When I started public speaking back in 2011, I caught the bug and became very serious about giving the best presentations and delivering the best performances on stage. I hired a coach, a student of Nancy Duarte’s in fact, and I read as much as I could on the topic. Of all the books I read about public speaking, this one was the most helpful and unique because its focus was not on the speaking, but specifically on the presentation slides.
I knew slides were important, but I didn’t know exactly how to craft slides to best convey my support my ideas in the presentations I was giving. I didn’t want my presentation slides to be an “add-on.” I wanted them to enhance my presentation as a whole. That’s where this book filled me in.
What I love about Nancy is she puts science behind her instruction. In Resonate, my pick for Book Club Newsletter Issue #04 August 2013, she takes a scientific approach to the analysis of famous speeches, breaking down the best parts of them. In Slide:ology, (Amazon link) she takes the same scientific approach to an integral part of delivering speeches: the presentation slides. [Full Disclosure: As an affiliate, I receive compensation if you purchase through this link.]
When you’re done reading the book, not only will you know what it means to deliver a presentation with amazing slides, but also you will be able to regularly generate fantastic ideas for slides, and find ways to smoothly integrate them into your overall presentation. Whenever I speak, I always get complimented on my slides, and I definitely attribute Slide:ology to that.
A point to remember is that great slides aren’t useful only on stage. They can be applied to things like webinars and live streams. They can also have an impact on your overall visual and graphical communication strategy and implementation online. Especially if you run an online business!
If you’re just starting out, you may not need Slide:ology right away, but when you start to do anything that involves visual teaching, it’s a must read. I highly recommend it. Nancy is great and she’s unknowingly made a huge impact on me—both in how I present and how I approach creating my presentation slides.
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