Michael Roller

The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs

As a consultant, our business lives and dies with each presentation. Each time we speak with a client, no matter how formal or informal, it is an opportunity to leave an impression that inspires them to ask us for help solving with their latest challenge. I also stress the importance of the public speaking to my students, and I often cite Steve Jobs as the best source of inspiration. Jobs is a great example for design students because he must always relate his message back to something tangible, whether it is one of Apple’s interfaces, products, or a retail experiences. The keynote of the original iPhone is my gold standard for tone, structure, and details of how a student should present their own work.

Recently, my design director lent me a copy of Carmine Gallo’s The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs. This is the second book on presentations that I’ve read in as many years, the other being Jerry Weissman’s Presenting To Win. Where the latter is a better reference, Gallo’s book is filled with inspiring examples, most of which can be reviewed on YouTube. The two books share a lot of the same points on preparation and structure, but there are some nice additions that come out when specifically studying Jobs.

Plan Plan Plan

As with many books on presentation, Gallo recommends that planning for a presentation is best done on paper, not on powerpoint. Jobs is a relentless planner, not a natural. A good presentation answers the questions, “What’s the one thing that matters most?” and “Why should you care?” for it’s audience. I’ll continue to promote this point only until I stop hearing speeches that fail to answer these questions.

Be The Protagonist

Products are not just products, they are solutions to some problem. We designers know better, but too often we forget this when it matters most. Through the lens of storytelling, solutions are the protagonists that save the day. Paint a vivid picture of your audience’s pain point (the antagonist) early in your presentation, always before you present your solution. Finally, end your speeches as Aristotle would, with a call to action.

The Holy Shit Moment

Maya Angelou said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Scientist John Media reports, “The brain doesn’t pay attention to boring things…it does pay attention to an emotionally-charged event.” Plan a holy shit moment by telling a personal story, revealing some unexpected information, or delivering a demonstration that will be a memorable experience for your audience. Make sure you build up to the moment properly and rehearse to make it come off effortlessly.

Tags: books, consulting, presentations, student work, video

WTF (Function, Form, Failure)

Sometimes design needs to show its sense of humor to create positive change, and Seth Akkerman WTF project does just that. WTF stands for What’s the Function, Form, and Failure and investigates problems with current packaging solutions. Check out this PSA announcement by host Basil Horsfield:

Visit Seth’s blog and leave a comment or your own story about WTF packaging.

via NotCot

Tags: packaging, student work, video

The Making of Orange22’s Botanist Blank Canvas Project

My friends over at Orange22 collaborated with white canvas to create a “Making of” video for their Botanist Blank Canvas Project. It’s a nice combination of manufacturing clips, beauty shots, and interview with founder Dario Antonioni. I saw the benches at last year’s ICFF and was really impressed with how they were able to turn a simple, beautiful piece of furniture into a much bigger idea. I also love how Dario figured out a way for industrial designers to collaborate much in the same way the fashion and music industries do. It’s very interesting to see how well-known designers will solve such a tightly constrained problem.

Click here to watch the video.

via Contemporist, photo via Inhabitat

Tags: video