Synopses & Reviews
“Maestro Jerry Weissman is unquestionably the world’s very best at teaching people how to be great communicators. Having known and worked with Jerry for many years, Winning Strategies for Power Presentationsis the best of his many excellent works, a must read for anyone striving to be a forceful, high-impact presenter. Readers will derive immense value from this fast flowing, one of a kind gem.”
–DIXON DOLL, co-founder, DCM Venture Capital; past chairman, US National Venture Capital Association; Board member, DIRECTV
“There isn’t an executive, salesman, banker, politician, or religious leader on the planet who can’t improve their presentation skills. Jerry Weissman is the guru to whom they turn to learn to deliver their message better.”
–ADAM LASHINSKY, Sr. Editor at Large, Fortune Magazine; author, Inside Apple
“Jerry can change a monotone, mind-numbing presenter into a fascinating, attention-getting, and enthralling speaker. His teachings are like a dose of Red Bull for the listener. His latest book is filled with short, captivating snippets which are extremely helpful to anyone giving a speech or a presentation.”
–DOUG LEONE, partner, Sequoia Capital
“Jerry has hit a home run again with this new book. It was great to gain insight from those who have ‘mastered’ the art of presenting. I will refer back to the ideas in this book constantly in the years ahead. Thank you, Jerry, for another outstanding learning experience.”
–BETHANY MAYER, Senior Vice President and General Manager, HP Networking Business
“Jerry Weissman has done it again. Whether readers devour the entire book from cover to cover, or enjoy these concise and compelling nuggets one at a time, the impact remains the same: better business presentations. These strategies can immediately start improving your presentations.”
–JD SCHRAMM, ED.D., Director, Mastery in Communication Initiative, Stanford Graduate School of Business
In the past 20+ years, Jerry Weissman has developed a set of powerful, proven techniques for presenting and speaking in public; techniques he’s used to help thousands of pioneering technology companies raise hundreds of billions of dollars in the stock market. Now, in Winning Strategies for Power Presentations, Weissman has distilled 75 best practices from the world’s best persuaders into bite-sized techniques you’ll find easy to apply!
Following his bestselling Presentations in Action, Weissman delivers priceless practical insights in the four essential areas of winning presentations: content, graphics, delivery, and Q&A. His compelling examples range from Jon Stewart to venture capitalist John Doerr, Stephen R. Covey to Mark Twain, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Woody Allen.
For the first time, Weissman also offers indispensable advice on a wide spectrum of “special” presentation factors, from developing a richer speaking voice to delivering scripted speeches, and from leading stimulating panel discussions to demonstrating new products successfully.
Actionable lessons from Jerry Weissman drawn from history’s greatest communicators, including:
- Ronald Reagan
- Barack Obama
- Sir Winston Churchill
- John F. Kennedy
- Humphrey Bogart
- Aristotle
- Stephen King
- Vinod Khosla
- John Irving
- George Bernard Shaw
- Frank Sinatra
- Charlie Rose
- Stephen Sondheim
- Johnny Carson
- Cicero
- And many more…
Synopsis
Craft and deliver outstanding presentations, speeches, demos, and more! Learn how, from the world's #1 presentation coach, Jerry Weissman -- and the experiences of dozens of the world's legendary persuaders! This book distills 75 best practices and techniques Weissman has developed through more than 20 years coaching executives on their highest-stakes presentations. In Winning Strategies for Power Presentations, Weissman identifies the elements of a great presentation, offering powerful new insights into contents, graphics, delivery, Q-and-A sessions, and much more. Weissman illuminates every technique with a compelling case study, drawing on the positive and negative experiences of communicators ranging from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama, Jon Stewart to venture capitalist John Doerr, Stephen King to Mark Twain, Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. For the first time, he specifically and thoroughly addresses the unique challenges of making persuasive political presentations and speeches. This book also includes brand-new advice on a wide spectrum of "special presentation" issues, ranging from developing a richer public speaking voice to delivering scripted speeches, interviewing like a TV anchorperson to demonstrating products more successfully. For everyone who must speak and present more effectively in public: executives, managers, professional speakers, business leaders, project leaders, sales personnel, instructors, students, and many others.
About the Author
JERRY WEISSMAN, the world’s #1 corporate presentations consultant, is known for his executive coaching sessions. Weissman’s private client list includes the top brass at Yahoo!, Intuit, Cisco, Microsoft, HP, Dolby Labs, and many others. His techniques have helped nearly 600 client firms create persuasive IPO road show presentations that have raised hundreds of billions of dollars in the stock market and hundreds of other public and pre-public firms to develop and deliver crucial business presentations. Weissman is the president of Power Presentations, Ltd., and the author of the bestsellers Presenting to Win, Presentations in Action, The Power Presenter, and In the Line of Fire: How to Handle Tough Questions...When It Counts.
Table of Contents
<>Introduction xv
Natural and Universal
Section I
Content: The Art of Telling Your Story 1
1. Mark Twain’s Fingernails 3
How to Remember What to Say
2. Kill Your Darlings 7
A Lesson from Professional Writers
3. How Long Should a Presentation Last? 11
Be Brief and Concise
4. Follow the Money 13
“So...?”
5. Fellini on Creativity 15
Consider All the Possibilities—Before You Present
6. How Woody Allen Creates 17
First Things First, Last Things Last
7. What’s Your Point? 19
Leave Pointlessness to Woody Allen
8. Spoiler Alert 21
What’s Your Point?
9. The Cyrano Parable 23
The Story You Tell Versus the Slides You Show
10. “Does that make sense?” 25
...And Other Meaningless Words
11. Meaningful Words 27
Words That Inspire Confidence
12. Writer’s Block 29
How to Break Through
13. Writer’s Block II 31
Easier Said Than Done
14. Never Say “Never” 33
Well, Almost Never
15. From Bogart to Gingrich 35
Who Did It?
16. Rupert Murdoch’s 90% Apology 39
Who Did It?
17. Winning and Losing the World Cup 41
He’s Just Not That into FIFA
18. John Doerr’s “Chalk” Talks 43
Three Best Practices from a Top Venture Capitalist
19. Vinod Khosla’s Cardinal Rule 45
“Message Sent Is Not the Same as Message Received”
20. The Outline Trap 47
Britannica and Brainstorming
21. Having a ’versation 49
“I” Versus “You”
22. “It’s all about you!” 51
“...But they’re just not that into you.”
23. When Not to Tell ’em 55
“Get on with it!”
24. Bookends 59
Establish Your First and Last Sentences
25. The Sound of Ka-Ching! 61
Scale the “You”
26. David Letterman’s Top Ten 63
Pick a Number
27. Illusion of the First Time 65
Road (Show) Warriors
28. In Praise of Analogies and Examples 69
Add Value and Dimension
29. Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama 71
Masters of the Game
30. Aristotle: The First Salesman 75
The Original Source
Section II
Graphics: How to Design PowerPoint
Slides Effectively 77
31. Vinod Khosla’s Five-Second Rule 79
A Sanity Check for Every Presentation
32. Don’t Raise the Bridge, Lower the Water 81
Better Box Thinking
33. Jon Stewart’s Right 83
Positioned on Purpose?
34. Misdirection 85
Magicians and Graphics
35. Obama Makes a PowerPoint Point 87
The State of the Union and Presentations
36. Go in the Right Direction 89
A Presentation Lesson from Akira Kurosawa
37. PowerPoint and Movie Stunts 91
Use Graphics to Create Continuity
38. The Anti-PowerPoint Party 93
Another Precinct Heard From
39. Signage Versus Documents 95
Drive Your PowerPoint Home
40. The Graphics Spectrum 97
Lives of Quiet Desperation
41. How Audiences See 99
Follow the Action
42. Why Use PowerPoint at All? 103
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words
43. “But, I’m not an artist!” 107
Rx: Infographics
44. The Kindness of Strangers 111
Stand and Deliver
45. No More Mind-Numbing Number Slides 113
Five Easy Steps to Bring Your Presentation to Life
Section III
Delivery Skills: Actions Speak Louder
Than Words 117
46. Eight Presentations a Day 119
Cause and Effect
47. Sounds of Silence 121
Presentation Advice from Composers and Musicians
48. Stage Fright 123
A Close Cousin of Writer’s Block
49. Swimming Lessons and Presentations 127
Deconstruct and Reconstruct
50. Valley Girl Talk 131
Invisible Question Marks
51. “What do I do with my hands?” 133
A Simple Approach to Gesturing
52. “Look, Ma, no hands!” 137
Anchorperson or Weatherperson
53. Foreign Films 139
The Pause That Refreshes
54. Rx: CrackBerry Addiction 141
Control Yourself!
55. The Eyes Have It 143
Relax!
56. Why Sinatra Stood 145
The Voice of “The Voice”
57. Presentation Counts 147
The Rise and Fall of Rick Perry
Section IV:
How to Handle Tough Questions 151
58. Listening and Laughing with Johnny Carson 153
Late Night Lessons for Presenters
59. Ready, Fire, Aim! 155
Old Habits Die Hard
60. How to Deal with a Direct Attack 159
“That was certainly a downer!”
61. No Such Thing as a Stupid Question 163
A Lesson in Q&A from Dilbert
62. The Patronizing Paraphrase 165
Trying to Channel Bill Clinton
63. Tricky Questions 169
Be Transparent or Be Trapped
64. Robert McNamara Was Wrong 171
You Must Respond to All Questions
65. Breaking into Jail 175
The Elephant IS in the Room
Section V
Special Presentations 177
66. Speak Crisply and Eliminate Mumbling 179
Be Your Own Henry Higgins
67. How to Develop a Richer Voice 185
Be Your Own Echo Chamber
68. How to Deliver a Scripted Speech 193
When the Words Count
69. Speaking to an Audience of a Thousand 197
The Big Tent
70. How to Beat the Demo Demons 201
Plan B and More
71. Bring Your Panel Discussion to Life 203
How to Herd Cats
72. Mark Your Accent 207
Eliza Doolittle Is a Myth
73. How to Interview Like a Television Anchorperson 211
Seven Easy Steps
74. Ten Best Practices for the IPO Road Show 215
75. Cicero: Peroration 221
Timeless and Borderless
Endnotes 223
Acknowledgments 237
Index 239
About the Author 249