Lynn Espinoza is a broadcast news veteran with more than a decade of media, presentation and executive coaching experience. She has developed personal coaching sessions for Fortune 100 C-level executives, corporate communicators of all kinds, doctors, lawyers and leaders in non-profit.
How to Speak like Steve Jobs
Posted on February 17, 2010. Filed under: Latest News
In almost every presentation training session, I hear this:
“I want to speak like Steve Jobs.”
I’m sorry, you can’t - but please read on.
Steve Jobs is Steve Jobs because there is only one of him. He is absolutely authentic in his approach to speaking. If you are trying to learn to speak like him, you have probably studied clips from his MacWorld or similar large-scale presentations. He’s dynamic and animated; so practiced and polished. If you have not seen his 2005 Stanford University commencement address, take a few minutes to watch it. His style is completely different, and equally authentic. I think this is his most compelling presentation ever. I would love to know what you think.
Here’s the deal: Authenticity trumps polish every time. If you want to speak like Steve Jobs, don’t spend your time trying to imitate him - you’ll sound like a phony. Instead, find your own voice. You don’t have to be extraordinarily smooth or silky - you have to be authentic. You also have to practice. And practice. Practice is one of the reasons that Steve Jobs is so good. The other reason is that he is an original. Always.
As a speaker, your greatest compliment is to hear that no one else speaks like you. Be an original. In that way you can speak like Steve Jobs.
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