Presentation Tips from Macworld and CES

Our communications columnist mines keynotes from the latest conferences to offer strategies to business owners trying to improve their presentation skills

By Carmine Gallo

Last week, some of the world's most prominent business leaders gave presentations at two major annual tech conferences, Macworld and the Consumer Electronics Show. As in previous years, I analyzed some of the keynotes with the goal of extracting takeaways for business owners trying to improve their own presentation skills. Consider incorporating the following four techniques I outlined from Apple's (AAPL) Phil Schiller, Microsoft's (MSFT) Steve Ballmer, and Cisco's (CSCO) John Chambers into your repertoire.

1. Deliver messages using the rule of three. Schiller, Apple's senior vice-president of worldwide product marketing, replaced Steve Jobs as the keynote speaker at Macworld this year. Schiller had big shoes to fill, because Jobs is known for his skills on the stage. (I've broken down Jobs' Macworld keynotes before.) Some bloggers were tough on Schiller, but his skills as a presenter are above average. Schiller was smart, taking several pages from the Jobs school of presentation design. For example, Schiller divided his presentation into three parts, a technique Jobs uses frequently. In true Jobs fashion, Schiller also included a surprise announcement at the end of his presentation. Using the rule of three once again, Schiller announced changes to iTunes for 2009 in three parts.

It is a well-established rule that we tend to recall information best when it is presented in short chunks of two or three items. Like Schiller, Microsoft CEO Ballmer also applied this rule effectively, dividing his entire presentation into three parts: "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." In fact, Ballmer used the rule of three several times in his presentation.

I can't emphasize this enough: Dividing your message into groups of three makes it easier for your listeners to follow.

2. Share the stage. Cisco CEO Chambers likes to share the stage with employees and partners. During his CES keynote, Chambers invited Jim Grubb to show off some products. On stage, Grubb, aptly titled chief demonstration officer, called up a doctor in a remote location using Cisco's remote conference technology.

Ballmer shared the stage as well, inviting three Microsoft employees to help demonstrate new initiatives and products, including a beta version of Windows 7.

Remember, no matter how gifted you are as a speaker, your audience will get bored if they only see and hear from you, especially if your presentation lasts up to an hour. When possible, let your audience hear from other members of the team.

3. Make use of subtle humor. Ballmer had fun pointing out that this was his first CES keynote and that everyone was giving him advice, including Bill Gates.