Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story [Hardcover]

Jerry Weissman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 13, 2003

In Presenting to Win: Persuading Your Audience Every Time, the world's #1 presentation consultant shows how to connect with even the toughest, most high-level audiences--and move them to action. Jerry Weissman shows presenters of all kinds how to dump those PowerPoint templates once and for all--and learn to tell compelling stories that focus on what's in it for their listeners. Drawing on dozens of practical examples and real case studies, Weissman shows presenters how to identify their real goals and messages before they even open PowerPoint; how to stay focused on what their listeners really care about; and how to capture their audiences in the first crucial 90 seconds. From bullets and graphics to the effective, sparing use of special effects, Weissman covers all the practical mechanics of effective presentation--and walks readers through every step of building a Power Presentation, from brainstorming through delivery. Unlike the techniques in other presentation books, this book's easy, step-by-step approach has been proven with billions of dollars on the line, in hundreds of IPO road shows before the world's most jaded investors.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

30 million presentations will be given today. Millions will fail. Millions more will be received with yawns.

A rare few will establish the most profound connection, in which presenter and audience understand each other perfectly ... discover common ground ... and, together, decide to act!Presenting to Win: Persuade Your Audience Every Time is about getting those "A-ha!" moments, and the extraordinary success that follows from them.

Jerry Weissman shows you how to transform your presentations from dry recitals of facts into compelling stories with a laser-sharp focus on what matters most: what's in it for the audience.These techniques have proven themselves with billions of dollars on the line. Thousands of Weissman's elite clients have already mastered them. Now it's your turn!

* Techniques proven in hundreds of IPO road shows How you can convince even the world's toughest audiences * What you must do to tell your story Focus before flow: Identifying your real goals and message * The power of the WIIFY: What's In It For You Staying focused on what your audience really cares about * Capture your audience in 90 seconds ... and never let go! Opening gambits and compelling linkages * The practical mechanics of effective presentations Making the most of bullets, graphics, charts, and special effects * From brainstorming through delivery Crafting the Power Presentation, one step at a time

Become one of the world's most persuasive presenters ... right now!

• Beyond the bullet point: presentations that connect!
• Bring your message to life: using proven storytelling techniques
• Show your audiences what really is in it for them
• Use graphics to support your story, not bury it
• Keep your presentations fresh, no matter how often you deliver it
• Learn by example: case studies from the world's leading companies

Suddenly, in a flash, the lights go on in their heads. Aha! They smile. They nod. They get it. They're yours. You've persuaded them. All your presentations should be filled with moments like these, and with Presenting to Win: Persuade Your Audience Every Time, they will be.

You'll master the same step-by-step techniques Jerry Weissman uses to coach business people preparing for the most mission-critical presentations of their careers before the world's toughest audiences.

It's time to learn how to make your presentations unforgettable-and irresistible.

About the Author

Jerry Weissman, the world's #1 corporate presentations consultant, is known worldwide for his confidential executive coaching sessions. Weissman's private client list reads like a Who's Who of the world's great companies, including the top brass at Yahoo!, eBay, Intel, Intuit, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, and many others. Weissman's techniques have helped nearly 400 client firms hone persuasive IPO road show presentations that have raised hundreds of billions of dollars in the stock market; and have helped hundreds of other public and pre-public firms develop and deliver crucial business presentations.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: FT Press; 1 edition (March 13, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130464139
• ISBN-13: 978-0130464132
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #301,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jerry Weissman is the world's number one corporate presentations coach. His private client list reads like a who's who of the world's best companies, including the top brass at Yahoo!, Intel, Intuit, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Dolby Labs and many others.

Mr. Weissman founded Power Presentations, Ltd. in 1988. One of his earliest efforts was the Cisco Systems IPO roadshow. Following its successful launch, Don Valentine, of Sequoia Capital, and then chairman of Cisco's Board of Directors, attributed "at least two to three dollars" of the offering price to Mr. Weissman's coaching. That endorsement led to nearly 500 other IPO roadshow presentations that have raised hundreds of billions of dollars in the stock market. Mr. Weissman's focus widened from coaching IPOs to include public and privately held companies. His techniques have helped another 500 firms develop and deliver their mission-critical business presentations.

Those same techniques form the basis of Jerry's publications. The book, Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story, covers his concepts of story development and graphics design. His second book, In the Line of Fire: How to Handle Tough Questions...When it Counts, and its companion DVD, In the Line of Fire: An Interactive Guide to Handling Tough Questions, cover his Q&A techniques.

The DVD contains lessons from the book, illustrated by video clips of tough Q&A sessions in the public arena. It includes press conferences, media interviews and presidential debates, featuring the 2004 debates between President George W. Bush and John F. Kerry.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

79 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The real story in presenting, April 13, 2004

By 

Joseph Judge (Harrisburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story (Hardcover)

I teach courses in business writing, including lessons on presentations. When students ask for good books to continue learning, this is the book I recommend for presentations. I also suggest that it will help them with all of their communications at work. The ideas in the book are simple yet powerful. For example, the most important communications we do at work is convincing others, and a powerful way to do that is to tell them a story. It is fundamental human nature that storytelling awakens, relaxes, and engages those who are listening.

Unfortunately, the editing and packaging of the book are not as well done as is the presentation of the main ideas. The author has had one audience for years: entrepreneurs who are trying to convince bankers to back their IPOs. The publisher tried to take his ideas and make them applicable and accessible to all business people everywhere. They did not quite succeed, for a variety of reasons.

The text uses vocabulary and figures of speech that exclude those who are not older, male, American, entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. It uses basic words (graphics, verbal) in ways I found confusing. It has errors in grammar and punctuation, as well as inconsistent ways of presenting material. The book includes an unnecessary color insert. The end of the book received much less editorial attention than did the beginning of the book. As I read the first parts of the book, I was usually smiling and saying, "Ah hah!" As I read the latter parts of the book I found myself occasionally frowning and asking, "Huh?" And the whole book is replete with intrusive "sideboxes" that repeat parts of the text. I find this distracting and insulting. I know publishers love them, but I think their reasons for using them have more to do with "doing what everyone else is doing" than with proven efficacy for the intended audience. Overall I would say it's an adequate first draft of an excellent book.

The usefulness of the ideas in this book almost justifies giving it a rating of 5 stars. The price is good, too. But an adjustment is necessary due to the audience bias, lackluster editing, and obtuse publishing. Despite all this, it is a very useful book on real-world business communication.

62 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Certain to Become a "Classic", July 17, 2003

By 

Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story (Hardcover)

It would be a mistake to assume that the benefits of this book will be of greatest value only to those who make formal presentations. On the contrary, as Weissman explains so thoroughly and eloquently, each one of us every day is almost constantly telling a "story" in one form or another to achieve one or more of these objectives: to explain with information (exposition)...or to make vidid with compelling details (description)...or to explain a process or sequence with information (narration)...or to convince with logic and/or evidence (argumentation). The most effective formal presentations are those which make maximum use of all four levels of discourse. It is also worth mentioning that, although percentages vary from one research study to another, the impact of a face-to-face encounter is estimated to be as follows: body language 60-70%, tone of voice 15-20%, and content (i.e. what is actually said) about 10-15%. Skilled recruiters claim that more often than not, they have already made a decision about a candidate before the interview formally begins. In fact, it begins at the initial point of physical contact.

So, I think this book can be of greatest value to literally anyone whose communication skills (both verbal and non-verbal) need to be improved. The strategies and tactics which Weissman shares have almost unlimited applications: when making formal presentations and during job interviews, as noted, but also when preparing reports, contributing to group discussions (e.g. strategic planning and especially budget reviews), resolving problems with customer service, implementing crisis management initiatives, and conducting performance reviews.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Stephen Denning's The Springboard: How Storytelling Ignites Action in Knowledge-Era Organizations and Kevin Hogan's The Psychology of Persuasion: How to Persuade Others to Your Way of Thinking.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Bible on Presentations: nothing less, December 9, 2005

By 

Manny Hernandez "@askmanny" (Bay Area, CA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story (Hardcover)

Jerry Weissman is a blessing to the corporate world. If you read his books (this one and "In the Line of Fire") and apply his advice, there is simply no reason why you cannot become a successful presenter and public speaker. In "Presenting to Win" he is incredibly thorough in explaining, chapter by chapter, everything from putting together your story in a way that will save your public the need to think and addressing the needs they truly have (working at the strategic level), to crafting a presentation that supports you as the presenter and allows you to be the focus of the attention from your audience (at the tactical level).

This is not a book for those who want a quick fix, since it requires some "processing time" to take in all the knowledge Mr. Weissman has to share throughout its 200+ pages. But the payoff is huge for those who go through it diligently and begin to adapt their presentations with this new knowledge in mind. Definitely, the Bible on presentations: nothing less; and indeed, one of the most useful and applicable business books I have read in a while.