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, ...
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reviews
Jun 08, 2010
Matt
rated it: 
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 More...
I found this book More...
May 12, 2010
Robert
rated it: 
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 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 More...
Oct 01, 2011
Amy
rated it: 
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
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Jan 24, 2010
David
rated it: 
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 pra 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 pra More...
Aug 04, 2011
Michael
rated it:
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 prese 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 prese More...
Jan 04, 2010
Meryl
rated it:
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 cons 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 cons More...
Jul 06, 2010
John
rated it:
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.
Jan 06, 2012
Jennyl
rated it:
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.
Sep 16, 2011
Christina
rated it:
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
Sep 25, 2011
Jay
rated it:
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
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Aug 14, 2011
KungFu
rated it:
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.
Jan 29, 2009
Tamara
rated it:
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.
Dec 20, 2008
Sean
rated it:
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.
Jan 16, 2012
John
rated 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.
Jun 15, 2009
Guy
rated it:
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!
Mar 20, 2010
Leon
rated it:
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.
Jun 29, 2010
Reid
rated it:
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 see
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Oct 04, 2009
Lenny
rated it:
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
rated it:
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.
Jan 05, 2009
Mike
rated it:
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.
Jan 30, 2011
Jenny
rated it:
Good book, but if you were going to choose, I'd definitely say go for her other (more recent) book - Resonate. I'm also interested in checking out Presentation Zen which has been on my wishlist for a while...
Aug 26, 2011
I've got to prepare an important presentation for mid-September, it's a good excuse to look through this book and try to create something beyond the standard death-by-PowerPoint bullets presentation.
Feb 17, 2010
This book is fantastic - not because it teaches you how to make incredible PowerPoints (but that it does), but because it's a guide to effectively communicating across almost any mixed medium.
Jan 15, 2009
Kris
rated it:
Very good, user-centered and visual design approach to creating PowerPoint or Keynote slides. The emphasis on this book is where it should be -- effective communication of concepts.
May 10, 2011
Tamás
rated it:
It's a fantastic book. It's a good, detailed handbook for making presentations, and much more. It shapes your thinking, they way you do things in work. I recommend to everyone!
May 05, 2011
Florence
rated it:
A very good reference & how-to for those who have never created presentation decks before or those who just want a better way represent their thoughts on slides.
Feb 19, 2009
Charles-Antoine
rated it:
Together with PresentationZen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery, you can envision being confortable and fluent at designing compelling presentations.
This books focus mainly on the (graphical) design aspect (whereas PresentationZen puts this emphasis on the approach and methodology).
You'll learn a lot by the repetitively 'before-after' approach: a bad slide compares with its refactored version; impressive.
You will get another perception of your favourite presenta More...
This books focus mainly on the (graphical) design aspect (whereas PresentationZen puts this emphasis on the approach and methodology).
You'll learn a lot by the repetitively 'before-after' approach: a bad slide compares with its refactored version; impressive.
You will get another perception of your favourite presenta More...
May 14, 2011
BlackOlive
rated it:
This woman is the Diva of presentation design. The brilliance behind Al Gore's "an Inconvenient Truth" Infographics and presentation methodology. Good stuff.
May 21, 2009
Josh
rated it:
I learned a lot about presentations from this, even after reading Presentation Zen. Whereas Presentation Zen discusses the broader idea of creating a great presentation, slide:ology focuses more on how to create great slides.
Color is important: dark background is formal; light background is informal. In a dark room, a light background can light up the room, lightening the mood.
Use the rule of thirds when creating slides and cropping photos to make them look professional More...
Color is important: dark background is formal; light background is informal. In a dark room, a light background can light up the room, lightening the mood.
Use the rule of thirds when creating slides and cropping photos to make them look professional More...
Feb 04, 2009
James
rated it:
This is a great reference book for anyone who wants to do a presentation beyond the bullet points in Powerpoint.
