Does your manager talk endlessly about "engineering synergy" and "bridging disconnects?" Does the guy in the cube next to you eavesdrop and peak at what's in your personal drawer? Have you ever come close to "death by PowerPoint" as you struggle to stay awake in a meeting? If you work in any kind of office--large or small--the answers to these questions are undoubtedly "yes" and you obviously and desperately need Death By PowerPoint. A life-saving guide to twenty-first century corporate culture, it provides incisive coverage of everything you'll need to get ahead (or to simply stay above water): The Art of Office Politics--sucking up effectively, how to deal with control freaks and that annoying guy with all the "new ideas" E-Mail Etiquette--responding to ridiculous requests, managing passive-aggressive messages, and how best to undo E-damage Mandatory Fun--proper etiquette for office parties, the curse of Secret Santa, and undermining your drunken co-workers Sex in the Workplace--how to spot video surveillance, telltale signs that others are getting it on, dumping etiquette, and the treacherous realm of sex with the boss

FOREWORD BY GUY KAWASAKI Presentation designer and internationally acclaimed communications expert Garr Reynolds, creator of the most popular Web site on presentation design and delivery on the Net — presentationzen.com — shares his experience in a provocative mix of illumination, inspiration, education, and guidance that will change the way you think about making presentations with PowerPoint or Keynote. Presentation Zen challenges the conventional wisdom of making "slide presentations" in today’s world and encourages you to think differently and more creatively about the preparation, design, and delivery of your presentations. Garr shares lessons and perspectives that draw upon practical advice from the fields of communication and business. Combining solid principles of design with the tenets of Zen simplicity, this book will help you along the path to simpler, more effective presentations.

Whether you are a university professor, researcher at a think tank, graduate student, or analyst at a private firm, chances are that at some point you have presented your work in front of an audience. Most of us approach this task by converting a written document into slides, but the result is often a text-heavy presentation saddled with bullet points, stock images, and graphs too complex for an audience to decipher—much less understand. Presenting is fundamentally different from writing, and with only a little more time, a little more effort, and a little more planning, you can communicate your work with force and clarity. Designed for presenters of scholarly or data-intensive content, Better Presentations details essential strategies for developing clear, sophisticated, and visually captivating presentations. Following three core principles—visualize, unify, and focus—Better Presentations describes how to visualize data effectively, find and use images appropriately, choose sensible fonts and colors, edit text for powerful delivery, and restructure a written argument for maximum engagement and persuasion. With a range of clear examples for what to do (and what not to do), the practical package offered in Better Presentations shares the best techniques to display work and the best tactics for winning over audiences. It pushes presenters past the frustration and intimidation of the process to more effective, memorable, and persuasive presentations.

Sometimes when things get really bad, surgery is required. Bad Powerpoint* (and boring presentations) are everywhere! it appears that they have almost become the norm and very few people seem to want to talk about it. It doesn’t have to be that way. Bad presentations are costly. They can cost money, jobs and reputations, don’t let your slides ruin your pitch. In this funny, cut-to-the-chase and down-to-earth book professional speaker Lee Jackson will wean you, and your workplace off bad slides forever. He’ll also teach you how good presentation slides can work for you and help you stand out from the crowd. Using these simple techniques we can kill death by bullet-point once and for all. JOIN THE FIGHT TODAY! (N.B. This book is a colour paperback and illustrated with full colour slides.) “ Lee takes a clever and refreshing approach to presentation mastery. ” Nancy Duarte – author of ‘Slide:ology’, ‘Resonate’ and principal of Duarte (creators of the slides/visuals for Academy Award-winning film, ‘An Inconvenient Truth’) “ Powerpoint Surgery is an invaluable resource...and I highly recommend it... ” Jeremy Waite – Head of Social Strategy, Adobe EMEA “ Lee Jackson takes PowerPoint presentations from boring to brilliant. ” Alan Stevens FPSA – Past President Global Speakers Federation and co-author of ‘The Exceptional Speaker “ ...a masterclass of creating sublime slides & presentations, but be warned, you may never be able to sit through a presentation again without thinking of Lee Jackson! ” Geoff Ramm – President 2013 Professional Speaking Association UK and Ireland “Jackson has got a bl***y nerve asking me to write a testimonial for his book. You see, I am a proudly militant Anti-PowerPoint Bigot, but somehow, he has turned the Indefensible into the Indispensable! ” Graham Davies – best selling author of ‘The Presentation Coach’

Think about the most powerful speech you’ve ever heard a leader give. What made that speech–and that speaker–memorable was likely a mix of authenticity, stage presence, masterful delivery, and–above all–an inspirational message. Nobody ever walked out of a great speech saying, “I loved the way she used PowerPoint.” Yet, all too often, speakers rely on tools like it to carry them through a presentation. Real leaders speak to make a difference, to promote a vision, to change the way people think and feel and act. Their ability to lead goes hand in hand with their ability to get their message across, no matter what size audience they’re addressing. Drawing on his years of experience in coaching executives, Christopher Witt shows not just how to make a speech but why and when you should make one. His practical advice on how to take your game to the next level includes: • You are the message. Who you are–your character, experience, values–shapes the message your listeners hear. • Content is king. Delivery is important, but it is only the helpful–or unhelpful–servant of your message. So build each speech around one, and only one, “Big Idea.” • A confused mind always says no. When you want your listeners to say yes, you’ve got to make them understand what you want them to do and why they should care. • Dare to do the unexpected. Leaders know the rules, and they know when, why, and how to break them. In chapters that can be read in five minutes or less and in a book that can be gone through in one sitting, Witt shows you how to become more confident, more commanding, more compelling speakers. But this isn’t just a book about speaking. It’s about leadership and about how people–CEOs and PTA presidents, small business owners and sales reps, middle managers and techno geeks–can present themselves and their ideas with greater impact.

A guide to using Microsoft PowerPoint describes how to use stories to create effective business presentations.