Customer Reviews
Had very little presentation experience, never heard of Garr, gave a ppt based on this book - really positive feedback on my ppt - By: AllieGeorgina, 19 Nov 2008 
I have never left a review before but this book really helped me. I have made the odd slide before but nothing fancy. I needed to give a full presentation as part of an assignment & as part of my work role. I had created the usual text laden ppt that I had experience of seeing others present. I needed some literature to back up my decisionin my assignment & found this book. In one day it transformed my whole presentation. I had lots of fun using pictures suggested from istockphoto & the critical audience that I presented to was really impressed with the slides I had produced. Yes most of what he says is common sense when you think about it - but the book is so easy to follow & you will kick yourself for not realising it all by yourself! However sometimes you need things pointed out to you simply! Its an easy read & can make a difference! I would strongly recommend this book -in fact I already have!
Should be required reading for presenters - By: G. Sharpling, 14 Nov 2008 
Bought this on "spec", & found it extremely useful. Writtenin a light & easy manner, never preachy, yet supplying valuable concepts & rules for all presentations.
Should be required readings for anybody wanting to create a powerpoint presentation, as there are soooo many bad PP's out there.
Only looses five full stars because it relies a lot on asking you to use stock photographs from sites such as iStockPhoto, that need a subscription - which few can afford.
Replace Bullet Points with Dental Posters That Evoke Positive Feelings, Tell Stories, and Be Mentally Present - By: Donald Mitchell, 21 Oct 2008 Long before there was PowerPoint, most presentations contained more columns of numbers & bullet points than pictures. PowerPoint seemed designed to capture the essence of those transparencies & make it faster to create them . . . while adding color. Compared to those ugly transparencies, PowerPoint seemed like an improvement.
By comparison, my dentist has always covered his walls with beautiful bleed images of gorgeous places combined with intriguing sayings about life. Those posters are the only uplifting thing about my trips to the dentist's office. He doesn't tell me any entertaining stories.
In presentationzen, Garr Reynolds shares with us that today's audiences like a standard PowerPoint presentation about as much as I like going to the dentist (I doubt if you are surprised by that). His prescription is to turn the typical presentation into a series of stories aided by exhibits that remind me of those dental posters while being very responsive (present . . .in his terminology) to the audience.
The book's main strength, & one that makes it well worth reading & following, isin describing a process that can be used to create a presentation that will be compelling. Even when I see a presentation that I like, I don't learn much from the example because the presenter doesn't share the process behind the result.
The examples almost all showed someonein a black turtle neck, black pants, & black shoes who looked like a Steve Jobs acolyte. As a result, there's an Apple versus Microsoft tone to the book that didn't match any environment where I ever see or give presentations (usually board rooms & senior corporate conference rooms).
Most presentations should be much shorter, should have a lot less material, & should be much easier to grasp. This book will help you if that's the way you want to go. Beware, however, that you don't go over the edge into becoming an "artiste"in your presentations. This book will probably push you a little too farin that direction.
For those who cannot imagine how an image might fit into a presentation, this book will be a great breath of fresh air. To those who want to copy the advice closely, keep your audiencein mind. You might try to take them places where they don't want to go.
In my 30-plus years of presentation experience, I find that the story is the key to success. One good story will more than carry the day. You can draw on a chalk board with your fingernails for graphics & a good story will still work just fine. To me, the weakness of this book is that it doesn't pay enough to the story telling aspect of successful presentations.
I recommend Stephen Denning's books on story telling to help you with that aspect of presentations.
Must read for people doing Presentation - By: Steven C, 08 Oct 2008 This book is a must read on the Topic. Some people might find it not practical but I don't agree, it's just that it makes you think on the way we've been taught to do Powerpoint presentation. And from there Garr Reynolds gives you the keys on how to prepare, design & deliver your presentation. Presentation isin our everyday life, face to face, powerpoint, meeting, selling etc... Presentation Zen is a classicin Business (read also his blog)
Presentations worth meditating on.... - By: M. Donohoe, 16 Sep 2008 This concise book is a real breath of fresh airin presentation design. Stripping the art of presenting back to basics, Garr Reynolds advocates a clean & simple form of presentation that he argues strengthens a presentation's quality.
I'd certainly agree & the book is beatifully illustrated with examples of this crisp & clean design style. I used the book as inspiration for a series of presentations (both for myself & my graphic design team) & the resulting presentations were a massive improvement on previous work & very well received.
If you like long lists of bullet points, don't buy this boo. If you like clean & elegant work, get a copy now!
