Apple Presentation: Technique and Secrets

On September 10, 2019, another presentation of new Apple products took place. Since Steve Jobs presented the first iPhone, Apple has attracted a multi-million audience with new technical achievements. But after Jobs' death, the company's main ideologist, the presentation format changed. Now it's not held by one main speaker as before, but by key team members. The same team leaders who create new products.

This is the right decision, because presentations have become more diverse and dynamic, which has helped maintain stable interest in Apple. In 2019, consumers eagerly awaited the market release of the new iPhone generation, as well as Apple Watch and iPad. Their presentation took place, and according to the laws of dramaturgy, the most interesting thing, i.e., the iPhone, was presented by team leaders at the end.

How does Apple build presentation structure?

Despite the fact that a presentation is primarily a presentation of new products, Apple also emphasized products announced earlier. For example, Apple Arcade, a computer game subscription service. This served as a good foundation for presenting phones and tablets that can be used for gaming through this service.

After Tim Cook's greeting, two minutes passed before he introduced the next speaker – Ann. She spoke for a minute and a half, then invited Benjamin Keeney to speak. This speaker came on stage with an assistant, which enhanced the dynamics. But Keeney's speech also ended after two minutes. As a result, the average duration of each speech is 2-3 minutes, except for several technical speeches enhanced with graphics and video.

What visual techniques does Apple use?

In presentation design, Apple team leaders still use Steve Jobs' technique – focusing attention on the product in a dark hall. The screen itself is bright, and no less bright things are demonstrated on it. Each product is accompanied by a video illustration of its capabilities. This holds the audience's attention, evoking admiration for the beauty of the image. Ultimately, it transforms into admiration for the product and Apple as the company that created it.

The use of basic black color in stage and screen design creates the illusion of a cyclorama and makes viewers part of the show. Also effective is the use of white through headline text that appears on screen, and light as a variant of using white color. Since the basic color palette is black and white, bright products, shots, and videos on screen seem brighter, which evokes admiration in viewers.

How does Apple create the surprise effect?

Steve Jobs' technique was to say the phrase "one more thing…" at the end of the presentation. And the audience, already tuned to the finale, listened with excitement to the story about a new product. The effect of deceived expectation proved successful and captivated viewers. At Jobs' last presentation, everyone was already expecting this phrase.

However, today Tim Cook, although he doesn't say "one more thing," still leaves something new at the end. As an example: after presenting all products, services, and the new iPhone 11, Tim Cook presented the iPhone 11 Pro – a smartphone with the Pro prefix, which previously was only in MacBook and iPad.

As we can see, Apple's presentation format is unchanged because it uses Steve Jobs' principles. But at the same time, the company takes into account the growing dynamics dictated by time and adapts classic techniques to modern audience requirements.