Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story

by Jerry Weissman

In Presenting to Persuading Your Audience Every Time , the world's #1 presentation consultant shows how to connect with even the toughest, most high-level audiences--and move them to action. Jerry Weissman shows presenters of all kinds how to dump those PowerPoint templates once and for all--and learn to tell compelling stories that focus on what's in it for their listeners. Drawing on dozens of practical examples and real case studies, Weissman shows presenters how to identify their real goals and messages before they even open PowerPoint; how to stay focused on what their listeners really care about; and how to capture their audiences in the first crucial 90 seconds. From bullets and graphics to the effective, sparing use of special effects, Weissman covers all the practical mechanics of effective presentation--and walks readers through every step of building a Power Presentation, from brainstorming through delivery. Unlike the techniques in other presentation books, this book's easy, step-by-step approach has been proven with billions of dollars on the line, in hundreds of IPO road shows before the world's most jaded investors. Foreword to the Paperback Edition xxiii What’s Past Is Prologue xxvii The Wizard of Aaaahs xxix Chapter You and Your Audience 3 Chapter The Power of the WIIFY 15 Chapter Getting The Expansive Art of Brainstorming 27 Chapter Finding Your Flow 51 Chapter Capturing Your AudienceImmediately 83 Chapter Communicating Visually 109 Chapter Making the Text Talk 123 Chapter Making the Numbers Sing 143 Chapter Using Graphics to Help Your Story Flow 157 Chapter Bringing Your Story to Life 189 Chapter Customizing Your Presentation 215 Chapter Pitching in the Majors 231 Chapter Animating Your Graphics 237 Chapter The Virtual Presentation 257 Appendix Tools of the Trade 273 Appendix Presentation Checklists 277 Acknowledgments 283 Index 287

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Communication, Self Help, Leadership, Management, Reference

292 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Jerry Weissman is a leading corporate presentations coach. His private client list reads like a who's who of the world's best companies, including the top brass at Yahoo!, Intel, Intuit, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Dolby Labs and many others. He is the founder of Suasive, Inc.

Reviews

[Neil · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is overhyped. I have a great passion toward delivering powerful presentations and I found this book disappointing. While it will certainly be helpful to the absolute amateur, a lot of Weissman's techniques are mediocre at best. The best sections of the book had to do with the verbal and organizational aspects of giving a presentation - how to brainstorm, how to think of a presentation, how to construct a storyboard, and how the audience's mind works. The worst parts of this book were about the actual craft of creating a presentation - bad Powerpoint advice, bad graphics advice and especially bad advice on how to use bullet-points. Weissman conveys the key point correctly - keep visuals simple, including simple typography, simple use of text, simple use of graphs and images. But the examples he provides are not at all impressive.[return][return]If you are a complete beginner to delivering presentations, you may want to browse through this book for some decent advice. If you've been doing this type of work for a while, avoid this book and pick up something by Nancy Duarte or Garr Reynolds. They're both brilliant writers on this topic.

[Ken Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on crafting presentations.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth a read, although some of the language and terms used are unintuitive.

Pros:
Many principles have held up well. Less is still more, data dumps still cause MEGO.
The first 30-50% of the book was the most valuable, exploring different openers and a strategy on navigating your audience from your point A to B.

Cons:
This book would benefit from a post-covid edition.
References to virtual presentations or where to click in Powerpoint are dated.
Just call them transition statements, Jerry. "Forward Linkage" never caught on.
The last half reads like an appendix, which is wild since there is an actual appendix.

[Paul Signorelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

You have to be good if you’re going to sell more than 100,000 copies of a book about how to be a better presenter. Jerry Weissman is good. And he gets to the heart of great presentation skills by reminding us, throughout this wonderfully engaging book, of the importance of story if we want to hold the attention of audiences at a time when attention spans are as ephemeral as yesterday’s tweets. Whether we're new to the art of presentation or are experienced presenter-trainer-teachers benefitting from the useful reminders Weissman provides, he carries us through the presentation cycle with lots of guidance, including warnings of how we can go wrong: not offering clear points, not offering a clear benefit to our audiences (what's in it for them, not us), not creating a clear flow of thought and information in our work, offering more details than an audience can absorb, or creating presentations that last too long.

He also offers the structure that telling a good story provides: taking listeners from where they are (Point A) to where they need to be (Point B) in ways that focus on them rather than on us. He provides a concise survey of structures we can incorporate into presentations to make them flow and reminds us of the importance of "verbalization"--rehearsing our work out loud "just as you will on the day of your actual presentation" (p. 164) numerous times so that the story that is at the heart of all we do will flow naturally from us to those who are depending on us to make that all-important journey from Point A to Point B. Furthermore, he models the very skills he is trying to develop by incorporating presentation stories throughout his book in an effort to help us understand the process viscerally as well as intellectually. It's often the lines that seem to be most casually tossed off that take us most deeply to the heart of presentation professionalism. Writing about his attendance at investment banking conferences, he tells us that he is there "because they let me observe many presentations in one place, in a short time." And if someone of his experience and reputation is attending presentations to pick up tips, it makes us ask ourselves why we aren't equally engaged in seeing what others are doing if we're at all serious about continually honing our own skills. There's no mistaking the seriousness with which Weissman expects and encourages us to approach the art of presentation: "...every presentation is a mission-critical event" (p. 168). With that as our guiding light, we should all be on our way to successful and engaging experiences for those we serve.

[Barack Liu · Rating 4 out of 5]

278-Presenting to win-Jerry Weissman-Tool-2003
2020 /2 0 / 08
Barack

" Presenting to win " was first published in the United States in 2003. Tool books. It tells how the speaker establishes contact with the audience during the speech.

Jerry Weissman received a bachelor's degree in psychology from New York University, a master's degree in film art from Columbia University, and a master's degree in speech and drama from Stanford University. He has worked in CBS corporation, Televisa, Visual Information Systems, Suasive, and other companies. Representative works: " In the Line of Fire ", " Presentation in Action ", " Presenting to Win ", etc.

Table of contents
Chapter 1 You and Your Audience
Chapter 2 The Power of the WIIFY
Chapter 3 Getting Creative: The Expansive Art of Brainstorming
Chapter 4 Finding Your Flow
Chapter 5 Capturing Your Audience Immediately
Chapter 6 Communicating Visually
Chapter 7 Making the Text Talk
Chapter 8 Making the Numbers Sing
Chapter 9 Using Graphics to Help Your Story Flow
Chapter 10 Bringing Your Story to Life

" Few human activities are done as often as presentations, and as poorly. One recent estimate has it that 30 million presentations using Microsoft PowerPoint slides are made every day. I'm sure that you've attended more than a few. How many of them were truly memorable, effective, and persuasive? Probably only a handful. ”

During my communication with my Indian colleagues, I felt that, on average, they performed better than their Chinese colleagues when doing presentations. Of course, because we are on display in English, so the Chinese colleagues on language exists adverse conditions. But even so, this shows more or less than in our education, we do not pay enough attention to the display.

Our cultural tradition does not place great emphasis on self-expression, and in our education process, we may not get enough opportunities for public speaking and public display. The training was less, natural performance would not be so good.

But the times have changed. People need to cooperate and compete with each other greatly. If we cannot communicate the best of ourselves and our products to the crowd in a very short period, then we may miss the opportunity. Therefore, we should pay attention and spend enough energy to learn how to make a good display.

“ No clear point. The audience leaves the presentation wondering what it was all about. How many times have you sat through a presentation and, in the end, said to yourself, “What was the point?” ”

I went to watch the domestic animated film " Jiang Ziya " today. The evaluation of this work is quite polarized. For its low rating viewers would think, watching movies in the future, I do not know it And what did. This is a question of how to tell a story. I can probably feel what the director wants to express, but in the way of telling stories, maybe the director has yet to be polished.

“ No audience benefit. The presentation fails to show how the audience can benefit from the information presented. How many times have you sat through a presentation and repeatedly said to yourself, “So what?” ”

The speaker in the audience who put their most precious thing - time, then the speaker will need to think clearly, he can for the audience to bring something. If the audience feels that their time is not worth it, then next time they will not spend time listening to what the speaker said.

" No clear flow. The sequence of ideas is so confusing that it leaves the audience behind, unable to follow. How many times have you sat through a presentation and, at some point, said to yourself, "Wait a minute! How did the presenter get there?" "

This point is actually about logic. Many times, when we conduct logical reasoning, we may subconsciously omit some key assumptions. We may think that reasoning from a to b is logical because we have some pre-knowledge, but for the audience, this is not necessarily the case. If we ignore this point, sometimes it is easy for readers to fall into confusion.

“ Too detailed. So many facts are presented, including facts that are overly technical or irrelevant, that the main point is obscured. How many times have you sat in on a presentation and, at some point, said to yourself, “What does that mean?” ”

I often make this mistake when doing presentations myself. Especially when the topic I'm talking about is relatively technical, it is easy for me to speak not easy to understand. I may have added too many technical details to the content of the presentation, but for the audience, it is difficult for them to remember those symbols and formulas in a short period, so that in the following remarks, they quickly feel trapped In the clouds.

“ Too long. The audience loses focus and gets bored before the presentation ends. How many times in your entire professional career have you ever heard a presentation that was too short? ”

Even classroom instruction, teachers will also talk about every 45 minutes from time, there is a rest stop. Of course, in our actual meetings, we may not have such frequent breaks, but we may be able to add some interactive sessions to allow the audience to participate. When they need to mobilize their initiative, they may not be so boring.

" The objectives of all the preceding presentations are varied, but they all have one factor in common. In every case, you are trying to persuade your audience to do your bidding, to respond to your call to action, whether that means endorsing a proposal, signing a contract, writing a check, or working harder and smarter. The Five Cardinal Sins stand in the way of achieving that goal. ”

Speeches and conversations have the same effect. If we are talking with others, the hope that more people are interested in, then we should talk to each other, rather than just talk about yourself. In the same, lecture process, we need to think, how to resonate with the audience psychologically? How to make what I express can ripple in the hearts of the audience? If the audience is not interested in what I'm talking about or feels that what I'm talking about has nothing to do with his life, then why should he take the time to listen to me talking about these things?

[Gregory Witek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. Jerry Weissman presented a lot - and I mean A LOT - of different ways to improve presentations. I'm sure I will use the information from his book very often.
Before I started reading "Presenting to Win" I thought it might be yet-another-book-about-improving-yourself. But no, it's not saying "be confident, speak loud". It contains many general rules, but also many simple hints that will, I'm sure they will, improve the way I'm preparing presentations and showing them.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was focused on business presentations, while my public speaking is geared toward community education and volunteer recruitment. That said, there are a lot of good tips in here about how to structure presentations to make them more engaging, and I will try to incorporate some of those ideas into my future talks.

[Ronald Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an outstanding download for your portable reading device. It is without a doubt a handy reference for anyone on the go, or when it is time to get ready for your next presentation.

I love the idea of WIIFY, and all the great advice packed into this volume by Mr. Weissman. It also makes me pay more attention to everyone who has a stand up routine in my line of work. Unfortunately, the leaders that I come in contact in the workplace can best be described as Jerry pointed out "like a cartoon character that has run off the edge of a cliff into space until they realize nothing is supporting them until they plummet." Most of these cartoon characters love the "one way communication" format and are unwilling to politely define the parameters to avoid the detours from potential questioners who so easily take them out of their game plan.

Presentations are good for business, and communicating with the internal/external recipients of the business. If we can follow the advice of the author we won't ever have to worry about the messenger being defective, and the message going awry. Like his NASA example implies, "the well designed substance needs an effective delivery style to lift the payload into orbit."

Highly recommended reading to find out what Mr. Weissman is really talking about. This book will help anyone step their presentation game up.

[Sundararaman R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Weissman knows his stuff. While parts of the book feel like an overly academic dissection of presentations, they do give us a useful language to think and talk about presentations, which is essential if we want to be able to take them apart and put them back together in better forms.
It's easy to imagine and remember terrible business presentations that feel stilted and formulaic while following the guidelines here, but the author does his best to steer you away from that path, emphasizing liveliness and spontaneity as hugely important ingredients. Overall, there's enough information for its length that it feels like a good and useful read.

[Kimberly Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

So Helpful!

Getting your story right is the key to presenting well and the writer takes you through steps to do this. Admittedly, I wanted more time on the topic and more examples. This is as close as I’ll likely get to attending his workshop, and there’s plenty to implement here! I highly recommend this book for those who want to improve their presentations.

[Ronald S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must for anyone that speaks to an audience of two or more

A terrific book with big concepts and specifics of PowerPoint. Frankly I preferred the macro ideas that were presently simply. I believe this book would help neophytes and seasoned professionals

[Billy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jerry is a great knowledge transfer. This is one of the comprehensive guide to tell yourstory in short and extended presentation.

The technique is profound yet easy to follow. It worth a re read for all of my future presentation.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book feels very front-loaded. Some interesting material in the first few chapters but it soon gets bogged down in details (gradients, bullet points, how many sub bullet points should you use?). Feels like it's intended for a very corporate audience.

[Rosbel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was positively impressed by how comprehensive this book is. The author guides you through several areas regarding a presentation and explains it clearly, with metaphors and examples. This book should be read by everyone in business or administrative roles in any other setting.

[Amanda Szem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book in learning how to provide a more convincing PowerPoint slide and how to keep audiences attention. The middle was a little in the weeds about PowerPoint structure but will be helpful to look back on when creating my next deck. Would recommend to someone who presents PowerPoints often

[Tobias Voigts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately it is a little bit outdated, especially the part of slide design and the referenced companies, but nevertheless it gives you a great overview of the basic presenting fundamentals. And the part of spaced learning was quite inspiring.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tell a Story. Be Clear and show the benefits of understanding the story. Don't bog down with too many details, just have them ready. Understand your audience and their need. Less is more. Run through it multiple days, use active voice, leverage technology but don't lean on it.

[Ken Mack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the name - a good book with interesting and fun stories and some recommendations that are worth keeping in mind.

[Otavio Furlan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insights for those who intend to be prepared for a persuasive presentation!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the chapters, especially at the end, are very dated. The core material was still valuable.

[Logan Ramanathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a must read. Weissman’s principles are memorable and broadly applicable.

[Leanna Manuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic book. I'm not sure what drew me to it since I am not necessarily in a position where I give formal presentations very often and frankly have avoided using audiovisual aids in the presentations I have given. Prior to reading this book I couldn't have told you what an IPO was and I'm not in an industry where I'm likely to give presentations to investors or in a multimillion dollar industry.

I have given presentations though and they haven't always gone the way I wanted them to. Now I know why. I've committed almost every one of the "cardinal sins" or presentation, with and without A/V assistance. After reading this book, I feel much better prepared should the need for a presentation arise. In fact, I'm almost hoping that a chance to put these principles into action presents itself.

I could also see many applications for the same information in other aspects of my personal and professional life. We are all "selling", whether it be a product, an idea or concept, or a relationship. We want others to get it, to understand us, and really we want them to agree with us or take a desired action. The way that we communicate that is critically important to whether we achieve our goal. All of these corporation-tested techniques explained in this book have many useful applications in life if applied creatively.

The author practiced what he preached, and the use of the techniques was evident in the way he crafted the text, diagrams, and captions. Since I was reading on an older Kindle, some of the formatting wasn't the best, but even with that said, the attention to detail and the use of great communication techniques was evident. I learned a lot - about presentations, about writing, about communication, and about myself.

[Seemy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good book with a reminder (amongst other gold nuggets of wisdom on the topic) …of keeping your presentation simple, easy and short / to the point to understand - a skill more important today than ever before with attention spans decreasing and competition for our target markets limited attention increasing - and although predominately taught in how to do presentations / PowerPoints ( and a bit dated with tech examples) - the wisdom can still be applicable in any modality and other forms of presenting media - ie videos, email and blog posts etc

To Our Continued Success!
Seemy
Waseem.tv/Blog

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[Stella Spang]

Only read the abstract

KEY for presentation:
What is in it for you (WIIFY)

Take home message:
Persuade
Tailor presentation
Know your audience
What you are going to say
What you are saying
What you have said
Unique selling proposition
Proof-of-concept
Presentation flow
Avoid pointless, irrelevant, confusing, complicated, and long presentation

Pre-presentation preparation
1. Ask four questions:
Who: who will be presenting with you & how to divide the material
When: what day & time you will be presenting
Where: auditorium? small conference room? Office? Place affects the style
What: what equipment do you need for the presentation?
2. Brainstorming with the whole team

During the presentation
1. The start
Select among these seven time-honored openings:
1) a comparison;
2) a proverb;
3) a quote about your company, product or service;
4) a yarn, but keep it short;
5) looking back or looking ahead;
6) a shocking fact;
7) a leading question.
2. Do not make the presentation like a document
Not many data
No hand-outs
3. Use graphics
4. Use only headlines. not a paragraph
5. Implement the presentation in a flow

[Dee Renee Chesnut · Rating 4 out of 5]

Presenting to Win was downloaded to my Nook library when Barnes and Noble offered it for free in October 2012. It uses PowerPoint 2003 and 2007 in its examples. PowerPoint 2013 is likely to adapt to those instructions.
Weissman wants us to strongly remember the phrase, a presentation is not a document. The speaker needs more than Word to write a speech and PowerPoint for the graphics. He wants the speaker to be an audience advocate so that your message gets through to the audience before their eyes glaze over. Another important topic is the necessity of verbalizing your speech in practice, not simply disembodiment or mumbling. Linkages are meaningful verbal transitions from one slide to the next.
Sometimes, the reader may think Weissman slows down too much, and this may be an indication Weissman is using spaced learning for a purpose. If you don't have the time for spaced learning, read the highlights from the last chapter, Appendix A and Appendix B.
I recommend it to all who are required to give presentations.

[Genevieve Bergman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Older technology but timeless suggestions

I was interested in this book because I do speak in front of people on a regular basis (as a preacher, I am publicly speaking every week). I wanted to improve my presentation skills. The subject of presentations is specifically directed at the business world and not sermon or teaching. The main idea of a narrative presentation model is relevant. The method applies to any speaker who may need to improve their presentation in preparation, flow, and visual aspects.

The book refers to older versions of PowerPoint presentation software, but they may still be in use.

The suggestions and skills described are still useful and do not suffer from the older software references. This is useful for persons who need to improve their public speaking presentation efforts.

[Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book had a slow start (chapter on cardinal sins of presenting), rehashing pretty obvious points, but gradually improved, especially from Chapter 3 onwards. Overall, I agree with most of Weissman's thoughts on how to make good persuasion presentations (e.g. keep it simple, slides are to support the presenter, use pics/graphs, carefully craft your story arc, etc.). He can be pretty prescriptive (e.g. the exact sequence and structure of a presentation), but I think this is a good thing, as he presents easy-to-follow models. The book is dated by now (specific examples for PowerPoint are old, as are most of the examples), but the essentials still stand. The best part is Appendix B, which has checklists for all the chapters and thus makes it very easy to refer back to when actually building a presentation.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

The great Brad Holaway gave me this book saying, "I've read it 3x already, here, take it, just read it."

It's on telling your "point" as a story. It's on seeing interaction as persuasion. An idea I am not always comfortable with (per conversations at my home in the early 2000's about relationship = influence). More to come...

Pretty good book that pushes a main point: the What's In It for YOU!! Keys in on the idea of value: is a product, service, idea, relationship, etc. Valuable (worth something). Then how does one go about presenting this Value to whomever is listening, reading, etc. what "I" am putting out.

Very worthwhile read for business, public speaking, or looking to have others consider owning a thought one has.

[Raven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book from my childbirth educator training reading list. Although teaching a course is quite different from giving a business pitch presentation, there were some good reminders throughout this book. For instance, remember that any visual aides or slide show presentations are there to support the presenter, not to state every word of the presentation or serve as a crutch for the presenter. Keep it simple, connect with your audience, and make things clear. I wouldn't say any of this was that new to me--maybe because I've taught before?--but definitely some good reminders. I've fallen into some of the presentation traps he describes, so it was good for me to realize that and think about how my teaching will change now.

[Johnny Holiday · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book if you are planning on giving any sort of presentation.

I liked his emphasis on understanding the needs of your audience; what they care about, what they are interested in, the problems they face the dreams that they cherish and the biases that they hold. Then he asks the question...how can what you have (product, idea or service)give them what they want? This, of course, applies to business presentations as well as those that come up in personal and family life!

He shows how to organize a speech and how each section should tie in to the next. He gives ideas on how to use quotations and provides many of them throughout the book.

It's well written and very helpful.