Watch the opening once, with the sound on. It runs about four and a half minutes.
Macworld, 9 January 2007The opening of the iPhone introduction, first 4 minutes 35 seconds.Open on YouTube
Next: seven things he did
Seven Things He Did
In order, from the clip. Each one has a version you can use.
He gave the count first.Three products, said before he named any. Your version: tell them how many things you will cover before you cover any.
He named each one in plain nouns.An iPod. A phone. An internet communicator. Your version: use names the room already owns.
He said them again.The three, then the three shortened to two. Your version: say your three out loud more than once.
He asked the room a question."Are you getting it?" Your version: ask right before the turn.
He turned three into one.Not three separate devices. One device. Your version: show that your three points are one thing.
He gave it one name, last.iPhone. Your version: name your idea once, after the build-up.
He said the point in one sentence, then showed it.Apple is going to reinvent the phone, and here it is. Your version: say your Big Idea as one sentence, then go to the proof.
Next: the problem this solves
The Problem
A good idea can die unheard because the person with it can't show people what it's worth to them.
Chat
Next: what stands between a good idea and a yes
The Big Idea
What stands between a good idea and a yes is whether people care, and a talk is how you make them.
Next: an example, the iPod in 2001
Example: The iPod, 2001
Every music player was sold on its specs. Watch what he says first.
"A thousand songs"iPod introduction, 23 October 2001, 2:45 to 3:35.Open on YouTube
Seven ideas that make people care. Use the ones that fit your idea.
Start with the human resultSay what changes in their life, not what the thing is.
The power of 3Three points are easy to follow and easy to remember.
Make the cost of the old way visibleLet them recognize the problem from their own experience.
The five-step planThe order the whole talk follows.
The benefit testAdd "which means ___ for you" to any claim.
Show your enthusiasmSay what you really feel, in everyday words.
Story guideFind a story, give it one twist, test it.
Next: start with the human result
Start With The Human Result
People care about what changes in their life or work.
The spec
A 5 GB hard drive.
The human result
1,000 songs in your pocket.
Your version
What will they do, feel, or stop worrying about?
The question to ask
What am I really selling?
Not the thing. What it does to their day.
Next: the power of 3
The Power Of 3
Three points are easy to follow and easy to remember.
1GoldilocksThree bears, not four. Sean D'Souza builds a whole talk the same way: what happens first, what happens next, how it ends.
2Steve BallmerOpening the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show, he used groups of three at least five times. One was three words: simplicity, reliability, and speed.
3Miller's lawIn 1956 George Miller reported that people hold about seven things in short-term memory, give or take two. Later work is said to put it nearer three or four.
Cut to
Three. Say them first. Tick them off as you go.
Next: make the cost of the old way visible
The Cost Of The Old Way
A new idea matters more once people remember what the old way cost them.
Watch him show why the smartphones of 2007 fall short.
The problem with the old phonesSame video as the opening, about 5:03 to 6:02.Open on YouTube
Without it
"Our phone has a better interface."
With it
Buttons that cannot change after the phone ships.
Next: the five-step plan
Aristotle
The Five-Step Plan
The order the whole talk follows.
Step
This talk
The iPhone opening
1. Get their interest
The iPhone clip, then the question in chat
The line of earlier products, then three become one
2. Name the problem
The Problem
Phones are not smart and not easy to use
3. Give the fix
The Big Idea and the 5 Stages
One leapfrog product: the iPhone
4. Say what it means for them
The iPod example, the benefit test
Fingers instead of a stylus
5. Ask for one thing
The Recap's next step
Not in the opening
Next: the benefit test
The Benefit Test
Add "which means ___ for you" to any claim.
The feature
A 5 GB hard drive.
Which means
1,000 songs in your pocket.
The feature
A proximity sensor.
Which means
The screen turns off at your ear, so your cheek cannot press anything.
If you cannot fill the blank in their words, it is a feature, not a benefit.
Next: show your enthusiasm
Show Your Enthusiasm
If you are excited about it, say so, in everyday words.
1Use words you already useJobs's favorites are watercooler words: amazing, incredible, gorgeous, awesome. He sounded the same on stage as off.
2Mean itPick words that fit what you really think. "Amazing" about something you find ordinary sounds false. "I'm especially excited about this one" is honest.
3Let it carryJoe Vitale, in Hypnotic Writing, says excitement you feel while writing reaches the reader. Sean D'Souza calls selling a transfer of enthusiasm.Both are practitioners' reports. Neither is backed by a study.
Want them wowed? Plan one moment that earns the word. That is Stage 4.
Next: story guide
Story Guide
Find a story, give it one twist, test it.
1Stock a bankOne ordinary event a day, in one line. Mark where it went against what you expected.
2Fix one wordCut the idea to one word. Then match it to an event from your day.
3Pick common groundAbout 90 percent already known to them, 10 percent yours.
4Build itOne small twist near the end. Check the sequence, the feeling, and the point.
5Test itHave someone repeat it back. Notice what drops out.
That is the last idea.
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