I look forward to Apple keynote presentations and product launches because, as a communication
specialist, it’s hard for me to find a better role model for creating, designing, and delivering a
presentation. The keynote at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2013 offers yet
another opportunity to learn fresh and effective techniques that you can and should apply to your
presentations.
Stick to one theme per slide. The designers behind Apple’s presentation slides once told me they
stick to one theme per slide. Don’t try to cram too much content—too many ideas—on one slide.
That goes for statistics, too. For example, think about how many slides you would create if you
delivered the following idea: “The developer program is incredibly vibrant. We have over six million
registered developers. Demand for this show has never been greater. We sold out in just over a
minute [71 seconds].” Most people would put the two statistics, 6 million and 71 seconds, on one
slide. Apple CEO, Tim Cook, had two slides. The first one simply read: 6 million. The second slide
read: 71 seconds. The second slide also had the words “Sold Out” in red (see below). If a statistic is
important enough for you to deliver and you want your audience to recall the data point, then it
deserves its own slide.
Make data visual. Early in the presentation Cook announced that Apple customers have
downloaded 50 billion apps from the App Store. Instead of simply putting the number [50 billion] on
the screen, as most presenters would do, Apple designers created a visual display of the data. Since
the statistic had a lot of zeroes they decided it would be impressive to fill the screen with it:
50,000,000,000. But they didn’t stop there. If you look closely at the slide (below) you can see that
the zeroes are actually images of apps. Data is more memorable when it’s visually interesting.
Always avoid bullet points. There are no bullet points on Apple slides. There are images and text
(sometimes on the same slide), but no bullet points. Bullets are the least effective way of
transmitting information on a slide. It simply adds too much clutter to the screen and forces the
audience to read too many words as the presenter is talking. Most people can’t listen to someone
speak, read text at the same time, and expect to retain anything!
Share the stage. Tim Cook shares the stage with his executive team, designers, partners, and
developers. Cook introduced five other speakers in the two-hour period and one of them, Apple
senior vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi, took the stage twice. Designer Jony
Ive didn’t physically join Cook on stage, but appeared on a video to explain the design philosophy
behind the new iOS 7. Too many CEOs and founders think they have to carry the presentation or
pitch themselves. Think of your presentation as a Broadway show complete with sets (slides), props
(demos), and a cast of characters.
Stick to the 10-minute rule. Cook introduced his first “guest speaker,” the co-founder of Anki, Boris
Sofman, at exactly 10 minutes into his presentation. The 10-minute rule is a technique I recommend
to every presenter, but I must give credit to the person who inspired it—University of Washington
researcher, John Medina. Medina once told me that no matter how engaging you are, your audience
will begin to tune out of your conversation after about 10 minutes. That doesn’t mean you can’t
reign them back in, but if you drone on and on you will most likely lose their attention.
Apple does a nice job of building in “soft breaks” to maintain the attention of the audience. Cook
didn’t speak for much more than ten minutes at a time. He would break up his slides with another
speaker or a video. All the Apple speakers stuck to the rule. During his introduction of the new
operating system, OS X Mavericks, Federighi included two demonstrations, both lasting under 10
minutes and both about 10 minutes apart. Although Federighi held the stage for more than 10
minutes, he provided soft breaks and kept the flow moving nicely: Slides-demo-slides-demo-slides.
Have a chip on your shoulder every now and then. Apple vice president of worldwide marketing,
Phil Schiller, may have received the loudest applause when he revealed a radical redesign of Apple’s
desktop for professional users, the Mac Pro. In a clear jab to critics who say Apple has lost its
innovation edge, Schiller said, “Can’t innovate anymore, my ass!” Your audience appreciates passion
and emotion once in a while.
Create a Twitter-friendly headline and repeat it twice. My favorite communication technique is
what I call the Twitter-friendly headline. Whenever you launch a new product or service, clearly
summarize it in one short sentence, preferably under 140 characters so it’s easily tweeted. Apple
executives do this for every product announcement. The new iOS 7 was no exception. Twice in the
presentation Tim Cook said, “iOS 7 is the biggest change to iOS since the iPhone.” Now take a look at
a few tweets from popular media brands:
@Mashable: Apple unveils iOS 7, ‘biggest change since the original iPhone.’
@HuffPostTech: A look at iOS 7, the biggest change to iOS since the introduction of the iPhone.
@USATODAY: Tim Cook calls iOS7 the biggest change to iOS since the introduction of the iPhone.
The Twitter headline works every time. Create one.
Practice. A lot. A 20-minute demo and product launch can take up to 250 hours at Apple. That
includes the time spent on creating the story line, designing slides, testing the demo, and on-stage
rehearsals. Apple’s slides are brilliant and the presenters are smooth and ‘effortless’ because
speakers and designers spend a lot of time behind the scenes to get everything just right.
Show your team some love. It always helps to acknowledge your team. Cook lavishes praise on his
team in nearly every public appearance. He concluded the WWDC ’13 keynote by saying, “I’d like to
thank everyone at Apple who worked so hard to create them [new products]. I get to work with the
most talented and creative people on earth and it’s a joy to serve with them.” Express EXPR +0.93%
your heartfelt admiration for the team as much as possible.
Make your presentations public. Within two hours of the keynote Apple made the video of the
entire two-hour presentation available on its website. It’s not buried on the site, either. It’s on the
home page. Presentations are now part of your brand’s story and marketing message. Post the slides
on your website and on a sharing site such as Slideshare.net. The slides bring your brand story to life.
Don’t let your ideas die because they were delivered poorly. I’m not suggesting that you copy
everything about an Apple presentation (look, colors, style, font) to the letter. I am recommending
that you copy the techniques in Apple’s keynote; techniques that are based on proven and effective
presentation methods.