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David Paull

Founder / President , Dialsmith, LLC


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What was the most effective presentation you ever saw and why?

Other than TED Talks, of course, presentations are often boring, too long, uninspiring , and self-serving. But sometimes you sit through a gem of a presentation that is spot on and inspires the kind of action to which every presenter should aspire. Can you recall one such presentation and share why it was so memorable, effective, and inspiring?

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    Feb 26 2011: Steve Jobs. His name has become a synonym for presentation. Everyone would recognize that he is the most extraordinary speaker in the world.

    A Steve Jobs presentation begins with a headline and nothing more. For instance, he described the MacBook Air as "the world's thinnest notebook." "Today Apple is going to reinvent the phone.", he said during the iPhone launch. That phrase appeared on his presentation slides. The headline gives us the whole concept implying the quality of a product. It directly shows what the presentation says and what the product is. And Steve Jobs always provides outline for his presentation. It makes easy for audience to follow his presentation. And then he just focus only on two or three main features of a product. Audience don't want to understand or care about everything of a product. What he does is focus on several things that audience want to know. He also uses simple images and demos. A picture is worth a thousand words. Well, it never becomes boring. And his presentation is always so memorable, effective and inspiring. Actually, I believe you already know full well about that.

    I wish him get better soon and come back to work giving us another whole new experience.