Product 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5246 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 228 pages

Review
"Please don't buy this book! Once people start making better presentations, mine won’t look so good. (But if you truly want to learn what works and how to do it right, Garr is the man to learn from.)"
Seth Godin
Speaker and Blogger
Author, Meatball Sundae

"Garr is a beacon of hope for frustrated audiences everywhere. His design philosophy and fundamental principles bring life to messages and can invigorate careers. His principles of simplicity are as much a journey of the soul as they are restraint of the mouse."
Nancy Duarte
CEO, Duarte Design

"Presentation Zen is just fantastic. Best of all it's not another recipe book about “how to make slides” — this is about re-imagining how your entire presentation will work together as a persuasive and integrated show, from conception through delivery. Awesome."
Merlin Mann
43folders.com

From the Back Cover
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.

About the Author
Garr Reynolds is an internationally acclaimed communications expert, and the creator of the most popular Web site on presentation design and delivery on the net: presentationzen.com. A soughtafter speaker and consultant, his clients include many in the Fortune 500. A writer, designer, and musician, he currently holds the position of Associate Professor of Management at Kansai Gaidai University in Japan. Garr is a former corporate trainer for Sumitomo Electric, and once worked in Cupertino, California as the Manager for Worldwide User Group Relations at Apple, Inc. A longtime student of the Zen arts and resident of Japan, he currently lives in Osaka where he is Director of Design Matters Japan.

Customer Reviews

Will change your view of PowerPoint forever
I've followed Garr Reynolds blog at PresentationZen for ages now as a source of inspiration and ideas for using slideware. This book is a brilliant summary of all that advice and more. Garr sets out the argument for using PowerPoint and Keynote as visual support tools to the main event (that's you). So far, so good but what really makes this a must buy is that the book is stuffed with concrete practical examples of how to do it. Even better, all the slides and images he uses are referenced so that you can find them online and use them yourself - there is even an offer from iStockphoto of some free images. All in all, a brilliant counterpoint to all the traditional "how to use PowerPoint" books that are out there.

Antidote to 'Death by PowerPoint'
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.

A must read and look at
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.