Brilliant Presentations: What the Best Presenters Know, Say and Do - Books (Richard Hall, Paperback)

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Customer Reviews of Brilliant Presentations: What the Best Presenters Know, Say and Do

BOOMBOOMBOOM
UK
14th September 2008

Pompous and ridiculous but with some valuable information
"If you're talking about innovation and you want to explore that WOW factor, why not put a WOW card on every seat for the audience to wave whenever they feel a WOW moment" ..... ARE YOU SERIOUS? ... Who is he presenting to children or the mentally challenged or what?? Am I the only one who thinks that would be hilarious to watch? This is the sort of cringe-moment that spoils this book (and trust me there are plenty of them).
However, the book does have SOME useful information, if you can get past the pompous style of the author who seems to think that using big words to explain simple concepts makes him sound more intelligent, despite the fact the he advises clarity over complexity as a key part of good presentations.
I found this book quite annoying with very little insightful information worth underlining. The author's style is just all over the place and at times quite boring and pointless to be perfectly honest. He also tells of how he once ate "half an Airwick solid air-freshner in front of an astonished account team to prove how pure and safe it was" "I remember feeling so strongly that there had never been a better bluer loo cleaner" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA What a passionate individual. This book is surreal

K
UK
8th September 2008

Outstanding
For years I could do good or very good presentations. Recently, I applied for some jobs where I needed to do a presentation as part of the interview. Every time I got rejected. My presentations were good, but not outstanding. I decided to review my approach to presentations and bought this book (along with The Zen of Presentations). Last week, I went for another interview and I was competing against guys with Phds and much more experience. Yet, my presentation was what made me stand out from the others. Thanks to this superb book, I finally delivered an outstanding presentation. If you want your presentations to stand out and deliver, this is the book for you. Brilliant!

Talking Voice
Surrey, UK
30th April 2008

perfect advice
I read this book in a day on a train and made notes while I read it. For me it was research as I too work in presentation, particularly the use of voice. It is well written and clear. Much can be made of the mystery of "how to be on stage" and while there is a magic and charisma afforded those of us who are "natural" performers, Richard is right to point out - that is the starting point - not the final product.
I think many people will devour the wealth of information and he rightly steers clear of being an expert in all areas - so he advocates getting voice training for example rather than trying to put vocal techniques into print himself. (That's for the likes of me!)
His mantra is PREPARATION and in this he is thorough as one would expect and of course you need to PRACTISE.
How to use power point is given a large amount of time and the overall feeling is that anyone can improve their skills and indeed how necessary it is to be striving for the next level. As a performer myself I realised how much is aligned to what I do and how much pefromers can offer to the business market.

Paul
UK
28th May 2007

This really helps
After reading this book I have a new found confidence in presenting, which is a key requirement of my job. I must say it has helped me immensely. The author knows exactly what it takes to shine in front of a daunting audience. Well worth a look

H. Barratt
UK
13th May 2007

Essential reading for ANYONE doing presentations
This book is the best that I've come across. It's easy to take in because it's clear, makes total sense and also has some inspirational advice and tips which you can actually use and make a big difference. It covers everything you could want to know from how to over come nerves (and actually says it's ok to feel nervous) to the more practical side of putting a presentation together. I have taken loads from this book and it's definitely helped me take my presentations and my presenting skills to the next level. I've got a few of these types of books and this is one of the few I would whole heartedly recommend.