How to Give a Pretty Good Presentation: A Speaking Survival Guide for the Rest of Us

How to Give a Pretty Good Presentation: A Speaking Survival Guide for the Rest of Us

Released August 2010
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9780470597149

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial

Book description

Reduce the time and stress associated with your presentations

Bookshelves are crowded with books on how to be an exceptional presenter and promise to produce a brilliant, standing-ovation speaker. But what about a presentation resource for the rest of us? There are so many of us regular folk who who want to spend just a little time and effort to get over the big hurdle of giving a presentation, but don't know where to turn for advice.

How to Give a Pretty Good Presentation is the easy answer to this common need. Straightforward, entertaining, and well-organized, this user-friendly resource will walk you step-by-step through the process from how to write, rehearse, and deliver a pretty good presentation that will make you appear confident, memorable, and competent. Although it does not promise the moon (or a standing ovation), this public speaking survival guide will help you:

  • Appear confident (even while still feeling nervous!)

  • Take the spotlight off of you and put it on your content

  • Save time

  • Not put people to sleep with your PowerPoint Presentation

  • Produce better results

  • Make better impressions

  • Reduce the feelings of dread, sleeplessness, and procrastination associated with your presentations

  • Prepare even if you've waited until the day before or an hour before your presentation is to be given

    • Whatever your job, if you need to give a presentation and are feeling overwhelmed by it, How to Give a Pretty Good Presentation is there for you. If you want to reduce the time and stress associated with your presentations now and pass all future presentation opportunities with flying colors, then pick up this fun and accessible guide; you'll no doubt like the resulting improvement in both your personal and professional bottom line.

    Table of contents

    1. Copyright
    2. Acknowledgments
    3. Introduction: How to Give a Pretty Good Publication
    4. I. First Thing First
      1. 1. Your Introduction
      2. 2. The Tone
        1. 2.1. HOW DO I SET THE TONE FOR A PRESENTATION?
        2. 2.2. SHOULD IT BE FORMAL OR INFORMAL?
      3. 3. Tailoring Your Speech
        1. 3.1. SHOULD I TAILOR THE SPEECH FOR THE TYPE OF AUDIENCE?
        2. 3.2. TELLING PERSONAL STORIES VERSUS JUST THE FACTS
      4. 4. Kicking Things Off
      5. 5. The Game Plan
      6. 6. Revenge of the Nerves
        1. 6.1. WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO HANDLE NERVES?
        2. 6.2. HOW DO I DEAL WITH PRESPEECH JITTERS?
      7. 7. Supplementary Materials
        1. 7.1. SHOULD I SEND ADVANCE MATERIALS?
        2. 7.2. WHAT SHOULD I SEND, AND HOW?
        3. 7.3. HOW FAR IN ADVANCE AND TO WHOM?
      8. 8. Practice Makes Perfect
        1. 8.1. SHOULD I REHEARSE? HOW FAR IN ADVANCE?
        2. 8.2. HOW AND TO WHOM CAN I REHEARSE?
      9. 9. Your Appearance
        1. 9.1. WHAT KEY RULES SHOULD I FOLLOW?
        2. 9.2. IS THERE ANYTHING TO BE CAREFUL TO AVOID?
    5. II. The Presentation
      1. 10. Visual Aids
        1. 10.1. WHEN SHOULD I USE VISUAL AIDS?
        2. 10.2. WHAT TYPES SHOULD I USE?
      2. 11. Stage Presence
        1. 11.1. SHOULD I WALK OUT INTO THE AUDIENCE?
        2. 11.2. SHOULD I USE HAND MOVEMENTS?
        3. 11.3. WHERE SHOULD I LOOK?
      3. 12. Damned if You Do, Damned if You Don't
        1. 12.1. SHOULD I READ OR MEMORIZE MY PRESENTATION?
        2. 12.2. HOW CAN I MAKE NOTES AND USE THEM PROPERLY?
      4. 13. Testing... 1, 2, 3...
        1. 13.1. SHOULD I USE A MICROPHONE?
        2. 13.2. WHEN AND HOW SHOULD I USE A MICROPHONE?
        3. 13.3. WHAT SHOULD I DO IF SOMETHING BREAKS OR MALFUNCTIONS DURING MY PRESENTATION?
      5. 14. Audience Participation
        1. 14.1. HOW SHOULD I ENCOURAGE THE AUDIENCE TO PARTICIPATE (IF AT ALL?)
        2. 14.2. IS THE TRADITIONAL "SAVING QUESTIONS FOR THE END" METHOD REALLY THE BEST OPTION OR JUST THE MOST COMMONLY USED?
      6. 15. Timing Is Everything
        1. 15.1. RUNNING SHORT
        2. 15.2. RUNNING LONG
      7. 16. Don't Panic
      8. 17. Technical Difficulties
        1. 17.1. WHAT DO I DO IF I ENCOUNTER TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES DURING MY PRESENTATION?
        2. 17.2. HOW CAN I AVOID TECH ISSUES IN THE FIRST PLACE?
      9. 18. May I Have Your Attention, Please?
        1. 18.1. WHAT DO I DO IF MY AUDIENCE LOOKS UNINTERESTED?
        2. 18.2. HOW DO I GET THEM BACK?
      10. 19. Uh ... Um ...
      11. 20. Linguistics
      12. 21. Get to the Point
      13. 22. The Q&A
      14. 23. Questions from the Audience
    6. III. Tips, Tricks, and Other Sage Advice
      1. 24. Time Crunch
        1. 24.1. ONE DAY
        2. 24.2. MERE HOURS
        3. 24.3. MINUTES!?
      2. 25. Develop the Art
      3. 26. Time Trap
      4. 27. 10 Public Speaking Do's and Don'ts
      5. 28. Trust Me on This
      6. 29. "My" Final Speaking Tip
      7. 30. A Final Word
      8. About the Author
      9. Presentation Notes

    Product information

    • Title: How to Give a Pretty Good Presentation: A Speaking Survival Guide for the Rest of Us
    • Author(s):
    • Release date: August 2010
    • Publisher(s): Wiley
    • ISBN: 9780470597149