Why Most Powerpoint Presentations Suck

THIRD EDITION: Did you learn PowerPoint in 30 minutes? Join the crowd...most people get no more than a half-hour of training time with PowerPoint before they are tasked with making what is likely to be a first impression of themselves or their company. This book is for earnest presenters and presentation designers who want to escape the perils that entrap so many who turn to PowerPoint for their presentations.

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.

This book is your blueprint for strengthening and conditioning yourself as the best corporate trainer you can possibly be. Corporate training is a challenging but incredibly rewarding job. To help others develop the skills they need to advance their careers and boost their organizations’ bottom lines is an awesome privilege to undertake. But while your clients are being sharpened into fine, efficient, successful workers under your watchful eye, how are you being developed and refined as a trainer? While providing a proven structure for dynamic workshops along with surefire strategies for blending course content with fluid interaction, What Great Trainers Do will show you how to: Organize presentations for maximum impact Use activities to connect participants to the content and each other Fine-tune your delivery Listen actively and read the group Make presentations interactive Adapt the course to fit the participants What Great Trainers Do is a one-stop resource to provide invaluable guidance and support for anyone involved with the challenging task of corporate training. You’re providing them with everything they need, don’t forget about yourself!

Mary Grace Soccio. My writing could not please this kindhearted woman, no matter how hard I tried. Although Gifed and Talented seventh-grade math posed no problem for me, the same was not true for Mrs. Soccio’s English class. I was frustrated that my frst assignment only netted me a C. I worked harder, making re- sion afer revision, a concept I had never really put much faith in before. At last, I produced an essay that seemed the apex of what I was capable of wr- ing. Although the topic of that essay is now lost to my memory, the grade I received was not: a B?. “Te best I could do was a B??” Te realization sank in that maybe I was not such a good writer. In those days, my youthful hubris did not understand abouc t apacity bui- ing. In other words, being challenged would result in my intellectual growth— an academic restatement of Nietzsche’s “What does not destroy me, makes me stronger.” Consequently, I asked to be withdrawn from Gifed and Talented English in the eighth grade.

Creating Effective Presentations: Staff Development with Impact presents a comprehensive approach to creating compelling, interactive staff development sessions. The book is highly practical, summing up important research in the field of visual communication, graphic design, and presentation skills as they apply specifically to those who teach and coach their fellow educators. In short, conversational chapters that include real-life examples, Peery gives quick lessons on planning each aspect of a resonant presentation. This book is filled with basic tips about making PowerPoint software work better for you and delivering a succesful presentation. If you do more than a few presentations a year for other adults who are involved in education_and you want your ideas to 'stick' like never before_then this book is a must-read!

The Manager's Communication Toolbox focuses on management development by improving communication for new managers as well as more experienced professionals. Like a star baseball player, every good manager should aim to be a five-tool expert. Reading, writing, speaking, listening, and thinking are basic skills for any employee, but the manager who stands out is the manager who commands these skills. To improve your standing with your employees and superiors, it’s essential to understand each of these areas of communication. In The Manager’s Communication Toolbox, the authors offer tips, checklists, and examples, along with other expert testimony for best practices. Over the years, the practice of these skills has changed as a result of technology. Everyone emails these days, but in this book, the authors dig deeper into what to say, when to say it, and how to say it in a business setting. Rethink your thinking skills—find more time in your day by being more aware of your tendencies. And for everyone who worries about giving speeches and making presentations, find out how to improve, and the steps you can take to show off your managerial communication skills.

This classic text explains the hows and whys of conducting and writing a research project. Step-by-step guidance shows you how to select topics; how to select the appropriate methodology and theoretical framework; how to collect, analyze, and interpret the data; and how to write, present, and publish your project.

Called the Bible of Public speaking, Knockout Presentations is a “seminar in a book” that reduces fear and gives speakers the steps to craft and deliver a talk that will make them a knockout on the platform! It’s the next best thing to having Diane DiResta there to teach in person. DiResta provides all the fundamentals without the fluff. Speakers learn what confidence looks like, sounds like, and how to speak the language of confidence, reduce preparation time, craft a compelling talk, size up an audience, overcome fear, and master questions and answers. The Dos and Don’ts at the end of each chapter help speakers review and remember the principles even after putting them into practice. Speaking is the new competitive advantage and Knockout Presentations gives speakers tools and techniques, templates, and resources to improve their skills.