Monday, September 27, 2010

10 Presentation Tactics for Ad Agency New Business by Steve Jobs

I found this online and I find it very interesting. It doesn't necesarily apply for ad agency, but for presentations in class or general presentations to a public. I'm posting the points here:


Here are his 10 Ways to Sell Your Ideas the Steve Jobs Way:

Plan your presentation with pen and paper.

  1. Begin by storyboarding your presentation. Steve Jobs will initially spend his preparation time brainstorming, sketching and whiteboarding before he every opens PowerPoint. All of the elements of the story that he wants to tell are thought through, elements are planned and collected before the slides are created.
  2. Create a single sentence description for every service/idea. Concise enough to fit in a 140-character Twitter post. An example, for the introduction of the MacBook Air in January, 2008, Jobs said that is it simply, “The world’s thinnest notebook.”
  3. Create a villain that allows the audience to rally around the hero—you and your product/service. A “villain” doesn’t necessarily have to be a direct competitor. It can be a problem in need of a solution.
  4. Focus on benefits. Your audience only care about how your service will improve their lives. Make the connection for your prospective clients. Don’t make them make that mental leap leaving them to figure it out for themselves.
  5. Stick to the rule of three for presentations. Almost every Jobs presentation is divided into three parts. You might have twenty points to make about your service, but your audience is only capable of retaining three or four points in short term memory. Give them too many points and they’ll forget everything you’ve said.
  6. Sell dreams, not your services. Steve Jobs doesn’tsell computers. He sells the promise of a better world. When Jobs introduced the iPod in 2001, he said, “In our own small way we’re going to make the world a better place.” Where most people see the iPod as a music player, Jobs sees it as tool to enrich people’s lives.
  7. Create visual slides. There are no bullet points in Steve Jobs presentations. Instead he relies on photographs and images. When Steve Jobs unveiled the Macbook Air, Apple’s ultra-thin notebook computer, he showed a slide of the computer fitting inside a manila inter-office envelope. Keep the presentation that simple.
  8. Make numbers meaningful. Jobs always puts large numbers into a context that’s relevant to his audience. The bigger the number, the more important it is to find analogies or comparisons that make the data relevant to your audience.
  9. Use plain English. Jobs’s language is remarkably simple. He rarely, if ever, will use the jargon that clouds most presentations—terms like “best of breed” or “synergy.” His language is simple, clear and direct.
  10. Practice, practice, practice. Steve Jobs spends hours rehearsing every facet of his presentation. Every slide is written like a piece of poetry, every presentation staged like a theatrical experience. Yes, Steve Jobs makes a presentation look effortless but that polish comes after hours and hours of grueling practice.

Monday, September 13, 2010

up to date update

It feels really weird to be September and not going to class. It feels weird walking around campus and feeling like I don't belong there. It hasn't hit me yet the idea that I am graduating from university. Now that I am out, I wanna go back again. Go to first days of class and learn your classmates names and read through the course outline and then leave early. Or the days where I did frosh week and had tons of fun and meeting all sorts of people.

Time flies. It was only 4 years ago I was starting a whole chapter of my life. But at least I know where I was heading and what I got myself into. Right now, the future is uncertain, which I hate because I like to plan things out and have a plan.

So far apartment hunting has been miserable. I am so picky it has been so hard for me. So apartments either:
a) don't include all utilities
b) look messy and dirty, maybe smell funky
c) not close to TTC at all
d) have weird landlords
e) don't come furnished

But I mean, if I am going to invest lots of money in an apartment it better be a great one, right? Especially if I'm goin to live there for a year.

My post-graduate working permit is going to arrive soon, that means I can start searching for jobs now. What kind of job? Something do to with advertising, graphic design, travel agency, customer service, theatre, social media, marketing, tourism, or something that I qualify for. I might need to read over my job strategies notes I have written over the summer from taking career advising during the summer. I also need to polish some resume and cover letters.

The house I'm living in right now is really nice. My housemates are raelly nice. One of the girls is super nice, always talking to me, and is a good friend. One of the guys is really really helpful and helps to keep the house clean. Very smart, helping us get the internet. Another girl is super nice too although she is almost never home. But whenever she is she is talktive and always happy. The other guy and the other girl are meh. Not really interested in them, although the guy had his mind blown when I told him I was from Costa Rica. Sometimes I wish I could stay longer at this house. Makes me feel comfortable and it's really nice to have people to talk to occasionally.

Adulthood sucks, but I need to keep ma cool!