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 Location:  Home » Books » Communications » Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Voices That Matter)August 7, 2008  
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Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Voices That Matter)
Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Voices That Matter)
Author: Garr Reynolds
Publisher: New Riders Press
Category: Book

List Price: $29.99
Buy New: $17.45
You Save: $12.54 (42%)
Buy New/Used from $17.45

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars(70 reviews)
Sales Rank: 132

Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.5

ISBN: 0321525655
Dewey Decimal Number: 005.58
EAN: 9780321525659
ASIN: 0321525655

Publication Date: January 4, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

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Editorial Reviews:

Book Description
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.


Customer Reviews:   Read 65 more reviews...

3 out of 5 stars Good story, but needs a handout with facts and figures   August 5, 2008
This book is very good on the philosophy behind "designing" presentations. On how to use visuals and how to make your presentation into an engaging story. Unfortunately the book focuses too much on visuals and on (a bit superficial) presentation and design philosophy. Also the author contradicts himself with the last chapters in the book which are completely unneccessary. While in the first half of the book he argues convincingly for less is more. A bit more facts and figures or bulletpoints might help this book. But maybe those are in the handout? I recommend this book for those who are first time presenters or when looking for new twists. But it might be a bit lightweight for people who have to give "deep" presentations.


4 out of 5 stars Good Advice and Splendid Examples   August 2, 2008
For anyone tired of putting his or her presentation audiences to sleep, here are some wonderful ideas based on a sound philosophy of visual communication. Highly recommended.


5 out of 5 stars Apply Zen Principles to Your Presentations   August 1, 2008
PresentationZen isn't really a book about specific techniques; it's about understanding and applying simple principles from Zen to your overall approach to, preparation for, design of, and delivery of your message.

Garr Reynolds invites the reader into his mind as he prepares a presentation. We see his narrowing down the presentation to a core message, then fleshing out the ideas on white board flows, paper storyboards, and post-its. He explains there are three parts of the presentation - the slides, your notes, and the handout - and how each is approached very differently. He speaks out against what's now acceptable as a "slideument," and how slideumentation is killing presentations at conferences and perpetuating the "Death By PowerPoint" phenomenon.

When he gets to design, he illustrates how three Zen principles - Kanso (Simplicity), Shizen (Naturalness), and Shibumi (Elegance) - can work together to create slides that help convey your message. Other non-Zen principles (design, story, symphony, empathy, play, meaning, enthusiasm, and surprise) are also thoroughly discussed throughout the book, and ultimately applied to his slide design.

Okay, I said the book is about principles rather than techniques... that doesn't mean there is no technique in the book. About half way into the book, Garr shifts into technique and starts showing before and afters to illustrate how the techniques are used to apply the principles. The difference between this book and other "before and after" books is that Garr doesn't just show you one bad example followed by the fix; instead he shows a set of bad slides covering the same content, and a set of different ways the principles and techniques can be applied. There are many pages of example after example (many contributed by other designers and presenters) - if Garr had just published these alone, the book would be worth the price.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who designs, creates, and/or delivers presentations. It is a beautifully crafted book, and provides an insight into a presentation master's mind. Having said all that, here is my only negative comment on the book... too often (especially in the first half of the book), I feel the prose overwhelmed the message. I know another reviewer commented on the lack of text (as if adding text increases the value of a book), but when your message is simplify, the same principles should have been applied to the writing of the book.



5 out of 5 stars Very Nice   July 31, 2008
First I wanna thanks Amazon for made everthing works. Nice job.
This book is really good. Nice way to learn about presentations and make it much more atractive.



5 out of 5 stars Zen it is.   July 31, 2008
The book gives a very concise and critical guideline for a powerful presentation.

I cranked and tuned my powerpoint slides following the guidelines, got excited and did a straight 5 hours editing. It is a fun process itself.
The presentation was the best I have ever made and I bragged to my colleague that it will knock the audience's clothes off. (well... it did not. and thank goodness. :) )

Read it, practice it, and feel it. The Z of P.


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