Give presentations like Steve Jobs – a recipe for mere mortals.

Ever wish you could give a great presentation that captivates and inspires your audience?
Well let’s take a look at how Steve Jobs, one of the most charismatic public speakers in the world, does it. First we will look at some of the key techniques he uses. Then at how you can use them in an office meeting or pitching context.

Steve’s recipe for an electrifying presentation:

Key techniques:

• Make your theme clear and consistent
• Create a headline that sets the direction for your meeting
• Provide the outline (I’ve got four things I’d like to talk with you about today…)
• Verbally open and close each section with a clear transition in between
• Be enthusiastic and energetic. Be excited about your company, your product or what your talking about.
• Make numbers and statistics meaningful and use them sparingly
• Rehearse, rehearse and rehearse some more!

Additional techniques:

• Wow your audience. Treat your presentation like a show with ebbs and flows, themes and transitions. Identify the memorable moment in your presentation and build up to it.
• Analogies help connect the dots for your audience
• Paint a simple picture that doesn’t overwhelm… Be short on bullet points and big on visuals!
• Include video clips, demonstrations and guests
• Sell an experience

Communications coach Carmine Gallo goes over these techniques in the video below:

Using Steve’s recipe in an everyday office context

A share-holder keynote extravaganza is, let’s face it, not something most of us get to do everyday. So let’s take a look at how Steve uses these techniques in a more simple office context. In these amazing videos from the early 1990s, Steve uses a simple whiteboard as his prop.

Steve begins by setting out a clear outline of the three things he wants to talk about. His transition to the first thing he wants to speak about is clear and smooth and is underlined by his use of space: he gets up from his chair and walks to the whiteboard. It’s very clear that Jobs has practised extensively. He does not hesitate when drawing his diagrams – they are clear and he draws them in a precise fluid manner. He has identified the key point he intends to make and from the very beginning, the way he draws the diagram is planned to allow him to make a dramatic visual point later on. His entire presentation is extremely visual and builds up gradually to a complete view of the market he is explaining. His use of numbers is succinct but they are used very clearly to powerful effect. With just a few numbers you are left with an inspiring vision of an extremely fast growing marketplace where Next has the opportunity to capture significant market share. Perhaps pause the video and reflect on all the numbers Steve does not mention ( the size of the traditional workstation market, the size of desktop pc market…) Steve does not lose focus, he doesn’t bombard his audience with facts.

Steve transitions to the next section of his presentation with a clear verbal cue: ‘Now lets examine….’  Each subsection his very clear. Steve does not waffle. You could say he uses verbal bullet points, for example (“for more…., for more …., and for more …). Each of these verbal bullet points is punctuated by a hand gesture. His next transition his also very clear: ‘Now we want to address….’  Notice how enthusiastic  and energetic he is throughout the presentation. His conclusion is clear and definite - looking back at the key sections of his presentation with the help of a quick flash back to the key visual for each.

There is another lesson in these videos – apart from Steve’s formidable presentation skills. That’s his understanding and clear definition of the market place where he is operating; his understanding of what’s important to his customers, and his appreciation of his key competitive advantage compared to his number one competitor. You might want to reflect wether you and you’re staff have such a clear understanding of the market place where you are operating…