Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Voices That Matter)

A great compilation of basic & simple ideas about public presentation, yet fundamental ones. You may have read about these concepts already (e.g. Made 2 Stick, slide:ology), but Garr connects them nicely & the zen concept is not only refreshing, it helps alleviating the stress often assotiated with public speaking.

The book is its own best review. It is engaging, persuasive & memorable practicing what it preaches & giving a good presentation. The advice is a bit esoteric if you are looking 4 liniar, rational, step-by-step methodology & is obviously based much more on intuitive thought & art, but this is exactly what the author promised. The book does have sufficient building blocks & practical instructions 2 get started in the presentation process, but goes far beyond that in scope. The author does seem 2 capture the true intent of a presentation as being an opportunity 2 influence & persuade an audience rather than death by power point with data saturated slides. This is not a hold your hand, step-by-step guide 2 great presentaions. You can not be led 2 that level of performance. This book however does clearly point the way & encourage you 2 walk the path 2 giving great presentaions, but the reader still needs 2 do the walking.

This book, recommended 2 me by a student of mine, gave me wonderfully fresh ways 2 look at my old & tired ways. I have walked away with some good techniques & ways of thinking.

Garr Reynolds is a former Manager of WW User Group Relations at Apple Computer, & is a currently a Marketing & Multimedia Presentation Design at Kansai Gaidai University in Japan.

In this "How-to" book, Presentation Zen, Garr offers a fresh teaching approach 2 presentation design. Garr organizes his book into three sections Preparation, Design & Delivery. Within these sections Garr stresses Clarity, Simplicity & Naturalness.

He cautions not 2 begin writing your presentation in PowerPoint, & instead 2 get out a notepad or scratch paper & jump into the creative process feet first. Imagine Shakespeare writing Romeo & Juliet in PowerPoint slides, it would have proved creatively impossible. Before digitizing your presentation, write it down on paper, yellow post-its, or a whiteboard. Generate a lot of ideas & then cut away the unnecessary information, then prioritize & organize your main points.

Garr also stresses not 2 "Data Dump" or simply paste entire excel sheets full of figures into a PowerPoint slide. Instead Garr asks readers 2 crunch the numbers first, consider the implications & wider relations & sum up the conclusion on each slide. He points out that the slide is not the place 4 you 2 walk the audience through a detailed walk through a process, that is better left 2 an actual printed document with deep explanation. Rather every slide should state a conclusion, a key takeway that the presenter can expand upon during the presentation.

A worthwhile investment 2 enhance your presentation skills.

This book is a good source of inspiration & ideas 4 slides, however, it overlooks key realities of many presentations. That is, most people create presentations that must stand on their own without the speaker because:

1) They are included in conference proceedings. Most conferences have multiple tracks. Unless your slides have sufficient content, then those who missed your presentation are SOL.
2) They are circulated among business colleagues 4 collaboration or information sharing
3) They are sales or marketing presentations that are typically left behind

These realities invalidate most of the principles of this book which recommends slides that are meaningless or content poor without the voice-over.

What's needed is a book steeped more in the realities of Powerpoint than in artistry.

Presentation designer & internationally acclaimed communications expert Garr Reynolds, creator of the most popular Web site on presentation design & delivery on the net -- presentationzen.com -- shares his experience in a provocative mix of illumination, inspiration, education, & guidance that will change the way you think about making presentations with PowerPoint or Keynote. Presentation Zen challenges the conventional wisdom of making "slide presentations" in today's world & encourages you 2 think differently & more creatively about the preparation, design, & delivery of your presentations. Garr shares lessons & perspectives that draw upon practical advice from the fields of communication & business. Combining solid principles of design with the tenets of Zen simplicity, this book will help you along the path 2 simpler, more effective presentations.