rule of Three Jobs loves to describe things in threes, and he used this technique again and again. Here are a few examples: Apple is a three product company: iPods, iPhones, Macs. Apple has three competitors in the mobile devices category: Nokia, Samsung, and Sony. There are three devices in the Apple lineup: iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Introduce the Antagonist Early in the presentation, Jobs calls out the villain: netbooks. Jobs identified the netbooks shortcomings: Theyre slow. Have low quality displays. Run clunky old PC software. Jobs concludes his three point analysis with the following, (Netbooks) arent better. Theyre cheaper. I liked this segment. Jobs makes it clear who the competition is, and we begin to understand why theyre better. Use Amazingly Zippy Words According to Gallo, Jobs likes to use words that are fun, tangible, and uncommon. Here are a few examples from the iPad presentation: Its the best browsing experience youve ever had. Its a dream to type on. Its that simple. (Repeated multiple times) Its wonderful. Its terrific. It screams. (In reference to the 1Ghz Apple chip) Its remarkable. Dress Up Your Numbers At the beginning of the presentation, Jobs shared some general Apple updates. Here are some of the numbers he shared: Sold 250 million iPods since 2001 Opened 284 retail stores 50 million visitors last quarter 140,000 (iPhone) applications 3 billion applications downloaded As Gallo mentions, these numbers are specific, relevant, and contextual. Jobs could have described his companys performance using terms such as same store sales and YoY growth. Instead, he chose descriptions that are easier to understand. Other thoughts Jobs iPad presentation includes several other techniques identified in Gallos book: Few, if any, ahs and ums Excellent pacing Frequent pausing for theatrical effect Lastly, I liked Jobs use of props, especially the leather sofa. Watching Jobs on the sofa, using the iPad, I could easily envision myself using the iPad during my off-hours. The prop was an effective, non-verbal way of convey that the iPad is a personal, not business, device. As a new product, the iPad is underwhelming; industry pundits have called the iPad a large iPhone. Nevertheless, I enjoyed analyzing Steve Jobs presentation skills. Gallos thoughtful, well-researched book was an invaluable guide in learning how I could be an insanely great presenter in front of any audience.