Taking talking tips from Apple’s master
Paul Smaglik
Tuesday, 10 November 2009 22:25 UTC
Steve Jobs, famous for co-creating Apple, launching Pixar and bringing the world the iPod, has also mastered the art of the presentation. His yearly keynotes at computer industry events attract international attendance and propel products into bestseller lists.
So how does he wow them? Communication specialist Carmine Gallo watched many of Jobs speeches, identified common denominators, then broke them down into five tips, in a new book, “The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs”. While this book is sure to create a buzz in the business community, the scientific community could learn a thing or five from Jobs. I’ve seen my share of bland presentations, where speakers recite bullet points from slides verbatim, cram too much data into too many slides in not enough time and show graphics that are impossible to follow, even if they would be projected on the world’s biggest JumboTron.
In this article, Businessweek reviews five tips. I’m taking the liberty of adapting them to scientists working to polish their presentations, like Jobs polishes Apple’s. Perhaps the biggest overarching theme is to tell a story, not simply present a host of data. My mantra to my journalism students is “Information is not a story”. The same should go for scientific presenters. Without further ado, here are the components to every Jobs story:
A headline
Headlines should hook the audience, not necessarily summarize the results of a finding. While “Signal transduction cascades initiated and modulated by N-F-Kappa-Beta” may be of interest to you and technically correct, let’s be honest, it doesn’t exactly grab the audience by the lapels. It might actually drive them to the coffee station. Instead, frame your talk with something catchy like “Domino dancing in protein interaction”
A villain
This may not translate directly into scientific talk. But almost every talk could instead center on a problem, obstacles to solving that problem and solutions used to overcome that problem. If you frame your talk that way, you’ll generate a natural narrative.
A simple slide
Think in terms of what your key point is and how best to illustrate it visually. Work on one killer slide that can serve as the centerpiece of your talk, rather than 20 separate slides of boring bullet points. I still remember the first time I saw a protein expression presentation during the gene chip genesis. The mixture of colors representing different expression levels in cancerous versus healthy cells instantly told the story of the power of this technology (I’m pretty sure it was a talk by David Bottstein at a Howard Hughes Medical Institution; the fact that I remember the speaker and the venue speaks to the power of the presentation).
A demo
Obviously, it’s easier to demonstrate a new software application or electronic product than a complex scientific technique or finding. If you can do a live demonstration and trust yourself, go for it. If you can’t, think about using graphic slides to walk your audience step-by-step through your process. Also, remember, whenever possible, show, don’t tell.
A ‘Holy Smokes’ moment
Jobs builds to what showbiz folks call “the reveal”. He offers hints of what’s to come, basically revealing the elephant part by part rather than giving the whole picture from the start. If you start with your solution or main finding at the top of your talk, what reason does the audience have to stick around when they could instead by exchanging business cards in the lobby? Think of the most important, surprising aspect of your work. Is it a new technology or technique? An interesting application of existing technology? A counter-intuitive finding? Whatever it is, once you identify it, you can structure your talk to build toward it.
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Replies
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How would Steve Jobs give a scientific presentation at a conference? This is an intriguing topic indeed. I will not attempt to find a scientific parallel to each one of the five points, but, having spent close to 15 years at Apple, and spent considerable time promoting Apple’s advanced technologies (QuickTime, Firewire and others…) worldwide, I will say this.
Focus on the outcome of your research more than on its output(s). Scientists did not come to look at your results (outputs) but to find out if the impact (outcome) of your work has a discernible preferably immediate impact on theirs. Build your talk around the outcome for your audience.
Hook your audience early in your talk. As soon as you are done with your title slide (sometimes even on the title slide – space allowing), grab the audience’s attention with a hook slide – low in text, high in easily grasped visuals. Question them, surprise them, intrigue them. Highlight the potential outcome or reveal the need for such an outcome. Reveal the villain, the brick wall you faced, and how you broke through. It adds a touch of drama to your talk. Others may be facing the same brick wall.
Rekindle some of the excitement that kept you working late at night. Science is exciting. But by the time we finish writing about it and get to present it, time has eroded the excitement of these ah-Ha moments that punctuate all research. The enthusiasm has gone, the presentation is dull. So, get psyched up before you talk.
Describe the non obvious, pass over what you suspect your audience is familiar with. Less time spent on stating what is known means more time spent on describing what is new and interesting.
Less is more. Put in short headline form the take-away (output or outcome) of each slide Do not let the audience guess what it is. And illustrate your headline with the most telling data, stripped down to the bare (yet convincing) essentials.
When the scientist presents -
Great comment from an Apple Insider! Thanks. Perhaps you could track down Mr. Jobs and have him give scientists direct advice. But your points sparked another point: know your audience. Here are some tips for adapting to different groups:
General public:
Ditch the technical language. Use simple, non-technical terms whenever possible. Introduce and explain complicated terms when you must use them. Focus on outcomes, of course, but, perhaps more important, make sure you show how your work has a possible impact in the audience members’ lives—be it for health, economics, whatever.General (outside your specialty) scientific audience:
Again, eschew technical details. But it’s OK to frame your work in terms of problems and solutions. Try to find analogies that connect with or relate to other scientific disciples or problems. Try to answer the question of why is this relevant to scientists outside your specialty.Inside your specialty: It’s ok to use technical terms. But it’s still a good idea to tell the story of your science and how and why yu got the results you did. Discuss the implications to the field and what questions could or should be asked next.
In general, don’t assume all audiences have the same background knowledge of your field, or the same level of interest in your findings. Don’t use the same presentation for all groups. You probably won’t need to prepare three completely different sets of slides. Instead, add or subtract slides that will be relevant to each group.
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