Elements of presentation success

A couple of months ago, I pointed out that Carmine Gallo told us how to give a really bad presentation. His plan, of course, was to share that advice so that we'd know what not to do. Knowing what to avoid is helpful, but knowing what to do is even better.

Well, Gallo now has some advice on what to do.

Steve Jobs does not sell computers; he sells an experience. The same holds true for his presentations that are meant to inform, educate, and entertain. An Apple presentation has all the elements of a great theatrical production.

And those elements are

1. A headline.
2. A villain.
3. A simple slide.
4. A demo.
5. A holy smokes moment.

It won't be easy to make a simple slide or a demo about Bayesian hierarchical modeling, but I can probably come up with a headline, a villain, and a "holy smokes", and three out of five would make me a hall of famer in baseball.