Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Presentation Generation

Garr Reynolds, author of the best-selling books "Presentation Zen" and "Presentation Zen Design" is a leading authority on presentation design and delivery.

His latest book - "The Naked Presenter" - focuses primarily on the presentation delivery process. With a foundation in the Japanese concepts of simplicity and naturalness, it will help you make natural connections with your audience and deliver powerful presentations that are effective and remembered.

Today I want to begin a periodic sampling of some of the key ideas in Reynolds books. I hope you find them intriguing enough to get a copy for your own use - after all, every leader is a presenter.

Presentation Generation
The ability to stand and deliver a powerful presentation that engages the whole minds of the audience has never been more important than today. The ability to speak passionately, clearly, and visually is more important than ever before - partly because of the fantastic reach that our talks have, largely thanks to the power of online video.

What you day and what you present visually today can now be captured easily and cheaply in video and webcast around the world for anyone to see. The potential of your speech or your presentation to change things - maybe even change the world - goes far beyond the words spoken. Words are important, but if it were just about words, you could create a detailed document, disseminate it, and that would be that.

Effective presentations allow you to amplify the meaning of your words.

What does this mean to you as a leader in your organization? How do you approach presentations - from one-on-one to a group of a few dozen or to a crowd of hundreds or thousands?

Bert Decker, author and speaking coach, says presentations need to move from information to influence, beginning at the intellectual and passive quadrant and moving to the active and emotional quadrant.

Seth Godin puts it this way: A presentation is a precious opportunity. It's a powerful arrangement...one speaker, an attentive audience, all in their seats, paying attention (at least at first).

Don't waste it.