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Five years ago,
Steve Jobs’s introduced the iPod, the MP3 player that revolutionized
the music market. If you want to see the presentation that started
the revolution, check out
Jobs’s presentation introducing the iPod in 2001.
The pitch was a clinic in how to give an engaging business presentation. His
message was simple. His visuals were engaging. And he delivered
the presentation with energy.
When watching the
presentation notice several things that Jobs does well.
His message is extremely simple.
Jobs doesn’t try to do too much. He keeps his message to
only a few ideas. First, he says, “The market is large with no
clear leader.” Second, he answers the question “What is the iPod?”
Finally, he details the iPod’s key innovations. At Speechworks, we
urge our clients to keep their messages to no more than three key
points. Too many messages reduces the presentation’s impact and
turns the event into a “data dump.”
His visuals are
simple.
Notice that when Jobs compares the iPod to the other portable music
players on the market, he focuses on the simple idea of cost-per-song. And the chart builds very simply with very large writing that
is easy to see. Notice also how stark the visuals are. They’re very
simple with simple photographs or drawings. There’s nothing to
distract the listener. Apple is famous for its simple design. The
visuals here reflect that.
He speaks with lots
of energy.
Speaking without notes to allow eye contact, Jobs’s face and
voice are highly engaged. He sounds like he’s having a very excited
conversation with a friend. When we work with our clients, we ask
them to measure their excitement level on a scale of 1 to 10, with
10 being the highest level of energy you would ever reach when
speaking excitedly to a close friend. Jobs seems close to a nine or
a 10. Most people in business never get above a 5 when giving
presentations.
Jobs clearly knows
what he’s doing when presenting his ideas. We could all learn from
him.
At Speechworks we
help our clients learn how to communicate in a way that connects and
persuades. If you’re interested in becoming a great communicator
give us a call at 404-266-0888 or check out our website at
www.speechworks.net. |
