This is a terrific book! I have taken a number of classes on effective presentations and the materials in this book not only echo some of those expensive classes but has a number of new and useful suggestions that I am planning to use.
This book is written about PowerPoint, but of course, it is really about creating good presentations. It does not matter what software you use to bring your ideas to the audience.
What makes one presenter better than another? The book analyzes some of Steve Jobs presentations, who was generally acknowledges as a fantastic presenter, and generalizes some of the approaches that Steve used in his presentations to capture the audience.
We all know that someone who just reads bullets-ridden slide is a less compelling presenter than someone who speaks directly to the audience using the slides to illustrate the talk, not fully repeat the spoken words. When people see a lot of written text, they tend to read it rather than listen to the presenter and the content of the presentation has less "stickiness".
The book teaches how to use the presentation slides what the words cannot do, i.e. emphasize what you are saying in a visual way. Instead of using slides to remind you want to say next, the book suggests using speaker notes for that. The maid purpose of a good slide is to focus audiences attention on what is most important in what you are saying. A key to good presentation is to find a sweet spot between too much information and too little information.
The book teaches how to start creating your presentation. When you start thinking about your presentation don't start typing into Power Point. Come up with the content outside power point, so you know what you are going to say before you start working on the slides. Then think of the visuals that will halp you drive the ideas home. Best presentations are created when you think of a big picture. Once you have a big picture, break up presentation in chapters, create tension in the mind of the audience, then resolve it. Steve Job's example for introducing iPad: starts with "we are going to introduce you to a magical and revolutionary product" (set the theme and tension) ... "but before we get to that let me bring yoou up to date on some other things." (suspense, everyone is paying attention)
Sometimes the book breaks convention with the presentation classes I have taken in the past. For example, I was taught to have less slides than the number of minutes you have to speak. This book makes a case for having many more slides. Their surprising conclusion high number is not bad. 30 minutes and 80 slides are ok if the amount of info on each slide is small. 3-4 bullets on a slide, 5-6 words per bullet point.
Drawing the picture contains the simplest possible explanation of what are the elements that you are explaining. The author goes back to Steve Jobs example of introducing Mac Book Air by putting a picture of manila envelope on the screen, saying that this computer is so thin that fits into the manila envelope.
I really found a section on the use animation in the most effective way helpful. Another piece of information that was interesting is the color of the presentation background as it related to the room in which you are presenting. When you are selecting the backgrounds the author recommend considering whether the lights will be turn off in the audience or not. Dark background is better when the lights are off because white light will glow and it will be harder to read. But the key is contrast, the slide has to have high contrast between background and text.
The book has very strong opinions about hand outs. Several rules are suggested: (1) The Handouts should be different from slides, they should have more text and then the slides with less text will make a better presentation. (2) Make them available after the presentation, but mention that you will be handing them out (or providing on-line access) so people listen to you instead of reading ahead or writing copious notes.
To be perceived as a good presenter body language is important. You need to look at audience about 80-90% of time, if there are too many words on your slides you are going to read them. Importance of making big gestures with your hands. Things to avoid - hands in your pockets. Making big gestures slows down your speech (good), hands in your pockets speeds up your speech (bad).
Best presentation are given by people who are having fun and enjoying giving the presentation. If the speaker is bored, the audience will be bored. The passion for the subject is contagious. But not too much so it does not sound fake, like some of those TV personalities that make you switch the channel because of the fake enthusiasm of a salesman.
Another nice and new to me trick was using blanking the screen as a tool to get attention. It forces the audience to focus on you, the presenter.
The book ends on how to close the presentation. To have a good presentation you have to have a crisp ending. Several options that work are listed, and several options that do not work as well. Having those listed explicitly is a good idea, as I have heard many people use those unfortunate endings. And finally, there are some nice tips on how to hold a Q&A. What to do if your audience challenges something you said or disagrees. And how to handle a situation when no one asks questions.
Overall, very excellent book. I highly recommend it. It over exceeded my expectations.
You can find it on Amazon by following this link.
Ali Julia review ★★★★★
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