Advanced Presentations By Design

Advanced Presentations by Design overturns much of the conventional wisdom and practice for creating presentations. Based on over 200 research studies from the fields of communication, marketing, psychology, multimedia, and law, it provides fact-based answers to critical questions about presentation design, including how to adapt your presentation to different audience personality preferences, what role your data should play and how much of it you need, how to turn your data into a story, and how to design persuasive yet comprehensible visual layouts.

Advanced Presentations by Design overturns much of the conventional wisdom and practice for creating presentations. Based on over 200 research studies from the fields of communication, marketing, psychology, multimedia, and law, it provides fact-based answers to critical questions about presentation design, including how to adapt your presentation to different audience personality preferences, what role your data should play and how much of it you need, how to turn your data into a story, and how to design persuasive yet comprehensible visual layouts.

FOREWORD BY GUY KAWASAKI Presentation designer and internationally acclaimed communications expert Garr Reynolds, creator of the most popular Web site on presentation design and delivery on the Net — presentationzen.com — shares his experience in a provocative mix of illumination, inspiration, education, and 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 and encourages you to think differently and more creatively about the preparation, design, and delivery of your presentations. Garr shares lessons and perspectives that draw upon practical advice from the fields of communication and business. Combining solid principles of design with the tenets of Zen simplicity, this book will help you along the path to simpler, more effective presentations.

Presentation Patterns is the first book on presentations that categorizes and organizes the building blocks (or patterns) that you’ll need to communicate effectively using presentation tools like Keynote and PowerPoint. Patterns are like the lower-level steps found inside recipes; they are the techniques you must master to be considered a master chef or master presenter. You can use the patterns in this book to construct your own recipes for different contexts, such as business meetings, technical demonstrations, scientific expositions, and keynotes, just to name a few. Although there are no such things as antirecipes, this book shows you lots of antipatterns—things you should avoid doing in presentations. Modern presentation tools often encourage ineffective presentation techniques, but this book shows you how to avoid them. Each pattern is introduced with a memorable name, a definition, and a brief explanation of motivation. Readers learn where the pattern applies, the consequences of applying it, and how to apply it. The authors also identify critical antipatterns: clichés, fallacies, and design mistakes that cause presentations to disappoint. These problems are easy to avoid—once you know how. Presentation Patterns will help you Plan what you’ll say, who you’ll say it to, how long you’ll talk, and where you’ll present Perfectly calibrate your presentation to your audience Use the storyteller’s “narrative arc” to full advantage Strengthen your credibility—and avoid mistakes that hurt it Hone your message before you ever touch presentation software Incorporate visuals that support your message instead of hindering it Create highly effective “infodecks” that work when you’re not able to deliver a talk in person Construct slides that really communicate and avoid “Ant Fonts,” “Floodmarks,” “Alienating Artifacts,” and other errors Master 13 powerful techniques for delivering your presentation with power, authority, and clarity Whether you use this book as a handy reference or read it from start to finish, it will be a revelation: an entirely new language for systematically planning, creating, and delivering more powerful presentations. You’ll quickly find it indispensable—no matter what you’re presenting, who your audiences are, or what message you’re driving home.

The Presentation tells the story of David who, with the help of his boss, Barbara and the enigmatic Professor Edwards, is preparing for the most important presentation of his life. In a few short days, David will have to convince the Board that his division-along with his job and those of all his staff-is worth saving. He has the data he needs, and he thinks he has a good case, but can he pull it all together in a way that will capture the Board's attention and pitch his proposal successfully, in just a few slides...? Follow David as he learns: ... that you cannot add interest to your presentation, through fancy transitions, clip art, and so on; you can only draw out the interest inherent in it by solving a problem for your audience. ... that there is a vast difference between slides designed for a large, Ballroom style presentation to inform or entertain your audience, and a smaller, Conference Room style presentation designed to persuade or sell. ... how to decide what you should include in your presentation, and what you should leave out. ... and how to design a presentation when the goal is to persuade your audience to do something: invest in your company, buy your product, approve your project, support your initiative, or donate to your organization.

A complete road map to creating successful technicalpresentations Planning a technical presentation can be tricky. Does theaudience know your subject area? Will you need to translateconcepts into terms they understand? What sort of visuals shouldyou use? Will this set of bullets truly convey the information?What will your slides communicate to future users? Questions likethese and countless others can overwhelm even the most savvytechnical professionals. This full-color, highly visual work addresses the unique needsof technical communicators looking to break free of the bulletedslide paradigm. For those seeking to improve their presentations,the authors provide guidance on how to plan, organize, develop, andarchive technical presentations. Drawing upon the latest researchin cognitive science as well as years of experience teachingseasoned technical professionals, the authors cover a myriad ofissues involved in the design of presentations, clearly explaininghow to create slide decks that communicate critical technicalinformation. Key features include: Innovative methods for archiving and documenting work throughslides in the technical workplace Guidance on how to tailor presentations to diverse audiences,technical and nontechnical alike A plethora of color slides and visual examples illustratingvarious strategies and best practices Links to additional resources as well as slide examples toinspire on-the-job changes in presentation practices Slide Rules is a first-rate guide for practicingengineers, scientists, and technical specialists as well as anyonewishing to develop useful, engaging, and informative technicalpresentations in order to become an expert communicator. Find theauthors at techartsconsulting.com or on Facebook at:SlideRulesTAC

Whether you are a university professor, researcher at a think tank, graduate student, or analyst at a private firm, chances are that at some point you have presented your work in front of an audience. Most of us approach this task by converting a written document into slides, but the result is often a text-heavy presentation saddled with bullet points, stock images, and graphs too complex for an audience to decipher—much less understand. Presenting is fundamentally different from writing, and with only a little more time, a little more effort, and a little more planning, you can communicate your work with force and clarity. Designed for presenters of scholarly or data-intensive content, Better Presentations details essential strategies for developing clear, sophisticated, and visually captivating presentations. Following three core principles—visualize, unify, and focus—Better Presentations describes how to visualize data effectively, find and use images appropriately, choose sensible fonts and colors, edit text for powerful delivery, and restructure a written argument for maximum engagement and persuasion. With a range of clear examples for what to do (and what not to do), the practical package offered in Better Presentations shares the best techniques to display work and the best tactics for winning over audiences. It pushes presenters past the frustration and intimidation of the process to more effective, memorable, and persuasive presentations.