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Monday, July 09, 2007

Steve Jobs' Greatest Presentation


Our communications coach mines Jobs' introduction of the iPhone to offer five lessons for making an unforgettable pitch



After a gorgeous afternoon of golf a few days ago, my nephew seemed
anxious to get home, even skipping out on my invitation to dinner. He's
a graduating high school senior, so I assumed he wanted to hang out
with friends. I was partly correct. He wanted to hang out with friends
in line for the new iPhone.



Leave it to Apple (AAPL) Chief Executive Steve Jobs
to create a frenzy that gripped every gadget fan in the country. The
hype, however, started with what I consider Jobs' best presentation to
date—the introduction of the iPhone at the annual Macworld trade show
in January.


After watching and analyzing the presentation, I thought about five
ways to distill Jobs' speaking techniques to help anyone craft and
deliver a persuasive pitch.


1. Build Tension


A good novelist doesn't lay out the entire plot and conclusion on
the first page of the book. He builds up to it. Jobs begins his
presentation by reviewing the "revolutionary" products Apple has
introduced. According to Jobs, "every once in a while a revolutionary
product comes along that changes everything…Apple has been fortunate to
introduce a few things into the world." Jobs continues by describing
the 1984 launch of the Macintosh as an event that "changed the entire
computer industry." The same goes for the introduction of the first
iPod in 2001, a product that he says "changed the entire music
industry."


After laying the groundwork, Jobs builds up to the new device by
teasing the audience: "Today, we are introducing three revolutionary
products. The first is a wide-screen iPod with touch controls. The
second is a revolutionary new mobile phone. And the third is a
breakthrough Internet communications device." Jobs continues to build
tension. He repeats the three devices several times then says, "Are you
getting it? These are not three separate devices. This is one
device…today Apple is going to reinvent the phone!" The crowd goes
wild.


Jobs conducts a presentation like a symphony, with ebbs and flows,
buildups and climaxes. It leaves his listeners wildly excited. The
takeaway? Build up to something unexpected in your presentations.

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