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4th out of 10 books
—
8 voters
slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations
by
Nancy Duarte (Goodreads Author)
No matter where you are on the organizational ladder, the odds are high that you've delivered a high-stakes presentation to your peers, your boss, your customers, or the general public. Presentation software is one of the few tools that requires professionals to think visually on an almost daily basis. But unlike verbal skills, effective visual expression is not easy, natu...more
Paperback, 296 pages
Published
August 14th 2008
by O'Reilly Media
(first published August 5th 2008)
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slide:ology is designed as a reasonably comprehensive how-to guide on creating compelling visual material for presentations, promotional materials, and stories. The book is an easy read and visually very appealing. With a list price of $34.99, I found the book to be a very affordable introduction to the world of the graphic designer.
I bought the book at a time when I was struggling to depict a very technically complex manpower planning system in a way that was intuitively understandable. As I wo...more
I bought the book at a time when I was struggling to depict a very technically complex manpower planning system in a way that was intuitively understandable. As I wo...more
This book was slightly disappointing. Any learner has to walk the line between theory and application. Theory is essential or one often won't understand the nuances of implementation and application. I had hoped this book would help me make better slide presentations. What I need is practical application that will improve the way I present information in PowerPoint, the heroin of the corporate world. This hated but desperately desired form of communication is ubiquitous.
I found this book to con...more
I found this book to con...more
Succinct pictorial discoursed on what you should not do—and more importantly what you should do—with your presentation slides.
The book does a good job showing the users a vast array of different styles of presentation, and assures the user that it is not only ok, but important to have your own style.
Appropriate use of animation for slide transitions is discussed.
How/when to use bullets was discussed. Currently, most people over-use them leading to the opposite of the attended effect of a bullete...more
The book does a good job showing the users a vast array of different styles of presentation, and assures the user that it is not only ok, but important to have your own style.
Appropriate use of animation for slide transitions is discussed.
How/when to use bullets was discussed. Currently, most people over-use them leading to the opposite of the attended effect of a bullete...more
Oct 01, 2011
Amy Chan
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
People who never took a design class, and designers that wants a fun coffeehouse read
First and foremost, this is a basic design book for slide-style presentation intended for the average business presenters. For someone with a design background, the book can be too simple in term of the techniques it teaches. But for both reader groups, this is a good book to have. For the former, it talks about the major design understanding a person needs to know to create a better presentation in a very easy-to-read method. It's straight-forward and a light read. For the later, it is good rem...more
I've recently picked up a couple of books on presentation creation and public speaking. In my opinion, there's always room for improvement here - for everyone.
This book piqued my interest as the author's company designed Al Gore's presentation in An Inconvenient Truth.
The author managed to distill many of the key tenets of great presentations - a lot that I innately knew from my line of work, but embarrassingly don't practice enough. There's a lot of, dare I say, best practices in here.
Now, ther...more
This book piqued my interest as the author's company designed Al Gore's presentation in An Inconvenient Truth.
The author managed to distill many of the key tenets of great presentations - a lot that I innately knew from my line of work, but embarrassingly don't practice enough. There's a lot of, dare I say, best practices in here.
Now, ther...more
I've had this book on my list to read since it came out, but I never got around to it. I get compliments on my slides pretty regularly and felt with my communication background I had it figured out. I finally decided to read it, only because I wanted to read her follow up, Resonate, and wanted to know her general perspective before reading that one. I'm so glad I did. I now have a way to talk about some of the things I do that work, but also I picked up a number of new strategies and techniques....more
Легко написанная и прекрасно изданная книга про некоторые закономерности человеческого визуального восприятия (применительно к слайдам, графическим примитивам и коротким текстам). Я стараюсь читать всё, что могу достать по этой теме и понимаю, насколько в мире мало людей, которые способны сломать парадигму, в которой докладчик является голосовым довеском к тяжеловесной конструкции, проецируемой на экран. Также я понимаю, что я это самое и наполовину пока в себе не преодолел - и если уж учиться,...more
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Working with PowerPoint on a regular basis, I've read quite a lot of dull rules about words per slide, slides per presentation, how many seconds you can spend on a slide, and whatnot.
However, rather than being another list of rules (which is, frankly, what I expected), silde:ology gives you the why of the rules, as well as examples of successful rule-breakage.
There is no absolute right way to make a good presentation. You can be as artsy and outlandish as you want, just as long as you are reac...more
However, rather than being another list of rules (which is, frankly, what I expected), silde:ology gives you the why of the rules, as well as examples of successful rule-breakage.
There is no absolute right way to make a good presentation. You can be as artsy and outlandish as you want, just as long as you are reac...more
Nancy Duarte's book on presenting is a seminal work which should be read by everybody going near the field.
The book is written smartly and concisely and lays down both the basics and takes you on a conceptual journey how and why to create a presentation. She starts by explaining how your presentation should be attuned to audience needs and then goes on how to build a deck from concept to the design stages. She also gives an introduction in design which doesn't become too basic for experienced re
...more
This is a great book for presenters on how to design a great slide show to go along with your presentation. Be warned, this is not a book that shows you how to use presentation software like keynote or powerpoint. It is a design focused book on how to tell your story and present your information visually in a way that is effective.
The twelve chapters covers creating a new ideology, creating ideas, creating diagrams, displaying data, thinking like a designer, arranging elements, visual elements,...more
The twelve chapters covers creating a new ideology, creating ideas, creating diagrams, displaying data, thinking like a designer, arranging elements, visual elements,...more
Great book that covers everything you need to know about making slides - from presentation concepts, fonts and colors to making video and presentations for iPhones.
The pages sometimes have too many infografics and examples, but in general I consider the Slide:ology a must read for presenter, along with The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience Reat in Front of Any Audience
The pages sometimes have too many infografics and examples, but in general I consider the Slide:ology a must read for presenter, along with The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience Reat in Front of Any Audience
I am trying to become a great presenter and teacher and to that end this book was very helpful.
Granted, you have to practice an active skill to improve right? So I am not expecting magic right after finishing it. But it was beautiful (lack of a better word) to read, interesting, informative and I could tell they know their stuff. It will be a great reference I will look at a million times in the future when applying their advice and improving. Having spent tons of hours creating presentations I...more
Granted, you have to practice an active skill to improve right? So I am not expecting magic right after finishing it. But it was beautiful (lack of a better word) to read, interesting, informative and I could tell they know their stuff. It will be a great reference I will look at a million times in the future when applying their advice and improving. Having spent tons of hours creating presentations I...more
After reading slide:ology, I believe I can step up my presentations from a design perspective. I'm a pro when it comes to text, but visuals... kaput. Since I can easily create charts, it won't take much to make them more effective with the tips from the book. I'm in no hurry to do a presentation and test out what I've learned.
The book is easy to read and reference as it uses a lot of pictures and slides. Although a lot of the text uses too small of a font size -- very surprising considering the...more
The book is easy to read and reference as it uses a lot of pictures and slides. Although a lot of the text uses too small of a font size -- very surprising considering the...more
Highly recommended treatise on how to conceive, create, and deliver presentations that answer your audience's needs. The author shows how to move away from presentations full of text and bullets that are actually documents ("if you want to give them a document, give them a handout"). Instead, she offers clear lessons on using design and storytelling principles to deliver presentations that still provide meaningful content but with greater impact.
It was good from chapter 6 onwards, I strongly suggest that if you feel frustrated with the book at first, skip right to chapter 6. A strong elucidation of slide principles and striking examples where provided. Perhaps a few more examples would have helped the ideas sink in. The 'case-studies' they provided felt more like full-bleed ads where I'd rather have a heavy analytical deconstruction of a presenter's slides.
Armed with no design experience at all, I have been put in charge of revamping our company presentation. This book has been a lifesaver for me. It helped me focus on a task that up until recently felt totally overwhelming to me.
The design of the book and the examples provided gave me a lot of food for thought on what is possible for our company presentation. And that alone was worth the money.
The design of the book and the examples provided gave me a lot of food for thought on what is possible for our company presentation. And that alone was worth the money.
Good book. A few things I learned:
1. Your audience did not come to see you, they came to find out what you can do for them.
2. Your goal is to spread ideas and move people
3. Help your audience see what you are saying
4. Say more with fewer words
5. Sketch your ideas by creating storyboards of how you want to carry your audience along to get the message across
1. Your audience did not come to see you, they came to find out what you can do for them.
2. Your goal is to spread ideas and move people
3. Help your audience see what you are saying
4. Say more with fewer words
5. Sketch your ideas by creating storyboards of how you want to carry your audience along to get the message across
A nicely presented book on creating and giving presentations. I read this book because a former employer used the services of Duarte for building presentations. But at my level, a person presenting technical details to customers, I don't recall seeing much from the book bubble down, besides perhaps some new templates and icons. This book is focused on high-level executive/big picture presentations, where defining new concepts, or defining known concepts in new ways, is important. Also covered in...more
I've just finished reading Slide:ology for the second time. And it was just as illuminating, if not more so. If you create one PowerPoint presentation this year, be sure to read this book first. It covers everything from prep, to layout, to presentation methods. Every page is written in a simple, straight forward way that makes even PowerPoint enjoyable.
Not nearly as helpful as I had hoped. I wanted lots of examples, but instead they did "case studies" on people instead of presentations, such as Al Gore's use of PPT for An Inconvenient Truth. The rest was rhetoric.
The main point, which I know is my greatest weakness, is brevity, and using PPT as an aid to your presentation.
The main point, which I know is my greatest weakness, is brevity, and using PPT as an aid to your presentation.
1 like · like · see review
She is presenting here key points in a way that makes them so easy to understand but using the oral and visual element and thereby walking the talk.
The most easy read book yet I have been reading on presentation techniques. Furthermore she gets to the point and leaves more technical stuff out. Very good beginners book with great inspiration.
The most easy read book yet I have been reading on presentation techniques. Furthermore she gets to the point and leaves more technical stuff out. Very good beginners book with great inspiration.
Ryan Coleman recommend this book to me as "better than 'On the Back of a Napkin', even." And he was right. It's not to say that Back of a Napkin is a bad book. But when it comes to the art of presentations involving anything approaching keynote or powerpoint, this book is truly to book of books. Loved it.
After Presentation Zen this would be the book that all new faculty in higher education should read. Where as PZ focuses on the philosophy of presentation, Slide:ology focuseson the mechanics of presentation, giving excellent examples and detailed design advice.
Nancy does a great job of weaving technique with great examples in her book on the presentation culture. If you've read Presentation Zen, this is perfect companion. I really gained something from her insights on the "Presentation Ecosystem". Well worth the read!
Great book, though I really should have read it before Presentation Zen Design and maybe even instead of: Reynolds copied a lot of examples from her book (with permission).
But this is really a great book, elegantly designed and good in content, too.
But this is really a great book, elegantly designed and good in content, too.
Maybe it's just the deluge of other presentation books I've tackled over the last year, but it doesn't seem like Duarte adds anything new to that conversation. This book looks great, no question, with lots of great examples of pretty slides. Still, there isn't much substance behind the great design. The best section, hands down, is the 12-page layout of all the different conceptual diagrams that are illustrated. I read a review on Amazon that I thought was pretty snarky at first, but now seems p...more
For anyone that gives presentations, this book gives you help in design, layout, spacing, colors, etc. Very useful, written by the founder of the premier presentation consulting company (they helped Al Gore with his whole Inconvenient Truth talks)
Nov 10, 2011
Ahmed Abdullah
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
For anyone who's keep doing the same boring presentations over and over, and needs to get creative
Great to inspire you and get you more creative ideas. Not how-to sort of books.
Gives very detailed in the design, color, typography side. Also focuses on the engaging the listener mentally and emotionally and not doing dull presentation.
Gives very detailed in the design, color, typography side. Also focuses on the engaging the listener mentally and emotionally and not doing dull presentation.
This is a great book for anyone that knows they need to create better presentations but isn't a full time graphics artist. This will give you some of the tips and tricks the pros use to design better presentations.
The best book I've ever read on creating presentations. I credit this book with the vast improvement in my presentations. Highly recommended for anyone who has to give presentations (pretty much everyone these days).
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Nancy Duarte is an American writer and graphic designer. She is particularly known for her book Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations, and as the founder of Duarte Design. Duarte also received an award for Mountain View Woman of the Year.
She also was the one who changed the slides Al Gore had originally into the documentary slide show known as An Inconvenient Truth
More about Nancy Duarte...
She also was the one who changed the slides Al Gore had originally into the documentary slide show known as An Inconvenient Truth
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