Illuminate: Ignite Change Through Speeches, Stories, Ceremonies and Symbols

by Nancy Duarte, Patti Sanchez

More information to come.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Communication, Leadership, Self Help, Psychology, Writing

336 pages, Hardcover

First published February 16, 2016

About the author

Nancy Duarte is an American writer and CEO of Duarte, Inc., a communications firm in the Silicon Valley. She is a presentation specialist whose client list includes most Fortune 500 companies.

Reviews

[Tricia Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every little thing Duarte does is magic. I loved the case studies, I loved the the practical guide to pushing past the end part of an innovative project---how do you keep your momentum going? So much practical advice, curated beautifully.
A great read for those in education as well as in business.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

An expansion on the author's earlier works (based on Joseph Campbell's storytelling insights), this lovely book develops a 5-part program to help organizations talk internally and externally about their stories. Recommended.

[Austin Braasch · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars for the overall framework of the book that wove the core theme of the book throughout practically and illustratively. Once you know where she is going with the book, you might be tempted (or encouraged) to speed read through the body sections while slowing down for the many helpful stories and examples along the way. Overall, it was a helpful book on how to facilitate change and direction as a leader of people through empathic listening and vision casting.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid book, not the book I really needed write now however. Resonate and slideology spoke more directly to issues I was having so it may have been a mistake for me to order a book that is more about existing organizational change. If you are navigating some organizational change however it's quite interesting.

3 stars for me, but I'm giving it 4 if you bought the book for the right reasons.

[Pavel Annenkov · Rating 3 out of 5]

О ЧЕМ КНИГА:
Книга от совладельцев одной из ведущих мировых компаний в области дизайна презентационных материалов и айдентики. Эта работа о том, как убеждать людей с помощью речей, презентаций и символов. В книге много примеров подходов известных предпринимателей и руководителей. Можно брать и использовать у себя в каждодневной работе. Особенно эта работа пригодится руководителю или собственнику, который внедряет сейчас перемены в своей компании. Плюс в книге в большом количестве кейсы с подходами внедрения инноваций в различных мировых компаниях от IT бизнеса до фаст-фуд сетей.

КАКАЯ БЫЛА ЦЕЛЬ ЧТЕНИЯ:
Отшлифовать навык создания убедительных выступлений и презентаций для продвижения и объяснения изменений в моих компаниях.

ГЛАВНЫЕ ВЫВОДЫ:
- Только увлеченный своим делом собственник сможет провести свою компанию через сложные моменты кризисов и трансформаций. Но для этого мало одного желания и энергии. Нужно обладать инструментами, которые помогут объяснить сотрудникам суть изменений и вдохновить их на работу в новой реальности.

- Люди уже много веков привыкли жить среди обрядов и символов. Так мы устроены. Это надо обязательно использовать и в бизнесе.

- В момент презентации нового видения компании надо всегда использовать символы или реквизит. Символы могут быть визуальные, звуковые и пространственные.

ЧТО Я БУДУ ПРИМЕНЯТЬ:
- Трехчастная структура убедительной речи - отличный подход для создания выступлений, которые будут вдохновлять сотрудников.
1. Начало: то, что есть
2. Середина: то, что могло бы быть
3. Конец: новый мир

- Приемы из отличного детального рассказа о том, как Говард Шульц провел Starbucks через трансформацию в 2008 году! Много что можно применить и в Российских реалиях.

ЕЩЕ НА ЭТУ ТЕМУ:
Джозеф Кэмпбелл "Тысячеликий герой"

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the fourth book I’ve read about presentations by Nancy Duarte, and it takes a slightly different tack. Slide:ology is about making better slides, whereas Resonate looks at content and structure. The HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations is a good expert summary for those who don’t want to be an expert themselves. Now Illuminate raises the bar by showing how to make changes to any organisation, or even society, through the art of public speaking. Breaking the process into five stages – dream, leap, fight, climb, arrive – the authors delve into the whys and the hows with plenty of real-world examples, including ten detailed case studies.

Novice presenters would find this book daunting. I get the feeling that the target audience is experienced executives and other leaders who can already speak reasonably well but want to know how to really inspire their people. There should be more detail on how to identify and tell a good anecdote – many leaders can do this, but it can’t be assumed, and the methodology hinges on personal storytelling. The ten case studies are all very America-focused, including IBM, Starbucks, Apple, and Martin Luther King’s fight for civil rights. Although there are a few international examples cited in passing, I’m not convinced the rah-rah American cheering style would work well in other cultures; in more modest contexts, it feels contrived, and some alternative approaches would be welcome. The references focus mostly on the popular business press and cite few academic journals for hard evidence to back up the authors’ claims, although I can see clear elements of applied organisational psychology (my own specialist area) in their work.

Despite its flaws, I enjoyed reading this book. Duarte’s earlier books have always gone one step further than the standard nuts and bolts of speaking clearly, good body language, and avoiding stage fright, but she was still focused on the mechanics of individual presentations. In this work, she and co-author Sanchez have given presenters a model to help motivate their listeners with multiple presentations over time. If their readers are brave enough to experiment in their own cultures, a little contextual tweaking may help make the model more widely useful, and this book will prove to be a valuable contribution to the presentation literature.

[Kenneth Griswold · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a lot of good information in here, with lots of great case studies. The most helpful section was a brief chart to explain the different points in your organization and the different kinds of speeches your people might need at different points, depending on whether most people are with you or are fighting against your ideas.

The biggest reason I'm giving this book 3 stars is because the author seems to be extremely self-absorbed. The book started and ended with her and her company, including her last case study being her own organization. The word "I" or "me" or "my" is on page 1 - literally page 1 - 22 times. It made me think, from the beginning, that she was a near narcissist. The last section - all about her company - convinced me of it. I'm sure she's got a great organization - named after her, by the way - and I'm sure she's got a great team - whom she has named Duartians, after her name - but she is not the be all and end all of business acumen.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book helps shine some light on the hero's journey by utilizing case studies from business leaders to highlight various communication tactics used to convince employees that the leaders are on the right track throughout the ups and downs of any organization's path.

[Fred Cheyunski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Change Curve Updated - Having seen Duarte mentioned in Berinato’s Good Charts: The HBR Guide to Making Smarter, More Persuasive Data Visualizations (see my review), I decided to look into her books on persuasive presentations. Not sure what this title was about, I got enthused as I examined text and diagrams and realized it is focused on communication and organizational change. More specifically, it reminded me of aspects of my own consulting work (see my review of the PwC Change Team's "Better Change: Best Practices for Transforming Your Organization"), and I was eager to learn about what enhancements these co-authors might provide.

Interestingly, Duarte and Sanchez build on and updated the “innovation life cycle” and “change/acceptance” curves with their own schema for the use of “speeches, stories, ceremonies, and symbols” at different stages of these progressions.

In fact, within the book, after some initial chapters where the authors describe their rational and framework, they proceed accordingly. Namely, they start with how (1) Leaders move others forward, (2) Listen empathetically to light the path, and [use] (3) The torchbearer's toolkit. They then progress from (5 – Leap) Moment of decision, through (6 – Fight) Moment of bravery, to (7 – Climb) Moment of endurance, and finally on to (8 – Arrive) Moment of reflection. The authors also address the next (9 – Re-Dream) Moment of disruption and provide a Conclusion (Confessions of a torchbearer) as ‘The journey begins again.’ There are case studies sandwiched in along the way including those involving IBM, Starbucks, Rackspace, Chick-fil-A, and Apple.

My favorite parts include the various charts and tables throughout the book such as graphics of the ‘stages of the venture,’ ‘polarities of emotion at each stage’[aka the ‘change curve’), and ‘venturescapes’ where cases laid out in terms of strategy and communication. Then, there is a ‘communication toolkit’- (speeches, stories, ceremonies, and symbols----motiving or warning----across the stages) in the form of a matrix that lays out book.

It is interesting the way the authors present and illustrate their material, even if their approach to ‘organizational transformation’ is simplified to a large degree. While it is also good to see the framework applied to the non-profit Charity Water as well as the social activism of Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement, they seem to present a rosier picture than warranted regarding the latter (i.e. see my review of Coates’ "We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy" for a more sobering update). They seem to convey that messages and stories are communicated in person to audiences with little attention to other media such as via various types of broadcast and web-based dissemination (e.g. see my review of Abel’s "Out on the Wire: The Storytelling Secrets of the New Masters of Radio"). Along these lines, within the electronic version of the book pictures sometimes obscure the text.

None the less, the authors do acknowledge that change is less linear, more complex and ongoing as in the case of American Express and regarding Duarte Inc. itself. It would be interesting to see how their schemas might be incorporated with broader ones such as in Dignan’s "Brave New Work: Are You Ready to Reinvent Your Organization?" to address the institutional and social challenges that loom ahead.

[Nick Armstrong · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be fair, I'm not sure how a book like this could have been better organized; to talk about change, you have to pull out case studies like crazy. What follows, then, is an odd amalgamation of an attempt to systemize change - classifying and codifying each case study along the way. What you get from the book is what you can get from the title: speeches (specific types of speeches), stories (which are closely in line with speeches), ceremonies (which serve as buffers to events), and symbols (sometimes called totems or rally points) which serve as message amplifiers or signals. Much of the rest, you've probably seen in books like Switch, Decisive, and So Good They Can't Ignore You.

[Anita Ashland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent follow up to Resonate, because it gives a more user friendly way to use the Hero's Journey (i.e. Venture Scape) in business writing. The structure for speeches and other communications is: What Is, What Could Be, New Bliss. The Venture Scape structure is: Dream, Leap, Fight, Climb, Arrive, Re(Dream).

I liked all the case stories. My favorites are: MLK Jr, charity:water, Steve Jobs, Nike, Chick-fil-a, and Duarte's. I'll definitely keep this book within arm's reach of my computer.

[Fernanda Kersman · Rating 5 out of 5]

¿Cómo comunicar ideas, proyectos (y también cambio de planes, logros y batallas perdidas)? ¿Cómo leer a la audiencia para crear mensajes relevantes? ¿Qué experiencias o ceremonias pueden multiplicar el impacto de las palabras? Nancy Duarte "ilumina" estos y otros temas a través de ejemplos claros y contundentes que ilustran los conceptos teóricos. Gran libro para aquellos que quieren conectar para generar cambios, con ideas útiles para todo tipo de escenarios (incluido el COVID19).

[Brian Nelson-Palmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh, I was hoping for more takeaways. Author seemed to spend time talking about a bunch of companies and examples, but I was hoping for more takeaways like “do this or try this”. This was more reciting stories of change, but only really took 1 or 2 things away from this book. Wasn’t bad, but wasn’t a top rating for me either.

[Bruin Mccon]

I think there is a lot of great info in this book but I got it to read about giving presentations which suggests I need to read the synopsis before blindly checking out books from the library. Nancy Duarte is great so if you’re looking for some help navigating through change, this book would be a better resource.

[JP · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book full of case study, and the same was interpreted to their logic of Speeches, Stories, Ceremonies & Symbols
The case study overshadow the concept and just a good read like a magazine, and still doubt..
it's neither a book nor a magazine
a bit disappoint..

[Hadjar Benmiloud · Rating 3 out of 5]

We need a Zoom revision asap - this book served me so well in 2016 but now it’s just impossible to execute true tribal ignition digitally. Which is something we all need to come to terms with probably.

[Bobby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought it would be a light hock read. It both took longer and I went back to reread immediately after I finished.

It provides a framework to deconstruct and become a great orator that moves people and artist uses.

[Glenn Burnside · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little dense, but well written. For me, tying the ceremony and symbol use into the speech/presentation types really filled in some holes in her previous books.

[The Library Writer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the way this was structured. Lots of information to digest. I'll be processing this for a while.

[Brendan Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very clearly written and well structure resource. Handy to have in the tool bag.

[Drew Starr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ironically, I lost interest in the book. I think it's not designed to be read cover to cover, but to be skimmed.

[Denis Vasilev · Rating 2 out of 5]

Возьмите истории успеха и сконструируйте правила ободрения компании, взяв примеры где это сработало. Проигнорируйте всех, кто делал то же самое, но это не сработало.

[Cristian Soto · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are good stories to calidate the point but the book go deep in the story and not in given practical steps to "ignite change through speeches"

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt that the book started really strong and ended strong. The middle felt like reading a history book, an interesting history book. I did watch the Ted Talk and recommend others give it a listen.

[Jacob Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book challenged me as a speaker and as someone who has a vision for his future. Very applicable to people on leadership roles.

[Harun Dagli · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best book you can read on presentation techniques from the great Nancy Duarte. Highly Recommend this book

[Anand · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting stories and insights, though case studies approach was tedious to read.

[Valerie Brett]

Mk speeech therapist

[Bryan Tanner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love all of Nancy’s books. This one tells the story of Nancy’s business. The last half is best.

[Ale Nieves · Rating 4 out of 5]

📚 A couple of weeks ago I read
“Illuminate: Ignite Change Through Speeches, Stories, Ceremonies, and Symbols” by Nancy Duarte and Patti Sánchez.

I’ll start by saying this is a really powerful book on the art of persuasive communication. I think one of the big challenges of leading teams and organizations is to make sure your vision inspires others and it leads to clear actions.

Patti and Nancy present a very interesting model to turn visions and ideas into movements, going through different stages of change, and using the power of speeches 🗣, stories 📖, ceremonies, and symbols.

A key idea presented in the book is that movements follow a story structure: Dream (inspiration), leap (risk/decision), fight (tenacity, bravery), climb (perseverance) and arrive (learning, reflection).

“Leading people requires not only sensing change afoot, but imagining a brighter future and communicating it in a way that motivates others to follow you there. Those who light💡 the path are the ones who change the world 🌎.”

❤️ Loved this book, you should read it! Ah, and make sure you also download the torchbearer’s toolkit from Duarte’s website: https://lnkd.in/eEA2HNui