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Need Good Books On Presentation Skills
Posted By: tasha* on 9/25/2006 10:00 AM (CST) 125 Points
Hello

I'm looking for some good books on presentation skills. Ones that will be helpful for anyone who needs to create and deliver an effective presentation (effective meaning, purposeful, interesting, engaging, valuable) in a business enviornment. Old and new titles are welcome.

ThanksT

Posted by: Amy Madsen* Accepted Answer
9/25/2006 1:32 PM (CST)
I don't have a book to recommend, but I do have some guidelines. I took a number of presentation classes and never improved. The night before a large presentation to about 75 people, I happened into a colleague's office who was the group's presentation guru. I got a quick lesson that changed how I delivered presentations - from so-so ones to effective ones!

To begin with, know what your key points are. Let's say you have three. You want to state them up front in your presentation. And then go through each of the points in your presentation, then conclude by reminding people of the 3 points you covered. It should be clear to you, what you want to convey, and to your audience before, during, and after your presentation.

In addition, you want to infuse images into your presentations. Pictures are a lot more interesting then loads of copy on a screen. This does require some time and brainstorming to come up with effective images and some tips on how to get them (see below).

You want to have 3 to 5 bullet points per page. You should keep each bullet point to one line only. Again, you don't want to bore people with lots of copy on a screen; you want to avoid reading to people. You want to speak the copy, so to speak! This means you need to know your material well. You need to practice your presentation. I find the images really help me remember the main points on that page.

Sometimes, I put the bullet points on the left hand side of the powerpoint page, and an image on the right, splitting the screen. You could also have an image cover the whole screen. You may want to create "builds" within your slide (a powerpoint feature). Let's say you want to point to 3 things on your image. You can add builds for each one. That way, the audience is not bombarded with your three points at one time but individually.

Here are some tips for adding images. You can go to a site like iStock.com. You can search for images and buy them for $1 each. You can crop images using a feature in powerpoint - very easy. If you want to take images from your website or somewhere else where you have permission to do so, use Snagit. It's an inexpensive tool that allows you to take screenshots and crop them.

Good luck!
 
Posted by: tasha* Author Response
9/25/2006 4:22 PM (CST)
Thanks Amy,

Great advice. I appreciate you taking the time to share your experience and knowledge.
 
Posted by: Jr_Mgr_lester* Accepted Answer
9/25/2006 4:41 PM (CST)
look for the book "An Idiot's Guide to..." series. they have materials on team building, presentations, public speaking and many more. its an orange and blue book here in the philippines so im not sure how it looks like over there.
 
Posted by: tasha* Author Response
9/25/2006 5:32 PM (CST)
Great thanks. I will check it out.
 
Posted by: mike.q.johnson* Accepted Answer
9/25/2006 8:10 PM (CST)
Although not books, I would check out http://www.presentationzen.com and http://blog.guykawasaki.com/


Especially the following article:
http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2005/12/the_102030_rule.html
 
Posted by: Corpcommer Accepted Answer
9/25/2006 10:10 PM (CST)
Tasha, read Speak More Effectively by Dale Carnegie. It's a thin, power-packed paperback booklet with good tips. Back cover has 12 ways to make listeners like you. I've read other thicker books on the topic but highly recommend this one.

Good luck.

MC
 
Posted by: BLACKCOFFEE Accepted Answer
9/25/2006 10:25 PM (CST)
Tasha

You may want to check out this free Apple webcast seminar by Ethan Becker.

http://seminars.apple.com/seminarsonline/presenting/apple/index.html?s=203

Ethan Becker's website also has free articles and webcasts, as well as audio CDs and books for sale.

http://www.speechimprovement.com/pages/speaking_tips.php

Cheers
Mark Gallagher
Brand Expressionist
 
Posted by: Amy Madsen* Accepted Answer
9/26/2006 11:48 AM (CST)
Mike Johnson's link to Guy Kawasaki's article made me chuckle. The presentation guru I referenced in my first post went on to work for Guy at Garage.com as a presentation coach and guru. To give credit where it's due, her name is Chris Melching. She is now with Forum for Women Entrepreneurs and Executives (fwe.org).

Here is a link to an article by David Badstone, one of my favorite writers, who writes on presentations as well:

Killing Your Best Ideas with a Lame Presentation
http://www.rightreality.com/articles/killing_your_best_ideas_with_a_lame_pr...
 
Posted by: tasha* Author Response
9/26/2006 12:00 PM (CST)
Oh wow, thanks so much. Such great ideas. This is the first time I've ever posted before and I'm delighted by the feedback.
 
Posted by: harry Accepted Answer
9/29/2006 3:27 PM (CST)
The Million Dollar Toolbox by my friend and client Ty Boyd is the best I've read on presentation skills. Also, sign up for TY's email newsletter, Zipline,that I edit. Go to www.tyboyd.com to register for the free monthly newsletter.
 
Posted by: tasha* Author Response
9/29/2006 4:37 PM (CST)
Hi Harry,

Thanks for this resource. A lot of good content. I registered for the monthly newsletter.

Thanks!

Tasha
 
Posted by: donc Accepted Answer
10/2/2006 3:59 PM (CST)
The best way to improve presentation skills is through practice. Now doing this in front of valuable customers might be a bit risky so join Toastmasters. You can find chapters in your yellow pages or on line: just Google Toastmasters.

Ron Hoff wrote a book: "I Can See You Naked", filled with good advice on how to give exciting presentations. It's clean, really.
 
Posted by: tasha* Author Response
10/2/2006 4:28 PM (CST)
Thanks,

I'll check out the book.
 
Posted by: rana.sinha Member Response
5/4/2007 3:55 AM (CST)
Tips for Presenting in front of International Audiences here
http://ezinearticles.com/?Making-A-Presentation-In-Front-Of-International-A...

Guidelines for preparing and distributing handouts - http://ezinearticles.com/?Guidelines-for-Preparing-and-Distributing-Present...
 


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