Presentation Patterns: Techniques for Crafting Better Presentations

Released August 2012

Publisher(s): Addison-Wesley Professional

ISBN: 9780132963381

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Book description

Presentation Patterns is the first book on presentations that categorizes and organizes the building blocks (or patterns) that you’ll need to communicate effectively using presentation tools like Keynote and PowerPoint.

Patterns are like the lower-level steps found inside recipes; they are the techniques you must master to be considered a master chef or master presenter. You can use the patterns in this book to construct your own recipes for different contexts, such as business meetings, technical demonstrations, scientific expositions, and keynotes, just to name a few.

Although there are no such things as antirecipes, this book shows you lots of antipatterns—things you should avoid doing in presentations. Modern presentation tools often encourage ineffective presentation techniques, but this book shows you how to avoid them.

Each pattern is introduced with a memorable name, a definition, and a brief explanation of motivation. Readers learn where the pattern applies, the consequences of applying it, and how to apply it. The authors also identify critical antipatterns: clichés, fallacies, and design mistakes that cause presentations to disappoint. These problems are easy to avoid—once you know how.

Presentation Patterns will help you

Plan what you’ll say, who you’ll say it to, how long you’ll talk, and where you’ll present

Perfectly calibrate your presentation to your audience

Use the storyteller’s “narrative arc” to full advantage

Strengthen your credibility—and avoid mistakes that hurt it

Hone your message before you ever touch presentation software

Incorporate visuals that support your message instead of hindering it

Create highly effective “infodecks” that work when you’re not able to deliver a talk in person

Construct slides that really communicate and avoid “Ant Fonts,” “Floodmarks,” “Alienating Artifacts,” and other errors

Master 13 powerful techniques for delivering your presentation with power, authority, and clarity

Whether you use this book as a handy reference or read it from start to finish, it will be a revelation: an entirely new language for systematically planning, creating, and delivering more powerful presentations. You’ll quickly find it indispensable—no matter what you’re presenting, who your audiences are, or what message you’re driving home.