If you do any type of presenting I highly recommend picking up a copy of Presentation Zen. While you’re at it, check out Garr Reynolds website, www.presentationzen.com. My highlights from the book follow.

• Laughing people are more creative people. They are more productive people.
• A beginner is open and receptive and is more inclined to say “why not?” or “let’s give it a shot,” rather than “it’s never been done” or “that’s not common.”
• …the seemingly mundane business of a conference presentation, designed and delivered with the help of slideware, can be a very creative thing. A presentation is an opportunity to differentiate yourself, your organization, or your cause.
• “When forced to work within a strict framework the imagination is taxed to its utmost – and will produce its richest ideas. Given total freedom the work is likely to sprawl.” — T.S. Eliot
• Simplicity is not easy, in fact, it is hard.
• “Branding” is one of the most overused and misunderstood terms used today. Many people confuse the myriad elements of brand identity with brand or branding. The meaning of brand and branding goes far deeper than simply making one’s logo as recognizable as possible.
• “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” — Sir Ken Robinson
• “The opposite of play isn’t work. It’s depression.” — Brian Sutton-Smith, University of Pennsylvania
• “Eat like a bird, poop like an elephant.” — Guy Kawasaki
• The Japanese have a great expression concerning healthy eating habits: hara hachi bu. This means eat until 80 percent full
• “What we think, we become” — Buddha

Tags: books, presentations

Presentation Zen was posted on Friday, July 10th, 2009 at 18:43 and is filed in Maven. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.