This article was taken from the July 2011 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
Steve Jobs is the world's greatest corporate storyteller. He treats every presentation like a theatrical event, complete with a compelling narrative, supporting cast and stunning backdrops. Here are three techniques you can implement to create a Steve Jobs-worthy presentation.
Develop a Twitter-friendly headline.
When Steve Jobs unveiled the original iPod in 2001, he introduced it as "1,000 songs in your pocket". The original MacBook Air? "The world's thinnest notebook." In one sentence the iPad was "a magical and revolutionary device". The human brain craves meaning before detail, but all too often corporate communicators try to cram too many facts into a message before they give people the big picture. Steve Jobs knows this instinctively and strives to present the key message behind a product in one sentence. Although Jobs doesn't have a Twitter account, every single product message is 140 characters or fewer. If you can't describe your product in a sentence, try again until you can.
Create visual slides.
Watch a Steve Jobs presentation and you will find that he uses highly visual slides. In fact, there are no bullet points -- ever; only images and words. This is called "picture superiority". It simply means that information is better processed when presented as words and pictures instead of words alone. John Medina, author of
Brain Rules, says that when information is presented verbally, a person will retain about ten per cent of the message three days later; add a picture and retention soars to 65 per cent.
The average PowerPoint slide contains 40 words according to Edward R Tufte, professor emeritus of political science, computer science and statistics and graphic design at Yale. It's nearly impossible to find 40 words in ten slides of a Steve Jobs presentation. Jobs uses
Apple Keynote presentation software instead of PowerPoint but you can replicate his technique in PowerPoint as well -- think visually about the information and stay away from slides that have nothing but words and bullet points.
Stick to the rule of three.
When Jobs introduced the iPad 2, he described it as being "thinner, lighter and faster" than its predecessor. Psychologist Herbert Simon showed that short-term memory can improve if information is "chunked" in three parts. If that's the case, why give your audience 22 points? They won't recall a thing. Try to stick to three key messages. You can certainly reinforce those key messages with supporting points and data, but keep the "big picture" to three points.
A Jobs presentation is an astonishing experience. Most presenters deliver info but he informs, educates and entertains. By incorporating these three techniques, you too can deliver an inspiring and captivating presentation the Steve Jobs way.
Carmine Gallo is the author of The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs (McGraw-Hill)
More from the Steve Jobs MBA [
Unit 101: Future thinking](https://www.wired.co.uk/article/unit-101) [
Unit 102: People pay more if it's worth it](https://www.wired.co.uk/article/unit-102) [
Unit 103: Connect your people](https://www.wired.co.uk/article/unit-103) [
Unit 104: Master the entire business](https://www.wired.co.uk/article/unit-104)
Unit 105: Build from the bottom up
Unit 106: Interpret, don't impersonate
Unit 107: It's all about design https://www.wired.co.uk/article/unit-108[
Unit 109: Steve Jobs: in his own words](https://www.wired.co.uk/article/unit-109)
Unit 110: Challenge the expectations of others [
Unit 111: Be your own competition](https://www.wired.co.uk/article/unit-111)
Unit 112: Reboot, reboot, reboot [
Unit 113: The big reveal is the best advertising](https://www.wired.co.uk/article/unit-113) [
Unit 114: Stay hungry, stay foolish](https://www.wired.co.uk/article/unit-114)
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
