Book Review - Giving Presentations (Pocket Mentor) by Harvard Business School Press
Category Book Review
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...
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...
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