We all know the famous speech Steve Jobs gave at Stanford University in 2005, titled "Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish."
In this speech, he shared three personal and touching stories: the first about connecting the dots, the second about love and loss, and the third about death.
Storytelling is an effective way to give a speech, especially when the stories are personal. This made Jobs closer to the audience. Besides this, Jobs was very good at developing trust with the audience. How did he do this?
Before telling his stories, he simply said: "Truth be told, I never graduated from college." This was the first moment where trust was built.
In the first story, he told the audience, "I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life." He also mentioned that his parents could barely afford his tuition, and he had little money, even for food. Again, trust developed between him and the audience.
In the second story, he shared how he was fired from the company he founded, describing himself as a "very public failure." He didn't hide his dark side, which again built trust with the audience.
In the third story, he revealed that he had cancer and was initially given only three to six months to live. This was shocking and moving for nearly all the audience. They were deeply touched by his honesty, especially about the difficult times in his life.
Steve Jobs developed trust in his Stanford speech. He by sharing deeply personal stories about his life, including his struggles and failures. His honesty and vulnerability made him relatable and built a strong emotional connection with the audience.