136 Effective Presentation Tips by Tony Jeary and David Cottrell
In these tough economic times we should all be on the lookout for ways to make ourselves stand out in business – in a good way. Being able to step up on the job and to create and do an effective presentation is a great way to make ourselves stand out. Are you an entrepreneur who does presentations for your business? Are you a sales person who does presentations for clients? Are you a speaker who speaks in front of crowds on a regular basis and you want to stay at the top of your game? Are you in a business and you want to advance and impress your boss? All of these people can use the information in this book.
This is one of the smallest books I’ve read lately – but its packed with great information. One the very first page it says:
Greatest Fears Among Americans
- Speaking before a group
- Heights
- Insects and bugs
- Financial problems
- Deep water
- Sickness
- Death
— from The Book of Lists
Okay – I’m in agreement with most of that list. Although I’ve been speaking in front of groups since I was young. However, I realize that most people don’t have that background and even with all that experience, I’m still nervous before I start to speak. So, I was intrigued with this book. I was also curious to see how much they could squeeze into about 45 pages.
First – the full title is
136 Effective Presentation Tips: Inspire, Inform & Influence Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime
The table of contents gives us a glimpse inside –
Tips on Getting Started
– Moving From Nervous to Natural
– Getting Your Act Together
Tips on Getting Attention
– Beginning Strong
– Setting the Tone
Tips on Keeping Attention
– Involving the Audience
– Maximizing Visual Aids
—– Powerpoint
—– Flip Charts
—–Presentation readiness
—– Handouts
Tips on Gaining Buy In
– Earning the Right to Call for Action
– The Summary and Closing
A Closing Thought
All the important elements are here – so does the book deliver. I think it does. Under each heading, there are a series of tips and an explanation to implement the tip. Near the very beginning they tell us not to apologize for being nervous. How many times have you or someone you heard started a presentation like that? First point, don’t apologize.
There is a great chart that is called the 3-D outline. It very simply and clearly outlines what, why and how to execute each part of the presentation AND how long each segment should be. Its very simple and very powerful. That chart is worth buying this book.
We learn how to take control of the environment — the tips are very easy to implement, but they work. Tips to reduce your stress – physical and psychological stress. We get the Top Ten Ways to Kill a Presentation. How many times have you wanted to hand that to a presenter when they were finished? These are great tips and I’ve seen people do most of these in past presentations. There are even tips for virtual presentations.
Like I mentioned this is a small book, but I’d highly recommend it to anyone who does presentations or may need to do a presentation in the future. Its a quick read, easy to go back to for reminders and packed with great tips. Do yourself a favor and order a copy of this book and study it from cover to cover before your next or your first presentation.
There is order information in the back of this book – which I’ll share here.
Cornerstone Leadership
P O Box 764087
Dallas, TX 75376