Resources

2/14/13: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Update:

Self-Guided Booklet for the Three Rules
Since our time was limited, I’ve put together a few key slides from the presentation along with some helpful activities you can use to practice with the three rules. Enjoy!

4/11/11: Tx DSHS update:

Books I suggested:

Slide:ology by Nancy Duarte
The Exceptional Presenter by Timothy Voegel
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward Tufte

Below are some favorite resources for advice, ideas and inspiration.

See also my list of web links on del.icio.us. The newest resources from this list are featured in the New Resource Links section on the front page.

LEARNING AND PRESENTATIONS

“How People Learn: Human Cognitive Architecture and the Learning Process”by Lee Andrew Hilyer. Excerpt from Presentations for Librarians: A Complete Guide to Creating Effective, Learner-Centred Presentations, Chandos Press (Oxford, UK), 2008.

This excerpt (Chapter 1) gives a detailed overview of the learning process and of human cognitive architecture. It also includes the bibliography from the book. This item cannot be redistributed without permission (thank you).

Three Rules for Better Presentations (Multimedia PDF) Note: Requires Acrobat Reader 9.

This PDF is a slideshow with audio, added notes and an attached summary of the three rules. Feel free to share this with friends and colleagues!

“Five Ways to Reduce PowerPoint Overload” by Cliff Atkinson and Richard E. Mayer.

Cliff Atkinson is the author of Beyond Bullet Points: Using Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 to Create Presentations That Inform, Motivate and Inspire (ISBN: 978-0-7356-2387-3) and Dr. Mayer is a noted authority on cognitive psychology. This short article gives additional information and helpful tips for improving your presentations.

BETTER APPROACHES TO PRESENTATIONS

http://www.presentationzen.com

Garr Reynolds’ blog, “Presentation Zen” is one of the best. Read it regularly.

http://www.beyondbulletpoints.com
Cliff Atkinson created the “Beyond Bullet Points” approach to presentation creation and delivery and is the author ofBeyond Bullet Points: Using Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 to Create Presentations That Inform, Motivate and Inspire. I highly recommend both the book and the website.

ASSERTION-EVIDENCE SLIDE DESIGN

“Rethinking the Design of Presentation Slides: The Assertion-Evidence Structure” by Michael Alley. See also this bibliography.

IMAGE SOURCES

• Microsoft Office Online (http://office.microsoft.com)
• Creative Commons Search (http://search.creativecommons.org)
• Flickr Commons (http://www.flickr.com/commons)
• Flickr Creative Commons (http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons)
• LIFE magazine archives on Google Images (http://images.google.com/hosted/life)
• World Digital Library (http://www.wdl.org)
• Stock XChange (http://www.sxc.hu)
• Fotolia (http://www.fotolia.com) $
• Dreamstime (http://www.dreamstime.com) $
• US Government Images (http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Graphics.shtml)
• Additional free image sources (PDF; from Dynamic Graphics, Apr/May 2006)

TOOLS

• Delicious list of web resources for presentations
• Preparation worksheet
  Use this sheet to help you gather the logistical details (time, venue, audience, etc.) for your presentation.
• Beyond Bullet Points script template
  There are more templates and other tools in the Free Downloadssection of Cliff Atkinson’s Beyond Bullet Points (BBP) website.
• Poster: Three Simple Rules for Great Presentations (8X11 format)
  Print out this poster and hang it up in your office to remind you of the three rules next time you prepare a presentation.

STORYBOARDING

• Simple storyboard template (PDF format)
• Online storyboard template generator (http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/storyboard/)
• Oasis Storyboard Pads (from Levenger)
• Storyboard template for a Moleskine notebook (DIY)

LAYOUT

• Booklet, “Say It With Pictures” (PDF format)
  Contains the layout examples shown during the presentation.
• LibraryThing list of presentations books (includes layout and design)

These two PDFs provide examples of different PowerPoint slides before and after editing. Looking at these examples may give you some ideas on how to restructure text-heavy slides.

• “Before and After 2008″
• “Text to Pictures SD Example”

PHOTO EDITING

• Picnik (http://www.picnik.com)

INSPIRATION

• The Dieline (http://www.thedieline.com)
• Note and Point (http://noteandpoint.com)
• Before & After Magazine (http://www.bamagazine.com)
• Delicious List of Design Links (http://delicious.com/lhilyer/design)

COLOR

http://kuler.adobe.com
Kuler is Adobe’s Flash-based color palette creator. Use the tools to create your color palettes, then save them to Photoshop or share them with others on the site. Kuler is a fun way to explore color and get some ideas for your presentations.

http://slayeroffice.com/tools/color_palette/
This nifty tool helps you quickly create a color palette based on a color you select. You do need to know the hexadecimal notation for the color but it can quickly and easily give you a nice, harmonious range of colors to use in a presentation.

http://www.mariaclaudiacortes.com/
This Flash-based site is a fun way to learn more about color and color symbolism.

http://www.colormatters.com
Excellent site for information and ideas on using color effectively.

FONTS

Fonts (or “typefaces”) help to subtly reinforce (or detract from) the message you are trying to present to your audience. Getting a feel for what a type “says” to the audience can help you select the most appropriate font for your needs.

http://www.fonts.com/AboutFonts/Type101/
Fonts.com has a Type 101 section on their website. Go here to learn some of the basics.

ORGANIZATIONS

http://www.iabc.com
International Association of Business Communicators

http://www.stc.org
Society for Technical Communication

http://www.toastmasters.org
Toastmasters International

What resources do you rely on for your presentations? Leave a comment and share them!