How to Demo like Steve Jobs

Sprint Review like a pro

I am half a dozen sprints into my Scrum Master journey now, and Sprint Reviews are a hurdle. The teams focus far too much on how the work was done and going through the functionality of everything. Sure, there is a place for this but in trying to improve the sprint review, I thought to myself “they need to present like Steve Jobs”. I said it to the PO and stakeholders, they agreed. The PO and I reiterated it to the teams, things started to change, but very slowly.

So, what does ‘presenting like Steve Jobs’ actually look like? I have tried to break it down

Inspire

Anyone who has watched a Steve Jobs keynote will tell you he was one of the most extraordinary speakers in the corporate world.While most presenters simply convey information shots, Steve INSPIRES.

Headline to set the Theme

Welcome to [event] We have some great stuff for you. [subtle hint/easter egg at product unveil].

Simply, intriguing. Steves words:

“Welcome to Macworld We got some great stuff for you. There’s clearly something in the air today”.

With that simple opening line, Jobs set the theme for unveiling the new super-thin MacBook Air. This trend followed in future events, a simple headline to set the theme.

Theme: Clear and consistent

Once you identify a theme, make sure it’s clear and consistent throughout the presentation. Think of a team meeting as a presentation. So let’s say you’re a manager, introducing a new tool to help your teams productivity, You could kick off your meeting this way.

Good morning. Thanks for coming. I know you’ll be really excited about this. Today, we make it easier for you to do your work. That’s the headline, easier to make quota. It’s memorable, and it sets the direction for the rest of your meeting. It gives your audience a reason to listen.

Outline the presentation

“So I’ve got four things I’d like to talk about with you today. Let’s get started”.

Steve Jobs always provides an outline for his presentation and then verbally opens and closes each section with a clear transition in between.

“So that’s time capsule, A perfect companion to leopard. And that’s the first thing I wanted to share with you this morning”.

Make it easy for your listeners to follow your storey your outline will serve as guideposts along the way.

Engagement

Jobs also uses words like extraordinary, amazing and cool. He is passionate, enthusiastic, and it shows — incredible, unbelievable, Amazing, Awesome extraordinary.

WOW your audience, don’t put them to sleep. It’s easy to just fall back into death by powerpoint. It’s the road of less resistance.

As listeners, you are giving the presenter permission to have fun and to be excited about the company, your product or your service. If you’re not passionate about it, why would we be?

Meaningful numbers

If you are presenting numbers, make them meaningful.

“We have sold 4 million iPhones to date”. Doesn't really mean too much to you and I. But,

“To provide 4 million by 200 days that’s 20,000 iPhones every day on average”. Once in context, it becomes much clearer.

Simple Visuals

An apple presentation is easy on the eyes. It is visual and simple. No slides full of text and complicated images: very little text, one or two images.

You see you want to paint a picture for your audience without overwhelming them. Inspiring presentations are short on bullet points and big on visuals.

Jobs included video clips and demonstrations. He also had a now-famous knack for dramatic flair that was really effective.

Reference point

Example — When introducing the MacBook Air jobs drew chairs by opening an inner office envelope and holding the laptop out for everyone to see.

“This is the new MacBook Air”
“And you can get a feel for how thin it is.”

You immediately get a reference point to how thin it is, and it is a really memorable moment of your presentation. Identify it ahead of time and then you can build around it.

Rehearse

Rehearse, rehearse, and rehearse some more. Then rehearse again. haha.
“Let me show you how easy that is now”.

Steve made it look easy because he spent hours on end rehearsing. No one can pull off a large presentation, with demonstrations, video clips, imagery, outside speakers without practice.

The result? a presentation syncronised looking and feeling effortless.

You and I don’t have the resources to great an Apple level showcase — However, you do have time to rehearse, the best presenters do it and so should we.

One more thing

At the conclusion of most presentations, jobs would add some drama by saying “One last thing”.

This would be to mention a new product or a feature, sometimes Jobs just introduced a band haha.

It was a great part of his overall presentation though, it heightened the excitement, and left the audience feeling they’ve been given an added bonus.

Steve Jobs approached each presentation as an event, a production with a strong opening product demonstrations in the middle and a strong conclusion. And yes, even an encore that one more thing.

Be like Jobs.

I’d love to hear from my readers on how they complete their sprint reviews? or demonstrations in general?