Featuring a foreword by Guy Kawasaki, Presentation Zen will help presenters see the process in a way that is different, simpler, more visual, more natural, more effective, and ultimately far more meaningful.

Presentations are generally poor because their creators have learned bad habits and lack awareness and knowledge about what makes for a great presentation (and what does not). This book aims to help people break out of the rut of making typical PowerPoint presentations. This book provides an equal dose of inspiration and education. The content focuses on helping readers become (1) more aware, (2) more knowledgeable, and (3) more inspired. Presentation Zen is a provocative mix of illumination, education, and guidance. What may seem like common sense regarding presentations is not common practice.

Presentation Zen is an approach to presentations that is appropriate for our age, an age in which design thinking, storytelling and so-called right-brain thinking are crucial. Those who are talented communicators and skilled in design and storytelling are increasingly in demand.

Balancing the principles of design, the tenets of Zen simplicity, multimedia and cognitive learning theory, along with practical advice from the field, the book is a visual and instructional tour d'force.

"Please don't buy this book! Once people start making better presentations, mine won’t look so good. (But if you truly want to learn what works and how to do it right, Garr is the man to learn from.)"

Seth Godin

Speaker and Blogger

Author, Meatball Sundae

"Garr is a beacon of hope for frustrated audiences everywhere. His design philosophy and fundamental principles bring life to messages and can invigorate careers. His principles of simplicity are as much a journey of the soul as they are restraint of the mouse."

Nancy Duarte

CEO, Duarte Design

"Presentation Zen is just fantastic. Best of all it's not another recipe book about “how to make slides” — this is about re-imagining how your entire presentation will work together as a persuasive and integrated show, from conception through delivery. Awesome."

Merlin Mann

43folders.com

FOREWORD BY GUY KAWASAKI

Presentation designer and internationally acclaimed communications expert Garr Reynolds, creator of the most popular Web site on presentation design and delivery on the net — presentationzen.com — shares his experience in a provocative mix of illumination, inspiration, education, and guidance that will change the way you think about making presentations with PowerPoint or Keynote. Presentation Zen challenges the conventional wisdom of making "slide presentations" in today’s world and encourages you to think differently and more creatively about the preparation, design, and delivery of your presentations. Garr shares lessons and perspectives that draw upon practical advice from the fields of communication and business. Combining solid principles of design with the tenets of Zen simplicity, this book will help you along the path to simpler, more effective presentations.

Garr Reynolds is an internationally acclaimed communications expert, and the creator of the most popular Web site on presentation design and delivery on the net: presentationzen.com. A soughtafter speaker and consultant, his clients include many in the Fortune 500. A writer, designer, and musician, he currently holds the position of Associate Professor of Management at Kansai Gaidai University in Japan. Garr is a former corporate trainer for Sumitomo Electric, and once worked in Cupertino, California as the Manager for Worldwide User Group Relations at Apple, Inc. A longtime student of the Zen arts and resident of Japan, he currently lives in Osaka where he is Director of Design Matters Japan.