Apple Does It Again Or Does It? – Presenting The New iPhone 6S

Apple has long been hailed as one of the most innovative, influential and admired companies in the world. If you’ve ever used any of their products it’s pretty easy to understand why.

As a presentation skills coach I’ve often heard it said that when you’re talking about some of the most advanced and popular products on the planet it’s not too hard to give a great presentation.

Those who speak regularly at conferences and seminars know that just isn’t true. It’s not the product that makes a great presentation, it’s the speaker. Of course when you’re presenting one of the best loved products on the planet it does make your job a little easier but you still have to deliver.

On Wednesday Apple’s CEO Tim Cook presented the latest iPhone 6s technology during Apple’s 2015 Special Event.

“I am thrilled to show you the newest iPhones”.

That’s really all he needed to say before he stepped aside and the phones appeared in full colour and glory on the big screen.

Or was it?

Well let’s just take a deep breath for a moment. The words were a little predictable and obvious; I don’t know many leaders that aren’t thrilled to show off their new products.What followed was 50 seconds of a video with pleasant music showing what looked to me just like the old iPhones.

At that point it was hard to share Tim’s excitement for something new that looked to me to be the same as the old.He went on to say that whilst they make look familiar they have changed ‘everything’.

For me a much more compelling opening would have been to focus on the concept that everything has changed. After all no one wants to see nearly a minute of something they’ve already seen.

In an article I wrote last year about Tim Cook launching the Apple Watch: iPhone 6 and Apple Watch Key Note – Steve Jobs Would Be Very Proud , I congratulated him on his commanding presence, perfect pacing and pausing and this time around he was just as good.

Of course after expressing his excitement and showing the lack luster video he did call a colleague up on stage to explain exactly what had changed. At the point we were introduced to 4 colours, 2 sizes and a glass cover that’s the strongest in the industry.

After 4 minutes we finally got to the point of what we should be really excited about, ‘3D Touch’, the next generation of multi-touch.

Apple clearly lead the way in so many aspects of business from innovation and people management to quality of products and investment value.They undoubtedly have the leadership passion and speaking skills to give world class presentations although it seems to me that they need to raise their game slightly when it comes to high impact presenting.

I wonder what would be possible for a company like Apple if they invested as much creativity, energy and forward thinking to lead the world in presenting in the same way they do their products.

Watch the video here:

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Image: Courtesy of flickr.com

Apple Does It Again Or Does It? – Presenting The New iPhone 6S