Presentations in Action - Jerry Weissman [2]
Praise for Presentations in Action
“Jerry Weissman is the Jedi Master of presentations and effective communication. Presentations in Action is a wonderful compilation of 80 interesting examples and stories that will make you think and help you improve your presentations and public speaking. I’ve added this important and to-the-point book to my Jerry Weissman collection. Another fabulous read from the Silicon Valley legend.”
—Garr Reynolds, author of Presentation Zen and The Naked Presenter
“Across all fields there is one common trait of leaders: the ability to persuade groups to follow. This is the field guide to persuasion, thus the field guide to successful leadership.”
—Scott Cook, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Executive Committee, Intuit, Inc.
“The best way to learn how to become great is to study the greatest. In Presentations in Action, the world’s #1 presentations consultant presents 80 succinct lessons explaining what made the masters effective. These simple lessons make it easier to be much better. Jerry taught me how to capture my audience’s attention in the first minute of my talks with just six words, ‘Tell a story, not a joke.’ What a difference.”
—Bill Davidow, Venture Capitalist, author of Marketing High Technology and Overconnected
“Jerry gives you 80 secrets from the world’s best persuaders, compacted into bite-sized chapters that make them easy to read and easy to apply. Taken together they define the dynamics of communication that can and have changed the world.”
—Peter Guber, Chairman of Mandalay Entertainment
“There’s nothing I love more than case studies and great presentations. Jerry’s book provides case studies so you can make great presentations. It doesn’t get more enchanting than this.”
—Guy Kawasaki, author of Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions
“Loved the book; it is the key to ‘message received’ because what is said is less important than what is heard!”
—Vinod Khosla, Partner, Khosla Ventures
“Eighty Presentations Ideas from the Masters is like listening to football advice from Vince Lombardi—elegant, purposeful, and direct. In this compact but complete book, Jerry Weissman gives you all the right slants on public speaking and presentations. My favorite is Chapter 46, advice from Frank Sinatra—who puts lyrics ahead of melody. Congratulations, Jerry, on an insightful masterwork.”
—C. Richard Kramlich, Chairman, New Enterprise Associates
“Jerry’s coaching has been invaluable for many of our c-suite clients as they prepare for their debut or return to the public markets. His high-impact presentation approach has been tremendously successful. In addition, Jerry’s book series that detail his differentiating concepts have been incredibly instructive.”
—Michael Millman, Managing Director, J.P. Morgan–Equity Capital Markets
Introduction
I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand.
Confucius (551 B.C.–479 B.C.)
In the more than two decades I have been a presentations coach, many people have heard me tell them how to present effectively. They have also seen me show them, but the best results have come when I coached my clients to do—to put the techniques into action.
It worked. Those clients’ presentations have raised hundreds of billions of dollars in public, private, and even not-for-profit financing; sold hundreds of thousands of products; formed thousands of partnerships; and gained approval for hundreds of internal projects.
Confucius was right about doing.
The techniques grew out of a variety of sources, going all the way back to my Master’s studies in the Department of Speech and Drama at Stanford University and forward to my days as producer of public affairs programs at WCBS-TV in New York City. Although I didn’t realize it at first, many of the techniques that go into producing a television program are the same as those required to create and deliver a winning presentation: telling a clear and concise story, designing effective graphics, presenting with confidence, and handling