Stick to the rule of three. A Steve Jobs presentation is typically divided into three parts. The Rule of Three is one of most powerful concepts in dramatic writing—how many times have you seen a “two act” play? The human mind can only retain three or four “chunks” of information and Jobs is well aware of this principle. He even has a lot of fun with it. During Macworld 2007, he teased the audience with “three” revolutionary products: an MP3 player, a phone and an Internet communications device. Of course, he really only had one device—the iPhone.
Carmine Gallo is the author of The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs. He is the communication skills coach for the world’s most admired brands, including IBM, Nokia and Chase. He writes a weekly leadership and communications column for BusinessWeek.com. More about Carmine Gallo at his Gallo Communications website.
