AS A one-time journalist on Macworld magazine, I had the opportunity to witness first-hand the presentational style of Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs.
This was back in the pre-iPod and iTunes days, when only the Mac press and Apple zealots hung on his every word, not the entire globe.
It was pretty clear to me even back then that Jobs is an extraordinary character, and that Apple is a cult of personality -- Steve Jobs’ personality. Without Jobs, Apple would be a different company (which is why the stock market dissects every rumour concerning Jobs’ fragile health with surgical precision).
Jobs is a fiercely private man, who deems questions about his private life to be a hanging offence, and while most of us would never want to work for such a near-demented perfectionist, we certainly have much to learn from him.
And pretty much the only learning opportunities Jobs presents us are his keynote addresses, where his personality is on full display, as he unveils Apple’s latest zeitgeist-capturing products at trade events such as Macworld Expo in San Francisco.
Jobs’ keynotes are works of art, because -- like great sportsmen and women -- they seem so effortless.
In The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs, Carmine Gallo has created a step-by-step guide designed to help businesspeople use the Jobs’ presentation style as a template for their own public addresses.
And Jobs’ style is easily templated, because his keynotes vary only in content, never style. Indeed, Jobs has taken the templated approach so far that his keynotes could almost be copyrighted -- right down to the distressed jeans and black turtleneck sweater.
Communications expert Gallo divides his book into three sections:
1. Create the story
2. Deliver the experience
3. Refine and rehearse.
Among Gallo’s observations of Jobs’ presentational style are:
1.Simplicity of language
2.Simplicity of imagery.
3.The use of powerful stories to convey messages.
In short, Jobs’ presentations are simple, yet powerful.
What no book can do for you, of course, is turn you into Steve Jobs. It’s down to you to impose your own personality on the Jobs’ presentation template. But at least it’s the best template in the world.
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Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create
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the Competition Irrelevant
Wow your clients, the Steve Jobs way
24/02/2010
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