If you want to expand your knowledge about presentations, you might want to read a good reference book. But which books are really worthwhile? Amazon alone currently displays 5278 books on the topic of presentations. I’ve read quite a few reference books over the past few decades to stay current and get inspiration. The following books in particular have stayed in my memory:
Garr Reynolds: Zen or the Art of Presentation. Design and present with simple ideas
Garr Reynolds is one of the very big names in the world of presentation. He lives in Japan and applies the principles of ZEN Buddhism to presentations. What at first glance has little in common unfolds a very convincing effect in this book. Reynolds teaches how to focus on the essentials and bring together film, language and message into a harmonious whole. A book worth reading by a true master.
Carmine Gallo: Talk like TED. The 9 Public Speaking Secrets of the World’s Top Minds
Carmine Gallo also belongs to the circle of the best international speakers. This book is about the analysis of the most successful “TED Talks”, a virtually legendary series of events from the USA. In his analysis of the best TED speeches, for example, Gallo elaborates on the 9 most important rules for successful presentations. Anyone who wants to improve at free speech will find good suggestions in this book.
Carmine Gallo: The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs. How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience
In this book, Gallo has closely examined Steve Jobs’ style of presenting. He shows, for example, how Jobs prepared figures graphically so that they could be presented in an understandable and memorable way, or how he made the best use of his notes for his appearances. But it also becomes clear that Steve Jobs worked hard for days each time for his seemingly easy appearances. It simply doesn’t work without diligence. A very insightful book about the practical work of one of the greatest marketing geniuses.
Michael Rossié: Speaking freely: on radio, television and in front of an audience. A training for presenters and speakers
Those who attended our Presentation Bootcamp may already know Michael Rossiè. He is an absolute expert in free, authentic speaking. All aspects of free speech, such as preparation, body language, introduction, and conclusion are examined in detail in this book.
Nancy Duarte: slide:ology. Or the art of developing brilliant presentations
Nancy Duarte is an absolute presentation professional. For example, she designed the presentation slides for Al Gore’s famous film “An Inconvenient Truth.” In her book, the trained designer provides valuable tips on the use of colors, images, text, graphics and designs for convincing presentations.
Gerriet Danz: Presenting anew. Inspire and convince with the successful methods of advertising
Gerriet Danz is a communications trainer and originally comes from the advertising sector. For him, presentations don’t have to be boring at all. Danz shows how techniques from advertising can be used to engage audiences and place messages effectively. The current edition even comes with some training videos for free.
Hans-Uwe L. Köhler: The perfect speech. How to convince any audience
A master of free speech. Large corporations such as Coca Cola like to book Köhler for lectures. And not without reason. HE inspires, provokes and entertains his audience at the highest level. In this book, Köhler lets you share in his knowledge. How to prepare professionally for a speech? What to consider? What are the pitfalls? Very entertaining and informative.
Following are two recommendations for books penned by myself. I know, self-promotion is always such a thing. But, after all, I wrote the books with the goal of giving my readers the best possible information on the subject. And the positive feedback from my readers seems to indicate that I have succeeded quite well.
PowerPoint: The Guide to Better Presentations. Up to date on PowerPoint 2013 and 2016
Concentrated practical knowledge for better use of PowerPoint. Here I have packed in everything that is important for planning, creating and presenting PowerPoint slide presentations. It is currently the most up-to-date book on the subject. I have included the latest developments, designs and applications. With this book are prepared for all cases.
Designing and delivering presentations successfully: How to Present with Powerful Impact.
Everything you need to know to truly engage your audience. In this book, you will learn how to easily and quickly set up presentations, how to make an even stronger impact with your personal appearance, and how to customize your presentation for each audience. I explain the Presentation Booster method I developed to help you reduce your preparation time and achieve better, more persuasive presentation quality.
Dipl.-Wirtsch.-Informatiker Matthias Garten is the expert for multimedia presentations. He is an entrepreneur, speaker (TOP 100 Speaker), trainer (TOP 100 Excellence Trainer), multiple book author, presentation coach (presentation training), member of the GSA and Club 55, organizer of the Presentation Conference, Presentation Bootcamp and Presentation Rocket Days. In addition to PowerPoint and presentation training, he inspires and advises companies to present themselves even more effectively and thus stand out from competitors. He is the business owner of the presentation and PowerPoint agency smavicon Best Business Presentations and with his team has created over 15,000 presentations for over 150 industries since 1993.
