David Zielinski - Master Presenter: Lessons from the Worlds Top Experts on Becoming a More Influential Speaker, the Best of Presentationxpert

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Copyright 2013 by David Zielinski. All Rights Reserved.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Master presenter : Lessons from the world's top experts on becoming a more influential speaker / David Zielinski, editor.
pages cm
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-118-48588-0 (paper/website); ISBN 978-1-118-65441-5 (ebk.); ISBN 978-1-118-65458-3 (ebk.);
ISBN 978-1-118-65459-0 (ebk.) 1. Business presentations. I. Zielinski, David editor of compilation.
HF5718.22.M326 2013
658.451dc23
2013011648

FOREWORD

NO ONE ASPIRES TO be average.

But for the millions of people every day who find themselves trying to present information and ideas to others, the path seems littered with countless examples of those who have settled for just getting by. They run from meeting to meeting, plane to plane, conference to conference, and over time have abdicated the exceptional for the mundane in this most personal of all business communication processesthe art of presenting.

And this challenge today is not simply the domain of small companies that just don't know any better. We see the impact on organizations of all shapes and sizes. As employees watch their senior leaders fill their presentation screens full of mind-numbing content, or see managers who make little eye contact with audiences and recite bullet points verbatim from text-dense slides, a lowered bar of expectations is handed down to all of us like a winter coat in a large family.

Delivering a presentation will always be a very personal thing.

And that seems to be the ultimate challenge in any discussion around the art of presenting. There will always be a very real connection between mediocrity in presenting and its consequences. Careers will fall short of what they could have been. Employees might entrench in their indifference after a CEO's overly detailed message and weak delivery. Partners will fail to catch a vision for a new idea. And far too often, the very best idea in the room will never see the light of day. There are always consequences.

So it would seem that being a good communicator today is not something we can simply dabble in if we have a little extra time. It will always be one of those life skills, like balancing our checkbooks, that will impact our lives well beyond our immediate understanding. So if we can all agree at some level on this simple truth, what's the problem? Too often today the challenge seems to be finding the kind of resources that strike a balance between time invested and observable change in what we do and how we do it.

But very fortunately for all of us who present, from time to time people come along who offer a unique vantage point. They've been around long enough to have seen software come and go and technologies evolve. They understand the tips and ideas that have been validated through the test of time and know rock-solid best practices constantly bubble to the top. And for me, that's what Dave Zielinski brings to any discussion on presenting.

For those of us who have been reading his presentation-related articles for nearly two decades, we know it's not just a writing assignment. It's part of his own personal exploration, and he invites us along on the discovery. And even today, he continues to set himself apart as one who has studied the art from the inside out and makes it easy for his readers to walk away with something actionablenot simply theoretical.

In this, Dave's most recent book, he distills out for you the best-of-the-best insight gleaned from years as a writer and editor and pulls together in one place ideas from those he's collaborated with through the years. But what I like most is that you don't have to dedicate a long weekend to mining out the nuggets. In every chapter, you'll find a rich depth of advice from experts who have spent a lifetime working with those who create and deliver presentations. Need a fresh approach to shape your message for next month's leadership event? There's a chapter for that. Tired of visuals that still look like they did a decade ago? He has an answer for you here. Looking for a few delivery skills to help you get through tomorrow's big presentation with a little extra confidence? He has a chapter for that, too.

You see, being an average presenter is actually pretty easy these days. Presenters can simply do what they've always done before. They can fall back into old habits and keep the bar comfortably low for themselves and for those around them.

But if you aspire to be the type of presenter people rememberthe one who stands out at the end of a very long day and whose ideas are remembered long after your audiences dive back into their very busy livesdon't miss this engaging read!

Never be average again.
Jim Endicott, President
Distinction Communication Inc.