Presentation Patterns: Techniques for Crafting Better Presentations

Part I: Prepare

When you start thinking about putting together a presentation, the first ideas that come to mind are probably about the talk’s content, the tool you’ll use to construct the slides, and the visuals you’ll show. However, those pieces rest on a foundation made of up decisions about what you’ll talk about, whom you’ll be talking to, how long you’ll talk, and where you’ll talk. Accordingly, this book begins with patterns that relate to getting a talk scheduled, the thought process behind constructing and delivering it, the constraints dictated by the venue and time slot, and the importance of calibrating the presentation to your specific audience. These foundational layers are every bit as important as the talk’s content to the presentation’s ...