 2008-10-06 - Inside presentations - what really matters
Garr Reynolds has succinctly grasped a pernicious nettle and dislodged a few hoary myths about effective communication in his new book presentationzen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery. Realising '... that something needed to be done to end the scourge of bad PowerPoint slides and the lifeless narration that accompanies them.' (p. 6), he sets out to illustrate a simpler and more effective approach to communication through presentations.
Keep in mind that the whole thing is about communication: what you need to do and, perhaps more importantly, not do, to make communication effective.
The ten chapters are logically grouped into five areas - introduction, preparation, design, delivery and the next step.
Depending on your philosophical leanings, don't get too caught up or distracted by the 'Zen' context in which he sets out his ideas - look instead at the key ideas themselves.
In the context of planning a presentation I liked his idea of what he called "going analog" (p. 45). Get away from your computer to think about the bigger context in which your presentation is to be made, to identify your key messages and generally tease out your ideas.
One of his key points with which I heartily agree is the need to avoid inadvertently becoming a slave to the software you are using (especially PowerPoint) with its own inherent structural and process constraints.
In discussing at length presentation design (comprising some 20% of the book), Reynolds provides an extensive set of before/after examples to illustrate the key points about the use of text, images, graphics, the interaction between text and images, use of white space, balance, grids and the rule of thirds. The latter will be familiar to readers who are photographers.
A particularly helpful feature comprising Chapter 7: Sample Slides, are examples used by real world presenters , including links to relevant websites. A couple at which I have had a quick look were very worthwhile.
The only downside I struck occurred in the delivery phase of the book where I thought the extensive Zen references and context tended to dominate the key messages he was trying to get across.
I strongly recommend this book to anyone who has to present something to an audience.
I can't do better than reiterate Reynolds' own advice - enjoy the journey!
(Readers interested in following Reynolds' ideas further should have a look at his website www.presentationzen.com)
Reviewed by Greg Davies
The Apple Users' Society of Melbourne (AUSOM)
www.ausom.net.au
2008-10-03 - Reynolds helps breathe new life into your presentations
To say "Presentation Zen" is the best book on creating an effective presentation since Jerry Weissman's "Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story" is an understatement. What Garr Reynolds' book accomplishes is to furnish presenters with the tools to make presentations fun and enjoyable again.
Armed with an arsenal against the use of bullets and an army of arguments for the use of compelling visuals, Reynolds walks the talk by making his own book very visually oriented, starting with the presentation-based preface by Guy Kawasaki.
After reading it, I was able to transform a presentation I was going to deliver later this month, packing the essentials of my pitch into 7 slides, none of which had bullets and most of which contained powerful visuals that support the story I will be telling the audience. This change was possible thanks to the advice on this book, so I highly recommend it to any presenter or teacher who wants to breathe life into a presentation.
2008-09-12 - Must read for all!
It doesn't matter what your job is, this is a must read.
We so often forget that the simplest thing is often the best. This book shows how people can get back to basic. I love the fact that this book captures the essence of why effective presenters are so good!
2008-09-11 - inspiring
this is truly a great book. Very inspiring. Most presentations today are boring, uninspiring, not to the point. This book truly motivates you to focus on the parts that matter in your presentation, the points that you want to get across. Concise book with good pictures, graphs etc. I also recommend Garr's blog www.presentationzen.com - that's how I became aware of the book in the first place. Definitely worth the read!
2008-09-09 - Must read book on presentation design
I finally had a chance to read Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds. Garr is a leading authority on presentation design and delivery, advocating his minimalist (or "Zen") approach to presentations. His blog is one of the most visited web sites on the subject.
That's what 50% of this book is about, convincing the army of business managers writing thousands of PowerPoint presentations every day to drop their bullet point slides, take off big corporate logos from their slides and use more images supported by minimal text. It is an important message and I forgive Garr for repeating it many, amny times throughout his book.
The other 50% is focussed around taking the designer approach to presentations. I enjoyed reading backgrounds on Japanese and Zen culture and how they can be applied to good design. I did learn a few things about photo composition.
The book is nicely illustrated with example presentations, and many "before and after" slide transformations.
Having read slide:ology by Nancy Duarte just a few days a go, it is interesting to draw a parallel. Slide:ology contains more practical presentation advice: how to define color schemes, specific examples about slide build up. Presentation Zen adds more on the create design process, esthetics, and photo composition.
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