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Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Voices That Matter)

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Author: Garr Reynolds
Publisher: New Riders
Category: Book

List Price: ~~Ł21.99~~
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Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

7 reviews
Sales Rank: 742

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 2, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Ships from U.S.A., to anywhere in the United Kingdom! Orders only take 7-10 days! We specialise in service to the U.K. and only ship airmail.

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Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Less is More August 8, 2008
This is a beautiful book which has the best of both worlds, style and substance. Each idea is followed up with clear and precise examples, full of colour and creativity. It will challenge your old mindset .The writing is melodic and flows carrying you through the book with effortless style.

However, this is not a book for lazy mind , although its packed full of inspirational ideas ,it won't do the work for you.Its not a step by step guide to making presentations .The writer clearly explains his approach is not the fastest way , but in the long term it's the most rewarding. I've tried out plenty of his ideas and he's right.

It also teaches you to work within time constraints, so its anchored in the real world. It has an elegant quality, beautifully presented. It's a visual feast for the eyes.

Interesting you find this book will bring you beyond image and design , It's unclutters your mind allowing you to simplify your thought process.The book is very accessable so its not just graphic artists and web designers who will benefit. Reynolds also uses technology sparingly, choosing pen and paper to map out his initial presentation ideas.

Overall, this is a fantastic book which should kept within arms reach. I keep dipping in and out of it, sometimes to get presentation ideas or simplify my thought process.

4 out of 5 stars

A book that should inspire if you approach it correctly July 16, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I like this book but it needs the right attitude to get the best from it. Having just finished a masters degree where my thesis revolved around adults and especially children develop there cognitive and creative skills. The research really basically looked at the physiological and philosophical nuts and bolts of cognitive/creative development when we are young and then moved on to how we can use it these skills today. If there has been one thing I have learnt from 2 years pf research is the creativity is one important and can't be taught. Comments like the Luigi Clemente above which dismisses a book or an idea as being generic because there are no practical help is missing the barn door by such a margin as to be to not even to have seen the barn door in the first place. Creativity and cognitive skills can't be taught by supplying practical advice. It is something that is unique to all of us. It is our creativity that makes us who we are. Creativity here is not be defined as just drawing a picture but rather the unique connection we all make between all the various areas of our brain and how those linkages create new of different aspects, concepts and ideas. You can not achieve this through someone giving you practical advice or suggestions that luigi Clemente is complaining is an oxymoron of a complaint. This book is great but to get the best out of it has to come from you. it is meant to inspire. If we are always looking for practical advice from someone else we will never truly becreative or develop better cognitive skills

5 out of 5 stars

A good introduction to improving your presentations. May 14, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

For those that are unfamiliar with Garr Reynolds' Presentation Zen blog, and even for those that do, but want to know what sets presenters like Steve Jobs, Guy Kawasaki and Seth Godin apart from the rest, it serves as a great starting point. Presentation Zen is neither about possesing high technical or creative skills, but just about conveying ideas in a simple and easy to digest format. By moving away from information filled slides to ones that support your underlying message, you can lead your viewers to a higher state of understanding.

I didn't give this book a full 5-stars as I personally felt a lot of the imagery used was a bit cliched and didn't really "stimulate" me in the way I thought was intended but there are a lot of example slides which are great and show you exactly in which direction you need to be going. It is very focused on the actual "slideshow" part of presenting and doesn't really go into the art of actually communicating your ideas regardless of your slides and visuals. For the actually communication of ideas and information I highly recommend Dan Roam's "Back of the Napkin" as a companion book to this.

EDIT: I messed up and accidently gave it the full 5 star review. The editing process on Amazon does not seem to allow me to change this :(

5 out of 5 stars

Antidote to 'Death by PowerPoint' March 10, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Garr Reynolds' work has been known to me for sometime through his blog, Presentation Zen. I've appreciated what he shared on the design and delivery of simple but powerful presentations. Since I started reading his blog, I have come to realise he has influenced my approach to designing slides. When I read that he was publishing a book, I pre-ordered Presentation Zen with some anticipation.

I was not disappointed. From the Foreword by Guy Kawasaki (done in slides) through to the 'Colophon' at the very end of the book (explaining technically how the book was put together), I found the content stimulating and the mere look of the book a delight.

'Presentation is everything,' they say. Well, not quite. There are some important observations on conventional business practice, about how it uses and abuses PowerPoint or Keynote, and about typical presentations in general. For example, the author comments on the convention by conference organisers, who ask for a speaker's slides in advance - the assumption being that all content is, or should be, in those slides. Or how about the practice common in Japan and elsewhere where lights are dimmed at the start of a presentation? If you have always assumed that such things were good practice then I recommend this book.

Also, I was delighted about how Garr Reynolds referenced people whom I admire: Daniel Pink, Seth Godin, Kathy Sierra, Dan and Chip Heath, Guy Kawasaki, Merlin Mann and Nancy Duarte. This gave me the confidence that here was someone who has 'got it', as a progressive thinker and presenter.

This book is a healthy antidote to 'Death by PowerPoint', and I shall continue to read Garr's blog with interest.

5 out of 5 stars

A must read and look at February 11, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Followers of the presentation zen blog will know that garth has a wealth of insights to share. What he shows in this book may not be the bullet point list of 'what to do to make good slides' that some may be after but his message is much more important than that. What presentation zen does is ask you to question your story and why it must be told. Once you have an answer then presentation zen will help you tell it. If you want a step by step this is how you make presentation book this is not it but if you truly want to make an impact then this is the book for you. The before and after slides are telling and the writing is a must. Anyone who has read anything by dan pink or guy kawasaki will find much to like here and will learn how to move from concept to practical application.