Looking Good in Presentations, Third Edition [Paperback]

Molly Joss (Author), Joss (Author), Roger C. Parker (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 18, 1999

Features a 32 full-color page insert showing effective use of color techniques in presentation graphics. Includes real-world design guidelines and principles. Contains special section showcasing graphics "design crimes," helping presenters avoid common mistakes.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If you're one of the many people who get frazzled at the mere thought of giving a presentation, get this book. It'll give you the confidence-boosting advice you need to plan and produce informative, interesting, and well-targeted presentations. Author Molly Joss shows you how to establish your objectives, design an effective layout using storyboards and grids, select a good font and color scheme, arrange text frames and use them to streamline your message, and create graphs and diagrams that are useful and clear. All the while, you assess the needs and tastes of your audience, decide on the best the presentation-delivery method--such as computer, overhead projector, slide show, or flip chart--and consider whether the presentation venue has the equipment you need to deliver your show.

Delving into more advanced aspects of the current business scene, Joss teaches you about adding multimedia elements such as audio clips, video clips, and animated graphics, and she also explains the drawbacks and positive aspects of Web-based presentations. You get insight into common design mistakes, such as using too many typefaces and relying on literal and visual cliches. The Sample Scenarios chapter reminds you to learn in advance about the presentation venue--seating, lighting, acoustics, and so on--and explores the best ways to deliver your show based on whether you're dealing with peers, Web users, conference associates, sales shows, traveling shows, courtroom exhibits, financial reports, boardroom graphics, or instruction and training. There's also a summary chapter advising you, for example, to check your pace, look for errors, and review a final checklist.

Joss wraps up the books with an appendix on 3-D objects; a glossary; suggestions for further reading; resources for presentation software; image-editing and animation software; computer hardware and peripherals; presentation equipment; and free fonts, images, and clip art. --Kathleen Caster

About the Author

Molly W. Joss (Gilbertsville, PA), an award-winning author with over a decade of writing in the graphic arts and computer industries. Ms. Joss shares her wealth of knowledge and skills as freelance writer, analyst, and consultant. She has contributed articles to more than a dozen magazines and trade association journals, including Electronic Publishing, I/O, and The Seybold Report on Publishing Systems. In addition, she writes a monthly software column for Computer User. Ms. Joss has also authored such popular computer publishing books as Clip Art Smart (Rockport Publishers) and Looking Good in Presentations (The Coriolis Group).

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Coriolis Group Books; 3 Sub edition (January 18, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566048540
• ISBN-13: 978-1566048545
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,302,056 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very Basic, October 21, 2000

By 

Eric Eskin (Wilmington, DE USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Looking Good in Presentations, Third Edition (Paperback)

This book is for anyone who is doing their first presentation or has been doing presentations for only a short while. Molly Joss provides all the structural basics on doing presentations, from media types through layout and design. The book provides pointers on the best fonts, colors, and layouts to use. The treatment is basic, mainly focusing on the use of presentation software.

If you are looking for a book on presentation style or issues with audience engagement, you would be best served to get a book focused on that aspect--this is not the one for you.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read if you make presentations., March 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Looking Good in Presentations, Third Edition (Paperback)

The book is thorough and well written, containing many details one wouldn't normally think of. Ms. Joss not only explains what features make a good presentation, but also why, which helps to make the lessons stick. She goes off on a tangent a little bit by discussing Web page development, but it is still an excellent book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent material..., January 14, 2004

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Looking Good in Presentations, Third Edition (Paperback)

Over the last few weeks, I've been reading through the book Looking Good In Presentations by Molly Joss. I figured since I have the Lotusphere presentation coming up, I might as well get some expert instruction on how to build a good slide presentation. This book contains a wealth of information on how (and how *not*) to structure your presentation. It covers media, design and layout, typeface, graphs and diagrams, multimedia, and many other topics. It's easy to read, and all the information is practical. If you find yourself needing to put together presentations for talks, you would do well to get this book and pick up some pointers on how to do it right. Now... just don't judge my presentation by this... :-)