186 REFINE AND REHEARSE
slide show to continue. The assistant simply shook his head,
but the CEO stayed the course. He continued to deliver the rest
of the presentation with no slides. He did so effortlessly and
confidently.
He later told me that without practice (which I had urged
him to do), he would have lost his confidence and floundered
in front of employees, analysts, investors, customers, and the
media. When I asked employees after the presentation what
they had thought, none of them realized that anything had
gone wrong.VIDEO TRAINING TIPS
We had used a video camera during rehearsals. Very few pre-
senters watch themselves on camera, even though perfectly
appropriate camcorders are available for less than $300. I know
that watching yourself on TV, especially a wide-screen, is not
the most pleasant experience, but take my word for it: it’s essen-
tial. Record your presentation and play it back. If possible, find
objective friends and colleagues who will offer honest feedback.
Use an external, clip-on microphone instead of the built-in
microphone standard on all camcorders. Your voice will sound
louder, clearer, and more resonant.
As you watch the video, pay close attention to these five
areas: Eye contact. Commit most of your presentation to memory to
avoid reading from notes. Your slides should act as your cue.
Public-speaking expert Andrew Carnegie observed that notes
destroy the intimacy between speaker and audience and make
the speaker appear less powerful and confident. Notice that I
didn’t tell you to give the presentation “completely” without
notes. Steve Jobs keeps notes out of his audience’s sight. Only a
careful observer would spot him glancing at them. He refers to
notes during demonstrations, but since the audience’s atten-
tion is on the demo itself, his notes do not detract from the
presentation. The notes he does keep onstage are also unob-
trusive and simple. He just needs to glance at them to find his
place. Although it’s easier in Keynote than PowerPoint to have