Back in 2005, I was employed as a consultant. I was in a project for a Ministry of Economics and most presentations I saw around me were dreary, boring, dead serious and [LAUGH] mostly lacking any meaning. And then I saw Steve Jobs present. To say that I was inspired by him is to say nothing. So I asked myself a question, why doesn't everybody present like Steve? What's so hard about that? So I started emulating Steve, practicing, experimenting, and it actually worked so well for me that after a couple of years I quit my full-time consulting job and became a full-time speech writer and presentation coach. And after a couple more years working with real life clients and real life situations, I got some pretty good answers as to why most people don't present like Steve. Reason number one, Steve was on a mission, most people aren't. Reason number two, Steve had skills. You see, skills are not rules, beginners want rules so badly [LAUGH] but there's actually very little one can accomplish by following rules. You see, rules are about rigidity, skills are about adaptability. Steve was adaptable. He could present equally well standing with notes behind a lectern, giving a slide presentation at developers' conference using flip chart in front of a huge crowd or just for a couple of people. He was versatile. So this is not a course on rules. This is a course on skills, presentation skills, that is. Speechwriting, storytelling, informational design, delivery. It is mostly grounded in my practice as an independent consultant. But as a university lecturer, I also had to make it academically robust. So it will be a lot of work. At no point I will tell you that presenting is easy, it is not. It could be fun and it should be fun, but sometimes it isn't. It's a lot of work. And this is the third secret to Steve's magic. He worked so hard, harder than most people could even imagine, and so should we. Because communication is important. And when we improve communication we create a whole new world where we have less conflict, less stress, more cooperation and ultimately, more happiness. Welcome to the course on presentation skills, the world needs you.