Giving Presentations: Expert Solutions to Everyday Challenges (Pocket Mentor) [Paperback]

Harvard Business School Press (Compiler)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2007 | Series: Pocket Mentor

Making persuasive presentations isn't just a matter of charisma and fancy charts: it requires concrete skills that are vital to keeping your audience engaged and involved. This handy guide contains key information on how to customize your presentations to keep people focused and produce the results you want.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The Pocket Mentor Series offers immediate solutions to common challenges managers face on the job every day. Each book in the series is packed with handy tools, self-tests, and real life examples to help you identify your strengths and weaknesses and hone critical skills.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press; 1 edition (July 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1422114759
• ISBN-13: 978-1422114759
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #216,195 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #6 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Business & Investing > Business Life > Communication > Meetings & Presentations
  • #8 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Business & Investing > Business Life > Communication > General
  • #28 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Business & Investing > Management & Leadership > Leadership

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Short, solid, and to the point..., June 28, 2007

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Giving Presentations: Expert Solutions to Everyday Challenges (Pocket Mentor) (Paperback)

Being able to present well in front of a group is a vital skill in many areas of life. There's no shortage of books that will tell you what to do, but for a basic, simple guide to what works, you can try out Giving Presentations (Pocket Mentor) by Harvard Business School Press. No fluff, no glitz, just basic solid information...

Contents: All About Presentations; First Things First; Decide What To Say; Prepare; Plan For Visuals; When It's A Group Effort; Rehearse; Prepare Yourself; Show Time; Handling Questions; After-Action Review; Tips and Tools; Tools For Giving Presentations; Test Yourself; To Learn More; Sources For Giving Presentations; Notes

When I said "no fluff", I was serious. The Pocket Mentor series is designed to be short and to the point. This book is only 83 pages, but the writers do as much as they can to make those pages effective and valuable. You get the basic information you need in order to structure your presentation to get your point across, what to say, how to prepare, and so on. They also do a good job in covering how to put together a good group presentation. It's harder than you might think, as styles should blend, and you should try and play to everyone's strengths so that one person doesn't ruin things for everyone else. At the end of most of the chapters, there are worksheets that you can use to formally structure and plan your approach. Rather than just letting things run around in your head, you can make sure you've covered the essentials and that you've given yourself the best chance for success.

I wouldn't want this to be the sole book on my shelves about how to talk in front of a group. But for someone who's making the effort to try and improve, this is a nice starting point...