| Title | : | Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0321525655 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780321525659 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 229 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2007 |
--back cover
Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery Reviews
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Preparation
The six aptitudes are:
Design (not only function)
Story (not only argument - Mike Meyers type delivery)
Symphony (not only focus)
Empathy (not only logic)
Play (not only seriousness)
Meaning (not only accumulation)
How to improve immediately:
1. Make slides that reinforce your work not repeat them. -
NO MORE THAN SIX WORDS EVER!
2. Don't use cheesy images. Instead of four bullets on EPA pollution data just use a picture of dead birds and state the data
3. No dissolves, spins or other transitions. Keep it simple.
4. Create a written document. So they don't have to take notes. Don't handout printouts of slides - they don't work without you there.
Pecha-kucha: 20 slides each shown for 20 seconds and automatically advancing. That gives you 6 minutes and 40 seconds to present your story. Then sit down and shut up. Next
Planning: Instead of the regimented format of computer programs, use:
Pen and paper, White boards, Post-its.
Slow down your state of mind.
Solitude: "In order to be open to creativity, one must have the capacity for constructive use of solitude. One must overcome the fear of being alone. - Rollo May
Questions we should be asking:
• How much time do I have?
• What's the venue like?
• What time of the day?
• Who is the audience?
• What's their background?
• What do they expect of me (us)?
• Why was I asked to speak?
• What do I want them to do?
• What visual medium is most appropriate for this particular situation and audience?
• What is the fundamental purpose of my talk?
• What's the story here?
• WHAT IS MY ADSOLUTELY CENTRAL POINT?
Always keep in mind two points - What is your point and Why does it matter?
Take the elevator test: Can you pitch your presentation in 30 to 45 seconds?
Presentations can have 3 parts: Slides, notes and handouts(documents).
Create documents Not slideuments.
Story: Make messages STICKY - the six principles are:
• Simplicity - if everything is important than nothing is important - simplify
• Unexpectedness - Surprise people.
• Concreteness - Use natural speech and real examples, not abstracts.
• Credibility - Put it in terms that people can visualize "Five hours of battery life."
• Emotions - you must make them feel something.
• Stories - Tell your message in a story.
Step 1: Brainstorming
Step 2: Grouping & Identifying the core. - key data
Step 3: Story boarding off the computer.
Step 4: Story boarding in slide/sorter.
Design
1-7-7 Rule {in actuality use bullet point slides rarely!)
• Have only one main idea per slide
• Insert only seven lines of text maximum.
• Use only seven words per line maximum.
• The question is though: does this work?
• Is this method really good advice?
• Is this really an appropriate, effective "visual"?
• This slide has just seven bullet points
For royalty free images go to
www.iStockphoto.com or
www.morguefile.com
www.flickr.com/creativecommons
www.imageafter.com
www.sxc.hu
www.everystockphoto.com
Remember: Long quotes and quotes with images can be okay and use of a large amount of blank space is graphically pleasing.
Use the rule of thirds for images - I.E. using a 9 box grid the center four intersections are the best place for images to be centered rather than directly center of the page.
The BIG FOUR: Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, Proximity
Delivery
1. Carefully observe self, situation, others and environment
2. Seize the initiative
3. Consider fully, act decisively
4. Keep to the middle
Keep the lights on. You want the audience to see you as well as the slides.
The Next Step -
There are over four thousand reviews of this book on Goodreads, so it is unlikely that I can say anything fresh about the content and style of this superb book, so I am not about to try. I'll just tell you a little story of how it helped me at a most opportune time.
I have been presenting and instructing for well over three decades, and I am still learning something new every day. We should all be open to that and never believe that we have actually arrived at the perfect state. Strive for perfection.
I got a lot out of this book. I read it on a plane from England to my company HQ in Florida. I was due to co-deliver a two-week induction class for new joiner technical staff from all over the world. As you can imagine, we had put a lot of effort into the planning and preparation for the ten days of intense instruction.
Despite the experience of the new people, I have always felt that everyone could do with a few tips and hints on good communication, public speaking and, in particular, delivering powerful presentations and demonstrations to our customers. So I had two hours dedicated to these topics.
I mostly knew what I was going to do with the two hours, but reading
Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery inspired me to change my content and delivery.
I was able to use the three main guiding principles of the book: restraint, simplicity and naturalness, to construct a session to illustrate the power of those three guiding principles to the participants on my course.
I went analogue! I minimalised! I told my story!
This book really helped me to do that.
Was I rewarded?
Yes, I was.
At the end of the course, all of the participants were assessed on a presentation and demo which they had to prepare during the two weeks. My presentation on good communication came on day one, shortly followed by the assigning of course assignments.
All of my students used the guiding principles of
Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery to great effect. It was a joy to watch!
Thank you very much
Garr Reynolds. -
I learned more about presentations from this book than I ever thought possible.
The audience is there to hear you speak, not to read your slides. You should be selling something to them - convincing them of something. If you're just giving them information, why didn't you just send them a document?
Give presentations like Steve Jobs, not Bill Gates. Bill Gates is unremarkable.
Keep the text on slides to a minimum - no more than six words on a slide.
Rather than embedding a small image in the slide, make the slide the image.
No bullets. -
This was quite a good little book, if a bit over long. Which, in itself was quite amusing given that the main message is ‘keep it simple’. I think
The Non-Designer's Presentation Book does a better job, but there were things in this one that really worked. His comparisons of cluttered and uncluttered slides on pages 123-125 ought to be enough to give people who spot this in a bookstore an idea of what needs fixing in their presentations.
But overall there is too much guff about things that don’t really matter.
Can you spend too much time saying less is more?
The best of this is the advice about the post-it notes – which is, use post-it notes to map out your slides. I really like this idea. It is also used I Slide-ology, but she also points out that you should use markers as if it is too fine detail to be said on a post-it with a marker then it is too fine detail to be said on PowerPoint.
Not that there is too much need to read this book. Much of what he has to say can be read here:
http://www.garrreynolds.com/Presentat...
And this is an oft quoted and interesting call to action too:
http://www.sethgodin.com/freeprize/re... -
I was worried that this would be a breezy feel-good book without much content.
No worries. The book turned out to be brilliant. The examples were the most useful part. It's one thing to tell me how to do it. It's another to show me.
I've been doing presentations for a long time, and this book has lit a fire under me to do better. Looking forward to my next teaching gig to see how well it all works out for me. -
It was a re-read, had read most fragments from it some years ago, but it was still very good. Some things need refreshing and some I understood in a completely different way some years and many presentation later. I would recommend it with no hesitation to anybody working in communication, marketing or management.
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Book dedicated to presentations and all things around them, from prototyping and story line to the selection of colors and backgrounds. Appreciate sample presentations included in the end of the book. Would love to find more about the process of writing / selecting stories but probably it is a subject for a separate book.
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Less is more.
Use full screen imagery to convey your point.
Use pleasing color schemes.
Use san-serif fonts.
Those four sentences sum up what Presentation Zen is all about. I know some may say I don't get it. I do. I just don't think all the zen info helped. The author really didn't need to use them to prove his point. Just the comparison of slides was enough.
However, this book did change the way I present my messages and talks to teens as a youth pastor. I believe it is true that people remember more when they have an image associated with the central points of a message or presentation.
I had already put some of these practices to use before reading the book because I realized that I remembered certain websites, books, and magazines used this style to present their information more than other design styles.
I just wish that managers at previous jobs would have embraced this concept. Instead, it was one boring bullet after another.
The book is presented well and follows the style of its message. It should be on the shelves of every person who speaks before people and needs them to remember information. -
I like the idea that slideware is a sufficiently developed form that there's an ecosystem of tools made to make one suck less at its usage. This book dips a toe in the water of improving ones tool usage but there are several things that get in the way.
1) Walls of Text - Many of the words are wasted and several times I'd find that I'd skipped a paragraph, reread it and gain nothing.
2) References to Asian Culture - Many of these asides simply got in the way. I got the constant feeling of "this is for artists" when some cultural term was used instead of the translation making some things hard to follow.
3) Poor Organization - I couldn't identify any information to the flow of the book.
4) Internal contradiction - The author states that slides are nothing without the presentation then has an entire chapter dedicated to... slides.
The book could have been reduced to two or three long blog entries or a pamphlet. -
This book summarize the key elements of a presentation in a different way from the "craft of scientific presentation". However, many of the principles are overlapped. I find this book one of the must read for presentation along with "the craft of scientific presentation" and "slide:ology".
Chapter 1 Introduction
Presentations in Today’s World
Design:
Decoration, for better or worse, is noticeable -- sometimes enjoyable, sometimes irritating, but it is unmistakable there. However, the best designs are so well done that “the design” is never even noticed consciously by the observer/user, such as the design of a book or signage in an airport.
Story:
We are born story tellers and story listeners. As kids we looked forward to show and tell, and we gathered with our friends at recess and at lunchtime and told stories about real things and real events that mattered, at least they mattered to us.
Symphony:
Focus, specialization, and analysis have been important in the “information age,” but in the “conceptual age”, synthesis and the ability to use seemingly unrelated pieces to form and articulate the big picture before us is crucial.
Emphathy:
Empathy is emotional. It’s about putting yourself in the position of others.
Play :
In the conceptual age, work is not just about seriousness but about play as well. Each presentation situation is different, but in many public speaking scenarios playfulness and humor can go a long way toward making a presentation palatable.
Meaning:
Making a presentation is an opportunity to make a small difference in the world.
Chapter 2 Creativity, Limitations, and Constraints
--Preparing, designing, and delivering a presentation is a creative art, and you are a creative being.
--Creativity requires an open mind and a willingness to be wrong
--Restrictions and limitations are not the enemy; they are a great ally.
--As you prepare a presentation, exercise restraint and keep these three words in mind always: simplicity, clarity, brevity.
Chapter 3 Planning Analog
--Slow down your busy mind to see your problem and goals more clearly
--Find time alone to see the big picture
--For greater focus, try turning off the computer and going analog
--Use paper and pens or whiteboard first to record and sketch out your ideas
--Key questions: what’s your main point? Why does it matter?
--If your audience remembers only one thing, what should it be?
--Preparing a detailed handout keeps you from feeling compelled to cram everything into your visuals.
Chapter 4 Crafting the story
What makes messages stick?
SUCCESs.
Simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotions, stories
A CED presenation
--He knew his material inside and out, and he knew what he wanted to say
--He stood front and center and spoke in a real, down-to-earth language that was conversational yet passionate.
--He did not let technical glitches get in his way. When they occurred, he moved forward without missing a beat, never losing his engagement with the audience.
--And he used real, sometimes humorous, anecdotes to illustrate his points, and all his stories were supremely poignant and relevant, supporting his core message.
Summary
--Make your ideas sticky by keeping things simple, using examples and stories, looking for the unexpected, and tapping into people’s emotions.
--A presentation is never just about the facts.
--Brainstorm your topic aways from the computer, chunk the most important bits. Identify the underlying theme and be true to that theme throughout the creation of the presentation.
--Make a storyboard of your ideas on paper -- and then use software to lay out a solid structure that you can see
--Show restraint at all times and bring everything back to the core message.
Chapter 5 Simplicity: Why it matters?
Summary
--Simplicity is powerful and leads to greater clarity, yet it is neither simple nor easy to achieve
--Simplicity can be obtained through the careful reduction of the nonessential.
--As you design slides, keep the following concepts in mind: subtlety, grace, and understated elegance.
--Good designs have plenty of empty space. Think “subtract” not “add”.
--While simplicity is the goal, it is possible to be “too simple.” Your job is to find the balance most appropriate to your situation.
--learn from the art of comics
The fish story:
When Vijay opened his store, he put up a sign that said:” We Sell Fresh Fish Here. “ His father stopped by and said that the word “We” suggests an emphasis on the seller rather than the customer, and is really not needed. So the sign was changed to “Fresh Fish Sold Here.”
His brother came by and suggested that the world “here” could be done away with -- it was superfluous. Vijay agreed and changed the sign to “Fresh Fish Sold”
Next, his sister came along and said the sign should just say “Fresh Fish”. Clearly, it is being sold; what else could you be doing?
Later his neighbor stopped by to congratulate him. Then he mentioned that all passers-by could easily tell that the fish was really fresh. Mentioning the word fresh actually made it sound defensive as though there was room for doubt about the freshness. Now the sign just read: “FISH”.
As Vijay was walking back to his shop after a break he noticed that one could identify the fish from its smell from very far, at a distance from which one could barely read the sign. He knew there was no need for the word “FISH”.
Chapter 6 Presentation Design: Principles and Techniques
Signal vs Noise ratio
--When it comes to the display of data (charts, tables, graphs, etc), I strongly favor display designs that include the highest SNR possible without any adornment.
--Orientation images can be added if there is an emotion involved instead of purely rational or technical information.( e.g., save the planet)
--Use 2-D instead of 3-D for data.
--Dont put logo on every slides
Picture superiority effect
--Picture is more memorable
--Ask yourself this: what information are you presenting with the written word on a slide that you could replace with a photograph (or other appropriate image or graphic?)
--Dont make slides which do not make sense without narration.
--Different font sizes can be used in a single sentence to emphasize important points.
Where can you get good images?
Low cost places
www.istockphoto.com
www.dreamstime.com
http://us.fotolia.com/
http://www.shutterstock.com/
Free
http://morguefile.com/
http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
http://sxc.hu/
http://www.everystockphoto.com/
--Use asymmetric design to create more dynamic presentation.
--Use the rule of thirds. Divide the presentation in nine boxes, the text should center one point in the middle and the picture should center the opposite point.
The big four: contrast, repetition, alignment, proximity
--Contrast simply means difference. Make some part of the image stand out or use different fonts to emphasize things.
--Repetition: Repeat some of the elements in your slides, so that it looks like one deck.
--Alignment: you slides should not look random
--Proximity:moving things closer or farther apart to achieve a more organized look. Similar things should group together.
--e.g. when using pictures to orient assertion or numbers, avoid giving a frame for the picture, the picture should have the same background as the slides. Make the assertion or charts as a part of the entire picture.
Chapter 7 Sample slides: Images & Text
Pdf scans are in the computer directory.
/rex/life/toastmasters/books/presentation_zen
Chapter 8 The Art of Being Completely Present
--Like a conversation, presentation requires your full presence at that time and place.
--Like a master swordsman, you must be completely in the moment without thoughts of the past or the future, or of “winning” and “losing”.
--Mistakes may happen, but do not dwell on past mistakes or worry about future ones. Be only in this moment, sharing and conversing with the audience in front of you.
--You will make it look easy and natural by preparing and practicing like mad. The more you rehearse, the more confident you’ll become, and the easier it will seem to the audience.
--Though you must plan well, being fully in the moment also means that you remain flexible, totally aware, and open to the possibilities as they arise.
Chapter 9 Connecting with an Audience
--You need solid content and logical structure, but you also have to make a connection with the audience. You must appeal to both the logical and the emotional
--If your content is worth talking about, then bring energy and passion to your delivery. Every situation is different, but there is never an excuse for being dull.
--Don’t hold back. If you have a passion about your topic, then let people know it.
--Remember hara hachi bu. It is better to leave your audience stuffed and feeling that they have had more than enough.
--Keep the lights on; the audience must always be able to see you.
--Remove any barriers between you and the audience. Avoid podiums, if possible. And use a wireless mic and remote control for advancing slides so that you can move around freely and naturally.
Chapter 10 The Journey Begins
Many people look for the short road and the quick fix to achieve presentation excellence. But it doesn’t exist: there are no panaceas or off-the-shelf fixes. Learning to become and exceptional presenter in today’s world is a journey.
I have worked with professionals--young and old--who believed that they were not particularly creative, charismatic, or dynamic, and yet with a little help they were able to transform themselves into extremely creative, highly articulate, engaging presenters once they realized that that person--that remarkable presenter--was in them already.
How to improve?
--Read and study”
--Just do it
--Exercise your right brain: play music, draw art
--Get out: nothing great will ever happen to you if you stay in your comfort zone.
Lessons are all around you
--We usually ignore or take for granted so much of the design in an urban setting, but just walking down the street you’ll find that the examples from which to learn are all around you. The lessons are everywhere.
It’s within you already
--Dont let anyone dictates you.
--The secret is in increased awareness and being able to see the world and all the lessons around you. -
Bardzo fajnie się czyta i można się mocno zainspirować. W sumie nawet trzeba! Warto książkę przeczytać zanim siądzie się do tworzenia prezentacji i warto do niej wracać, kiedy przygotowuje się kolejne wystąpienia.
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The Preparation and Design sections were great; the Delivery section felt generic and flat. The Zen angle was often soothing or interesting but sometimes felt froo-froo.
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Not the most current but the underlying fundamentals are strong and still apply. Present better and for god’s sake don’t read your slides at me.
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książka powinna być jakieś 150 stron krótsza, ale nadal autor przedstawił kilka ciekawszych punktów, które zamierzam wprowadzić do prezentacji.
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This Friday I'm heading a workshop for 11 librarians in the county, on how to use social media. I am a little bit nervous about this, not because of going up in front of a group of people (I have little fear of this, which is really surprising), but because I'm afraid I won't be able to get my point across, speak loudly enough, or be clear enough for people unfamiliar with new technology. I had written up a standard PowerPoint with bullet points, clipart, and gradient backgrounds, and it all felt so clunky.
The person who is helping me out with the presentation told me to read two books, this one and
Presentation Zen Design. I flipped through this one a couple weeks ago and was immediately inspired. I mean, immediately. Without actually reading a word of the book I sat down and did a "Zen" version of my PowerPoint. It no longer has more than six words per slide. It has no bullets. It has large, bold images and unique text. It has fewer slides than before, because I'll be talking, not reading what's on each slide.
I was super happy with it. Over the Labor Day weekend I settled down to actually read both books, and Garr Reynold's words have inspired me even more. He's really able to explain concepts of design in a familiar and accessible way. There are a ton of visuals, and it's so easy to get the point, especially with before and after slides. You really don't have to read it all the way through; you'll get the idea. -
Funnily enough, although Reynolds champions simple, concise presentations, this book is anything but. I thought the book had too much unnecessary padding. All that stuff about zen, and achieving balance and all that? I forced myself to skim through it.
This volume shows a lot of aesthetically pleasing sample slides, but after about a quarter of the book they start looking identical. Some of the content is pretty enlightening and has tips I never knew about, but there is also a lot of filler and more than one irrelevant anecdote. It may come off as PowerPoint-bashing to some (Keynote gets all the love), but I find the software imbalance still acceptable because the author writes about techniques that can be used with any presentation software and some basic IT skills.
Once you wade through the crap, though, the core of this book is solid. The concepts that Reynolds relates are what a TED presenter described as "the blinding glimpse of the bleeding obvious" - things like 'people can read for themselves, thanks, they don't need you to repeat what's on the slide'. Now if only more people would listen to me when I try to get them to stop creating slides with 82 words per bullet point.
All in all, it's worth a read, but I wouldn't buy it. -
For its purpose, this book can't get much better than it is. Garr Reyolds uses plenty of gorgeous photos and example slides to show you how to make a better slide show presentation. But it's more than that. There are touches of self-help -- bits of advice that have as much to do with making yourself a better person as they do with making yourself a better presenter. There are touches of how-to -- tracts that show you where you've gone wrong in the past and why you are on the "Most Wanted List" in the FBI's bulging file called "Death by Power Point."
Also there are touches of zen and philosophy. Many of the pictures fit this theme, and Reynolds, an expat living in Japan, constantly weaves in the similarities of Zen simplicity with design and presentation strategy. Keep it simple and visually exciting. Be creative. Invite your inner child back. Ignore the voice of regret and failure. AND LOSE THE BULLETS!
It works, and the words work seamlessly whether he's talking about presentations or life. A worthwhile book and a beautiful one, too. Pass on the Kindle savings in this case. The glossy, real-life color is worth an extra five bucks. -
Tuve que leer este libro para una presentación que iba a dar sobre el mismo tema y pues.... que mejor halago para un libro de presentaciones, que decir que, efectivamente, la presentación fue un éxito.
El autor mezcla puntos importantes sobre como dar presentaciones efectivas con filosofia oriental. La verdad la filosofia oriental sale sobrando pero el puro capitulo de como diseñar diapositivas vale el precio de entrada.
Para evitar ser culpado de "asesinato por Power Point", aplicar los puntos que vienen en las secciones de buen diseño garantiza tu inocencia.
En general lo recomiendo mucho para quien este buscando dar presentaciones efectivas, y aparte quiera entender algo de religión oriental. O si solo quieres dar presentaciones efectivas también.
No se nada de religiones orientales asi que no puedo comentar al respecto de esa parte. -
After reading this book you'll realize why 99% of presentations you have ever seen have been done all wrong, and it all makes perfect sense. You'll also realize how applications such as "PowerPoint" are misunderstood and misused in most business environments today.
Finally, in retrospect you can easily compare the tips for success in this book with very famous and high impact presentations such as those given by Steve Jobs and other industry leaders. -
이 책을 처음 집었을 때는, 프리젠테이션에 대한 '사상'을 담고 있을 줄 알았는데, 사실은 '젠 스타일의' 프리젠테이션에 대한 얘기에 더 가까운듯하다. 모든 프리젠테이션이 젠 스타일이 되어야 하는가에 대해서 나는 저자만큼의 확신은 할 수 없지만 젠 스타일의 프리젠테이션에 관해서만큼은, 아주 명확하고 간결하게 지침들을 전해준다. (아무리 SNR을 높인다고 해도, 학술적인 내용을 그림 하나로 전달하는 일이 언제나 가능한 일일까?) 많은 부분이 뻔하게 느껴질 수 있지만, 이미 아는 것도 언어로 재정의돼서 머릿속에서 한 번의 loop를 더 돌면 생각은 아주 명확해진다. 이 책에서 제일 좋았던 것은 다음과 같다.
1. 언행일치가 된다. (ex: 예제를 활용해서 스토리텔링을 하는 것)
2. 좋은 예와 좋지 않은 예를 대비해주면서 보여주기 때문에, 말하는 바를 명확히 파악하기 쉽다.
좋은 책을 추천해준 철에게 감사를! -
I want to throw everything else away and shave my head and follow the teachings of this book and tattoo my favorite PowerPoint slide on my face, which would be a single brush stroke on a white background, arcing like a swan's neck. (My body is the white background...I am white)
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Loved the book - I still don't always do as he says (I still use the cursed bullet points too much :-)), but it affected how I present and speak.
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čtěte v angličtině, český překlad je velmi špatný
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Práctico y muy conciso. Tiene consejos para todas las etapas de preparación, diseño y entrega de una presentación memorable. Nunca más esos powerpoint con listas interminables de texto.
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Some notes to make you better Presenter and public speaker(facing the audience is establishing good eye contact)...
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Very interesting approach of presentation comparing the good the bad and the ugly realisations of Presentations. Very useful.
Interesting comparison with jazz. -
Great suggestions for improving presentations. More applicable to business than education.
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Below are key excerpts from the book that I found particularly insightful:
1- "If we desire to communicate with more clarity, integrity, beauty, and intelligence, then we must move beyond what is considered to be "normal" to something different and far more effective. The principles I am most mindful of through every step of the presentation process are restraint, simplicity, and naturalness: Restraint in preparation. Simplicity in design. Naturalness in delivery. All of which, in the end, lead to greater clarity for us and for our audience."
2- "Not all presentation situations are appropriate for using multimedia. For example, if you have a small audience and data-intensive materials to discuss, a handout of the materials with a give-and-take discussion is usually more appropriate. There are many situations when a whiteboard or flipcharts or a paper with detailed figures make for better support. Each case is different. The discussions in this book, however, center among those presentations when multimedia is a good fit with your unique situation."
3- "Design. Story. Symphony. Empathy. Play. Meaning. Dan Pink's A Whole New Mind gives us the context of the new world we're living in and why "high touch" talents—and that includes exceptional presentation skills—are so important today. Professionals today around the globe need to understand how and why the so-called right-brain aptitudes of design, story, symphony, empathy, play. and meaning are more important than ever. The best presentations of our generation will be created by professionals—engineers as well as CEOs and "creatives"—who have strong "whole mind" aptitudes and talents. These are not the only aptitudes needed by the modern presenter, but mastering these talents along with other important abilities such as strong analytical skills will take you far as a communicator in the "conceptual age.""
4- "You can wreck a communication process with lousy logic or unsupported facts, but you can't complete it without emotion. Logic is not enough. Communication is the transfer of emotion."
5- "Once you realize that the preparation of a presentation is an act requiring creativity, not merely the assembling of facts and data in a linear fashion, you'll see that preparing a presentation is a "whole-minded" activity that requires as much right-brain thinking as it does left-brain thinking. In fact, while your research and background work may have required much logical analysis, calculation, and careful evidence gathering or so-called left-brain thinking, the transformation of your content into presentation form will require that you exercise much more of your so-called right brain."
6- "Life is about living with limitations and constraints of one type or another but constraints are not necessarily bad, in fact they are helpful, even inspiring as they challenge us to think differently and more creatively about a particular problem. While problems such as a sudden request to give a 20-minute sales pitch or a 45-minute overview of our research findings have built-in limitations—such as time, tools, and budget—we can increase our effectiveness by stepping back, thinking long and hard, and determining ways we can set our own parameters and constraints as we set out to prepare and design our next presentation with greater clarity, focus, balance, and purpose."
7- "One of the most important things you can do in the initial stage of preparing for your presentation is to get away from your computer. A fundamental mistake people make is spending almost the entire time thinking about their talk and preparing their content while sitting in front of a computer screen. Before you design vour presentation, you need to see the big picture and Identify your core messages-or the single core message. This can be difficult unless you create a stillness of mind for yourself, something which is hard to do while puttering around in slideware."
8- "Questions We Should Be Asking...• How much time do I have? • What's the venue like? • ^hat time of the day? • Who is the audience? • What's their background? What do they expect of me (us) Why was I asked to speak? What do I want them to do? What visual medium is most appropriate for this particular situation and audience? What is the fundamental purpose of my talk? What's the story here? • And this is the most fundamental question of all. Stripped down to its essential core: What is my absolutely central point? Or put it this way: If the audience could remember only one thing (and you'll be lucky if they do), what do you want it to be?"
9- "Two Questions: What's Your Point? Why Does It Matter?"
10- "If you remember that there are three components to your presentation—the slides, your notes, and the handout—then you will not feel the need to place so much information (text, data, etc.) in your slides. Instead, you can place that information in your notes (for the purpose of rehearsing or as a backup "just in case") or in the handout."
11- "Here's a quick summary of the six principles from Made to Stick that you should keep in mind when crystallizing your ideas and crafting your messages for speeches, presentations, or any other form of communication.
1) Simplicity. If everything is important, then nothing is important. If everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority. You must be ruthless in your efforts to simplify—not dumb down—your message to its absolute core...
2) Unexpectedness. You can get people's interest by violating their expectations. Surprise people. Surprise will get their interest. But to sustain their interest, you have to stimulate their curiosity. The best way to do that is to pose questions or open holes in people's knowledge and then fill those holes...
3) Concreteness. Use natural speech and give real examples with real tilings, not abstractions. Speak of concrete images, not of vague notions. Proverbs are good, say the Heath brothers, at reducing abstract concepts to concrete, simple, but powerful (and memorable) language...
4) Credibility. If you are famous in your field, you may have built-in credibility (but even that does not go as far as it used to). Most of us, however, do not have that kind of credibility, so we reach for numbers and cold hard data to support our claims as market leaders and so on...
5) Emotions. People are emotional beings. It is not enough to take people a laundry list of talking points and information on your slides—you must make them feel something...
6) Stories. We tell stories ail day long. It's how humans have always communicated. We tell stories with our words and even with our art and music. We express ourselves through the stories we share. We teach, we learn, and we grow through stories..."
12- "What made this CEO's presentation so compelling and memorable was that it was, above all, authentic. His stories were from his heart and from his gut. not from a memorized script. We do not tell a story from memory alone; we do not need to memorize a story that has meaning to us. If it is real, then it is in us. Based on our I research, knowledge, and experience, we can' tell it from our gut. Internalize your story, but do I not memorize it line by line. You can't fake it. I you do not, no amount of hyped-up, superficial enthusiasm or conviction will ever make your time with an audience meaningful. If you do not believe it, do not know it to be true, how can you J connect and convince others with your words in story form? Your words will be just hollow words."
13- "Below is the four-step approach I usually take...Step 1 Brainstorming. Step back, go analog, get away from the computer, tap into the right brain and brainstorm ideas. do not edit ideas much here: the aim is to just let it flow. I explore. It may be messy. That's OK. What I'm tying to do—whether I am working alone or leading a group—is to see the issue from all sides. But to do that, you have to take a step back and see the big picture...Step 2 Grouping & identifying the core. In this step, I look to identify the one key idea that is central (and memorable) from the point of view of the audience. What is the "it" that I want them to get? I use "chunking" to group similar ideas while looking for a unifying theme. The presentation may be organized into three parts, so first I look for the central theme that will be the thread running through the presentation. There is no rule that says your presentation should have three sections or three "acts" from the world of drama. However, three is a good number to aim for because it is a manageable constraint and generally provides a memorable structure...Step 3 Storyboarding off the computer. 1 take the ideas sketched out on paper in Step 2 and lay them out with Post-it notes. The advantage of this method (compared to the Slide Sorter view in PowerPoint or the Light Table view in Keynote) is that i can easily add content by writing on an additional Post-it and sticking it under the appropriate section without ever losing sight of the structure and flow...Step 4 storyboarding in Slide Sorter/Light Table view. If you have a clear sense of your structure, you can skip Step 3 and start building the flow of your presentation directly in slideware."
14- "When I use the word simple (or simplicity), 1 am referring to the term as being essentially synonymous with clarity, directness, subtlety, essentialness and minimalism. Designers, such as interaction designers, for example, are constantly looking for the simplest solution to complex problems. The simple solutions are not necessarily easiest for them, but the results may end up being the "easiest" to use for the end user. The best visuals are often ones designed with an eye toward simplicity. Yet, this says nothing about the specifics of a visual presentation. That will depend on the content and context."
15- "General Design Principles:
1) The Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) is a principle borrowed from more technical fields such as radio communications and electronic communication in general, but the principle itself is applicable to design and communication problems in virtually any field. For our purposes, the SNR is the ratio of relevant to irrelevant elements or information in a slide or other display. The goal is to have the highest signal-to-noise ratio possible in your slides...
2) The picture superiority effect says that pictures are remembered better than words, especially when people are casually exposed to the information and the exposure is for a very limited time...
3) Empty space (also called negative space or white space) is a concept that is supremely simple, yet the most difficult for people to apply. Whether people are designing a document or a slide, the urge to fill empty areas with more elements is just too great. One of the biggest mistakes that typical business people make with presentation slides (and documents as well) is going out of their way to seemingly use every centimeter of space on a page, filling it up nth text, boxes, clip art, charts, footers, and the ubiquitous company logo. Empty space implies elegance and clarity. This is true with graphic design. but you can see the importance of space (both visual and physical) in the context of, say, interior design as well. High-end brand shops are always designed to create as much open space as possible. Empty space can convey a feeling of high quality, sophistication, and importance...
4) Contrast simply means difference. And for whatever reason—perhaps our brains think they are still back in the savannah scanning for wild predators—we are all wired to notice differences. We are not conscious of it, but we are scanning and looking for similarities and differences all the time. Contrast is what we notice, and it's what gives a design its energy. So you should make elements that are not the same clearly different, not just slightly different...
5) The principle of repetition simply means the reusing of the same or similar elements throughout your design. Repetition of certain design elements in a slide or among a deck of slides will bring a clear sense of unity, consistency, and cohesiveness. Where contrast is about showing differences, repetition is about subtly using elements to make sure the design is viewed as being part of a larger whole.
6) The whole point of the alignment principle is that nothing in your slide design should look as if it were placed there randomly. Every element is connected visually via an invisible line. Where repetition is more concerned with elements cross a deck of slides, alignment is about obtaining unity among elements of a single slide.
7) The principle of proximity is about moving things closer or farther apart to achieve a more organized look. The principle says that related items should be grouped together so that they will be viewed as a group, rather than as several unrelated elements. Audiences will assume that items that are not near each other in a design are not closely related. Audiences will naturally tend to group similar items that are near to each other into a single unit."
16) "Technical training is important, but technical training is something acquired and will always have the feel of artificiality unless one has the proper state of mind. "Unless the mind which avails itself of the technical skill somehow attunes itself to a state of the utmost fluidity or mobility," says Suzuki, "anything acquired or superimposed lacks spontaneity of natural growth." In this sense, I think instructors and books can help us become better at presenting well, but ultimately, like many other performance arts, it must grow within us."
17) "These precepts offer good advice for delivering effective presentations: (1) Carefully observe oneself and one's situation, carefully observe others, and carefully observe one's environment. (2) Seize the initiative in whatever you undertake. (3) Consider fully, act decisively. (4) Know when to stop. (5) Keep to the middle. These are wise words indeed, but these are not "effective presentation principles" at all, they are Jigoro Kano's Five Principles of Judo as outlined by John Stevens in Budo Secrets (Shambhala; New Ed edition)."
18) "Professional entertainers know that you want to end on a high note and leave the audience yearning for just a bit more from you. We want to leave our audiences satisfied (motivated, inspired, more knowledgeable, etc.), but not feeling that they could have done with just a little less. We can apply this spirit to the length and amount of material we put into a presentation as well. Give them high quality—the highest you can—but do not give them so much quantity that you leave them with their heads spinning and guts aching."
19) "The first step down the road to becoming a great presenter is simply seeing—really seeing- that that which passes for normal and ordinary and good enough is off-kilter with how we learn, understand, remember, and engage. No matter what your starting point is today, you can become much better. In fact, you can become extraordinary. I know this is true because I have seen it many times before. I have worked with professionals—young and old—who believed that they were not particularly creative, charismatic, or dynamic, and yet with a little help they were able to transform themselves into extremely creative, highly articulate, engaging presenters once they realized that that person—that remarkable presenter—was in them already. Once they opened their eyes and made the commitment to learn and leave the past behind, it was just a matter of time before great progress was visible. Interestingly, as their confidence grew and they became more effective presenters, their newly found confidence and perspective had a remarkable impact on other aspects of their personal and professional lives." -
very good place to start in order to perfect your presentation skills..
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演示报告之禅
你会做PPT吗？会，很多人都会不假思索地回答。的确这是现代知识工作者的一项基本技能。学校的老师也需要做课件，才能在课堂上呈现。都市白领需要做PPT，才能向客户或上级汇报自己的工作。甚至竞聘晋升，也需要做一个PPT，展现自己的实力和工作思路。PPT的应用是如此广泛，以至于不会做PPT的人反而成了稀有动物了。
你的PPT做得好吗？效果好吗？估计能肯定回答的人不足三分之一。对此，我自己也曾困惑和纠结。我曾看着被文字塞得满满的PPT文稿，努力在规定的时间内将其“读”完，顶多稍加解释，就是我自己能够做的天花板水平了。沟通是如此的重要，尤其是在重要的场合。别人坐在同一个房间里，听我做的报告，我也希望效果能够好一些，不要让做报告称了台上台下双方共同的煎熬。我渴求沟通，尤其是正式的专业报告、学术报告。所以，怎样做一个更好的PPT就成了萦绕心头的事情。
一个很偶然的机会，在亚马逊Kindle上看到这本书，名字是《PresentationZen》。书名之中的“Zen”就是禅的意思。很文艺，很哲学，很符合我的胃口。最关键的是这本书的英文并不难理解。作者是Garr reynolds，也就是下面这个很有范儿的老外。他长期在日本生活，深受日本等东方文化的影响，崇尚简约的生活哲学。书中多次举例，都提到日本高铁上的便当，简洁优雅、搭配丰富，而毫不杂乱。据说乔布斯也曾习禅。乔布斯的演说风格，现在的小米公司创始人雷军等IT大佬也都在努力摹仿。由此看来，这种简约大气的PPT风格的确是每一名意见领袖和佼佼者所必需掌握的技能。一旦掌握，就能够在短时间内圈粉无数。
一读这本书，我便爱不释手。书中流畅的文字，如同一碗你最爱喝的白粥：美味无比，入口虽然有着颗粒感，但都十分容易消化，既能充饥，又很养胃。你会有种惊诧，普普通通的白米粥，怎么能够做出这般好吃的感觉？从Kindle书店中，我看完了免费样章之后，“斥资”购买了这本书。我平时很少花钱去买电子书的，这本书实在是让我觉得太棒了。
然而，就像我读过的很多书一样，读了一半就因为各种杂事放在一边了。后来因为要做培训的原因，再次翻开这本书，发现这本书就像是一个发糕，到处都是我能够融通理解的气孔，嚼起来松软可口，索性一口气读罢。我记得很清楚，翻完最后一页是在北京动物园里的湖边。读完之时，恰逢是暮春时节，大地一派欣欣向荣的生发景象，湖边垂柳就像是在水畔浣洗头发的美少女，随风飘舞的柳絮平添了几分浪漫的意境，如同翻飞的思绪。万紫千红总是春。简单说，就是一句话，这本书的确太棒了！
言归正传，究竟该怎样做好演示报告？让我印象最深刻的就是SUCCESS法则。这是几个英文单词首字母的缩写，每个英文单词对应了一条准则。分别是：
Simplicity。简约。套用那句广告词，简约而不简单。Less is more。少就是多。一下子给听众太多的信息，他们反而记不住。真有必要，干脆在报告的时候分发给大家一份更为详细的类似于“讲义”材料。弄清楚什么是最重要、最核心、最希望传递的信息。把复杂的事情简约化，是人生的一种高级智慧。当然也不要过于的简单，那是愚笨。因为一生崇尚Simplicity的爱因斯坦还有一句被物理学界奉为圭臬的话："Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler."
Unexpectness。冲击力。PPT要能让人眼前一亮。这样听众才能记得住、记得牢，记得津津有味。也许一段时间之后，很多内容都不记得了，唯有老师的PPT中富有冲击力的那几幅图、那个不同寻常的观点能够让人能够记忆犹新。所以，一定不能是人们用脚趾头也能想出来的内容，否则还有必要浪费宝贵的生命时光来听你叨叨吗？对于演讲者自己来说，也是一种浪费。
Concreteness。具体。太过抽象的事物大家都不容易理解，天生是排斥的。比如，给别人讲什么是“面向对象”、“敏捷制造”、“精益工程”，都不能仅仅只是讲概念，一定要结合具体的例子，否则就容易陷入“空对空”的窘境，浪费双方的时间。所以说，举例和比喻都很重要，能够将抽象的事物具像化。如果将抽象的事物看作是“空”的话，那么就可以套用《心经》中的一句话，“色即是空，空即是色”。形形色色的具体事物，是诸法表象。把例子举透了，道理也就讲清楚了。
Clarity。清晰。模棱两可通常是自己没有归纳清楚，或者理论还有缺陷所致。欧几��得空间，最好的解析系统是正交的，也就是笛卡尔的坐标系。对事物的归类和描述，要符合MECE原则，即是MECE分析法，全称 Mutually Exclusive Collectively Exhaustive，中文意思是“相互独立，完全穷尽”。 也就是对于一个重大的议题，能够做到不重叠、不遗漏的分类，而且能��借此有效把握问题的核心，并解决问题的方法。
Emotion。情绪。一个好的演说需要富含感情。人天生就是感情的动物。丰富的情感色彩，会让你的报告充满血肉，因而也更能打动人。所以，演说要靠“演”，就像职业的演员那样，要入戏，要将自己的情感情绪带入到演讲、报告之中去。
Story。故事。讲好一个故事，是投资界最推崇的准则之一。为此还有电梯间陈述的经典套路，要在几分钟内将自己的故事和要旨讲清楚。讲好了一个故事，也许就能多要到1个亿的资金。每个人都是从小听着故事长大的，听故事的时光总是那么美好。也许这是因为唤醒了我们童年形成的潜意识。在讲课的时候，学员总会说希望多一些案例，其实他们心中想的也许就是这样的一个个有血有肉的故事。怎样讲好故事？不妨去看看电影，从纪录片到故事片，看那些名导们都是做的，将��移植到自己做报告的过程中。
最后一个s只是表示复数，要将上面这5个要素反复地使用，达到最佳的效果。
除了上面这个SUCCESS法则，我还能想到的包括：
要事先努力排练。有句话叫做，你必须非常努力，才能看起来毫不费力。更有句土话，台上三分钟，台下三年功。没有平时的刻苦勤奋的努力，谁也不能轻轻松松取得成功。
回归纸和笔。前段时间疯狂地追一个美剧，名字叫做：《权力的游戏：冰与火之歌》。借用这个名字的结构，做好演示文稿的关键就是：《完美的设计：纸与笔之歌》。放开电脑，放下手机，拿起一支笔，拿出一张纸，让自己的创意在纸上笔端流淌，随时随地，想到什么就加上什么。不用去想软件的菜单在哪里，该使用什么命令，怎么调整配图、大小、颜色等一切细节。这是一种返璞归真，效果真的很好。真正的原创，离不开独立的思维和大脑，一切软件工具都太过多余。手中有了纸和笔，足矣。一切都设计好了，大体思路清晰了，可以再用计算机工具来呈现出来。
神奇的“三”原则。三是一个神奇的数字。老祖宗说，道生一，一生二，二生三，三生万物。结合上面的Success法则，Presentation 禅就是道，道所生的“一”就是Simplicity；“一”所生的“二”就是Concreteness和Clarity；“二”所生的“三”就是Unexpectness、Emotion和Story，就构成了形形色色的万千世界。三段论、三分法，也都可以应用在自己做报告的过程之中。在构图上，会有水平和垂直各两条直线将宽和高边等分为三，这时屏幕划分为一个九宫格，两队平行线共有4个交点，也是人们视野中的“焦点”，要将最重要的信息放在这样的位置上。这本书的主题内容分为三个部分：Prepartion，Design和Delivery。也就是准备、设计和交付。挺有意思的。
最后，让我印象深刻就是“禅”了。大学期间，我曾接触过净慧老和尚提出的生活禅。也曾在赵州禅寺中席地而坐，听著名佛教人士讲“吃茶去”的公案，为的就是一种顿悟。禅通过向内探索自己的精神世界来寻找真理，或者达到一种炉火纯青的化境。全神贯注，心无杂念，是成为绝顶高手的不二法门。做报告的时候不要考虑太多，活在当下，不要过多地考虑效果如何，只需要做好你自己。其实，无论是做演示报告，还是立身、立德、立言，都要如此。也唯有如此，才能心无挂碍，无有恐怖，远离颠倒梦想，成就自我的价值。
感恩生活，感恩时代，感恩单位，感恩家人，让我们有了当下，有了品味知识的充实和快乐。
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