Steve Jobs (13 page)

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The USA Today Method

Journalists are trained to distill complex ideas into specific

points, or takeaways. Read USA Today, America’s most popular

newspaper, and you will find that most articles condense main

points into groups of three. When Intel rolled out a faster chip

called Centrino 2, Michelle Kessler covered it for the newspa-

per. Kessler outlined three specific benefits and explained why

each was important—why they matter:


Battery life.
“The best laptop in the world isn’t worth much when its battery dies. Intel’s new chip features an ultra low

power processor and other energy-saving tools.”


Graphics.
“Laptops traditionally use low-end graphics chips.

But now 26 percent have powerful stand-alone graphics chips

and more people watch movies, play games, and use graphics-

intensive programs.”


Wireless Internet.
“Intel’s new chip line features the latest version of Wi-Fi, known as 802.11n. Later this year it plans to

roll out chips using a new wireless Internet standard, WiMax,

which can send a signal over several miles.
” 4

Kessler proves that you can take the most complex technology

—or idea—and describe it in three concise points.

Ed Baig also writes for USA Today, reviewing some of the

latest technology products. After testing Microsoft’s new

operating system (Windows 7) in its beta, or test mode, Baig

focused on three highlights:


Getting around.
“Icons on the task bar are bigger and you

can arrange them in any way you choose.”


Security.
“Windows 7 won’t constantly bog you down with

annoying security messages every time you try to load pro-

grams or change settings.”


Compatibility.
“Even as a beta, Windows 7 recognized my

printer and digital camera.
”5

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Baig, Kessler, and other top reporters write their material

in manageable chunks to make it easier to read. So does Jobs.

He writes the content of his presentation just as a USA Today

reporter would review a product: headline, introduction, three

points, conclusion.

3G networking—faster networking. Second, enterprise support.

Third, third-party application support. And fourth, we need to

sell iPhone in more countries.”

After providing that verbal preview of the four points he

would discuss in more detail, Jobs returned to the first point.

“So, as we arrive at iPhone’s first birthday, we’re going to take it

to the next level, and today we’re introducing the iPhone 3G.
”6

This is a remarkably consistent technique in Jobs’s presenta-

tions. He outlines three or four points, returns to the first point,

explains each one in more depth, and then summarizes each

point. This is a simple recipe for ensuring your audience will retain the information you are sharing.

Jobs and Ballmer Share

a Love of Threes

In January 2009, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer opened the

Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It was his first key-

note speech at the conference, replacing Bill Gates, who had

moved on to his philanthropic pursuits. Over fifteen years, it

had become a tradition for Microsoft to open the conference,

and Gates had delivered nearly every keynote. As a presenter,

Ballmer was much different from Gates. He exuded passion,

energy, and excitement. He stripped his talk of esoteric jargon

and technical buzzwords. Ballmer also understood the value of

the rule of three in providing a verbal road map for his listeners.

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How the Rule of Three Helped DuPont Face an

Economic Meltdown

In his book Leadership in the Era of Economic Uncertainty,

management guru Ram Charan wrote about the global giant

DuPont and how it aggressively responded to the economic

meltdown in 2008. Chief executive Chad Holliday met with the

company’s top leaders and economists, formulating a crisis

plan that was implemented within ten days. DuPont had sixty

thousand employees at the time. Every employee met with a

manager who explained in plain English what the company

had to accomplish. Employees were then asked to identify

three things that they could do immediately to conserve cash

and reduce costs. The company had decided that if employees

felt overwhelmed, they wouldn’t take any action. Three, how-

ever, was a manageable and meaningful number that would

spark employees to take action.

The groups of three just kept coming. Here are a few examples

from his keynote:

 ”I want to spend time with you talking about the economy, our

industry, and the work that we are doing at Microsoft.”

 ”When I think about opportunities, in my mind I frame it

in three key areas. The first is the convergence of the three

screens people use every day: the PC, the phone, and the TV

. . . The second major area is how you will interact with your

computer and other devices in a more natural way . . . and the

last area of opportunity is what I call connected experiences.”

 ”Looking back, there were three things that made Windows

and the PC successful. First, the PC enabled the best applica-

tions and let them work together. Second, the PC enabled

more choice in hardware. And, third, the Windows experience

helped us all work together.”

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 ”We’re on track to deliver the best version of Windows ever.

We’re putting in all the right ingredients—simplicity, reliability,

and speed.”
7

Ballmer used groups of three no fewer than five times in one presentation, making his speech much easier to follow than any

of Gates’s keynotes. Although there’s no love lost between Apple

and Microsoft, both Ballmer and Jobs understand that explain-

ing complex technology in language that’s easy to follow is the

first step to creating excitement among their existing and future

customers.

The Road Map as an Agenda

Jobs kicked off Macworld 2008 with the verbal equivalent of an

agenda (there are no agenda slides in a Steve Jobs presentation,

just verbal road maps). “I’ve got four things I’d like to talk to you

about today, so let’s get started,” he said.

The
first
one is Leopard. I’m thrilled to report that we have

delivered over five million copies of Leopard in the first

ninety days. Unbelievable. It’s the most successful release of

Mac OS X ever . . . Number
two
is about the iPhone. Today

happens to be the two hundreth day that the iPhone went

on sale. I’m extraordinarily pleased that we have sold four

million iPhones to date . . . OK, number
three
. This is a good

one, too. Number three is about iTunes. I’m really pleased

to report that last week we sold our four billionth song. Isn’t

that great? On Christmas Day we set a new record, twenty

million songs in one day. Isn’t that amazing? That’s our new

one-day record . . . So, that brings us to number
four
. There

is something in the air. What is it? Well, as you know, Apple

makes the best notebooks in the business: the MacBook and

the MacBook Pro. Well, today we’re introducing a third

kind of notebook. It’s called the MacBook Air . . .
” 8

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What the World’s Greatest Speechwriters Know

Ted Sorensen, John F. Kennedy’s speechwriter, believed that

speeches should be written for the ear and not for the eye.

His speeches would list goals and accomplishments in a

numbered sequence to make it easier for listeners. Kennedy’s

speech to a joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961, offers a

perfect example of Sorensen’s technique. In calling for a major

commitment to explore space, Kennedy said:

First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to

achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of land-

ing a man on the moon and returning him safely to

earth. No single space project in this period will be

more impressive to mankind, or more important for

the long-range exploration of space . . . Secondly, an

additional twenty-three million dollars, together with

the seven million already available, will accelerate

development of the Rover nuclear rocket . . . Third, an

additional fifty million dollars will make the most of our

present leadership, by accelerating the use of space