Picture of Garr, Bert and Nancy

It was to be an informal event - and in a sense it was. Garr Reynolds had been up for 40 hours traveling from Japan to San Francisco to speak at Stanford, and then immediately came over to Duarte Design headquarters tonight to speak again to a small group of friends. It was like a who's who of presentations: Nancy and Mark Duarte, Ben and Kelly Decker, Microsoft folks, Slideshare, Ian Griffin of the National Speakers Association - and the publishing and PR people of Peach Pit Press and Eastwick, among the many Duarte designers and others.

One occasion for the gathering was that Garr has finished his book! "Presentation Zen" is out and it's great. A review will be coming, and more of the experience of this stimulating night with creative presentation people. One interesting point to bloggers, among many insights, was how his blog at Presentation Zen was the start of the community that led to the book.

But I had the feeling that with Garr's remarks, his new book, and Nancy Duarte's yet to be published new book as well, and several other factors in the technology world that there will be a new age of presenting.

There just might be a breakthrough so the business world can see the light - it's not our data we are presenting, it's experience. It's not PowerPoint text, it's design in pictures. It's not information, it's influence.

More to come on these exciting developments, a "Presentation Zen" book revue, and highlights of Garr's remarks.

Garr Reynolds with his first book, presented by Publisher Nancy Aldrich-Ruenzel of Peach Pit Press.