SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JANUARY 9: Apple CEO Steve Jobs holds up the new iPhone that was introduced at ... [+]
Apple’s first iPhone went on sale 15 years ago this week. Reporters who were in the auditorium when Steve Jobs took the stage five months earlier still recall the presentation that triggered the smartphone revolution.
Specifically, most people remember one moment that stood out in the 90-minute product launch. Jobs opened the presentation by announcing that Apple would introduce three new products. Jobs, a “master showman” according to CNET, then surprised the audience with the big reveal—the three products were all bundled in one device that would “revolutionize the phone.”
Fifteen years later, Jobs’ surprise reveal still holds up as one of the best presentations ever. The iPhone presentation became an instant classic for three reasons.
Use the Rule of Three
Steve Jobs understood the rule of three, a critical concept in communication theory. The rule simply states that people can recall a list of three points or three messages fairly easily. As the list expands, however, people have a harder remembering the entire list. Three seems to be the magic number.
So Jobs announced three new products. The first, he said, was a widescreen iPod with touch controls. “The second is a revolutionary mobile phone,” Jobs continued. “And the third is a breakthrough internet communications device.”
To add further emphasis, Jobs repeated the list of three products three times: “So three things: a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone and a breakthrough internet communications device. An iPod, a phone, an internet communicator…”
What happened next was pure presentation genius.
Break a Pattern
Jobs often broke up presentations into three parts or focused on three benefits/features of a product. So it wasn’t unusual for Jobs to tease the audience by introducing three new devices. But Jobs, an exceptional communicator, also knew that breaking a pattern is a sure attention-getter.
The human brain cannot ignore “novelty,” something new and surprising. And breaking a pattern that audiences are expecting is an example of creating a novel presentation.
After Jobs repeated the list of new devices several times, he broke the pattern and said, “An iPod, a phone—are you getting it? These are not three separate devices. This is one device. And we are calling it iPhone,” Jobs finally revealed.
The audience erupted in cheers, partly due to their excitement over seeing a completely new product and because they had fallen for the act. They were ready to see three devices but even more thrilled to see the pattern broken.
Practice the Delivery
Jobs didn’t leave anything to chance. He practiced—a lot.
Former Apple executives who attended Jobs’ rehearsals for the iPhone launch told me that Jobs did not just review slides. He practiced the presentation like an actor prepares for a theatrical performance. Jobs spent days rehearsing every aspect of the presentation—from how he delivered his lines to how he used hand gestures to emphasize the main points.
Memorable business presentations require creativity, but the work is worth it. Jobs made presentations look effortless because he put a lot of effort into making them great.
