When it comes to presentations, Steve Jobs was a master. A key part of Jobs’ success was the result of following a tried-and-true formula each time – a formula anybody can mimic.
To make your next Finance presentation more effective, steal the following four tips from Steve Jobs’ playbook.
1. Give ’em a simple outline
Jobs always made it easy for listeners to follow along by providing a simple outline to each presentation.
Example: “I have three things I want to talk about today.”
2. Focus on a central theme
There was always a single key idea or point that Jobs hammered home during his many presentations – e.g., “Today Apple is going to reinvent the phone.”
To apply this tactic, think of the most important element of your presentation and make the connection between that theme and how it will impact employees.
Example: “Today we’re here to make sense of next year’s health reform changes – and apply them to our own company.”
3. Use ‘wow’-inducing words
Jobs believed that if a speaker wasn’t enthusiastic, his or her audience wouldn’t be either.
To give his presentations a “wow” feeling, he used a number of key terms to convey enthusiasm, such as “extraordinary,” “cool” and “unbelievable.”
4. Use simple images sparingly
Well aware that too many complicated images took away from the presentation, Jobs had two rules about visual content:
- Use one word or figure per page, and
- Use no more than two images per page.
