Do it, like Steve Jobs!

Do it, like Steve Jobs!

Steve Jobs is well-known as the Apple founder, the person who changed the world with the iPhone and iPod and so many other devices and shaped our present and future and although he is not with us, I am sure that we will be speaking about him in the next 200 years!

One thing though that Steve Jobs was unique about, was his magical presentations that left his audience in awe and amazement! Just go to YouTube and you will understand what I mean!

But how can you make such amazing presentations and catch your audience or sell your idea or product?

Well, read the following 13 Steps and you will change the way you have been doing presentations in front of people forever! Here is what you must do, to do it like Steve Jobs did!

1. Remember that the presentation is NOT about you! It is all about them! Who? But your audience of course! That is why your presentation must originally be able to answer four essential questions:                     a. What do you do?,                                                                                                                                                             b. What problem do you solve?,                                                                                                                                       c. How are you different?,                                                                                                                                                 d. Why should I care?
2. Take nothing for granted and take a pencil and paper and plan the road map of your presentation. Sketch if you must, draw lines and make notes. Produce your content before you start designing your slides.
3. It’s the story that matters, not the slides! So, make sure you are going to share a story which like in the theatre must have three acts! A beginning, a middle and an end. What happens in these 3 acts is what will keep the interest of your audience, and they will not be looking at their screens instead of paying attention to you!
4. Create Twitter-like Headlines! That is how you attract the attention of the audience! You read the story in a magazine or a blog post because of the headline! Create those Headlines on your slides from the perspective of the user who is your audience in this case.
5. Bullets kill! Avoid filling your slides with long text and bullet points. Bullet points are the least way to deliver information. Save those bullet points for your grocery or to-do list! The least is more! Use a short sentence and elaborate on that!                                                                       
6. Follow the “Rule of Three” like Steve Jobs did. What does this mean? Break your presentation in Three Acts as we mentioned above, describe your product or service into Three Features and give your audience a demonstration into Three Parts. This is one of the most powerful concepts in communication theory. Do it and you will see a significant shift in the attention of your audience.
7. Talking about audience attention, obey the 10-minute rule! Your audience pays attention to you the first ten minutes. On the eleventh minute if you do not change subject or give them something extraordinary, they will start scrolling on their screens. No wonder Steve Jobs, during his presentation at Macworld in 2007 he revealed on the exact 10^th minute, a new Apple television commercial for iTunes and iPods providing an exciting intermission for the audience to go wild and check back their attention to him. Clever, isn’t it?                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
8. Remember you are there to deliver the experience and not to read your slides. People go to the opera for the experience and not to take notes with them. Use videos to enhance your presentation but be mindful of those videos not to exceed 2-3 minutes. Use photos, music, visuals and engage the emotions of the audience by giving them top performance.
9. Dress-up not just yourself but also your numbers! Back up what you are saying by adding numbers and percentages, publications and articles so what you are sharing with people is valid and concrete. That is an important element to build the trust needed so as for them to believe what you are saying to them.                                                           
10. Refine, edit and rehearse your presentation multiple times like Steve Jobs. The more times you refine and edit, the less content stays on those slides as more of that content internalizes in you and becomes part of you. By rehearsing like actors do, you own the content, thus you know exactly what you are saying while you prepare yourself for any possible questions that may come along from the audience. Make sure those answers are short and sweet!
11. Utilize your voice and body language! When you know your content so well you can have full eye contact with your audience, you can make gestures to make a point, and you can create those pauses and silences to make sure the audience is listening to what you are about to say, you can change the speed or the volume and keep the focus on you. This said, means that you are more confident and relaxed on stage or in front of that camera while your vibe and energy are vibrant and positive. You are winning your audience! You are delivering the experience!                                                                                                                                                                                 
12. Wear the appropriate attire! Dress like the leader you want to become and not for the position you may now have in your organization. Great leaders always dress a little better than everyone else in the room. And you must always have in mind the culture in the room you are entering, and wear the appropriate clothes. Steve Jobs is known for his black turtleneck and blue jeans. But when he went to take a loan from the bank for his business, he put on a thousand-dollar suit. Bear that in mind next time you show up at a meeting with your boss!                                                                                                                                                                                       
13. Last, but not least, make it look effortless, and simple. Make sure you look comfortable and smile at everyone no matter how nervous you may be. If you practice those 10,000 hours needed – which it is possible as practice makes perfect – then you will always look confident and relaxed during your presentations and nothing will be able to shake you or make you nervous because by now, you have learned your value, and you do know exactly what you bring on the table for everyone to hear and experience!

And yes, you can do it like Steve Jobs!