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The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs
Book

The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs

How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience

Carmine Gallo
McGraw-Hill, 2009
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

When Apple CEO Steve Jobs died in 2011, the world lost one of its greatest corporate pitchmen. Presentation consultant Carmine Gallo explains how Jobs captivated audiences for decades. He delves into Jobs’s public speaking and explains communication methods you can apply. While Gallo lists Jobs’s tools and techniques, he ignores one of Jobs’s crucial lessons: Keep it simple. Here, long vignettes relating anecdotes and examples appear often amid the text, set off with thin rule lines, and sometimes disrupt the narrative flow. As Gallo says, “Problems occur when you think about too many things at the same time.” Although this manual went to print in 2009, before Jobs’s death, and therefore speaks about the Apple CEO in the present tense, its advice remains very relevant. getAbstract recommends it to CEOs, entrepreneurs, salespeople and anyone who must sell ideas to an audience.

Summary

Sitting on the Edge of Their Seats

You can learn to present like Steve Jobs, Apple’s famous CEO, one of the world’s greatest high-voltage business communicators. Some fervent Jobs enthusiasts even camped out all night in the cold, going to great lengths to be present at his speeches and waiting until morning to be among the first to gain admission when the doors opened.

To learn how to win an audience, and to craft compelling and convincing messages, heed Jobs’s example.

Any speaker can learn from his methods for presenting new ideas and consistently generating excitement over Apple products. Jobs began delivering high-profile presentations in 1984 when Apple introduced the first Macintosh computer. His public explanations were always good, and, over the years, they got even better. His products drew an army of enthusiastic customer evangelists and his audiences report that his presentations were unforgettable experiences.

By following Jobs’s communication and presentation techniques, you also can exert a powerful persuasive effect. Start by delivering your message with passion.

Setting the Stage

Successful presentation closely resembles ...

About the Author

Carmine Gallo is a communications consultant, coach and a BusinessWeek columnist. He is a public speaker and a seminar leader.

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