How to present like Steve Jobs
Still, one need not be a visionary billionaire vegan to deliver a killer presentation. BusinessWeek has written a great article about steps you can take to bring your own talks up to that level. Tips include, "Try for an unforgettable moment," "Demonstrate enthusiasm" and my favorite, "Create visual slides." From the article:
"There is a trend in public speaking to paint a picture for audiences by creating more visual graphics. Inspiring presenters are short on bullet points and big on graphics."
Amen. We all know that slide presentations are an exquisite form of torture, made worse when the presenter is simply reading slide after slide of text. Unless we're in a foreign language class, please abandon the read-a-long.
There is one more thing Carmine Gallo failed to mention: Have a few catch phrases ready to go. See above.
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Steve Jobs has been called a "master showman" whose "reality distortion field" lulls observers into believing they desperately need...
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Giving Powerpoint abusers a good shake has become something of a professional pastime for me. And I hate it!
But in the process of convincing clients that Powerpoint is evil, I came across other articles on this topic that might be of interest to some here. My favourite: a comparison between the presentation styles of Jobs and Gates: truly awe-inspiring:
http://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/2005/11/the_zen_estheti.html
Same site, different article, focusing on Jobs' style
http://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/2005/10/apple_special_e.html
information from both of these links are part of my standard discussion about presentation skills that I have with clients.
I was thinking the same thing!
August 08 2008 at 1:41 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyIf you're interested in this topic in a more general sense, Edward Tufte has a great little talk/essay on how Powerpoint sucks, and has books/seminars on effective information visualization.
August 08 2008 at 12:06 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyThe one thing I learned in college: PowerPoint is the tool of the mundane, and it us pure, unadulterated evil.
When you have no public speaking skills, personality, or interesting things to say, do a PowerPoint presentation. Your audience will fall asleep before they can criticize you.
They'll still hate you, though.
Correction:
"And it IS pure, unadulterated evil."
Shut up. I haven't had coffee yet.
Completely disagree with the whole "big on graphics" in order to get a well presentation. Completely off topic, but just look at this presentation on net neutrality to get the idea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRLJGQOZmlI
A combination of being well spoken and actually knowing what they're talking about is all that's needed to give a good presentation.
on the contrary, there was a scientific article (can't find the link) that summed up that bullet-point presentations actually makes a presentation more forgettable and hinders the listeners to absorb the real data and learn anything.
Big graphics, however, are a complement to the speech and the right way to go if you want to catch the guests attention and be inspiring.
One great place to practice, and also learn by watching others, is Toastmasters! Check it out at http://www.toastmasters.org/. (Disclaimer: I'm a member.)
August 08 2008 at 10:31 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI wonder if someone ever makes a highlight reel like this from my life what phrases they'd use....
August 08 2008 at 10:19 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply"Hey guys, watch this." At least the last words :)
August 08 2008 at 2:07 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyArticle stolen from:
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/jan2008/sb20080125_269732.htm
The article you've linked to is absolute plagarism, btw. The original article was published in BusinessWeek after MacWorld 08.
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/jan2008/sb20080125_269732.htm
Either way, it's spot on accurate when it comes to delivering an effective presentation. I've put the tips to use before with great success.
Nice post, but I don't think Steve is vegan. The term I heard was pescatarian (vegetarian that eats seafood) but I am not sure. His wife did order some vegan cosmetics from my friends' online store, though.
August 08 2008 at 9:40 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyHot Apps on TUAW
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