Rating:  Summary: THE WORST BOOK ON POWER POINT Review: I have read the booklet just now. and all it says is on 10 pages how bad power point is, showing screen shots of templates that we all know. Then, in just 5 points Seth offers advice. Here they go including my criticism:1. No more than six words on a slide. EVER. 2. No cheesy images. Use professional images from corbis.com instead. They cost $3 each, or a little more if they're for 'professional use'. 3. No dissolves, spins or other transitions. None. 4. Sound effects can be used a few times per presentation, but never (ever) use the sound effects that are built in to the program. Instead, rip sounds and music from CDs and leverage the Proustian effect this can have. 5. Don't hand out print-outs of your slides. They're emotional, and they won't work without you there. If someone wants your slides to show "the boss," tell them that the slides go if you go. to 1) Some of those points are relevant, others are not. For instance point one says no more than 6 words on a slide. that is absolutely not true. For instance think about a quote which could be longer than 6 words and still very effective. to 2) Yes, professional images are a must, but he does not tell the reader how to select and use them in different settings. But without that knowledge you wont be able to put together an effective message, thats why he says its difficult to apply, because he does not show it. to 3) he is wrong on that point. Transistions and animations can be used and should be used in specific context, when they help to deliver the message more effectively. But he does not outline when it would be appropriate and when not. He does not teach the method on presentations, just his opinion. Which might be irrelevant to your case. to 4) Yes, sound effects can be used several times. But we know that. The question is to learn when to use sound effects and when not to use them. Also, what sound effects go with words, images, etc.. to deliver one coherent message. He does not tell anything on that. to 5) True, slides only work with the presenter and should not be handed out. It is better to write up a short, one-page-report of bullet points or text. Power Point visualises messages, its a visual aid and cannot replace proper text. My advice to you: For US$ 1.99 this book is still TOO EXPENSIVE as it tells you what you can find for FREE on the web. Just type in a search engine "power point guidlines" or other keywords and you will find more specific advice on how to use Power Point. No substance, superficial and a waste of money. I hope my review has taught you more than this book could ever teach you.
Rating:  Summary: How many bad PowerPoint slideshows have YOU had to endure? Review: I liked this pamphlet and I'm going to recommend it to everyone I know who has to give presentations. I bristled a little at Godin's rule that no slide should contain more than six words. But if that concept still seems alien after careful reflection, you are probably misusing PowerPoint in the first place. The main premise of the work, that communication's function is to convey emotion, can't be properly elucidated in just 10 pages but it's a powerful message. What he does stress is that a presenter is there, physically in front of an audience for a reason. If you think that reason is simply to project paragraphs and images from a textbook or a sales brochure onto a screen, your employer is paying you too much. You should not be an interchangeable messenger to your audience -- even if you're not selling something, you should be rewarding their attention.
Rating:  Summary: Brief and to the, uh, point. Review: I read the whole thing on my coffee break. I'm new to Power Point, but an old hand at communicating, and I'm glad I read it. Consider it an operator's manual, not to the nuts and bolts of Power Point, but to the appropriate use of another communications tool.
Rating:  Summary: Disappointing Review: I shouldn't be surprized because I have as yet to find a PowerPoint book that I found useful. Too short and too little. In the end this pamplet is more of an advertisement for the author's bigger book on design than a useful instruction for those who looking to improve their PowerPoint briefings. Most of the advice is too esoteric and not very practicle in a scope that it attempts to cover.
Rating:  Summary: LOVED The Book Review: I teach powerPoint at a college. Every qtr I make my students read my booklet. I needed a booklet like this to show my students that more is not everything.
Rating:  Summary: Really Bad Power Point Review: I was never able to sucessfully download this product! Is there a way to either be reimbursed or get a hard copy in the mail? I don't know how good, bad or mediocre it was.
Rating:  Summary: Save your money Review: If wonder how something so useful could sell for such a low price--quit wondering!! This could have been written in 15 minutes. As a Powerpoint user who is always interested in doing better this was laughable!!
Rating:  Summary: "Communication is the Transfer of Emotion" Review: Just because this eBooklet is short and simple doesn't mean it isn't powerful. Don't make the mistake of equating simple with simplistic. After all, some of the most powerful books I know are books usually considered "kids books." Want proof? Who can argue with the power of Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree -- all black and white and an average of three or four words per page of it? I've never seen anything more simple -- yet its emotion chokes me up every time I read it. In the same way, I could read a zillion books on PowerPoint presentations and not get out of them what I got from this slim, 10-page, booklet by Seth Godin. I'm not sure I understand what some of the other reviewers are getting at. Sure, this eBooklet only costs $1.99. But does that mean it contains nothing of value? Does quality have to equal quantity? Are there no good ideas rendered in simple words, short sentences, or few pages? (Gee, don't bother reading Hemingway, then.) For once, we get far MORE value than we're paying for. The pricetage of $1.99 is a small price to pay, indeed, for something that could truly revolutionize your next PowerPoint presentation. What's that worth? you ask. I don't know. A new client? Keeping your job? Winning over your bosses to a new way of thinking? Impressing your co-workers? Learning to communicate with passion? If those reasons aren't worth $1.99 to you, then you and I have a different set of values. By the way, the title of my review is taken from one of the subheads in Seth's eBooklet. The information contained in that one statement, alone, has changed my entire outlook on the art of communicating. I don't know about you, but I'd gladly pay $1.99 for a slice of insight that heady. Thank you, Seth.
Rating:  Summary: Not Woth [money] Review: Let me save you [money]. Don't use over six words a slide and use pictures as they transmit emotion. The other five pages are a waste of cyberspace (and ink if you print it). I am an experienced presenter and assumed this would be more detail and layout ideas; instead to a rather bland presenation of stale facts. The only saving grace is that many people violate these common rules to the detrament of themselves and their audience.
Rating:  Summary: His ideas are for natural born / charming speakers Review: Not for uptight, somewhat shy people like myself. Also, his advice doesn't play well in educational settings. If I presented something like that people would assume I just threw the presentation together at the last minute.
|