Garr Reynolds - Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery

Its often the slim books that have the most impact. Strunk and White for proper English. Roberts Rules of Order for running meetings. Both deceptively short, with huge impact. To these I find it easy to add Presentation Zen for moving an audience. Embrace this wonderful guide and gain the power of crafting simple and clear messages. Garr Reynolds provides techniques and examples in a manner that, quite naturally, adheres to the same principles as what he teaches.

Ric Bretschneider, Senior Program Manager,
PowerPoint Development Team 1993-2010

Garr is a beacon of hope for frustrated audiences everywhere. His design philosophy and fundamental principles bring life to messages and can invigorate careers. His principles of simplicity are as much a journey of the soul as they are restraint of the mouse.

Nancy Duarte, CEO, Duarte, Inc., and
author of slide:ology and resonate

Presentation Zen changed my life and the lives of my clients. As a communications specialist, I was searching for a way to create visuals that support the narrative without detracting from the story. The philosophy and approach so elegantly explained in Garrs book will inspire your audience. Dont even think of giving another presentation without it!

Carmine Gallo, author of The Presentation
Secrets of Steve Jobs

Garr has broken new ground in the way we think about the power of presentations, and more important, has taught an entire generation of communicators how to do a better job. Dont miss this one.

Seth Godin, legendary presenter
and author of We Are All Weird

If you care about the quality and clarity of your presentationsand you shouldpick up this book, read every page, and heed its wisdom. Presentation Zen is a contemporary classic.

Daniel H. Pink, author of
Drive and A Whole New Mind

Four years ago, Garrs Presentation Zen literally changed the world of communications. Almost overnight, what was once fluffy, stale, and boring became sharp, brisk, and even (can we say it?) fun. A million radically-improved speeches later, the world is ready for a refresherand just when we need it most, Garr delivers the magic again.

Dan Roam, author of Blah-Blah-Blah
and The Back of the Napkin

Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery

2nd Edition

Garr Reynolds

Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery
Second Edition
Garr Reynolds

New Riders
1249 Eighth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
510/524-2178
510/524-2221 (fax)

Find us on the Web at: www.newriders.com
To report errors, please send a note to

New Riders is an imprint of Peachpit, a division of Pearson Education

Copyright 2012 by Garr Reynolds

Senior Editor: Karyn Johnson
Copy Editor: Kelly Kordes Anton
Production Editor: Cory Borman
Proofreader: Roxanna Aliaga
Indexer: Emily Glossbrenner
Design Consultant in Japan: Mayumi Nakamoto
Book Cover and Interior Design: Garr Reynolds

Notice of Rights
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For information on getting permission for reprints and excerpts, contact .

Notice of Liability
The information in this book is distributed on an As Is basis without warranty. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of the book, neither the author nor Peachpit shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book or by the computer software and hardware products described in it.

Trademarks
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and Peachpit was aware of a trademark claim, the designations appear as requested by the owner of the trademark. All other product names and services identified throughout this book are used in editorial fashion only and for the benefit of such companies with no intention of infringement of the trademark. No such use, or the use of any trade name, is intended to convey endorsement or other affiliation with this book.

ISBN-13: 978-0-321-81198-1
ISBN-10: 0-321-81198-4

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed and bound in the United States of America

To Mom & Dad

This book would not have been possible without a lot of help and support. Id like to thank the following people for their contributions and encouragement:

Nancy Duarte and Mark Duarte and all the amazing staff at Duarte, Inc. in Silicon Valley, including Nicole Reginelli and Paula Tesch for their constant support.

At New Riders: Michael Nolan who asked me to write this book originally and Karyn Johnson who oversaw the book development this time around and gave me the freedom to do it my way (yeah, like the song). Kelly Kordes Anton and Roxanna Aliaga, for bringing more clarity to my writing and uncovering errors and offering advice for improvement. Mimi Heft for her help with the design and the cover. Hilal Sala, for her great help and guidance in the first edition, and to Cory Borman, for his talent and guidance in production on this edition.

Guy Kawasaki, Seth Godin, David S. Rose, Daniel Pink, Dan Heath and Rick Heath, Rosamund Zander, Jim Quirk, and Deryn Verity for their enlightened advice and content in the early stages of the process.

Jumpei Matsuoka and all the cool people at iStockphoto.com for their tremendous support with the images and the special offer thats included at the back of this book.

Designer Mayumi Nakamoto for teaching me more than I wanted to know (or thought possible) about Adobe InDesign. June Cohen and Michael Glass at TED for their help with the images. Daniel Lee at Mojo for his help with the credits. Aaron Walker, Tom Grants producer in Japan, for his great assistance.

The Design Matters Japan community including Toru Yamada, Shigeki Yamamoto, Tom Perry, Darren Saunders, Daniel Rodriguez, Kjeld Duits, David Baldwin, Nathan Bryan, Jiri Mestecky, Doug Schafer, Barry Louie, and many, many others.

Back in the States, a big thank you to those who contributed ideas and support, including Debbie Thorn, CZ Robertson, David Roemer, Gail Murphy, Ric Bretschneider, Howard Cooperstein, Dan Roam and Carmine Gallo. And thanks to Mark and Liz Reynolds for their fantastic B&B at the beach.

Id like to thank the thousands of subscribers to the Presentation Zen blog and to all the blog readers who have contacted me over the years to share their stories and examples, especially Les Posen in Australia.