Steve Jobs (4 page)

PLAN IN ANALOG
5

designing the slides was easy. Remember, it’s the story,
not the

slides
, that will capture the imagination of your audience.

The Napkin Test

A picture is the most powerful method for conveying an idea.

Instead of booting up your computer, take out a napkin. Some

of the most successful business ideas have been sketched on

the back of a napkin. One could argue that the napkin has been

more important to the world of business ideas than PowerPoint.

I used to think that “napkin stories” were just that—stories,

from the imagination of journalists. That is until I met Richard

Tait, the founder of Cranium. I prepared him for an interview

on CNBC. He told me that during a cross-country flight from

New York to Seattle, he took out a small cocktail napkin and

sketched the idea of a board game in which everyone had a

chance to excel in at least one category, a game that would give

everyone a chance to shine. Cranium became a worldwide sen-

sation and was later purchased by Hasbro. The original concept

was simple enough to write on a tiny airline napkin.

One of the most famous corporate napkin stories involves

Southwest Airlines. A lawyer at the time, Herb Kelleher met

with one of his clients, Rollin King, at the St. Anthony’s Club, in

San Antonio. King owned a small charter airline. He wanted to

start a low-cost commuter airline that avoided the major hubs

and instead served Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. King

sketched three circles, wrote the names of the cities inside,

and connected the three—a strikingly simple vision. Kelleher

understood immediately. Kelleher signed on as legal counsel

(he later became CEO), and the two men founded Southwest

Airlines in 1967. King and Kelleher would go on to reinvent

airline travel in the United States and build a corporate culture

that would earn Southwest’s place among the most admired

companies in the world. Never underestimate the power of a

vision so simple that it can fit on a napkin!

6
CREATE THE STORY

The Story Takes Center Stage

In
Beyond Bullet Points
, Cliff Atkinson stresses, “The single most important thing you can do to dramatically improve your presentations is to have a story to tell
before
you work on your

PowerPoint file.
”3
Atkinson advocates a three-step storyboard approach to creating presentations:

Writing → Sketching → Producing

Only after writing—scripting—the scenes does he advocate

thinking visually about how the slides will look. “To write a

script, you need to momentarily set aside PowerPoint design

issues like fonts, colors, backgrounds, and slide transitions.

Although it might sound counterintuitive, when you write a

script first, you actually expand your visual possibilities, because

writing defines your purpose before you start designing. A script

unlocks the undiscovered power of PowerPoint as a visual story-

telling tool in ways that might surprise and delight you and your

audiences.
”4 Wi
th a completed script in hand, you’ll be ready to sketch and “produce” the experience. The script, however, must

come first.

Nine Elements of Great Presentations

Persuasive presentation scripts contain nine common ele-

ments. Think about incorporating each of these components

before you open the presentation program, whether you work

in PowerPoint, Keynote, or any other design software. Some of

these concepts will be explored in more detail later, but for now

keep them in mind as you develop your ideas.

HEADLINE

What is the one big idea you want to leave with your audi-

ence? It should be short (140 characters or less), memorable, and

written in the subject-verb-object sequence. When Steve Jobs

unveiled the iPhone, he exclaimed, “Today Apple reinvents the

PLAN IN ANALOG
7

phone!”5
That’s a headline. Headlines grab the attention of your audience and give people a reason to listen. Read
USA Today
for ideas. Here are some examples from America’s most popular

daily newspaper:

 ”Apple’s Skinny MacBook Is Fat with Features”

 ”Apple Unleashes Leopard Operating System”

 ”Apple Shrinks iPod”

PASSION STATEMENT

Aristotle, the father of public speaking, believed that success-

ful speakers must have “pathos,” or passion for their subject.

Very few communicators express a sense of excitement about

their topic. Steve Jobs exudes an almost giddy enthusiasm every

time he presents. Former employees and even some journal-

ists have claimed that they found his energy and enthusiasm

completely mesmerizing. Spend a few minutes developing a pas-

sion statement by filling in the following sentence: “I’m excited

about this product [company, initiative, feature, etc.] because

it .” Once you have identified the passion

statement, don’t be bashful—share it.

THREE KEY MESSAGES

Now that you have decided on your headline and passion state-

ment, write out the three messages you want your audience to

receive. They should be easily recalled without the necessity of

looking at notes. Although Scene 5 is dedicated to this subject,

for now keep in mind that your listeners can recall only three or

four points in short-term memory. Each of the key messages will

be followed by supporting points.

METAPHORS AND ANALOGIES

As you develop key messages and supporting points, decide on

which rhetorical devices will make your narrative more engag-

ing. According to Aristotle, metaphor is “the most important

thing by far.” A metaphor—a word or phrase that denotes one

8
CREATE THE STORY

thing and is used to designate another for purposes of compar-

ison—is a persuasive tool in the best marketing, advertising,

and public relations campaigns. Jobs uses metaphors in conver-

sations and presentations. In one famous interview, Jobs said,

“What a computer is to me is the most remarkable tool that we

have ever come up with. It’s the equivalent of a bicycle for our

minds.
”6

Sales professionals are fond of sports metaphors: “We’re all

playing for the same team”; “This isn’t a scrimmage; it’s for real”;

or “We’re batting a thousand; let’s keep it up.” While sports

metaphors work fine, challenge yourself to break away from

what your audience expects. I came across an interesting meta-

phor for a new antivirus suite of applications from Kaspersky.

The company ran full-page ads (the one I saw was in
USA Today
)

that showed a dejected medieval soldier in a full suit of armor

walking away, with his back toward the reader. The headline

read, “Don’t be so sad. You were very good once upon a time.”

The metaphor compared today’s Internet security technologies

(Kaspersky’s competitors) to slow, cumbersome medieval armor,

which of course is no match for today’s military technology. The

company extended the metaphor to the website with an image

of a suit of armor and the same tagline. The metaphor was con-

sistent throughout the company’s marketing material.

Analogies are close cousins of metaphors and also are very

effective. An analogy is a comparison between two different

things in order to highlight some area of similarity. Analogies

help us understand concepts that might be foreign to us. “The

microprocessor is the brain of your computer” is an analogy that

works well for companies such as Intel. In many ways, the chip

serves the same function in the computer as a brain serves in a

human. The chip and the brain are two different things with

like features. This particular analogy is so useful that it is widely

picked up by the media. When you find a strong analogy that

works, stick with it and make it consistent across your presenta-

tions, website, and marketing material. Jobs likes to have fun

with analogies, especially if they can be applied to Microsoft.

During an interview with the
Wall Street Journal
’s Walt Mossberg, PLAN IN ANALOG
9

Jobs pointed out that many people say iTunes is their favorite

application for Windows. “It’s like giving a glass of ice water to

someone in hell!
”7

DEMONSTRATIONS

Jobs shares the spotlight with employees, partners, and prod-

ucts. Demos make up a large part of his presentations. When

Jobs unveiled a new version of the OS X operating system, code-

named Leopard, at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference

(commonly abbreviated WWDC, the annual conference is an

Apple event to showcase new software and technologies) in

June 2007, he said Leopard had three hundred new features. He

chose ten to discuss and demonstrate, including Time Machine

(automated backup), Boot Camp (runs Windows XP and Vista

on Mac), and Stacks (file organization). Instead of simply list-

ing the features on a slide and explaining them, he sat down

and showed the audience how they worked. He also chose the

features
he
wanted the press to highlight. Why leave it to the media to decide which of three hundred new features were the

most compelling? He would tell them.

Does your product lend itself to a demonstration? If so, script

it into the presentation. Your audience wants to see, touch, and

experience your product or service. Bring it to life.

I worked with Goldman Sachs investors to prepare the CEO

of a Silicon Valley semiconductor start-up that was about to go

public. The company shrinks chips that create audio sound for

mobile computers. As we were planning the investor presenta-

tion, the CEO pulled out a chip the size of a fingernail and said,

“You wouldn’t believe the sound that this generates. Listen to

this.” He turned up the volume on his laptop and played music

that impressed those of us who were in the room. It was a no-

brainer to use the same demonstration (with a more dramatic

buildup) when the executive pitched the company to investors.

The IPO went on to become a huge success. An investor who

had underwritten the company later called me and said, “I don’t

know what you did, but the CEO was a hit.” I didn’t have the

heart to say that I stole the idea from the Steve Jobs playbook.

10
CREATE THE STORY

PARTNERS

Jobs shares the stage with key partners as well as his products. In

September 2005, Jobs announced that all of Madonna’s albums

would be available on iTunes. The pop star herself suddenly

appeared via webcam and joked with Jobs that she had tried to

hold out as long as possible but got tired of not being able to

download her own songs. Whether it’s an artist or an industry

partner like the CEOs of Intel, Fox, or Sony, Jobs often shares

the stage with people who contribute to Apple’s success.

CUSTOMER EVIDENCE AND THIRD-PARTY ENDORSEMENTS

Offering “customer evidence” or testimonials is an important

part of the selling cycle. Few customers want to be pioneers,

especially when budgets are tight. Just as recruiters ask for ref-

erences, your customers want to hear success stories. This is

especially critical for small companies. Your sales and marketing

collateral might look great in that glossy four-color brochure, but

it will be met with a healthy degree of skepticism. The number

one influencer is word of mouth. Successful product launches

usually have several customers who were involved in the beta

and who can vouch for the product. Incorporate customer evi-

dence into your pitch. Including a quote is simple enough, but

try going one step further by recording a short testimonial and

embedding the video on your site and in your presentation.

Even better, invite a customer to join you in person (or via web-

cam) at a presentation or an important sales meeting.

Do you have third-party reviews of your product? Always use

third-party endorsements when available. Word of mouth is one

of the most effective marketing tools available, and when your