In true Decker form, we videotaped the entire Decker Made To Stick Messaging debut program so we could (what else?) give ourselves feedback!  Several participants gave us feedback, too, so we can continuously improve and evolve.  With all this video lying around, @MeredithGood put together a short testimonial (for kicks!) to give you a sense of what Decker Made To Stick Messaging is all about.

What are you waiting for? Get in on the action and register for December 2nd! Hope to see you soon.

Nancy Duarte at Apple Store

So the Flip Video came out – and it works great for a very small (iPod size) video camera of adequate quality that you can immediately edit and put up on YouTube. Here's an example – my first shot.

And Nancy was great – overcoming a lot of background noise and distractions at a busy downtown Apple Store. Here is Nancy with her first key point, on the importance of Telling Great Stories.

She had terrific slides of course, but even moreso was her great content (Dru took some notes as I was busy with Flip Video):

1. Tell Great Stories – she illustrated with visuals that ALSO told the great stories by themselves.
2. Reach Beyond Projection – a presentation can be slides – projected, but she told also of the many other varieties, from decks (the written) to on the web, to PDA plus devices – where you can interact, collaborate, and view. In other words, the world of presentation is a new world.
3. Show Don't Tell – and here she gave a great example of a Garr Reynolds' presentation on SlideShare.
4. Create a Profound Experience – unusual was a chart of visual storytelling that looked for the conflict and resolution. Nancy said to identify those points in a preso where you want people to be conflicted, for conflict generates emotion generates action.

Dru Scott also bought a few more copies of Slide:ology. That deserved an iPhone picture.

The Flip Video was OK, but the quality isn't great when you have poor sound and a screen as background. For a longer and higher quality view of Nancy, you might try this interview.

Other tidbits:

• Nancy said to use high quality images – they evoke credibility, and Duarte Design spends over $150,000 a year on images!
• Nancy Duarte and Garr Reynolds have changed the process of creating and presenting in less than a year with their influence, blogs, and particularly their wonderful and complimentary books Slide:ology and Presentation Zen. Both books are in the top 100 at Amazon already. Amazing.
• Twitter, Tribes (also in the top 100 at Amazon) and Technology are changing the face of communicating. (At least task and relationship communicating – nothing will ever replace 'face to face'…)
• The video revolution continues. Flip Video costs $179 and enables anyone to immediately shoot and edit and be able to use videos in their PowerPoints, blog posts, YouTube or devices. And video is the BEST way to capture emotion to influence to action in a very short time.

His great post on Barack Obama's advanced use of alliteration, list of three, and other oratorical devices is not to be missed. Atkinson is a master at coaching and analyzing the written speech. As he mentioned in his email to me, Obama "included 27 three-
part lists at a rate of about one every 30 seconds!"

And keep in mind that the "list of three" is not just a device of rhetoric. As a proven principle in physics, it is also used in communicating for

1. organizing ideas on the spot
2. creating presentations, and
3. putting together agendas of any kind

(and a lot of other uses beyond those three.)

It is one of the organizing principles for The Decker Grid, which we use in every program we teach and train. So if you use the Rule Of Three you will be

1. More prepared,
2. More persuasive, and
3. More powerful!

I repeat what I said in the forward to her book, "It’s more than slides and design – it’s about communications and inspiration. And this book will help anyone – beginner or top professional – to get to the top of their game."

Read these good reviews – I couldn’t detail it as well – and then click on Amazon and get the book:

• Presentation Zen - (This is a great review!) "should come bundled with every copy of PowerPoint"
• The Extreme Presentation - "nine neat insights from among several in the book"
• Squared Peg.com – "jam packed with information"
• Presentations Roundtable – "you need this book"
• Six Minutes -  (Also a great review)  "a classic reference text for presentation skills"
• VizThink – "We were so excited about the book, we had to do a podcast"

If you scan all these reviews, and don’t get the book, you’re not on the right blog!

And Nancy has a great new blog too.
    

A few weeks ago we had Michael Phelps in the Olympics winning race after race, and of course the encores for Barack Obama have launched his campaign for the Presidency, and now the phenomenon of Sarah Palin building one communication experience on another. TV and the internet is filled with remarkable performances. And now we can learn some of the principles to create our own encores.

The author of this great book is my friend and colleague, Mark Sanborn. I’ve known Mark for over 20 years, and this is his best – and he is a very successful thinker, speaker and expert who knows what he is writing (and speaking) about in leadership and performance.

One of a few key elements and a recurring theme:

Passion is the fuel for remarkable performance!

Simple enough, but how do you sustain and repeat that passion?!? Learn it here – it is quick, easy, and will convince you that everyone can achieve an
ENCORE performance in their personal and professional lives.

It’s just out – and you can get it at Amazon or visit Mark’s website. Special bonus Mark is offering – if you submit your receipt to encore@marksanborn.com you will receive a coupon worth $9.97 for your choice of any of the valuable e-books in Mark’s online store. You’ll also get full Access to The Encore Effect Assessment  (a $29.97 value) that will be available through the book’s support site at www.theencoreeffect.com.

• It’s excellent, and will inspire you in several ways.
• It has true stories of important principles and communicating successes.
• It’s a quick read.

It’s part of the Ken Blanchard "One Minute" series, so you know it will be worthwhile. Even more so, Ken gives us four of the key principles right away in a unique promotion for the book (you might even be able to still get it for free here):

The Four Pillars of Successful Entrepreneurs

1. Pillar 1: Sales Must Exceed Expenses
2. Pillar 2: Collect Your Bills
3. Pillar 3: Take Care of Your Customers
4. Pillar 4: Take Care of Your People

"The One Minute Entrepreneur" is a story and a fable that is absorbing. It also has immediate take aways for you. And throughout it is infused with the success of a "forward lean," of speaking out while caring for those you are speaking to. (I love the chapter "Helping People Soar Like Eagles.")

And also It was written by a very good friend Don Hutson, co-written by a good friend Ken Blanchard, and it is inspired by a very, very good friend Charlie "Tremendous" Jones. All are worth getting to know…

]]> http://decker.com/blog/2008/05/the-one-minute-entrepreneur/feed/ 0 http://decker.com/blog/2008/01/presentation-zen-an-instant-classic/ http://decker.com/blog/2008/01/presentation-zen-an-instant-classic/#comments Fri, 11 Jan 2008 20:26:12 +0000 Bert Decker http://decker.com/blog/2008/01/presentation-zen-an-instant-classic/
Presentation Zen is a new book by Garr Reynolds that should be read by any business presenter, leader, politician, professional… well, by everybody. It’s that good.

This book about presentation design is about much more than that, and I recommend you run right out and get it (or rather log on to Amazon and buy it where it is already, amazingly, in the top 100, and also in it’s second printing).

This is an outstanding book for YOU for three primary reasons:

1. It is brilliantly written and designed
2. It is a concept book that is about life as well as presenting your ideas
3. It is also a how-to book, and one we will be giving out to our key clients

 

Read on for the details…

1. This is a beautiful book, brilliantly written. Garr designed it as well as wrote it, and he put it
together like a great in-person presentation. Presentation Zen uses:

• Stories, beginning each chapter and sprinkled throughout. I loved his opening about the ‘aha’ moment with the Bento on the Super Express train from Tokyo to Osaka.
• Visuals, probably the best you’ve seen in a published book – not only beautiful but relevant. Look at Mt. Fuji hovering over the Super Express on page 4. More importantly, look at the beautiful PowerPoint visuals that are sprinkled throughout.
• Concepts, many new ideas and reframing many important ideas. Yes, he of course details why PowerPoints are abused in almost all business presentations, but he shows how slides and visuals can be used in new ways.
• Authenticity, his own voice is personal and powerful. Much like his great blog at www.presentationzen.com, which is the most popular blog on presentations.
• Aha’s, the moments of insight that are plentiful are also delightful. Like in Chapter 2 on Creativity Garr reveals in several ways how structure gives birth to creativity.
• Sharing the Wealth, where we hear from outstanding other voices like Guy Kawasaki, Dan Pink, Nancy Duarte, Chip Heath, Brenda Ueland and Seth Godin – all blended into the one voice of the book.

2. This is a concept book. In a way it was hard to read since I wanted to go fast so I could review it, but I wanted to dwell on the ideas and the visuals and the layout and analyze it. Yes, it will take several readings, and will be a reference book for all good presenters:

• 
  Garr Reynolds gets it right. From the outset he lays out what is wrong with PowerPoints and what we call "information vs. influence" and Chip and Dan Heath call the "curse of knowledge." Garr explains it, and what to do about it.
• His contents are in three sections: Preparation, Design and Delivery
• His three key concepts are: Clarity, Simplicity and Naturalness
• In Preparation, he uses similar concepts that we teach about getting out of analytical, logical and digital mode and into organic, creative and analog mode. Don’t start at the computer in your PowerPoints, start with your Focus (or Point Of View as we say in the Decker Grid) and getting your ideas on post-its in a brainstorm session.
• In Design, he is a master – you have to read the book and see the pictures.I don’t know a lot about design so I learned a lot.
• In Delivery, he stresses being natural. I would have emphasized the importance of confidence and behavior more – but of course that’s our area of expertise. And who’s to quibble with a masterpiece. That’s like saying Tiger Woods is not the greatest golfer because he only won three of four Majors. (No one has ever won all four.)

3. This is a "How-To" book. On top of all of the above, this is one of the best teaching books on presentations that there is, and belongs on every bookshelf. Since it emphasizes PowerPoint (and Keynote of course) design and business presentations, naturally it will make the biggest impact if that’s your presentation venue. But if you are a doctor, media personality, non-profit leader, pastor, musician or just a regular old person (since we all speak,) this is a book from which you can gain a lot of inspiration and information. And you will enjoy reading it. Here’s Amazon to save you time…

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