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or house and make connections and look to exercise the right side of your brain. “Out there” is where the learning occurs. Challenge yourself and develop your creativity; exercise your creative brain. Take a drama class. Take an art class. Go to a movie. Go to a concert. Go to a play or a musical. If you’re a musician, join an orchestra or jam with friends or form a band. Or just go for an inspirational walk alone.

Lessons Are All Around You

We can find inspiration and lessons in unexpected places. For example, over the years I’ve learned a lot about graphic design—what’s effective and what’s not—during the morning commute on the trains. Trains here in Japan are clean, comfortable, and on time. The trains are also full of print advertising hanging and affixed to every conceivable space. I enjoy scanning the print ads while I commute as this gives me a chance to keep abreast of new products and events, and also to study graphic design trends and observe the way graphics and print are used in the media. You can learn a lot about fundamental design principles and develop a critical eye through careful examination of graphic design found in posters, banners, street signs, store fronts, and so on. We usually ignore or take for granted so much of the design in an urban setting, but just walking down the street you’ll find that the examples from which to learn are all around you. The lessons are everywhere. It’s just a matter of seeing.

It’s Within You Already

The key is in knowing that it is within you already. Do not rely on Microsoft or Apple or anyone else to dictate your choices. Most of all, do not let mere habit—and the habits of others—dictate your decisions on how you prepare and design and ultimately deliver your presentations. The secret is in increased awareness and being able to see the world and all the lessons around you. We cannot truly move forward and learn the new if we cling to the old. The essential key to improvement is simply having an open mind, an open heart, and a willingness to learn and even to make mistakes in the process. There are many ways to improve and transform yourself. In this chapter, I have listed just a few that I hope will be of help to you.

Conclusion

So, what’s the conclusion? The conclusion is there is no conclusion, there is only the next step. And that next step is completely up to you. In fact, far from being the conclusion, for many this is just the beginning. In this book I have tried to give you a few simple things to think about as you work toward improving your presentation preparation, design, and delivery skills. This book focused on presenting while using slideware such as PowerPoint or Keynote, yet the use of multimedia technology is not appropriate for every case. You decide. But if you do use slideware in your next talk, aim to design and deliver your presentation while allowing the principles of restraint, simplicity, and naturalness to be your gentle guide. Enjoy the journey.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

—Lao-tzu