If you work in advertising, there’s simply no avoiding the PowerPoint deck. Sometimes it’s needed to present concepts or creative work, other times it’s a major player in a subject matter presentation. We’ve all seen the good, bad, and ugly of presentations. In his book, Mastering the Art and Science of Exceptional Presentation Design, author Tim Pollard starts from scratch and lays out a case for thinking it through before you begin that new PPT document.
For Pollard, every presentation has an argument to make and a story to tell. He does a good job of reminding us what the audience wants to know and hear from a presentation. In a world where so many presentations are focused on the presenter and what he/she wishes to convey, Pollard goes through the reasons why a core message isn’t always conveyed.
As a book, The Compelling Communicator has lots of value, but ironically it tends to be a bit all over the place. Pollard knows his subject inside and out but could have benefitted by breaking down a few notable and successful presentations rather than using a loose collection of anecdotes as he does. Still, The Compelling Communicator makes a great resource if you’re looking to make persuasive presentations, particularly if you have the time to meticulously plan them out.
Special thanks to Book Savvy PR for giving me a review copy.
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