The First Slide

The First SlideThe ezine of Perfect Presentation Coaching

3 BooksContinuous learning is essential to continual improvement, especially in the arena of public presenting and speaking. Along those lines, I want to introduce you to 3 books that I think should be in everybody’s presentation library.Beyond Bullets by Cliff Atkinson This book takes the creation of Powerpoint slideshows and turns it on its head. As the title implies it takes the designer to a place beyond bullet points! That is an excellent thing as bullet points actually get in the way of learning. Cliff Atkinson teaches you how to use the format of a Hollywood movie storyboard to organize your thoughts. The whole idea is that stories are much more interesting and memorable than dull recitations of fact. I am a HUGE fan of this method of presentation creation. You should definitely give this one a try. The website also offers a multitude of tips.

The next two books are both design books.

Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds

As the title implies this book uses a Zen aesthetic to guide its design principles. The main theme throughout the book is one of simplicity. Simplicity in design, simplicity in thoughts and words. Presenters often think that more is better on a slide when in fact many times the opposite is true. The most useful sections of this book come toward the end with the last few chapters devoted to design principles and some incredibly helpful sample slides and examples.

slide:ology by Nancy Duarte

Nancy Duarte is the owner of Duarte Design and achieved fame as the designer of the An Inconvenient Truth slideshow, which won an Emmy. This book, quite simply is the design bible for presentation designers. It is full of design tips and chapter after chapter of explanations and examples of various design principles. Practical tips on design elements, transitions, colors, and animations can be found on every page. The

Successful Presentations - Successful Lifehttp://perfectpresentationcoaching.com/sq mike@perfectpresentationcoaching.com

3 must have booksIf you want to create quality, you need thesePage 1

The 9 “P’s”Nine? Yes, nine.Page 2

First ImpressionsGuest article from business coach Jonathan LewisPage 2

In this issue:

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subtitle of this book is The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations, this book is as much fun to look at as it is to learn from!

Bottom line is this: If you are passionate about what you do or even if you just want to improve what you do then get these three books!

The 9 “P’s”This simple thought comes from presentation expert Lenny Laskowski (ljlseminars.com): Prior Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance of the Person Putting on the Presentation. Let’s pull this apart into three pieces and examine each one a little closer.

1. Prior Proper Preparation: This is a novel idea.... Properly preparing prior to your presentation! We all know that this is essential to success, but many of us fail to do it. We fail to go through our words and visuals after we get them ready. Why? I think its because somewhere deep down inside of us, we have taught ourselves that once we have finished putting our presentations together we are done with them. This could not be further form the truth! Prepare yourself... I’m going to add another “P” - Practice! Put it together and then practice and rehearse until you KNOW you are ready.

2. Prevents Poor Performance: Everybody needs to prepare. Two simple examples here. Tiger Woods, the best golfer in the world right now, perhaps ever. Did you know he has at least 4 coaches? Why does he have coaches? To prevent poor performance! One more; Michael Jordan, we all know what he accomplished. He had coaches, he practiced, and he, above all, prepared himself for each and every game. Why? To prevent poor performance!

3. Person Putting on the Presentation: Obviously this is you. In the words of John Wooden, “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.” Quite simply if you do not get yourself ready you will not succeed!

So, remember the 9 P’s. Prior Proper Preparation Prevent Poor Performance of the Person Putting on the Presentation!

First Impressions...This is the first in a series of guest articles from other coaches. Jonathan Lewis is a Personal & Business Empowerment Coach and can be reached through his website at: http://YourBusinessByDesignCoach.com where you can access other valuable information and even subscribe to his weekly “By Design” newsletter.

Have you ever heard this phrase? “You never get a second chance to make a first impression” If you lived through the ‘80s, you may remember the Head and Shoulders commercials that drilled this into our heads. It is SO true.

But...

It’s also only one half of the deal. Making a LASTING IMPRESSION is the other half! Sure, you can sneeze in your hand, scratch your butt, pick your

S E Q U O I A C L U B

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nose, and then shake someone’s hand. You will almost certainly make a BAD first impression. I may be exaggerating this point a little, but stay with me here. Fortunately or unfortunately, impressions are constantly in flux, especially if people have a chance to really see the true you. While you might have made a hideous FIRST impression, FIRST IMPRESSIONS ARE NOT EVERYTHING! You could be getting ready to go on stage and give a killer presentation. And while people might not want to shake your hand anymore, they will learn to respect you and understand that you are a wealth of knowledge. Your presentation may have had the power to motivate someone to do something they’ve been putting off for a long time or perhaps even been impactful enough to change their life forever!

Although your first impression was downright awful, through the true quality of your work, you may have made a LASTING impression! An impression as someone who is caring, compassionate, and knowledgeable. While you may not get a second chance to make a first impression, you have EVERY CHANCE to make a LASTING IMPRESSION!

So what if you’re having a bad day and everything that could go wrong does. That doesn’t mean that you should just scrap the day or curl up in a ball. Chances are, you might not ever make a big spectacle of yourself, or do something gross like pick your nose and then shake someone’s hand. But it certainly is not out of range to think you might mispronounce someone’s name, right? We’ve all been there before. The point is that mistakes happen to EVERYONE!

Regardless of it being during your first impression or your 100th, you have EVERY CHANCE to make a LASTING IMPRESSION! The next time you see someone you will be making an impression, hopefully a good one, and you’ll either be starting or adding to an already existing lasting impression. Who knows? Itcould be today. Every interaction adds to an impression. This doesn’t mean you should get lazy with your first impression. Your first impression certainly counts! But it is not the be all end all of impressions, it simplymeans, once again, that you have EVERY CHANCE to make a LASTING IMPRESSION.

Now go put your best foot forward. Try not to trip over it! But if you do…Get up, dust yourself off, and keep moving forward to make a lasting impression.