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Topic: Student Questions

Your Best Websites And Business Books

Posted by Anonymous on 1/13/2015 at 7:41 AM ET 500 Points
My Dear Colleagues:
One of my clients' children wants to improve on their business communication writing and/or presenting style. Can you recommend a few of your favorite websites for her to explore? And...if you have any articles, books, I would be grateful to see those, also.

Happy New Year to each of you.
I wish you a more prosperous and successful year. And, I wish MProfs would receive FEWER tagline requests on an urgent level.


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  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 1/13/2015 at 10:48 AM Member
    For presentation style, she could perhaps watch Shark Tank. The presenters are generally quite good, to the point (and when not, the Sharks can be complete a-holes in demanding the info, which then lets you see how people react under pressure). For practice, she could join a local Toastmasters.

    Sorry, not a web site.
  • Posted by mgoodman on 1/13/2015 at 12:59 PM Accepted
    In the book "Beyond Bullet Points" Cliff Atkinson shares some very insightful thoughts about effective presentations and the process by which people are persuaded.

    The book is partly about effective use of storytelling, and partly about integrating visual punctuation into a presentation.

    Highly recommended.
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 1/13/2015 at 2:00 PM Accepted
    For PowerPoint or Keynote-style presentations, Seth Godin offers this advice:

    Use no more than 6 words per slide.
    Avoid using cheesy clip art or images.
    Skip the fancy transitions.
    Use audio sparingly, if at all.
    Never hand out printouts of your slides before your presentation.

    Here's an article on presentation tips from the late Steve Jobs:

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2012/10/04/11-presentation-lesson...

    And from my own experience:

    Unless you're presenting to 5 year olds, avoid reading the text from your slides out loud.
    ALWAYS work from a script.
    Go through your script until you know it word for word.
    If you MUST use notes, do one of the following:

    Type your notes and print them out in text that's at least 16 point; double space your text.
    Keep your total text to two sides of 8.5" x 11"; tape the two pages together so your narrative is on one sheet that you can then place on a podium or desk in front of you.

    If you need to use index cards instead, print or write one point and 2 or 3 supporting bullet points per card. Number the cards. Read through them before you go on stage. Use the content on the cards as memory joggers, NOT as things to read out loud.

    One other tip is to get loose before going on stage.

    Doing vocal exercises and stretching your ams and legs helps relax you.

    Here's the swearing scene from the motion picture "The King's Speech", which is great fun to loosen your mind and your vocal chords: https://youtu.be/xJvGE7Vvd4M



  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 1/13/2015 at 6:57 PM Accepted
    For business background: https://personalmba.com/
    For presentation prep: https://www.ted.com/talks/nancy_duarte_the_secret_structure_of_great_talks
    For youth presentation examples: https://www.youtube.com/user/TEDxYouth
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