Nancy Duarte – Bites

Nancy Duarte, a presentation designer, and coach, altered the world of presentations by producing an easy-to-read masterclass on presentation — SLIDEOLOGY. Slideology talks about advanced presentation designs. It assumes that the presenter will probably utilize Microsoft powerpoint or other presentation software such as Google slips or Keynotes, an integral part of their presentation but one of the core strengths of Slideology is the fact that it explains the process of better presentation planning, design and delivery whether you utilize slideware or not. In addition, it introduces readers to 3 pillars of presentation competence which are:

1- Create a strong story

2- Illustrate with simple visual

3- And deliver with conviction

We, humans, are visual communicators; presentations must be delivered longer in forms of images/diagrams as visual aids. Slides should be simple and the text should be reduced, preventing bullet points. Text should be no less than 30 font.

Slides are there to improve the story and also to help the readers see what the presenter is saying so the ideas/messages can be transmitted efficiently. Use icons instead of numbers as images tell a better story. When people relate better, it increasing the retention of data. Using various icon brings information to life.

To give a strong presentation, the presenter should know his/her audience to get ready for material and shipping. Pace info across multiple slides to increase its impact. The number of slides to present is dependent on one good rule: the 10/20/30 rule that says- 10 slides, 20 minutes and no fonts smaller than 30.

Nancy went further to examine three things that ought to be handled creatively in a consistent way to avoid noise or confusion:

Deal elements: contrast (to help the audience see primary things), hierarchy, unity, space, closeness and stream.
Visual elements: background, color (appropriate color palette), text and images.
Movement: time, speed, distance, direction and eye flow

Duarte divides the book into five core areas:

TREAT YOUR AUDIENCE AS KINGS

They didn’t even come to your presentation to see you. They came to determine what you may do for them. Provide content that resonates and make sure it’s clear what they’re to do.

SPREAD IDEAS AND MOVE PEOPLE

Communicate your ideas with strong grammar to engage all of their senses. They’ll adopt the ideas as their very own.

HELP THEM SEE WHAT YOU’RE SAYING

Think like a designer and movie producer and guide your audience through each idea in a manner that can help their comprehension. Appeal not only to their verbal perceptions but to their visual impressions as well.

PRACTICE DESIGN, NOT DECORATION

Don’t limit your content to pretty talking points. Instead, present information in a way that makes complex information clear.

CULTIVATE HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS

Display information in the best way possible for comprehension rather than focusing on what you need as a visual crutch.

THE BIG THREE – KEY POINTS

Keypoint #1: Develop flow within a slide intentionally.

Keypoint #2: People’s retention of data increases when they can “see the numbers.”

Keypoint #3: Think like a designer to create effective slides.

One Last thing

“Don’t blend in; instead, clash with your environment. Stand out. Be uniquely different. That’s what will draw attention to your ideas.”

― Nancy Duarte, Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences

Resonate explores deep into the art of presenting and analyzing what makes a presentation persuasive and memorable. The knowledge of Resonate will raise your game in the art of creating a compelling and convincing presentation. In this book, Nancy Duarte drives the reader through the use of story principle to hold the audience’s attention. She successfully makes a case for:

1- Placing your audience at the center of the story.

2- Seeing yourself as a mentor instead of a hero.

3- Building a workable call-to-action.

4- How famous communicators structure their ideas and most moving speeches.

Nancy advocates a new attitude towards presenting. She believes you need to see your audience as the HERO. Your presentation should not center around your brilliance or the brilliance of your company, but rather you should cast your audience as the hero while you, the presenter, step into the role of a mentor. You should invite the audience to come on a journey with you, from an ordinary world to your special world. Nancy says, casting yourself as a mentor gives you both wisdom and humility. Audience insight and resonance can only occur when a presenter takes a stance of humility. However, there is a gap between the audience’s ordinary world and your specialized world; it is your role to make the gap clear and invite the audience to take the leap across the gap. Before your audience can be willing to go on a journey with you, you must deliver a concise formulation of what everyone agrees is true. Accurately capturing the current reality and sentiments of the audience’s world demonstrates that you have insight and experience about their situation and that you understand their perspective, context and values.

Nancy also sees the use of contrast as being a primary way of engaging and holding an audience’s attention. If you attempt to play down the contrast so as not to stand out or attract resistance or objections from your audience, your presentation will be bland and boring. The author suggests that for every idea or point in your presentation, you should also think of a contrasting idea. You may not use them all in your presentation, but even thinking about them will be useful. Nancy also suggests that you perform an audit of your content to ensure there is an appropriate balance between analytical and emotional content. She reminds us that whenever we recommend change, either behavioral or organizational change, even if it is a positive change, your audience is likely to resist because change involves loss.

During your presentation, be ready for nitpicking of any errors in your language, cynical body language and outright hostile questions or statements from your audience. Prepare yourself by thinking through your audience’s position. Research has shown that acknowledging and countering opposing viewpoints is more persuasive than only presenting your view.

Of course, always create a memorable moment in your presentation. Nancy refers to this moment as the S.T.A.R. moment, Something They will Always Remember. Traditional public speaking advice has advocated that this moment should be at the start of your talk. However, Nancy suggests that the attention-grabbing and memorable moment can be at any time in your presentation. Your attention-grabbing-opening or moment must align and magnify your big idea and should be worthwhile and appropriate, not kitschy or cliché.

In conclusion, a presentation has the power to change the world. Changing your stance from that of a hero to one of the wise storyteller will connect the audience to your idea and an audience connected to your idea will bring wanted change.

The author helps the reader to present stories that transform them into visuals. This book is highly recommended for any level of presentation geeks, from the beginners to the experts. Every point in the book is supported by detailed analysis of many presentations and speeches, which admittedly, is one of my favorite parts of the book.

As a professional, presentation designs and delivery are one of the most exciting parts of my job. It is a chance to not only express artistically, but also to connect with others. Nancy Duarte’s work is amazing, as seen in her other books, Slideology and Illuminate. If you yearn to be a phenomenal communicator, start with Resonate and let your audience to be the hero.

THE BIG THREE – KEY POINTS

Key Point #1: Cast your audience as the hero and yourself, the presenter, as the mentor.

Key Point #2: Incorporate stories into your presentation Having the right balance of logic and emotion is essential to bring your audience into your specialized world.

Key Point #3: A presentation has the power to change the world.

One last point

“The audience does not need to tune themselves to you; you need to tune your message to them. Skilled presenting requires you to understand their hearts and minds and create a message to resonate with what’s already there.”

― Nancy Duarte

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