7 Keys to Selling Your Ideas the Steve Jobs Way
In a scene from the new Steve Jobs film written by Oscar-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, a publicist walks up to Steve Jobs (played by Michael Fassbender) backstage at the Macintosh launch in 1984. “We’ve spoken to the building manager and the fire marshal. There’s absolutely no way they’re letting us turn the exit signs off,” the publicist says to Jobs who wanted all of the lights off before the big reveal. “Did you tell the fire marshal that we’re in here changing the world?” Jobs responds. It’s a small exchange, but it reflects Jobs’ obsession to every detail of the product launch.
A Steve Jobs presentation was a mesmerizing event. It was a like a Broadway show with elaborate sets, characters, heroes and villains. In my opinion as a communication coach and author of “The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs” and the upcoming “The Storyteller’s Secret,” I consider Steve Jobs the world’s greatest business storyteller. I’ve yet to find a business leader who can wow an audience consistently in nearly every presentation year after year, decade after decade. The Steve Jobs style of communicating ideas remains the bar that others strive to reach. In my research I’ve identified seven essential components that nearly every Steve Jobs presentation shared. Master these techniques and you will be able to sell your ideas more persuasively than ever before — the Steve Jobs way.
- Create Wow Moments
Every Steve Jobs presentation had one moment that left people in awe. Call it the ‘wow moment,’ the water cooler moment, it’s the one moment everyone talked about the next day. These emotionally charged events were often props, intriguing slides, an unexpected surprise at the end of a presentation. Remarkably, they were often simple to pull off, but a lot of thought went into their creation. In 1984, with a magician’s flair for the dramatic, Jobs pulled the Macintosh from a black bag sitting on a table in the middle of the stage. In 2008 he introduced “The world’s thinnest notebook” by pulling it from of a large envelope. Simple, but memorable. Ask yourself, “How do I make my content jump off the slide and come to life?”
2. Stick to the Rule of Three
The rule of three is a fundamental principle in writing, in humor and in a Steve Jobs presentation. The rule of three simply means that people can remember three pieces of information really well; add more items and retention falls off considerably. Steve Jobs used the rule of three in nearly every presentation. If a new operating system had 200 features, he’s highlight three. Ask yourself, “What are the three things I want my audience to know?” Break up your content into groups of three. It really works.
3. Share the Stage
Steve Jobs rarely gave an entire presentation himself. He usually surrounded himself with a supporting cast, often up to another 10 executives and partners in a 90-minute presentation. Apple CEO Tim Cook does the same. The brain craves variety. No one, no matter how smooth and polished, can carry an audience for long before his or her listeners start to glance at their watches. Don’t be the only talking head on stage. Bring up a star employee, a satisfied customer, play a video or offer a demo to keep your audience engaged.
4. Introduce Heroes and Villains
Every great drama has a hero and a villain. The villain is the problem or the status quo that your product or service (the hero) solves. Jobs used IBM as a villain early on. In later years, other villains or common problems included the PC, styluses and free music downloads. Apple products were unveiled as the hero who the audience could rally around. Think about what product or service plays the villain in your scenario and how you or your product can be seen as the hero in your story.
5. Think Visually
A Steve Jobs presentation was always strikingly simple and visual. To this day, Apple presentations maintain a commitment to a less is more approach when it comes to slide design. Many Apple slides are pictures, while others contain just one word. Ideas are more easily recalled when presented in both text and images rather than text alone. Don’t clutter your slides with extraneous information that distracts from your message. And remember that the slides themselves are meant to complement your message and should not be used as notes for the presenter.
6. Create Twitter-Friendly Headlines
A Steve Jobs presentation always contained a twitter-friendly headline, that fits within 140 characters. In 2007 Steve Jobs said, “Today Apple reinvents the phone” as the theme for the introduction of the first iPhone. Ask yourself, “What is the one thing I want my audience to know?” The one sentence that best describes your product, service or initiative should be introduced early in your presentation and again throughout. Use the same headline in media events, press releases and on promotional materials to further hammer the message home.
7. Sell Dreams, Not Products
Remember, none of these presentation techniques will work if you don’t have genuine passion for your message or if you don’t care deeply about enriching the lives of your customers. Steve Jobs inspired his audiences. He famously concluded a presentation by saying, “Some people think you’ve got to be crazy to buy a Mac but in that craziness we see genius and those are the people we’re making tools for.”
Your audience doesn’t care about your product, your brand or your company. They care about themselves, their goals, their hopes, their ambitions. Help them achieve their dreams, inspire them, educate them, and entertain them, and you’ll win them over… the Steve Jobs way.
Carmine Gallo is a popular keynote speaker, communication coach, and bestselling author of The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs and The Storyteller’s Secret: From TED speakers to business legends, why some ideas catch on and others don’t.
