Customer Reviews

Why Most PowerPoint Presentations Suck and How You Can Make Them Better

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Big "thumbs-up" for Rick Altman's "Why Most PowerPoint Presentations Suck..."

Everybody admits - our PowerPoint presentations need to improve. There's an understatement! But how? What can we do to make a real difference for our self - and our audiences?

Have stacks of PPT how-to books. This is the first one that finally got the mix of technical, creative & presenter savvy right. -- and the first (I think) that I actually read cover to cover!

The conversational tone of the writing was more like a personal tutor walking you through the subtle nuances of the software that both designers & presenters need to know. This book is filled with the great ideas, practical examples, and good background information you've been looking for.

There's a good selection of practical techniques you can put to work immediately -- they've already influenced how I think about the shows I develop. The methodology & layout made sense and was easy to follow to achieve the promised results.

There are also numerous links that enable the reader to download working examples of the techniques he describes, as well as valuable insights about complementary third-party software.

It was also a "shot in the arm" for a long-suffering PPT user trying to push the envelope a little with each show!

If you're not getting the results you want with PPT, quit blaming MS -- maybe you need to learn something new. This book is top rate.

The title of Rick Altman'book --Why Most PowerPoint Presentations SUCK And How You Can Make Them Better -- is only the first problem with this book (is he promising that if I read this book I can personally make "most"of the millions of PPTs created each day better? Tall order.)

The book actually exemplifies why most PowerPoint presentations "suck" --it is so badly organized that it detracts from some excelllent content.
The book is organized into four parts:
· The Pain (6 chapters): This part offers standard complaints like cramming too much into a presenation and overdoing it on animation:
· The Solution ( 6 chapters) "Pain" can be allleviated, eliminated, or deferred but can it be solved? These kinds of things become increasingly irritating as I proceeded through the book.
· Public Speaking (4 chapters) a 40 page non sequitur given that the book is about PowerPoint
· Working Smarter, Presenting Better (5 Chapters) wherein all pretense of organization is abandoned.

This lack of organization is unfortunate because Rick clearly knows his PowerPoint. The advice he gives is practical, straightforward and useful.

In chapter 9 he states, "...that is the beauty of writing a book that is designed to be uneven. I can indulge the arcane and burrow into the obscure, and there's nothing you can do about it." Wrong. We can take a pass.

This book is essential for everyone who does presentations, period. It both presents PowerPoint techniques with amazing depth and detail, and integrates all kinds of insights for making your PowerPoint show part of an overall effective presentation. How many books on PowerPoint discuss the importance of freeing your hands for gestures while presenting PowerPoint slideshows, and show you how to do that? Rick Altman brings a wealth of experience as both a communicator and a presenter to this book. Additional tools and examples at a companion web site add another dimension to the book's value.

In his introduction, Rick Altman opines that his book attempts to reduce his billble hours by half, because of all the advice he has packed into its 271 pages. In fact, Altman's billings will probably explode because in this book he firmly establishes himself as the leading expert on every aspect of PowerPoint.

It is a remarkable acheivement. The book is packed with tips on the mechanics of creating PowerPoint presentaions. It is also packed with advice on how to make your PowerPoint presentations interesting. I have a number of books on PowerPoint and none are anywhere near as complete as this one.

While Altman covers PowerPoint 2007, his hints and tips are mostly applicable to earlier versions as well.

This is a book that every PowerPoint user, no matter what level of expertise they think they possess, should buy and read every page of. It is truly that good.

Jerry

I was NOT disappointed. It is the first book on PowerPoint which I picked up and read cover to cover (with stops in between airports). I found it useful, amusing, full of tips, and wisdom from Rick's experience
A valuable resource. Now, your next book will be about macros??
Well worth the price, actually you could have gotten more $$ but that's MY gain.

First, a few quibbles.

* The index is worthless. I'm not sure why the author (or the book editor?) dropped the ball on the index, but it's almost non-existent. If this book were more of a typical reference book, you'd lose some points for that, but since it's more of a handbook, it's not so bad.

* No mention of the Macintosh versions (it's not going away -- deal with it :-). I've had more than my share of issues where I prepared my Powerpoint on a Macintosh and then (for whatever reason) had to present on some Windows machine that was tied to the conference room projector. Or, I had to share presentations with teammates who used Windows (and vice versa). Fonts, graphics, video files, animation -- there are plenty of potential cross-platform issues that could really benefit from the author's expertise.

* Size. Yes, size does matter when you are sending presentations to team members via email. PPT files can get really big really fast. I was surprised that there wasn't a short section that addressed ways to minimize the file size of presentations.

I've looked at a lot of computer books over the years, and this book is far better than most. The key thing the author does (that most computer books don't) is really address the user needs as opposed to just outlining the information and regurgitating it. Nicely done.

I found this book to be very helpful and easy to read, even though it focuses on quite advanced topics. I have read many books on Powerpoint, but have found most of them not advanced enough. Rick Altman gives detailed descriptions on lots of topics, and his style of writing is humorous and intelligent. I wish more computer books were like this.

Why Most PowerPoint Presentations Suck
Altman's writing sets a new standard for "computer" books. I use the quotation marks because this book doesn't just cover PowerPoint, but also provides solid teachings on delivering more effective presentations, making it more of a "professional" book than one just on computing subjects. That aside, this is the best-written computer-oriented book I've read. Altman has an entertaining style while also clearly demonstrating his expertise on the subject through genuine tips and techniques that are easy to understand and use. If the title doesn't grab you the content certainly will.

It is a good book but what seems so obvious isn't always easy to solve. This book definitely helps but there are others you need to look at as well and several websites now available. I think maybe instead of calling it PowerPoint it should be called WhatsThePoint. So many people throw a bunch of slides together but have no point. Many just transfer a write up to PPT instead of creating a separate presentation. The most effective presenters are good storytellers. It's not easy. Most people will look back at what they thought was a good presentation years later and gag. Your slides should support your story not be a written version of it. You really care about cleaning up this planet then I suggest we all start by making better PPTs.

The book is well written by an author who knows how to make effective presentations. This is not a "how to" book for mastering PowerPoint. It is a guide for how to use PowerPoint to enhance presentations. People who suffer through tedious presentations and yearn not to inflict the same on others will benefit from reading this book.