I want to speak like Steve Jobs

I  am invited to speak/share a nugget or two at 15-20 national conferences and conventions a year.  I get high marks and am invited back, so I must hold my own.

But I aspire to inspire like Steve Jobs.  He can bring a crowd to tears and cheers as he holds up the hottest new iPod, laptop or gadget.  I want to hold a crowd in my hand like that.

If you're like me or you just want to improve your sales presentation skills, check out this video from BNET on how to present like Steve. 

What do you think?  How could you apply this to your day to day presenting opportunities?

Comments

[Efrain]

Inspiring! Absolutely inspiring how Jobs delivers his speeches.Thanks for sharing!

[Drew McLellan]

Efrain,

Of course, he gets a pretty good topic and audience build up. But even with all that -- he's a remarkable showman, for sure.

Drew

[Karin H.]

Hi Drew

Exciting times for you: 15-20 'shows' to perform.

Aspiring ti inspire - I think every 'sales' conversation should aim to be just that. Not just in the showroom or on the phone, but also on paper ;-)
I'll try darn hard to be like that.

Karin H. (Keep It Simple Sweetheart, specially in business)

[Shama Hyder]

Hi Drew,

Fantastic video clip!

I'd add this: the more you speak, the better you get. There is no substitute for practice.

-Shama

[Lewis Green]

Drew,

Me too but with my voice. I get about 10 - 15 invites a year, and after 20 years, I am still learning. Thank you for helping me to get better.

Here are the three things that I have learned I must remember and deliver upon to achieve success:

1. Be authentic: Speak in my voice and be myself.
2. Be passionate: If I can't bet excited about the event and the subject, don't accept the invitation.
3. Tell stories: My presentations have grown from one story per hour time slot to four to five stories per hour. And I make them very personal.

Good post Drew.

[Social Network Web Design]

He obviously is a great showman..and added to that it helps too that he knows the subject matter very well plus the fact that the product he talks about is something millions are all awaiting for. :)

[Drew McLellan]

Karin,

You're very right. Each speaking gig is an opportunity to get some ignited -- to get them excited about branding, marketing or social media and how it can change their business.

How do you get to inspirational on paper? What methods do you use?

Drew

[Drew McLellan]

Shama,

Very true -- both to practice the specific presentation and to practice just being in front of a crowd. So much of the work we do at MMG is facilitating groups of people through our branding process etc, I have had to get very nimble on my feet.

Which is a great asset for a public speaker!

Drew

[Drew McLellan]

Lewis,

Excellent point. I want to be as good as Jobs, not sound like him. One of the biggest compliments I get are when people come up after the presentation and say that I sound just like they thought I would.

That means I am remaining consistent (see today's post) through my writing and speaking.

I agree with you on the stories. No better way to educate!

One of these days, I need to find a way to hear you speak!

Drew

[Drew McLellan]

Jon,

You do have a point there -- he's sort of the rock star of the tech world.

But we can all aspire....

Drew

[Karin H.]

Hi Drew

The most important thing I learned over the last few months - boy, it's been an as steep a learning curve as last year! - is to be passionate about your products, services, everything you do in fact.
Even in writing the passion will be past on - and if that doesn't inspirer I don't know what will ;-)

Karin H.

[Drew McLellan]

Karin,

You can't fake passion, in my opinion. And the companion to that is to have some fun. If you're passionate about your offerings and you make the work fun -- that is something your audience will feel and want to be a part of -- by buying what you have to sell.

So now everyone is having fun or getting a need met. Sounds like a fine plan to me!

Drew

[Dana]

Jobs is one of my heroes - along with Matt Cutts. ;) I wish I had 1% of the presentation skills Steve Jobs does. He is absolutely awe inspiring.

[Dana]

Jobs is one of my heroes - along with Matt Cutts. ;) I wish I had 1% of the presentation skills Steve Jobs does. He is absolutely awe inspiring.

[Drew McLellan]

Dana,

Do you think part of Steve Jobs' speaking abilities are due to the topic he gets to speak on? He's always introducing cool new products.

I too think he is an excellent speaker. But I'd love to hear him talk about statistics or physics or something else boring just to see how much the topic influences our opinion of him.

Drew

[Social Networking Web Design]

Great piece of information; I too would like to see a comparison with him speaking on something less exciting than launching a new product. It's amazing how crazy people will go for the latest gadget, doesn't really matter who is introducing it.