Monthly Archives: July 2008

Slide:ology – The Duarte Manifesto

If you remember one thing, it should be the title: Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations.

I’ve said before, you need this book. I’ve been fortunate enough to have read a recent draft and it’s great: a visual and intellectual treat for the presenter. Whether
you’re a presentation novice, or feel like the podium is your home away from
home, this set of tools for creating amazing slides is going to be your
go-to reference and inspiration for a very long time.

What role did the Las Vegas Bellagio play in establishing the structure of the book. What’s with that colon? How did a how-to book turn into a manifesto? Learn why slide composition is like theater set design, and how you might contribute to the future history of visual communications.

Slide:ology will be out in early August. For now, get a sneak peek into Slide:ology by eavesdropping on the folks who
wrote the “The Duarte Manifesto.”  

   


Listen Now (click the play button below) or Subscribe!

  

Left to right, Doug Neff, Nancy Duarte, Michael Moon

And, as promised, here are the links mentioned in the podcast, and a few more:

     Duarte Design

     The Duarte Staff Page

     Slide:ology – The Blog

     O’Reilly Press
 
     O’Reilly Press Slide:ology page

     Duarte Webinar for VizThink

     Duarte Keynote for PowerPoint Live 2007

     The Bellagio – Las Vegas

 
Slide:ology will be available in early August


The Book You Need

Remember this title: Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations.

You need this book.

Unfortunately you can’t get it yet, because it hasn’t been published. I’ve had the chance to check out a pre-publication draft and it’s amazing. Simply put, I can’t think of any presenter who won’t benefit from reading it.

Nancy Duarte is the author. Yes, that’s the same Duarte of Duarte Design, the firm behind the graphics and slides Al Gore uses in his Inconvenient Truth presentation and movie.


Nancy Duarte
 
In Slide:ology, Duarte takes on the problems of presenting by defining process; isolating each step in conceiving, composing, and delivering great presentations. And of course, the clear communications style defined is an aid beyond presentations, applicable to just about any form of communication. 

It’s a stunning book, visually and intellectually, and if you’re a presenter worried about “Death by PowerPoint” it will change your world. Some of the book’s two-page spreads are just aching to be framed and hung in your office. Am I exaggerating? No, not at all.

   
Slide:ology will be available in early August


And the next podcast…

I’m planning on bringing Nancy Duarte back to the Presentations Roundtable
microphones in a few days. Nancy was on episode one, and I think she’s
way overdue for a visit. And of course, Slide:ology will be a big focus
of that visit.

Be sure to pre-order your copy. This is a must buy for anyone who wants to produce professional presentations.

   

And, hey, just in case you don’t know Duarte, here are some links to check out:

     Duarte Webinar for VizThink

     Duarte Keynote for PowerPoint Live 2007

     Duarte Designs

     Slide:ology


-Ric Bretschneider July 15, 2008

All Present, Standing Up

Listen Now (click below) or Subscribe!

    Our
recent visit with Presentation Zen’s Garr Reynolds was somewhat longer
than most, so it was originally published in two parts.  This edition combines them into one file.

In one of the
most popular roundtables so far we caught up with Garr and learned how the
Presentation Zen book has been doing, heard all about his
intercontinental road trip. 

     


We were joined by Howard Cooperstein, software designer and stand-up
comic, for a discussion of humor in presentations and
the relationships between stand up comedy and stand up presentations. 

It was a fun and funny discussion, and surprisingly full of good
presentation advice you can immediately apply in your own work.

If
you already caught the prior sessions, this is simply a different edit
of the same material, but you may still enjoy listening to the
discussion uninterrupted.

Mentioned in this episode:

Presentation Zen – The Blog
Presentation Zen – The Book
Presentation Zen on Flickr
Sir Ken Robinson – TED Talk
Radio Lab WNYC
Don McMillian
Drennon Davis
Tim Lee

Garr Reynolds Presents…
Richard Quest
Safari Books Online
Peachpit
New Riders