1. Travis L. Berger - December 4, 2009

   The book arrived quickly and in perfect condition. VERY pleased with everything including the price!
   Rating: 5 / 5

2. Melanie Goetz - December 4, 2009

   This is the best marketing book I’ve read in a long time. It saved my audience from yet another boring PowerPoint presentation. This is a must read if you ever present anything! Kudos to Gallo for a job well done.
   Rating: 5 / 5

3. Jack Bender - December 4, 2009

   Secrets is an engaging read. There are enough stories of Job’s mesmerizing presentations (and the failures of other presenters) to keep the reader interested. Examples and resources help one move from bullet-ridden slides to lean, effective alternatives. Presentations should be dramatic, says Gallo, so he structures the book into acts and scenes to drive home that point.

   Sprinkled throughout are tidbits of brain research as it applies to designing presentations. Gallo provides eight presentation excerpts that contain side-by-side examples of Job’s words and a description of the corresponding slide content. You’ll be encouraged to visit websites such as USA Today, Slideshare, Plain English, American Rhetoric, YouTube and others. There are chapter notes and an index.

   Both Gallo and his advice are believable. The strength of the book probably centers on product marketing presentations. You will have to create your own transition to doing presentations on books, ideas, mental models, etc (certainly doable). Some stories repeat, but the value of the book outweighs the redundancy.

   If you know very little about Apple, its products and Steve Jobs, you’ll get an introduction to that world, to include a little of Steve Job’s life philosophy.

   –Jack Bender, author of Disregarded: Transforming the School and Workplace Through Deep Respect and Courage
   
   Rating: 5 / 5

4. Jim Estill - December 4, 2009

   Throughout the year, I am engaged in a number of speaking gigs. This book came along at a most interesting time for me personally. I’ve run my own companies and used a number of techniques to get a message across.

   Jobs is clearly one of the most captivating speakers of our day. He has been able to attract an almost cult-like following based on his public speaking abilities. Other executives at Apple have made attempts, but few can compare to Steve.

   I recommend the book, just like I do Toastmasters or Dale Carnegie courses, because I think everyone in business should be able to speak well in front of audiences. It is one way that a leader can gain leverage.

   The book covers why he is a great speaker and gives a ton of tips to help any reader to also become a great speaker. It covers things like the 10 minute rule (people drift after 10 minutes so you need either a break or major shift).

   One interesting comment. “People have forgotten how to listen and take notes instead”. Then it goes on to explain how bad PowerPoint multi bullet slides are. Slides attract note taking. I, on the other hand, think note taking can increase retention.

   Delivering supplemental information such as handouts, outlines, etc. with a presentation can help boost overall retention levels. Giving a website for both additional information or a rehash of the information given during presentation can boost effectiveness. Rather than go into the technical details on each product Apple releases during a keynote speech, Jobs often utilizes this tactic to both drive traffic to the website and commit them to buy through their online store.

   In any speech – answer the one big question. At most have 3 main points – often supporting the one big question. The book talks about passion. Clearly Jobs is the king of this. Passion sells and passion makes for great speeches.

   Simplicity is key. According to Jobs, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”

   The book does not speak about how the credibility of the speaker greatly enhances the receptivity of the audience. One reason Jobs can captivate an audience is a because of what he has accomplished – people listen. His ability to create demand for a products the public never thought they needed to begin with is uncanny.

   The true value of this book is in getting people to shift their mindset. Boring, lengthy, somewhat unproductive presentations are becoming the norm. Presenters can be much more effective by shifting their approach and being mindful of concepts mentioned in this book. I strongly suggest anyone with public speaking aspirations to give this book a chance.
   Rating: 5 / 5

5. Erik Eisel - December 4, 2009

   Are you a salesman who likes to pitch a “story” about your company in the first five minutes of meeting a new prospect? Have you ever been annoyed when the “product marketing geek” hands you back your PowerPoint with about 20 extra “bullet points”? Have you ever felt crestfallen when the VP of Sales hands you a 35-page PowerPoint on the way into your sales meeting and asks you to deliver it in 20 minutes? Have you ever cringed when one of your colleagues reads the slides on the screen and turns her back to the audience, in order to see the words better? Have you ever fallen asleep during a presentation conducted in the dark of night required for a projector to work? Have you ever felt physically ill at the prospect of being invited to watch someone else’s PowerPoint?

   If you have answered, “Yes”, to any of these questions, then this book is for you. This book vindicates your feeling that there is a better way to conduct sales meetings, to craft PowerPoint presentations, and to use the technology towards the purpose for which it was designed. Granted, this is not the only book that makes this claim – and it does seem that there is a cottage industry among “communications consultants” who have written similar books – but this is clearly the best one I’ve read.

   And, this is for two reasons I think: First, Gallo focuses on one person’s presentation style – Steve Jobs – on whom we can all agree that he is a master of this game. And, second, Gallo has done the hard work of identifying and outlining what makes Jobs’ presentations really work. Jobs creates a storyline, treats the presentation as theater, and enacts it as performance.

   With Gallo as a guide – and his suggestion that we all study Jobs’s presentations available on YouTube – we are encouraged to have the courage to give better presentations and to stand up to our colleagues and superiors who insist on giving the same old boring PowerPoint presentation, because “it is what it is.”

   The only reason that I didn’t give this book a 5-star rating is that Gallo suggests that we, like Jobs, create drama in our presentations by offering a foil or enemy, like Jobs does with Microsoft. I have always felt that this was hokey and unnecessary, and although I’m a Mac enthusiast, I wish Apple would stop doing this. If you can get past this minor criticism, you will rate this a 5-star book for yourself.
   Rating: 4 / 5

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