Should be required reading for anyone who will subject others to a power point presentation
935302
I loved the content and the supporting slide examples.  I read this book before I started college and before I had created my first power point presentation.  I applied the general principles all through college and noticed that my presentations were different than most others.  I often was thanked afterwards for the time I had taken.

Basically this book advocates cutting the umbilical cord that connects the presenter to his slides and encourages him or her to use the visual content as a way to emphasize an already dynamic and engaging presentation where he or she will be connecting with the audience with shared eye contact.  There is so much more and its all good!
136129
Provides clear and insightful direction for improving presentation skills. I recommend it for anyone who wants to make an impact on their audience
1475543
I started teaching people to make PowerPoint presentations around 1992. Around 1995, I realized that many people were talking about themselves, so I suggested that the most important word they could use was "You." In 2003, I realized that people who wanted to be accepted by their audience should use the word "We." And then I picked up this book and read that the the three most important words in a business person's vocabulary were "we," "us," and "our." And that was on page eleven. At that point I was sold.

It's very easy to open your mouth and say your message in a way that alienates people. Very few people can negotiate difficult communications, but this book will help them do this. The book shows you words, phrases and body language to use and to avoid. It has numerous samples of conversations you can have with your fellow workers to put yourself in the best position.

The book covers all kinds of spoken business communications - the four largest sections include Getting a Job, speaking with your Supervisors, your Colleagues, and your Subordinates. Other groups are Prospective Clients, Current Clients, Handling Credit, Collection, and Customer Complaints, Vendors and Suppliers, and Lenders and Investors. In many cases you'll see the traps you can fall into.

You need to use this book with a little thought, in that the circumstances are usually similar to what you have to deal with, but not identical. But a few minutes' reading will change you from being a tongue-tied person to someone who achieves what you want.

I feel sorry for people who dismiss this and other similar books as "just common sense." I've known few people who possessed even a fraction of the skills shown in this book, and my own experience shows that I spent over ten years learning the information that appears in the beginning of the book.

Definitely a must-have, and a good book to build your general communications skills. And you'll stop coming away from meetings thinking, "I wish I could have said that better."
4268872
Not artistic? Not techno-savvy? Not a problem! Create effective, eye-catching presentations that will blow your audiences away.  This is the main theme of the book which I reviewed "PowerPoint 2000 For Windows For Dummies".  With the expert advice of PowerPoint pro Doug Lowe and the know-how packed inside this plain-English reference, you find out how to organize, illustrate, and deliver your ideas with maximum impact and a minimum of headaches by using PowerPoint's powerful built-in features. Whether you're preparing a slide show for a conference room, a sales presentation for your laptop, or a demo for your Web site, the tips and tricks you find inside PowerPoint 2000 For Windows For Dummies will leave your audiences clamoring for more!
This book is organized into 20 chapters beginning with a very basic to advance.  PowerPoint 2000 For Windows For Dummies delivers fast and friendly advice on how to: Master the PowerPoint basics and start creating great-looking presentations today.  Use PowerPoint's slide masters, templates, and macros to save time and develop a consistent look.  Select a color palette that maximizes the impact of your presentations; and create graphics, tables, and charts that drive your message home.  Speed up production with Tri-Pane view, the new feature that lets you toggle between slides, outlines, and notes. Dazzle your audience with clip art, sounds, video, and other cool multimedia effects.  Make sure everything runs smoothly when you're broadcasting slides from your laptop. Save your presentation in HTML and post it on your Web site.  Those are a very interesting topics that covered in the book with very detail of "how to".  The book is also organized in a very easy way in which you can use it as a reference.  For example, if you want to have sound effect in your presentation you just jump right into the chapter that discusses how to create sound for your presentation without having to go through the whole book.
I found this book very helpful.  I think this book would be an excellent book for college students.  I highly reccommend this book to teachers because they can teach their students how to do PowerPoint presentations by just follow step by step as to what the book says.
2723079
This book took but a couple of days for me to get through and I am about to re-read it.  Given that the impetus for disclosure could more easily come from the "Others" than it could from our own leaders, the  book shows just how willing these leaders are to play with fire, fire of the most dangerous kind.  That they have gotten away with it as long as they have is indicative of  a number of things, which one can read of in these pages.  I have never read a book that is so sobering on such an important issue as this.  Because of this book I have decided to step up my own efforts to be as ready as I can be for this day, and so that I can be of the most use to those who have never given this issue a moment of serious thought.  It is for my friends, my family and the strangers with whom I must share  the Post-Disclosure world that I see k to learn all I can about other people from other places who have chosen to come  to the Earth. This IS more important than the atomic bomb, global warming, religious extremism and even the engagement of Sarah Palin's daughter. Regardless of where you come down on the issue,  reading this book can only be a positive step for anybody, if for no other reason than to fine-tune your notion of how willing your leaders are to risk everything, even your life,  for the privilege that comes with being "in the know".
4419804
I was asked to deliver a "Presentation Skills" course. A subject that is so important, and yet no course addresses it right. To stand out and do a good job I decided to read about story telling and speeches, and not go down the traditional route.
I came across this wonderful book and I saw the light! This is a book that anyone who wants to be a great presenter should read. Do not be misled with the world "Marketers", it is a general book that makes you tell interesting stories time and time again.
Read it, practice what's in it and augment it with another excellent book of Nancy Duarte called "Resonate" and off you go!

Thanks Seth for a nice piece of work ....... Ashraf Osman
1661255
I've recently finished reading this great book on creating better PowerPoint presentations. As we all know, everyone who has launched MS PowerPoint on their PCs thinks it's easy to create a good presentation; in fact, the art of creating a interesting and memorable presentation is a rather different story.

For anyone who has had to endure the famous, or infamous "Death by PowerPoint"and that probably includes most of usthis book immediately points out the mistakes that are constantly made during their creation. Ever had presenters display a full slide of text (completely full) and read it out word-for-word from their notes? They look and sound like idiots. Ever seen how the audience is distracted before and during presentations when full printouts before the PPT have been handed out before the presentation begins? Most of what is contained in the book is just common sense; sometimes we humans need reminding of the basics, which this book does very well. More advanced techniques are, of course, included.
4737252
As a student of rhetoric and persuasive communication, I found this book to be highly engaging.

Not only is it an interesting look into the life of President Obama, but it provides practical power communication tools that anyone can use . This book proves that you don't have to be born a naturally charismatic communicator if you learn the key skills such as listening, framing, and word choice, among others.

For example, the idea of conceptual positions particularly resonated with me, such as in the following passage (page 41): "Obama uses the fourth perceptual position well, and it is very dominant in his speeches. Thus, he establishes a close relationship (or "rapport," which we will discuss in Chapter 17) with the audience, and a mutual dependency between himself and the audience. In October 2008 he spoke of this, using "together" in a rhythmic litany: Now it falls to us..."

This book is clearly well researched with facts and case studies, with supporting evidence from influential figures such as the story of Milton Erickson who, as the book explains, successfully used metaphors to guide his patients' thinking.

Highly recommended.
517736
Concise, vital and non-threatening, that's my summary of Chuck Boyer and Bill Dunne's "Presentation As War - Battlefield Tactics for Pitching the Wired Audience."

Building their arguments with the help of time-tested military tactics and strategies, Boyer and Dunne lay out their hypothesis with simple declarative sentences. Their work is accessible to both the speechwriting novice and veteran.

Frankly, I wish they'd written their book a couple decades ago, before I entered the speechwriting game. "Presentation as War" should find its way into the quiver of every serious executive communicator and speaker.

While giving ample ammunition to the C-Suite, PAW offers a battaliion of battle-tested insights to vice president-and-below speakers who too often get little coaching and support as they're asked to deliver wooden, mediocre "stump" speeches that neither meet the needs of the speaker or the audience.

With just a modicum of "natural" talent, and lots of practice, they'll increase the value of their personal brands, if they study and follow processes defined by Boyer-Dunne.

Under Mr. Boyer and Dunne's tutelage a lot of folks are going to upgrade their performances as they move up the career ladder.
3190302
A library is a great place to check out books. Not only can you check them out to read, you can check them out before you eventually buy.

Such is the case for me with Presentation Zen 2nd Edition revised and updated by Garr Reynolds. I read the 1st edition as a checked out book from the library a few years ago. I had been to a conference and had been amazed by the presentations. Instead of death by power point, I became a visual learner. Even more I became an engaged advocate. I wanted to begin to learn how to create presentations that brought people to life and action. I am in the resurrection business.

 I can't tell you the specific differences between edition 1 and edition 2 except there seemed to be a bit more depth and mroe examples.

While I love Garr's own insights, I appreciate his willingness to include others. Guy Kuwasaki writes or presents the perfect foreword or perhaps now its forepicture of Presentation Zen. Seth Godin. Nancy Duarte and others along with Garr gives the best practices / best picture view of presentations.

Garr's insights are simple ideas on presentation design and delivery. Most importantly he taught me to think through first the message i want to share and the response I seek, even before I look for the pictures I want to show.

And when picture time comes, rule of thumb is no more than 6 words per slide. Once you embrace this rule, it makes it tough to watch presentations with more than 16 words per slide and not muttering under your breath, "Death by Powerpoint".

I give Presentation Zen 5 out of 5 stars. Garr provided a great introduction and overall process to developing presentations. It's a guide I return to again and again.
1956051
In A World Gone Social, Ted Coine and Mark Babbitt have written a fabulous book that deserves to be celebrated.

This is not an instruction manual about how to do Social Media - there are no chapters on how to use Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or Google Plus.  Rather, its a pocket guide about leading your business in a new, dynamic social environment.  Its a bold, brash call to arms - a challenge to leaders to look at not just the way they do business, but also the way they think and engage with others.

The authors starting proposition is both simple and profound - the old industrial revolution methods of command and control leadership are, thankfully, redundant. For businesses to survive, they need to embrace an emerging social revolution.  The people we deal with are no longer passive; they are claiming their voices, speaking out and seeking engagement on their terms - faster and more personal.  The authors argue that companies who fail to recognise this social revolution are doomed to go the way of the dinosaur.

Coine and Babbitt are not interested in seeing who can get the most likes or who has the most followers.  The power of the social revolution comes from the way we drive engagement with our clients - both top down and personal.  If we understand this and shape the way we think and act, we stand poised to benefit from an exciting, ground-breaking way of working.

What a powerful proposition!

The OPEN model (Ordinary People, Extraordinary Network) sits at the heart of this book and provides the earth-shifting moment, for me.

OPEN taps into the power of social networks - the idea that regardless of who we are, we have an extraordinary network of social knowledge and goodwill at our fingertips.  Our networks give us a wonderful platform from which to leverage our social connections. This model alone is enough to set this book apart.

Ive long felt that the power of social networking is in bringing people together around common interests and sharing ideas.  Coine and Babbitt take that a step further and argue that by tapping into our networks, by relentlessly giving, we have the power to crowd source anywhere, anytime.

This is gold for anyone in a leadership role - it shows that we have an enormous pool of talent and expertise at our fingertips, that by engaging with our people at a personal level, we are able to leverage their expertise and goodwill - faster and deeper than ever before.

Need a question answered?  Need a particular task completed?  The social leader knows that far beyond sharing dinnertime selfies, their networks give them a platform from which to share ideas, break new ground and respond to their clients and teams in faster, more personal ways than ever imagined.

Coine and Babbitt recognise that this is not a fad but rather, is a new paradigm that is constantly evolving and maturing.  Far from it being too late to get on board, the authors make it crystal clear that we simply do not know where this social revolution will take us and that the journey has just begun.

Their message is simple - you can no longer run a competitive, efficient business without becoming immersed in the social revolution.
You cannot get the best from your employees without hearing their voices.
You cannot engage deeply with your clients unless you respond to them in real time.
You cannot be competitive unless you can get your thoughts or products to market quickly.
You cannot gain and retain the respect and trust of the market without being transparent and responsive.
1653212
Nancy Duarte, author of slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations has a wealth of resources on her Web site including articles, a blog, and extended content from her book. She cleverly adds a www symbol on some pages in the book. This sends a signal to check the book's companion site for extended content.

This great approach works well because it's visual with the green www taking little space. Thus, you don't feel like the book wastes any space to point you away from the book's pages. Some people don't care to go online -- they want their entire book within the book's pages. So it won't bother this audience.

A useful book companion site also helps market the book to those who don't have it. If they like what they see, they'll want the rest of it. Smart authors balance the print and online resource to avoid taking away from the experience of the print edition and providing bonus material that would not work in the book (videos of the presentation and downloadable PowerPoint files) while giving just enough information to those who don't own the book... yet.

Duarte refers to Sky McCloud's dynamic presentation containing 200 slides that she shows in eight minutes. Her book site includes her full presentation -- which you can't capture in the book. As a deaf person, I couldn't hear what she said. That girl's slides captivate me the whole time as they almost tell a story on their own.

What I like about these PowerPoint files is the site shows them like a movie. It also helps to watch the presentation in full first and then download the file to see its individual slides and how to make it work. Duarte provides the links referenced in the book so readers can click instead of type them.

The slick and colorful book shows how to create effective, intriguing, and visual presentations from the beginning of the process where you ask questions to know your audience better. It works through finding inspiration and coming up with the initial ideas and design.

slide:ology helps those who know all the tricks of PowerPoint, but struggle with the visual aspects of the presentation -- the art and design part. That's me. I'm a right-brain thinker who tells it like it is.

I struggle when it comes to creating and showing my thoughts with visuals. It's like when I tried to be a web designer. I knew how to do HTML, CSS, and create a site. But it was flat, lifeless, and boring.

This book blends PowerPoint and information visualization. Such visuals help tell the story. So the book covers space, typography, delivery, diagrams, color, animation, design value, and more.

This won't teach you how to use PowerPoint. Plenty of books covering that exist already. Instead, Duarte focuses on helping you tell your story in a dramatic and visually appealing way. You won't have to resort to clich&eacute; images anymore.

Case studies appear throughout the book between creativity and design discussions. Some zoom in on a specific feature of a real presentation while others share expertise from talented speakers and executives of organizations ranging from Cisco to a church pastor.

After reading slide:ology, I believe I can step up my presentations from a design perspective. I'm a pro when it comes to text, but visuals... kaput. Since I can easily create charts, it won't take much to make them more effective with the tips from the book. I'm in no hurry to do a presentation and test out what I've learned.

The book is easy to read and reference as it uses a lot of pictures and slides. Although a lot of the text uses too small of a font size -- very surprising considering the discussion on font size.
4390956
I've been involved with thousands of presentations - and found useful advice in this book...

Whether you're looking for tips on planning, writing or delivering your next presentation, Bob's action-oriented style delivers on it's core promise "Give Presentations That Pay-Off"

Throughout this easy-to-read book, you'll find specific examples of how to make your next presentation - your best!!!  I was personally inspired by the guidance in "Seven Tips for Better Speeches", "Stories to Get Your Point Across" and "Engaging Your Audience"

Bottom line - I have not read a better book on this topic.
2216012
In business and especially in sales, people are looking for the magic words to "close the sale." Oren Klaff. in his book Pitch Anything: An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal, does not have any magic words, but he does provide the reader with a 20 minute process template that should take average ho-hum boring presentations and turn them into dynamic, engaging interchanges.

Beyond his acronym for STRONG (Setting the Frame; Telling  the Story; Revealing the Intrigue; Offering the Prize; Nailing the Hookpoint and Getting a Decision, his book is laced with essential neuroscience facts about the primitive to the neo-cortex brains. This is one area of knowledge that should not be ignored by crazy busy sales people or anybody who wants to be more successful in persuading others.

There are many gems sprinkled throughout the eight chapters and 218 pages. In the first paragraph, Klaff provides 76 words to summarize his book.  Having been an educator and instructional designer of training materials and curriculum, the author brings an honest dialogue as to how people receive and digest information.

Also he connects neuroscience with economics and discusses neurofinance. This connection allows him to pitch anything with far greater success. What salesperson would not like to have that advantage?

The continual reference to the Crocodile Brain (primitive brain) helps to further understand how this first brain is a two-edge sword. Then the simple explanation about the Mid-brain and Neocortex explains how all three brains work simultaneously together and independently. There is also discussion about emotions and how being aware of those emotions (emotional intelligence) helps to further strengthen the pitch anything position.

By weaving his own personal experiences provides a rich context of examples. The reader is taken step by step through this 20 minute process where he or she can learn how to pitch anything with much greater success. Another gem is his discussion about building rapport and how this is truly old school.

This book is not only invaluable to sales people, but to anyone who is having trouble in having their messages received such as speakers, teachers and even parents. One of the best books on sales, marketing, selling and communicating I have read and the end result is here is a another way to showcase yourself to&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/be-The-Red-Jacket-in-a-sea-of-gray-suits/dp/0981800459/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">be The Red Jacket in a sea of gray suits</a>.
4542476
Simply outstanding.  I've known Tim as a friend, colleague, and mentor for almost 20 years, and there is no one more skilled at the art and science of presentation design.  And perhaps more significantly, there is no one more skilled at the art and science of TEACHING presentation design.

Since starting Oratium, Tim has developed a systematic approach to the design and delivery of presentations that is applicable to everything from sales pitches to keynotes to Ted talks to emails to sermons, etc.  The framework outlined in The Compelling Communicator is supported by leading research in how the brain processes information and how human beings learn; and it's buttressed by Tim's years of in-person experience communicating with, and coaching, leaders in business and non-profits worldwide.

The framework will take some time to learn and to apply, but if you make the effort you will find that you actually spend less time crafting your messages, while simultaneously having much greater impact.  If you are in a role where communication is at all important (which is, let's face it, pretty much everyone), this book needs to be on your "must read" list.
1785121
In these tough economic times we should all be on the lookout for ways to make ourselves stand out in business - in a good way. Being able to step up on the job and to create and do an effective presentation is a great way to make ourselves stand out. Are you an entrepreneur who does presentations for your business? Are you a sales person who does presentations for clients? Are you a speaker who speaks in front of crowds on a regular basis and you want to stay at the top of your game? Are you in a business and you want to advance and impress your boss? All of these people can use the information in this book.

This is one of the smallest books I've read lately - but its packed with great information. One the very first page it says:

Greatest Fears Among Americans

  1. Speaking before a group
  2. Heights
  3. Insects and bugs
  4. Financial problems
  5. Deep water
  6. Sickness
  7. Death

-- from The Book of Lists

Okay - I'm in agreement with most of that list. Although I've been speaking in front of groups since I was young. However, I realize that most people don't have that background and even with all that experience, I'm still nervous before I start to speak. So,  I was intrigued with this book. I was also curious to see how much they could squeeze into about 45 pages.

First - the full title is

136 Effective Presentation Tips: Inspire, Inform & Influence Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime

The table of contents gives us a glimpse inside -

Tips on Getting Started

- Moving From Nervous to Natural

- Getting Your Act Together

Tips on Getting Attention

- Beginning Strong

- Setting the Tone

Tips on Keeping Attention

- Involving the Audience

- Maximizing Visual Aids

--- Powerpoint

--- Flip Charts

---Presentation readiness

--- Handouts

Tips on Gaining Buy In

- Earning the Right to Call for Action

- The Summary and Closing

A Closing Thought

All the important elements are here - so does the book deliver. I think it does. Under each heading, there are a series of tips and an explanation to implement the tip. Near the very beginning they tell us not to apologize for being nervous. How many times have you or someone you heard started a presentation like that? First point, don't apologize.

There is a great chart that is called the 3-D outline. It very simply and clearly outlines what, why and how to execute each part of the presentation AND how long each segment should be. Its very simple and very powerful. That chart is worth buying this book.

We learn how to take control of the environment -- the tips are very easy to implement, but they work. Tips to reduce your stress - physical and psychological stress. We get the Top Ten Ways to Kill a Presentation. How many times have you wanted to hand that to a presenter when they were finished? These are great tips and I've seen people do most of these in past presentations. There are even tips for virtual presentations.

Like I mentioned this is a small book, but I'd highly recommend it to anyone who does presentations or may need to do a presentation in the future. Its a quick read, easy to go back to for reminders and packed with great tips. Do yourself a favor and order a copy of this book and study it from cover to cover before your next or your first presentation.
731955
I discovered Jerry Weissman about two years ago, and my speaking skills and career have benefitted ever since.  His approach to discussing presenting is both philosophical and practical, covering both the theories behind his ideas and their practical application.  Some reviewers look at his books and say the messages he conveys are "obvious".  If his lessons were so obvious, then why I am constantly finding myself the victim of awful presentations?  Just as a clever scientist may not be the most effective at presenting his own paper, a smart businessman may not be the best at creating a presentation for investors.  If you are still sitting through painful Powerpoint slides, then apparently more people should be reading Weissmann.

If you've read many of Weissman's books, you will find that Winning Strategies has many ideas you have heard before, but the review, of course, is always quite valuable.  Of particular note in this book (unlike his others) is the extensive use of real-life examples for his various discussions.  It may seem like name dropping, but the truth is that discussing a speaking style (for good or for bad) in the abstract can be hard to understand.  But as soon as Weissman mentions a politican, actor, or businessman of note, we understand him immediately.  From Cicero to Rick Perry, Mark Twain to Sarah Palin, Stephen King to Frank Sinatra - he seems to cover them all.  Right after discussing the importance of using your hands to make a point, he brings up Reagan, the greater communicator who was known for specifically never using his hands.

Business books often ramble, and this book certainly does not.  Each chapter is 2-3 pages, but is full of useful and actionable information.  He reviews how to make good powerpoint slides - yes they must be simple, but what does that mean?  Weissman explains.  Chapters on moderating panel discussions, exercises for improving your delivery voice, answering tough questions, reading a scripted speech, using a teleprompter, how to conduct an interview, and more expand on what he has written in other places.

As I said, if you've read Weissman's other works, much of this will be a repeat, but I must admit I enjoyed it and found great value nonetheless.  I'll rate it 5 stars in the hopes more people will read it and the world will enjoy better and more fulfilling presentations.