Point, Click & Wow! (With CD-ROM)

Rating:
Summary: Great source!
Review: A pretty presentation does not mean it is a good presentation. This book does not just address look but also content and preparation. This is an excellent resoure for professionals (or students) who need to get their ideas across to an audience. It is very well laid out and does not just address how to create the look of a presentation. It does a great job on the importance of preparation, knowing your audience, and being prepared for all eventualities (expected and unexpected.

Rating:
Summary: Lots of practical advice
Review: Although this book is 3 years old, it still has lots of practical advice, from what colors to use to how to ensure that you are prepared on the day of your presentation. There are many specific suggestions about designing a presentation, getting to know your audience, choosing effective graphics, using animation wisely and standing up before an audience. The book closes with several helpful checklists. This book is applicable to any presentation program.

Rating:
Summary: Great book for those starting out...
Review: As part of my preparation for Lotusphere, I've been reading the book Point, Click & Wow! - A Quick Guide To Brilliant Laptop Presentations by Claudyne Wilder and Jennifer Rotondo. I don't know how "brilliant" my slides will be, but they certainly don't suck as much as they used to! :-)

The book is filled with a ton of practical material on how to prepare a laptop presentation, as well as how to deliver a great presentation regardless of the technology. Everything from organizing your data to slide composition to presentation timing to pre-presentation preparation. If you're an accomplished speaker, you may already know all this stuff. If you're just starting out, you'll learn a lot. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Great book for those starting out...
Review: As part of my preparation for Lotusphere, I've been reading the book Point, Click & Wow! - A Quick Guide To Brilliant Laptop Presentations by Claudyne Wilder and Jennifer Rotondo. I don't know how "brilliant" my slides will be, but they certainly don't suck as much as they used to! :-)

The book is filled with a ton of practical material on how to prepare a laptop presentation, as well as how to deliver a great presentation regardless of the technology. Everything from organizing your data to slide composition to presentation timing to pre-presentation preparation. If you're an accomplished speaker, you may already know all this stuff. If you're just starting out, you'll learn a lot. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Claudyne Wilder Gets a Perfect Score!
Review: I have had the pleasure of meeting the author and hearing her speak, and she is incredible in her understanding of the advantage that clear and exciting communication can offer. To provide her presentation skills, her tips and insights in this one book is a great deal--glad it is finally on the market! If we could all have Claudyne Wilder at our side as we make our presentations, we would shine! The content is thoughtfully presented, thorough and unique. Step by step, the author helps us move forward to a whole new level. Great book for helping with all aspects of business and organizational presentations.

Rating:
Summary: A rehash of all that stuff you should know
Review: In the same vein of books that you really don't need but somehow still end up being useful is Point, Click and Wow! A Quick Guide to Brilliant Laptop Presentations by Claudyne Wilder and David Fine. There is really nothing in this book that should not be obvious to anyone with common sense, but since so few of us have that important trait these days, it is a good thing that Wilder and Fine have written this book to remind us of it. Designed with the presenter in mind, although with a couple of nods to the presentation creators, Wilder and Fine step through the intricacies of performing a presentation using today's technology, including the horrors of laptops that stop working just as you stand up in front of an audience, presenters more enamored of their presentation technology that with their topic, and design faux pas like changing colors with every slide and having the text in an eight point font.

Experienced field people will find a lot of this book a rehash of their own problems incorporating the new technology into their business along with some simple guidelines about presentation itself. However, for those who have yet to move from overhead transparencies to the rich world of presentation software, or for those new hires wanting to make an early splash in the field, this covers the basics. Truthfully, it's not the presentation that makes the product, but just as we are constantly at war trying not to judge a book by its cover, it is often the cover (or the presentation) by which a sale is lost or made, and pity the poor presenter that loses this point.

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Summary: The Art and Science of Presenting
Review: Wilder and Rotondo have given us the Art and Science of Presenting -- from researching the audience, focusing on the goal of presentation, and organizing the content, to using technological tools, designing for impact, and rehearsing. The principles covered in their book can be used for any type of presentation situation (not just a PowerPoint slide show) and will therefore be useful to readers many times in the future.