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Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences
Reveals the underlying story form of all great presentations that will not only create impact, but will move people to action Presentations are meant to inform, inspire, and persuade audiences. So why then do so many audiences leave feeling like they've wasted their time? All too often, presentations don't resonate with the audience and move them to transformative action.
Just as the author's first book helped presenters become visual communicators, Resonate helps you make a strong connection with your audience and lead them to purposeful action. The author's approach is simple: building a presentation today is a bit like writing a documentary. Using this approach, you'll convey your content with passion, persuasion, and impact.
Author has a proven track record, including having created the slides in Al Gore's Oscar-winning An Inconvenient Truth
Focuses on content development methodologies that are not only fundamental but will move people to action Upends the usual paradigm by making the audience the hero and the presenter the mentor Shows how to use story techniques of conflict and resolution Presentations don't have to be boring ordeals. You can make them fun, exciting, and full of meaning. Leave your audiences energized and ready to take action with Resonate.
Just as the author's first book helped presenters become visual communicators, Resonate helps you make a strong connection with your audience and lead them to purposeful action. The author's approach is simple: building a presentation today is a bit like writing a documentary. Using this approach, you'll convey your content with passion, persuasion, and impact.
Author has a proven track record, including having created the slides in Al Gore's Oscar-winning An Inconvenient Truth
Focuses on content development methodologies that are not only fundamental but will move people to action Upends the usual paradigm by making the audience the hero and the presenter the mentor Shows how to use story techniques of conflict and resolution Presentations don't have to be boring ordeals. You can make them fun, exciting, and full of meaning. Leave your audiences energized and ready to take action with Resonate.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
867 people are currently reading
11036 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Duarte
25 books382 followersNancy 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 244 reviews
January 31, 2013
I struggle to judge this book.
On one hand it was easily one of the best books I've read. I love to communicate and am constantly working to improve how I do that since it's an important part of what I do. So the need was there for a book like this. And then she masterfully paints the connection between story and presentation. That (here we go) really resonated with me. It's something my dad and I have had countless discussions on before. With meticulous care, Duarte brought about visible proof of how a well crafted speech works.
There were some downsides along the way, though. I felt that it was a bit ironic how the book was heavy on the need for story but tended to feel more and more like a textbook. In fact, the epilogue (or "Coda" as it's called in this book) was downright boring for me. And these were supposed to be stories that proved the points. However, many times the story elements in the book felt like case studies rather than poetic tales. Furthermore, I would like to see some updating to the website linked to the book. A couple of times over I was looking for content that was no longer available from her site. It feels nit-picky to say that, but it would have been nice. My last negative comment I'll make is that she broke another one of her own rules in the book. Her book dropped off, if you ask me, in the last chapter. I've already stated my sentiments about the epilogue. But what should have happened, according to her graph oft repeated throughout the book, was a climactic end where a vivid picture is painted for me about what could be. There was a smidgen of that within a few lines, but I would think a full chapter of how this could change MY life would be more in keeping with her own advice as well as would have been a high note to end on.
That's what causes my tension on commenting on this book. It could almost sound like I didn't like it. Couldn't be further from true! In fact, I would argue that anyone who is going to be communicating on any kind of regular basis, whether in business meetings or in all-out presentations, speeches, or sermons, should read this book! It reshapes the way you look at the whole process of preparation and delivery. Maybe it could have been shorter and tidied up a little in the end, but for the person desiring to be a healthy communicator the meat of this book is some of the best you can get.
On one hand it was easily one of the best books I've read. I love to communicate and am constantly working to improve how I do that since it's an important part of what I do. So the need was there for a book like this. And then she masterfully paints the connection between story and presentation. That (here we go) really resonated with me. It's something my dad and I have had countless discussions on before. With meticulous care, Duarte brought about visible proof of how a well crafted speech works.
There were some downsides along the way, though. I felt that it was a bit ironic how the book was heavy on the need for story but tended to feel more and more like a textbook. In fact, the epilogue (or "Coda" as it's called in this book) was downright boring for me. And these were supposed to be stories that proved the points. However, many times the story elements in the book felt like case studies rather than poetic tales. Furthermore, I would like to see some updating to the website linked to the book. A couple of times over I was looking for content that was no longer available from her site. It feels nit-picky to say that, but it would have been nice. My last negative comment I'll make is that she broke another one of her own rules in the book. Her book dropped off, if you ask me, in the last chapter. I've already stated my sentiments about the epilogue. But what should have happened, according to her graph oft repeated throughout the book, was a climactic end where a vivid picture is painted for me about what could be. There was a smidgen of that within a few lines, but I would think a full chapter of how this could change MY life would be more in keeping with her own advice as well as would have been a high note to end on.
That's what causes my tension on commenting on this book. It could almost sound like I didn't like it. Couldn't be further from true! In fact, I would argue that anyone who is going to be communicating on any kind of regular basis, whether in business meetings or in all-out presentations, speeches, or sermons, should read this book! It reshapes the way you look at the whole process of preparation and delivery. Maybe it could have been shorter and tidied up a little in the end, but for the person desiring to be a healthy communicator the meat of this book is some of the best you can get.
June 24, 2013
Nancy Duarte has done it again.
Her new book, resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences, is a prequel to the best-selling slide:ology, which set a new standard for excellence in PowerPoint design. Resonate is the book to read before you read slide:ology, because it explains how to understand audiences, create persuasive content and structure a talk before firing up PowerPoint.
The book equals slide:ology's beauty, sharing the same high production standards and stunning graphics. But don't be seduced by its design or the misled by the subtitle. My one complaint with resonate is that the subtitle is too limiting. It's far more than a book on how to "present visual stories"; rather, it's an extensive listing of the secrets and essential truths of the best storytellers and public speakers, whether they use visuals or not.
Whereas Duarte's first book explored the intricacies of design and the contrasts of the color wheel, resonate explores the intricacies of storytelling and effective ways to build emotional contrasts into the core of the speakers' message.
The book not only opposes the cultural norm that presentations are nothing more than written reports, filled with mind-numbing detail; it also stands firmly on the side of the speaker who tells a story, crafted to produce an emotional response and deliver a memorable experience. Stories, Duarte explains, have conveyed meaning to audiences through the ages. They've been a tool of persuasion since the earliest myths were told around campfires.
Hearts and minds
The fundamental secret of changing the audience's minds, Duarte tells us, is to tell a story that resonates with them:
"The audience does not need to tune themselves to you--you need to tune your message to them. Skilled presenting requires you understand their hearts and minds and create a message to resonate with what's already there."
The strength of the book is the clarity with which Duarte explains, step by step, how to change the minds of an audience. From the screenwriter who opens a movie with an inciting incident to an understanding of the stages of the hero's journey in a novel, Duarte explains how to deliver presentations where something magical happens. Of course, that means her suggestions can be used for good or evil; for example, she explains how Enron executives used presentations as a propaganda device to spread lies and defraud thousands. Fortunately, her other case studies describe presentations which change the world for the better, with inspirational messages that convey feeling, emotion and meaning.
`Sparklines'
Duarte has invented a powerful analytical tool she calls a "sparkline" to map the structure of any speech. A sparkline is a graphical representation of a presentation that shows the points at which it moves between describing "what is" to describing "what could be." Color-coding and text-positioning on the sparkline reveal the "shape" of a particular presentation and map the audience response by noting laughter and applause. No two sparklines are alike, because no two presentations are alike.
Sparklines offer communications professionals a way to make an impact in the C-Suite. Anyone with the time (and courage) to create a sparkline analyzing executive speeches in your own organization will now be able to deliver a report on the strengths and weaknesses of the presentation that can be grasped at a glance.
Turning information into stories
If you are responsible for executive communications in the corporate world, you'll appreciate the practical steps Duarte shares that turn abstract information into emotionally appealing stories. Her case study on how her company--Duarte Design--transformed a single high-tech product slide into a story with a "hero" who faces conflicts and challenges that the product then solves, shows what can be achieved with a little creative effort.
The creative process that Duarte Design uses with clients such as Cisco Systems, Google, Adobe and Microsoft is outlined for all of us to learn and apply as we grow in our careers. As Dan Post, the President of Duarte Design, says in the foreword:
"If great presentations were easy to build and deliver, they wouldn't be such an extraordinary form of communication. Resonate is intended for people with ambition, purpose, and an uncommon work ethic. Applied with passion and purpose, the concepts in this book will accelerate your career trajectory or propel your social cause .... Few pursuits in professional self-improvement have as much professional leverage."
Changing the world
Duarte's real heroes are those people who give speeches that change the world, none more so than Dr. Martin Luther King. Her sparkline analysis of his I Have a Dream speech is worth the price of the book. She analyzes the "shape" of King's speech as it moves from what is to what could be, highlighting the use of repetition, dramatic pauses and metaphor to change the minds of his audience and ultimately change the world.
Her new book, resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences, is a prequel to the best-selling slide:ology, which set a new standard for excellence in PowerPoint design. Resonate is the book to read before you read slide:ology, because it explains how to understand audiences, create persuasive content and structure a talk before firing up PowerPoint.
The book equals slide:ology's beauty, sharing the same high production standards and stunning graphics. But don't be seduced by its design or the misled by the subtitle. My one complaint with resonate is that the subtitle is too limiting. It's far more than a book on how to "present visual stories"; rather, it's an extensive listing of the secrets and essential truths of the best storytellers and public speakers, whether they use visuals or not.
Whereas Duarte's first book explored the intricacies of design and the contrasts of the color wheel, resonate explores the intricacies of storytelling and effective ways to build emotional contrasts into the core of the speakers' message.
The book not only opposes the cultural norm that presentations are nothing more than written reports, filled with mind-numbing detail; it also stands firmly on the side of the speaker who tells a story, crafted to produce an emotional response and deliver a memorable experience. Stories, Duarte explains, have conveyed meaning to audiences through the ages. They've been a tool of persuasion since the earliest myths were told around campfires.
Hearts and minds
The fundamental secret of changing the audience's minds, Duarte tells us, is to tell a story that resonates with them:
"The audience does not need to tune themselves to you--you need to tune your message to them. Skilled presenting requires you understand their hearts and minds and create a message to resonate with what's already there."
The strength of the book is the clarity with which Duarte explains, step by step, how to change the minds of an audience. From the screenwriter who opens a movie with an inciting incident to an understanding of the stages of the hero's journey in a novel, Duarte explains how to deliver presentations where something magical happens. Of course, that means her suggestions can be used for good or evil; for example, she explains how Enron executives used presentations as a propaganda device to spread lies and defraud thousands. Fortunately, her other case studies describe presentations which change the world for the better, with inspirational messages that convey feeling, emotion and meaning.
`Sparklines'
Duarte has invented a powerful analytical tool she calls a "sparkline" to map the structure of any speech. A sparkline is a graphical representation of a presentation that shows the points at which it moves between describing "what is" to describing "what could be." Color-coding and text-positioning on the sparkline reveal the "shape" of a particular presentation and map the audience response by noting laughter and applause. No two sparklines are alike, because no two presentations are alike.
Sparklines offer communications professionals a way to make an impact in the C-Suite. Anyone with the time (and courage) to create a sparkline analyzing executive speeches in your own organization will now be able to deliver a report on the strengths and weaknesses of the presentation that can be grasped at a glance.
Turning information into stories
If you are responsible for executive communications in the corporate world, you'll appreciate the practical steps Duarte shares that turn abstract information into emotionally appealing stories. Her case study on how her company--Duarte Design--transformed a single high-tech product slide into a story with a "hero" who faces conflicts and challenges that the product then solves, shows what can be achieved with a little creative effort.
The creative process that Duarte Design uses with clients such as Cisco Systems, Google, Adobe and Microsoft is outlined for all of us to learn and apply as we grow in our careers. As Dan Post, the President of Duarte Design, says in the foreword:
"If great presentations were easy to build and deliver, they wouldn't be such an extraordinary form of communication. Resonate is intended for people with ambition, purpose, and an uncommon work ethic. Applied with passion and purpose, the concepts in this book will accelerate your career trajectory or propel your social cause .... Few pursuits in professional self-improvement have as much professional leverage."
Changing the world
Duarte's real heroes are those people who give speeches that change the world, none more so than Dr. Martin Luther King. Her sparkline analysis of his I Have a Dream speech is worth the price of the book. She analyzes the "shape" of King's speech as it moves from what is to what could be, highlighting the use of repetition, dramatic pauses and metaphor to change the minds of his audience and ultimately change the world.
July 29, 2021
Visually appealing book with numerous good tips on presentations.
But it seemed to violate one of its core concepts by being unclear about the audience. I am always wary of learning modules on public speaking that include Steve Jobs and MLK. In my experience, they do more harm than good as teaching examples because they set an impossibly high bar. On top of that, they are almost certainly irrelevant: Steve Jobs because most people don't have an industry-transforming new thing like an iPhone to unveil; MLK because by the time of his "I have a dream" oration, he had hundreds or thousands of speeches under his belt. Therefore, I prefer a book that explicitly takes these considerations into account: How to Give a Pretty Good Presentation: A Speaking Survival Guide for the Rest of Us
But it seemed to violate one of its core concepts by being unclear about the audience. I am always wary of learning modules on public speaking that include Steve Jobs and MLK. In my experience, they do more harm than good as teaching examples because they set an impossibly high bar. On top of that, they are almost certainly irrelevant: Steve Jobs because most people don't have an industry-transforming new thing like an iPhone to unveil; MLK because by the time of his "I have a dream" oration, he had hundreds or thousands of speeches under his belt. Therefore, I prefer a book that explicitly takes these considerations into account: How to Give a Pretty Good Presentation: A Speaking Survival Guide for the Rest of Us
March 20, 2015
I was eager to read a book about presentations...a topic near and dear to the heart of this instructional designer. While I did take away a good deal about some of the prep work involved in transmitting a message to a group of people, I found that most of the book was simply a reaffirmation of things I already knew. That's not a bad thing in and of itself, I guess I was just looking for more learning moments that I could take away to use in my career. The concept of varying messages and the "sparklines" of different speeches (and even of pieces of music) was interesting, but unfortunately much of the book missed the mark for me, as I am more concerned with designing learning based around procedures and protocols rather than product releases and social change. I completely understand if I was simply not the target audience for this book and I think Duarte's other work Slide:ology might be better suited to my needs. I did enjoy the way the book was laid out and I appreciated all the web content and files available. It seems a bit unfair of me to say that I wasn't "wowed" by the book (how many books do we read where we really are "wowed", after all?) but I guess I was just looking for more insight into how to get concrete concepts across to a skeptical and busy audience.
June 24, 2017
I don't like only two things about this book. The title and the print. The title, because the metaphor of resonating with audience does not work for me at all. The print, because books printed in an unusual way (especially with grayish font, instead of black), take me much longer to read. The rest is pure awesomeness.
Book covers and analyzes many speeches. The dissections are brought in an interesting way, using tooling and categories provided in the book itself. You'll find Luther's "I have a dream" and much more. These real world examples are the best that one could come up with.
Tooling, tooling and tooling again. The majority of this book is about presentation's creation. From an idea, through development, till the successful end. You'll really feel armed and ready for creating and delivering presentations. I thought that after seeing James Whittaker it will take me some time to find another good source related to presenting. Interestingly, it did not.
If you want to give presentations, this is book that I'd encourage you to read.
Book covers and analyzes many speeches. The dissections are brought in an interesting way, using tooling and categories provided in the book itself. You'll find Luther's "I have a dream" and much more. These real world examples are the best that one could come up with.
Tooling, tooling and tooling again. The majority of this book is about presentation's creation. From an idea, through development, till the successful end. You'll really feel armed and ready for creating and delivering presentations. I thought that after seeing James Whittaker it will take me some time to find another good source related to presenting. Interestingly, it did not.
If you want to give presentations, this is book that I'd encourage you to read.
July 20, 2016
It takes a while to get the ball rolling but when it finally does, you can't but marvel at how great it describes what you need to get your ideas across. At its heart, the book aspires to tell you that all you need is passion for your idea (not you) to be heard and adopted and that to stay within the framework of communicating ideas like a music sonata.
The book describes the framework marvelously.
I read this book after finishing Bryan Tracey's Speak To Win and recommend reading both books if you need help in presenting ideas at work or elsewhere in your life.
The book describes the framework marvelously.
I read this book after finishing Bryan Tracey's Speak To Win and recommend reading both books if you need help in presenting ideas at work or elsewhere in your life.
December 25, 2023
The book is very much of best practices in shaping the idea you want to deliver in a nice, engaging way. The audience is always the hero, no matter what you do, you should always deliver to the audience as they are the core element that determine your success or failure. Always go with a message that guide the audience to do the actions you want them to do. Very interesting, yet entertaining book.
March 20, 2024
A short, compelling, and highly visual book (hence no audio version available) on how to craft compelling presentations. Definitely recommended for people who regularly have to give outward-facing presentations (and internal presentations as well). Some good insights include (excerpted from the text):
"You are not the hero who will save the audience; the audience is your hero."
and
"Presentations are not to be viewed as an opportunity to prove how brilliant you are. Instead, the audience should leave saying, “Wow, it was a real gift to spend time in that presentation with (insert your name here). I’m armed with insights and tools to help me succeed that I didn’t have before."
"You are not the hero who will save the audience; the audience is your hero."
and
"Presentations are not to be viewed as an opportunity to prove how brilliant you are. Instead, the audience should leave saying, “Wow, it was a real gift to spend time in that presentation with (insert your name here). I’m armed with insights and tools to help me succeed that I didn’t have before."
August 7, 2011
If you communicate in front of a group of people (and most of us do in some form or fashion), Resonate by Nancy Duarte is a must-read.
This book also explains why most business presentations are boring.
Here are some take aways from the book:
* The presenter's job is to make the audience clearly "see" ideas. The enemy of persuasion is obscurity.
* Stories are the most powerful delivery tool for information, more powerful and enduring than any other art form.
* You are not the hero. The audience is.
* Changing your stance from that of the hero to one of wise storyteller will connect the audience to your idea, and an audience connected to your idea will change.
* If nothing is at risk, then it's not interesting.
* There must be some kind of conflict or imbalance perceived by the audience that your presentation resolves.
* Create contrast. Moving back and forth between contradictory poles encourages full engagement from the audience.
* The structure of a talk is greater than the sum of its parts.
* Audience interest is directly proportional to the presenter's preparation.
This book also explains why most business presentations are boring.
Here are some take aways from the book:
* The presenter's job is to make the audience clearly "see" ideas. The enemy of persuasion is obscurity.
* Stories are the most powerful delivery tool for information, more powerful and enduring than any other art form.
* You are not the hero. The audience is.
* Changing your stance from that of the hero to one of wise storyteller will connect the audience to your idea, and an audience connected to your idea will change.
* If nothing is at risk, then it's not interesting.
* There must be some kind of conflict or imbalance perceived by the audience that your presentation resolves.
* Create contrast. Moving back and forth between contradictory poles encourages full engagement from the audience.
* The structure of a talk is greater than the sum of its parts.
* Audience interest is directly proportional to the presenter's preparation.
November 28, 2011
Duarte's core idea of the universal form of story as the basis for great presentations is intriguing. I suspect that I will find it very valuable with practice and reflection. The layout and design of the book is stunning and beautiful. All that said, this one was a bit of a struggle. I'm not sure why, but I found it way too easy to put down. I would recommend it, but more as a cool book to browse through and jump around in than a sit down read
July 30, 2024
Book #38 of 2024. "Resonate" by Nancy Duarte. 3/5 rating. 233 p.
This book is all about giving powerful presentations that make an impact.
"The audience does not need to tune themselves to you - you need to tune your message to them. Skilled presenting requires you to understand their hearts and minds and create a message to resonate with what's already there. Your audience will be significantly moved if you send a message that is tuned to their needs and desires."
You must understand your audience, as they are the heroes in your presentation. Who are they? What are their lives like? What are their values and desires? And what can you do to make them feel respected?
Then, think about what you can provide them: guidance, confidence, tools.
"The journey should be mapped out, and all related messages should propel the audience closer to the destination."
What is your Big Idea? Something that: 1) articulates your unique point of view, 2) conveys what is at stake, and, 3) is in a complete sentence.
How does your audience benefit? Why should they go through the work you are asking of them?
Remember that "The future isn't just a place you'll go; it's a place you will invent."
And lastly, "You, not the slides, deliver the message."
If you want to improve your presentation skills, this book has some great ideas on how to do that. It just overall wasn't the most interesting book.
Quotes:
"Your ability to shape your future depends on how well you communicate where you want to be when you get there."
"When an idea is communicated effectively, people follow and change. Words that are carefully framed and spoken are the most powerful means of communication there is."
"Make it about the audience."
"[Y]ou are asking the audience to leave their comfort zone and venture to a new place that is closer to where you think they should be."
"What insights into life can you give the audience? Draw on your own deep truths and transfer to your audience a sense for what it would be like for them to walk fully in their calling."
"No matter what the tool is, the audience should leave each presentation knowing something they didn't know before and with the ability to apply that knowledge to help them succeed."
"Stories are the currency of human relationships."
"Striking a balance between withholding and communicating information is what separates the great presenters from the rest. The quality depends just as much on what you choose to remove as what you choose to include."
"Your idea's perceived value will be judged not so much on the idea itself but on how well you can communicate it."
"Simplify the slides so the audience can process each one in under three seconds."
"The only reason to give a speech is to change the world." - JFK
This book is all about giving powerful presentations that make an impact.
"The audience does not need to tune themselves to you - you need to tune your message to them. Skilled presenting requires you to understand their hearts and minds and create a message to resonate with what's already there. Your audience will be significantly moved if you send a message that is tuned to their needs and desires."
You must understand your audience, as they are the heroes in your presentation. Who are they? What are their lives like? What are their values and desires? And what can you do to make them feel respected?
Then, think about what you can provide them: guidance, confidence, tools.
"The journey should be mapped out, and all related messages should propel the audience closer to the destination."
What is your Big Idea? Something that: 1) articulates your unique point of view, 2) conveys what is at stake, and, 3) is in a complete sentence.
How does your audience benefit? Why should they go through the work you are asking of them?
Remember that "The future isn't just a place you'll go; it's a place you will invent."
And lastly, "You, not the slides, deliver the message."
If you want to improve your presentation skills, this book has some great ideas on how to do that. It just overall wasn't the most interesting book.
Quotes:
"Your ability to shape your future depends on how well you communicate where you want to be when you get there."
"When an idea is communicated effectively, people follow and change. Words that are carefully framed and spoken are the most powerful means of communication there is."
"Make it about the audience."
"[Y]ou are asking the audience to leave their comfort zone and venture to a new place that is closer to where you think they should be."
"What insights into life can you give the audience? Draw on your own deep truths and transfer to your audience a sense for what it would be like for them to walk fully in their calling."
"No matter what the tool is, the audience should leave each presentation knowing something they didn't know before and with the ability to apply that knowledge to help them succeed."
"Stories are the currency of human relationships."
"Striking a balance between withholding and communicating information is what separates the great presenters from the rest. The quality depends just as much on what you choose to remove as what you choose to include."
"Your idea's perceived value will be judged not so much on the idea itself but on how well you can communicate it."
"Simplify the slides so the audience can process each one in under three seconds."
"The only reason to give a speech is to change the world." - JFK
March 7, 2021
I find it hard to review Resonate. Throughout the first half of the book, I was wondering what all the great reviews are about, and why most of the lessons are about all the blatantly obvious things - "the presentation is not about how great you are!" (no sh*t, really?). There were times when I continued reading because I wanted to believe better times would be right behind the corner - and eventually that corner came roughly half-way through the book. Once it did, there were several sections worth 4 or more stars, pages I kept studying (and will return to), and things that gave me a genuine aha-experience.
Working as an analyst, I think frameworks, comparisons and graphs should be there to support thinking. Duarte however uses them as illustrations to seemingly prove her point, wrangling the frameworks in the process. The lead example is when Resonate illustrates how the order of information changes its impact. To prove the point, Resonate shows the "same" message with different ordering, and voilá, the other message IS SO MUCH BETTER. Except that the messages are completely different, not just in order, but in style - and IMHO the style is the far bigger reason why the second message sounds so good compared to the dull, first message. Call me academic, but tricking the reader like that makes me feel manipulated, and I don't like it.
Speaking of tricking the reader: the book promises lots of extra material on Duarte's website. In the end, I was intrigued enough to go find the promised additional content on Duarte's website - all I could find was ads for all the services I should be buying from the author. Call me what you will, but that makes me feel manipulated, and I don't like it.
Resonate does a good job at showcasing and analyzing classic speeches and presentations. I'm not sure you really need to buy a book to get your hands on the Gettysburg address, I Have a Dream or the iPhone launch, but at least I wouldn't have made the effort to find them without the book. And credit where credit's due, Duarte's analysis does make the layers in those masterpieces more visible.
All in all, two stars, it was OK. I finished reading four other books while trying to make progress on Resonate. Some sections made me want my money back, some sections were very good. At its worst, I was wondering what kind of imbeciles Resonate takes its readers for. At its best, Resonate made me view things in a new light and gave me concrete ideas about how to present better.
Working as an analyst, I think frameworks, comparisons and graphs should be there to support thinking. Duarte however uses them as illustrations to seemingly prove her point, wrangling the frameworks in the process. The lead example is when Resonate illustrates how the order of information changes its impact. To prove the point, Resonate shows the "same" message with different ordering, and voilá, the other message IS SO MUCH BETTER. Except that the messages are completely different, not just in order, but in style - and IMHO the style is the far bigger reason why the second message sounds so good compared to the dull, first message. Call me academic, but tricking the reader like that makes me feel manipulated, and I don't like it.
Speaking of tricking the reader: the book promises lots of extra material on Duarte's website. In the end, I was intrigued enough to go find the promised additional content on Duarte's website - all I could find was ads for all the services I should be buying from the author. Call me what you will, but that makes me feel manipulated, and I don't like it.
Resonate does a good job at showcasing and analyzing classic speeches and presentations. I'm not sure you really need to buy a book to get your hands on the Gettysburg address, I Have a Dream or the iPhone launch, but at least I wouldn't have made the effort to find them without the book. And credit where credit's due, Duarte's analysis does make the layers in those masterpieces more visible.
All in all, two stars, it was OK. I finished reading four other books while trying to make progress on Resonate. Some sections made me want my money back, some sections were very good. At its worst, I was wondering what kind of imbeciles Resonate takes its readers for. At its best, Resonate made me view things in a new light and gave me concrete ideas about how to present better.
September 23, 2018
Was interested to find out more about the psychology of presentations. Google "Creating effective presentations" and you get empirical findings such as Speak with Passion, Tell Stories, Body Language. Somehow I chanced upon Nancy Duarte's TedX talk on "The Secret Structure of great talks".
A simple shape she described during the talk got me hooked and made me finish her book, "Resonate", in 2 days. A multimedia version of the book is available: http://resonate.duarte.com/
The greatest talks have a simple structure that helps their message resonate with its listeners. Throughout these talks the speaker contrasts between "what is the current situation" and "What could be" repeatedly. Duarte shows how Steve Job's iPhone launch and Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech fit this shape. I have watched Steve Job's keynotes several times but was mindblown when I revisited it from Duarte's perspective.
Duarte says if you are doing a presentation you most likely will have a new idea that you want share with others. You are not the hero, but a mentor who guides the audience to adopt your new idea. This way you cannot think from your position, but you must design it for your audience. The book also shares how you can tune your message for various sub-groups in the audience, create meaningful content, capture audiences attention throughout and structure your presentation.
If you are doing a presentation, you must at the very least watch Duarte's TedX Talk here: https://www.ted.com/talks/nancy_duart...
A simple shape she described during the talk got me hooked and made me finish her book, "Resonate", in 2 days. A multimedia version of the book is available: http://resonate.duarte.com/
The greatest talks have a simple structure that helps their message resonate with its listeners. Throughout these talks the speaker contrasts between "what is the current situation" and "What could be" repeatedly. Duarte shows how Steve Job's iPhone launch and Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech fit this shape. I have watched Steve Job's keynotes several times but was mindblown when I revisited it from Duarte's perspective.
Duarte says if you are doing a presentation you most likely will have a new idea that you want share with others. You are not the hero, but a mentor who guides the audience to adopt your new idea. This way you cannot think from your position, but you must design it for your audience. The book also shares how you can tune your message for various sub-groups in the audience, create meaningful content, capture audiences attention throughout and structure your presentation.
If you are doing a presentation, you must at the very least watch Duarte's TedX Talk here: https://www.ted.com/talks/nancy_duart...
June 23, 2019
This book has completely changed my approach to giving presentations to large audiences. Presentations should be thought provoking or inspirational. Nancy Duarte's approach to conveying information in an engaging way through story makes perfect sense.
As a speaker, one of the benefits of giving a live presentation is that you get instant feedback from your audience (whether you like it or not). It's disheartening to give a presentation and see some of your audience is actively disengaging. It's unlikely that your information is the problem. Yawning, being drawn into their phone, or nodding off are all signs of ineffective delivery.
Nancy shares many remedies to keep the speaker mindful of the audience. Dramatization, emotive storytelling, developing an arc, honesty, structure, and a call for change are all tools that she shares to aid speakers in delivering their material effectively.
As a speaker, one of the benefits of giving a live presentation is that you get instant feedback from your audience (whether you like it or not). It's disheartening to give a presentation and see some of your audience is actively disengaging. It's unlikely that your information is the problem. Yawning, being drawn into their phone, or nodding off are all signs of ineffective delivery.
Nancy shares many remedies to keep the speaker mindful of the audience. Dramatization, emotive storytelling, developing an arc, honesty, structure, and a call for change are all tools that she shares to aid speakers in delivering their material effectively.
January 2, 2019
I have mixed feelings about this book. I agree with just about everything in it, and it had some pointers and reminders that I can bring to my own work. But, it felt idealistic and unrealistic for most presenters in my (academic) field...most of us are not giving the kind of high-stakes presentations that would justify the level of resources suggested in the book. (I am not going to call a 3-hour meeting to review slides for a monthly staff meeting, and I’m not going to answer a dozen audience analysis questions for a 15-minute conference presentation.) In most presentation situations, good enough is good enough, and good enough could have been facilitated with a much briefer guide. But maybe I just wasn’t the right audience for this book.
February 26, 2018
Extraordinary instruction on how to communicate well. I've never seen a book on communication with more practical, authoritative, systematic, yet detailed theory and advice.
September 11, 2018
A neat outline of some key concepts for effective communication. Lots of case studies and practical tips. Excellent reference resource when preparing for a presentation or any public speaking.
April 6, 2025
Must-read for speaking, writing, presenting, and conveying ideas in general.
January 27, 2024
HIGHLIGHTS:
1. SUCCESS:
- Successful people plan and prepare.
- To be successful in any profession requires discipline and mastery of skills.
- Applying that same discipline to the skill of communication will attach the audience to your idea and improve your professional trajectory.
2. RE-CRAFTING:
- The art of crafting and then recrafting something well is disappearing in communication.
3. EDIT FOR THE AUDIENCE:
- Only share the right information for that exact moment with that specific audience.
- Make edits on behalf of the audience, they don’t want everything.
4. VOCABULARY:
- Don’t choose words that fall outside your listener’s vocabulary.
- Tailor language to what the audience uses.
5. TOO MANY:
- Most presentations suffer from too many ideas, not too few.
6. HERO:
- You are not the who will save the audience: the audience is the hero.
7. STANCE OF HUMILITY:
- Changing your stance from hero to mentor will clothe you in humility and help you see things from a new perspective.
- Audience insights and resonance can only occur when a presenter takes a stance of humility.
8. STRUCTURE:
- A good structure helps you work out the kinks.
- Structure strengthens your thinking.
- Many presentations today migrate away from the purity and clarity of structure…don’t fall for this temptation.
- Focus on the construct.
9. TIME:
- Put your own constraint on the amount of time you present.
- Restriction of time forces clear structure and filter-down process that leaves only imperative messages.
10. VISUAL AIDS:
- 1 idea per slide. Keep it simple.
- Turn words into pictures.
- Changes to the structure alter the receptivity of the content.
- Overuse of slides diminishes the power of connection.
1. SUCCESS:
- Successful people plan and prepare.
- To be successful in any profession requires discipline and mastery of skills.
- Applying that same discipline to the skill of communication will attach the audience to your idea and improve your professional trajectory.
2. RE-CRAFTING:
- The art of crafting and then recrafting something well is disappearing in communication.
3. EDIT FOR THE AUDIENCE:
- Only share the right information for that exact moment with that specific audience.
- Make edits on behalf of the audience, they don’t want everything.
4. VOCABULARY:
- Don’t choose words that fall outside your listener’s vocabulary.
- Tailor language to what the audience uses.
5. TOO MANY:
- Most presentations suffer from too many ideas, not too few.
6. HERO:
- You are not the who will save the audience: the audience is the hero.
7. STANCE OF HUMILITY:
- Changing your stance from hero to mentor will clothe you in humility and help you see things from a new perspective.
- Audience insights and resonance can only occur when a presenter takes a stance of humility.
8. STRUCTURE:
- A good structure helps you work out the kinks.
- Structure strengthens your thinking.
- Many presentations today migrate away from the purity and clarity of structure…don’t fall for this temptation.
- Focus on the construct.
9. TIME:
- Put your own constraint on the amount of time you present.
- Restriction of time forces clear structure and filter-down process that leaves only imperative messages.
10. VISUAL AIDS:
- 1 idea per slide. Keep it simple.
- Turn words into pictures.
- Changes to the structure alter the receptivity of the content.
- Overuse of slides diminishes the power of connection.
December 7, 2018
Resonate emphasizes the powerful of communication, especially the well-equipped resonated communications. Author claims that the successful communication persuade audiences to internally adopt their ideas and externally take actions in the form of changes to be better and to survive and thrive. And according to the authors “this isn’t something that just happens automatically; it comes at the price of long and thoughtful hours spent constructing messages that resonate deeply and elicit empathy.” As chapter 8 demonstrates, successful presentations or speeches always went through thorough rehearsals and multiple times adjustments to gauge the reaction of the audiences and to tune to their frequencies. It is the jobs of the authors to resonate with audiences’ desire and needs and it is not the way around. They are the hero and you are the one to guide the hero through their hero’s journey.
For achieving this objective, Resonate book provides you with a methodology for constructing your communications, especially presentations and speeches or the big talks. Equipped with this sound methodology, you can inspire people and change your world or even change the world. But you need to be transparent and honest for people to see your ideas. They want to see you as the vulnerable people like them but they also need you to do your jobs as the instructors. You need to have the passion with your idea to research hard as much as you can to dig through the dirt to the truths and need to have the confidences and techniques to deliver to them these facts with meaningful messages and impacts which they need to change. As chapter 9 has concluded that your imagination can create a reality and your message can change the world.
At the beginning of the journey, the concept of contrast by which you use to create “what is” and “what could be” is the core framework for any successful presentation. Moving between them alternatively attract your audiences and keep their attention through out your presentation. Also in Chapter 1, the power of storytelling is the one which can incorporate the rule of contrast and convey the meaningful and memorable message to audiences.
Chapter 2 provides you the techniques for understanding and building a story in your presentation. We are provided with the hero’s journey structure. Interestingly, authors also approach your audiences as the hero. Then, you need also to guide them to cross the threshold to take the action after persuading with your powerful stories and messages. Your presentation also needs to have the structure of the journey. Starting with the call to adventure, bringing the contrast or the obstacles as the middle to resolve them and provide the audiences both the tools and confidences they need to take the action at the end you your presentation.
Chapter 3 comes back to the ideas of resonate and how do you resonate with your hero? The main concept is to know them. By knowing them, we mean knowing their value, their beliefs and their styles. Segmenting your audiences to design the tailored conversational message to each segment of audiences is necessary. On top of all, after researching your audiences, you need to create the common ground with them and communicate from the overlap to expand them to the point that they incorporate your messages.
Chapter 4 concentrates on the beginning of the communication processes. You should start with the destination and end with the beginning. Showing them destination and the goal that you want your audiences to achieve or to change to adopt. State that objective clearly with the big idea features. The second objective is about managing your audiences’ change process. You need to acknowledge that audiences risk their old beliefs and their old knowledge to adopt the changes. Make sure that you know and acknowledge these risks and address the resistances with enough insights, tools and emotionally meaningful messages. On top of all, making sure that the reward worth all the changes that the audiences need to make.
Chapter 5 focuses on the way how you create the content of your presentation and provide us the processes for doing it in the right way. Start with brainstorm your ideas from multiple and not constrained sources then filter them to be consistent with the established big ideas. This requires you to even kill the favorable ones to just keep the most related. One of the important principles to create meaningful and memorable content is the balance between analytical facts and emotional ideas. For the best results, author advises us to turn even the number and data into meaningful stories. It requires you to build up the story inventory. Stories and big ideas are the best tools to transform ideas into topic and then meaningful messages.
Chapter 6 is all about the structure and order of the ideas. You need to “see” the ideas spatially and move out of the linear format of presentation application. Clustering ideas in to topics and then connecting them in a way that your audiences can follow. When structure works, the presentation works. You can organize the messages into chronological structure, spatial structure, climax structure or process structure. Or you can organize the messages for emphasizing the contrast in their contents such as: advantages- disadvantages, cause-effect, problem-solution and compare-contrast. This chapter again emphasize the effect of contrast and convey that the contrast can be produce through the order of the messages and the way it is delivered.
Chapter 7 utilizes multiple case studies about some of the best communicators to illustrate the way how to create and deliver some moment that they’ll always remember, a S.T.A.R moment. Authors provide us number of ways for doing it: memorable dramatization, repeatable sound bites, Evocative visuals, emotive storytelling, or a shocking statistic. The best communicator will incorporate all these types.
Resonate give us not just the core principles but also the practical tools for building and giving the meaningful message to your hero.
For achieving this objective, Resonate book provides you with a methodology for constructing your communications, especially presentations and speeches or the big talks. Equipped with this sound methodology, you can inspire people and change your world or even change the world. But you need to be transparent and honest for people to see your ideas. They want to see you as the vulnerable people like them but they also need you to do your jobs as the instructors. You need to have the passion with your idea to research hard as much as you can to dig through the dirt to the truths and need to have the confidences and techniques to deliver to them these facts with meaningful messages and impacts which they need to change. As chapter 9 has concluded that your imagination can create a reality and your message can change the world.
At the beginning of the journey, the concept of contrast by which you use to create “what is” and “what could be” is the core framework for any successful presentation. Moving between them alternatively attract your audiences and keep their attention through out your presentation. Also in Chapter 1, the power of storytelling is the one which can incorporate the rule of contrast and convey the meaningful and memorable message to audiences.
Chapter 2 provides you the techniques for understanding and building a story in your presentation. We are provided with the hero’s journey structure. Interestingly, authors also approach your audiences as the hero. Then, you need also to guide them to cross the threshold to take the action after persuading with your powerful stories and messages. Your presentation also needs to have the structure of the journey. Starting with the call to adventure, bringing the contrast or the obstacles as the middle to resolve them and provide the audiences both the tools and confidences they need to take the action at the end you your presentation.
Chapter 3 comes back to the ideas of resonate and how do you resonate with your hero? The main concept is to know them. By knowing them, we mean knowing their value, their beliefs and their styles. Segmenting your audiences to design the tailored conversational message to each segment of audiences is necessary. On top of all, after researching your audiences, you need to create the common ground with them and communicate from the overlap to expand them to the point that they incorporate your messages.
Chapter 4 concentrates on the beginning of the communication processes. You should start with the destination and end with the beginning. Showing them destination and the goal that you want your audiences to achieve or to change to adopt. State that objective clearly with the big idea features. The second objective is about managing your audiences’ change process. You need to acknowledge that audiences risk their old beliefs and their old knowledge to adopt the changes. Make sure that you know and acknowledge these risks and address the resistances with enough insights, tools and emotionally meaningful messages. On top of all, making sure that the reward worth all the changes that the audiences need to make.
Chapter 5 focuses on the way how you create the content of your presentation and provide us the processes for doing it in the right way. Start with brainstorm your ideas from multiple and not constrained sources then filter them to be consistent with the established big ideas. This requires you to even kill the favorable ones to just keep the most related. One of the important principles to create meaningful and memorable content is the balance between analytical facts and emotional ideas. For the best results, author advises us to turn even the number and data into meaningful stories. It requires you to build up the story inventory. Stories and big ideas are the best tools to transform ideas into topic and then meaningful messages.
Chapter 6 is all about the structure and order of the ideas. You need to “see” the ideas spatially and move out of the linear format of presentation application. Clustering ideas in to topics and then connecting them in a way that your audiences can follow. When structure works, the presentation works. You can organize the messages into chronological structure, spatial structure, climax structure or process structure. Or you can organize the messages for emphasizing the contrast in their contents such as: advantages- disadvantages, cause-effect, problem-solution and compare-contrast. This chapter again emphasize the effect of contrast and convey that the contrast can be produce through the order of the messages and the way it is delivered.
Chapter 7 utilizes multiple case studies about some of the best communicators to illustrate the way how to create and deliver some moment that they’ll always remember, a S.T.A.R moment. Authors provide us number of ways for doing it: memorable dramatization, repeatable sound bites, Evocative visuals, emotive storytelling, or a shocking statistic. The best communicator will incorporate all these types.
Resonate give us not just the core principles but also the practical tools for building and giving the meaningful message to your hero.
February 7, 2018
If you communicate in front of a group of people (and most of us do in some form or fashion), Resonate by Nancy Duarte is a must-read.
If you read this book, you’ll learn how to present ideas that stand out, are repeated, and create change. This book will both inspire and give you the tools to touch, motivate, and encourage audiences not just to listen but to change and do act.
Book describes theory of a good presentation and introduces a tool named presentation form. Author analyses famous person presentation such as Steve Jobs, Martin Luther King, Martha Graham, Benjamin Zander, etc. by this tool. Also, book includes step by step guideline for creating an excellent presentation.
If you read this book, you’ll learn how to present ideas that stand out, are repeated, and create change. This book will both inspire and give you the tools to touch, motivate, and encourage audiences not just to listen but to change and do act.
Book describes theory of a good presentation and introduces a tool named presentation form. Author analyses famous person presentation such as Steve Jobs, Martin Luther King, Martha Graham, Benjamin Zander, etc. by this tool. Also, book includes step by step guideline for creating an excellent presentation.
August 9, 2016
Typical case: you are usually bored to death when listening to presentations. Then you start reading books to improve yours and get the notion that putting nice pictures in your slides is the solution... WRONG!!
The visual aspect is just one side. The key resides in converting facts into stories, having a proper structure, creating meaningful content...
I'd recommend this book to those who want to improve the way of communicating ideas. After all, what is and idea if it's not properly presented?
The visual aspect is just one side. The key resides in converting facts into stories, having a proper structure, creating meaningful content...
I'd recommend this book to those who want to improve the way of communicating ideas. After all, what is and idea if it's not properly presented?
January 31, 2011
Absolutely LOVED this book. Gorgeous layout, super insightful tips/models, great tips for using storytelling to build compelling presentations/speeches. Highly recommend this book for anyone involved with speaking or even writing. You might also enjoy the summary from the video on Nancy Duarte's website: http://www.duarte.com/books/resonate/....
May 28, 2013
My mentor gave me this book to read to give me an overview of how to structure your ideas when presenting to an audience whether it be in training or giving a keynote talk. The book is great. It gives clear ideas on how to structure your talk, what will help with audience engagement and how to make your point stand out. Highly recommended!
July 18, 2017
Due to its uncanny similarity to what I was about to write, my entire review of this book is directly lifted from another Goodreads reviewer, Ian Griffin.
"Nancy Duarte has done it again.
Her new book, resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences, is a prequel to the best-selling slide:ology, which set a new standard for excellence in PowerPoint design. Resonate is the book to read before you read slide:ology, because it explains how to understand audiences, create persuasive content and structure a talk before firing up PowerPoint.
The book equals slide:ology's beauty, sharing the same high production standards and stunning graphics. But don't be seduced by its design or the misled by the subtitle. My one complaint with resonate is that the subtitle is too limiting. It's far more than a book on how to "present visual stories"; rather, it's an extensive listing of the secrets and essential truths of the best storytellers and public speakers, whether they use visuals or not.
Whereas Duarte's first book explored the intricacies of design and the contrasts of the color wheel, resonate explores the intricacies of storytelling and effective ways to build emotional contrasts into the core of the speakers' message.
The book not only opposes the cultural norm that presentations are nothing more than written reports, filled with mind-numbing detail; it also stands firmly on the side of the speaker who tells a story, crafted to produce an emotional response and deliver a memorable experience. Stories, Duarte explains, have conveyed meaning to audiences through the ages. They've been a tool of persuasion since the earliest myths were told around campfires.
Hearts and minds
The fundamental secret of changing the audience's minds, Duarte tells us, is to tell a story that resonates with them:
"The audience does not need to tune themselves to you--you need to tune your message to them. Skilled presenting requires you understand their hearts and minds and create a message to resonate with what's already there."
The strength of the book is the clarity with which Duarte explains, step by step, how to change the minds of an audience. From the screenwriter who opens a movie with an inciting incident to an understanding of the stages of the hero's journey in a novel, Duarte explains how to deliver presentations where something magical happens. Of course, that means her suggestions can be used for good or evil; for example, she explains how Enron executives used presentations as a propaganda device to spread lies and defraud thousands. Fortunately, her other case studies describe presentations which change the world for the better, with inspirational messages that convey feeling, emotion and meaning.
`Sparklines'
Duarte has invented a powerful analytical tool she calls a "sparkline" to map the structure of any speech. A sparkline is a graphical representation of a presentation that shows the points at which it moves between describing "what is" to describing "what could be." Color-coding and text-positioning on the sparkline reveal the "shape" of a particular presentation and map the audience response by noting laughter and applause. No two sparklines are alike, because no two presentations are alike.
Sparklines offer communications professionals a way to make an impact in the C-Suite. Anyone with the time (and courage) to create a sparkline analyzing executive speeches in your own organization will now be able to deliver a report on the strengths and weaknesses of the presentation that can be grasped at a glance.
Turning information into stories
If you are responsible for executive communications in the corporate world, you'll appreciate the practical steps Duarte shares that turn abstract information into emotionally appealing stories. Her case study on how her company--Duarte Design--transformed a single high-tech product slide into a story with a "hero" who faces conflicts and challenges that the product then solves, shows what can be achieved with a little creative effort.
The creative process that Duarte Design uses with clients such as Cisco Systems, Google, Adobe and Microsoft is outlined for all of us to learn and apply as we grow in our careers. As Dan Post, the President of Duarte Design, says in the foreword:
"If great presentations were easy to build and deliver, they wouldn't be such an extraordinary form of communication. Resonate is intended for people with ambition, purpose, and an uncommon work ethic. Applied with passion and purpose, the concepts in this book will accelerate your career trajectory or propel your social cause .... Few pursuits in professional self-improvement have as much professional leverage."
Changing the world
Duarte's real heroes are those people who give speeches that change the world, none more so than Dr. Martin Luther King. Her sparkline analysis of his I Have a Dream speech is worth the price of the book. She analyzes the "shape" of King's speech as it moves from what is to what could be, highlighting the use of repetition, dramatic pauses and metaphor to change the minds of his audience and ultimately change the world."
"Nancy Duarte has done it again.
Her new book, resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences, is a prequel to the best-selling slide:ology, which set a new standard for excellence in PowerPoint design. Resonate is the book to read before you read slide:ology, because it explains how to understand audiences, create persuasive content and structure a talk before firing up PowerPoint.
The book equals slide:ology's beauty, sharing the same high production standards and stunning graphics. But don't be seduced by its design or the misled by the subtitle. My one complaint with resonate is that the subtitle is too limiting. It's far more than a book on how to "present visual stories"; rather, it's an extensive listing of the secrets and essential truths of the best storytellers and public speakers, whether they use visuals or not.
Whereas Duarte's first book explored the intricacies of design and the contrasts of the color wheel, resonate explores the intricacies of storytelling and effective ways to build emotional contrasts into the core of the speakers' message.
The book not only opposes the cultural norm that presentations are nothing more than written reports, filled with mind-numbing detail; it also stands firmly on the side of the speaker who tells a story, crafted to produce an emotional response and deliver a memorable experience. Stories, Duarte explains, have conveyed meaning to audiences through the ages. They've been a tool of persuasion since the earliest myths were told around campfires.
Hearts and minds
The fundamental secret of changing the audience's minds, Duarte tells us, is to tell a story that resonates with them:
"The audience does not need to tune themselves to you--you need to tune your message to them. Skilled presenting requires you understand their hearts and minds and create a message to resonate with what's already there."
The strength of the book is the clarity with which Duarte explains, step by step, how to change the minds of an audience. From the screenwriter who opens a movie with an inciting incident to an understanding of the stages of the hero's journey in a novel, Duarte explains how to deliver presentations where something magical happens. Of course, that means her suggestions can be used for good or evil; for example, she explains how Enron executives used presentations as a propaganda device to spread lies and defraud thousands. Fortunately, her other case studies describe presentations which change the world for the better, with inspirational messages that convey feeling, emotion and meaning.
`Sparklines'
Duarte has invented a powerful analytical tool she calls a "sparkline" to map the structure of any speech. A sparkline is a graphical representation of a presentation that shows the points at which it moves between describing "what is" to describing "what could be." Color-coding and text-positioning on the sparkline reveal the "shape" of a particular presentation and map the audience response by noting laughter and applause. No two sparklines are alike, because no two presentations are alike.
Sparklines offer communications professionals a way to make an impact in the C-Suite. Anyone with the time (and courage) to create a sparkline analyzing executive speeches in your own organization will now be able to deliver a report on the strengths and weaknesses of the presentation that can be grasped at a glance.
Turning information into stories
If you are responsible for executive communications in the corporate world, you'll appreciate the practical steps Duarte shares that turn abstract information into emotionally appealing stories. Her case study on how her company--Duarte Design--transformed a single high-tech product slide into a story with a "hero" who faces conflicts and challenges that the product then solves, shows what can be achieved with a little creative effort.
The creative process that Duarte Design uses with clients such as Cisco Systems, Google, Adobe and Microsoft is outlined for all of us to learn and apply as we grow in our careers. As Dan Post, the President of Duarte Design, says in the foreword:
"If great presentations were easy to build and deliver, they wouldn't be such an extraordinary form of communication. Resonate is intended for people with ambition, purpose, and an uncommon work ethic. Applied with passion and purpose, the concepts in this book will accelerate your career trajectory or propel your social cause .... Few pursuits in professional self-improvement have as much professional leverage."
Changing the world
Duarte's real heroes are those people who give speeches that change the world, none more so than Dr. Martin Luther King. Her sparkline analysis of his I Have a Dream speech is worth the price of the book. She analyzes the "shape" of King's speech as it moves from what is to what could be, highlighting the use of repetition, dramatic pauses and metaphor to change the minds of his audience and ultimately change the world."
November 2, 2018
I reread this and it didn’t resonate with me any longer.
August 25, 2015
Carefully construct your message through a story before opening PowerPoint.
How to best craft your story? Read this excellent book.
Next step: Slide:ology
How to best craft your story? Read this excellent book.
Next step: Slide:ology
October 6, 2014
A must read for anyone who has a message to convey or makes presentations. Love her TED talks!
July 22, 2018
First off, buy the physical book. I feel like I missed out on the true value of this read by viewing on a Kindle, and the experience by audiobook would not be the full story. One of Duarte’s key insights into presentation form is use of contrast, which she illustrates through use of line diagrams called “sparklines;” these diagrams and the detailed notes accompanying them are likely impossible to see on most e-readers.
I do plan to buy the hard copy of this book because I’d like to refresh in the future on two key presentation insights I learned about: contrast and emotional appeal. By bringing in concepts from screenwriting, Duarte makes a convincing argument that presentations in business need to be held to the same standards of engagement that we expect from entertainment, including the ability to challenge the audience’s thinking and engage them in your journey on multiple levels. The point on contrast underlines other business books I’ve read recently, like Challenger Sale, but emphasizing emotional connection as a source of motivation for the audience and as a tool for the speaker to practice humility are points I haven’t heard often enough directed at general professionals (vs communications or marketing specialists). I have a suspicion it’s because empathy and humility are qualities majority consensus deems “too feminine” for the workplace. To those who would ascribe to that view, Duarte notes:
“ ‘It’s easy to think, ‘I don’t get paid at work to feel, I get paid to do.’ And that’s true. But if your team isn’t motivated to move forward or your customers aren’t motivated to buy, then you are in trouble.”
In all, thought-provoking points, but seemed to drag a bit toward the end, and the Kindle format wasn’t ideal. But very supportive of Duarte sharing these insights on effective business communications.
I do plan to buy the hard copy of this book because I’d like to refresh in the future on two key presentation insights I learned about: contrast and emotional appeal. By bringing in concepts from screenwriting, Duarte makes a convincing argument that presentations in business need to be held to the same standards of engagement that we expect from entertainment, including the ability to challenge the audience’s thinking and engage them in your journey on multiple levels. The point on contrast underlines other business books I’ve read recently, like Challenger Sale, but emphasizing emotional connection as a source of motivation for the audience and as a tool for the speaker to practice humility are points I haven’t heard often enough directed at general professionals (vs communications or marketing specialists). I have a suspicion it’s because empathy and humility are qualities majority consensus deems “too feminine” for the workplace. To those who would ascribe to that view, Duarte notes:
“ ‘It’s easy to think, ‘I don’t get paid at work to feel, I get paid to do.’ And that’s true. But if your team isn’t motivated to move forward or your customers aren’t motivated to buy, then you are in trouble.”
In all, thought-provoking points, but seemed to drag a bit toward the end, and the Kindle format wasn’t ideal. But very supportive of Duarte sharing these insights on effective business communications.
June 10, 2025
# 👍🏻 What I Liked About It
- This book is simultaneously an explanation, a how-to guide, and a business justification for story-based messaging. It will take you on a journey to a level of presentation literacy that very few have mastered.
- Very informative design and narration, lots of graphs, statistics and case studies
# 👎🏻 What I Didn't Like About It
- Nothing, it’s just very easy to read and comprehend guidance book
# 👨🎓 What I’ve Learned
- The enemy of persuasion is obscurity.
- You are not the hero who will save the audience; the audience is your hero.
- All types of writing, including presentations, fall somewhere in between two extreme poles: reports and stories.
- It does seem like a contradiction, but mentors are selfless and think of themselves in the context of others.
- No matter what the tool is, the audience should leave each presentation knowing something they didn’t know before and with the ability to apply that knowledge to help them succeed.
- Whether it’s based on altruism or ego, people like to make a difference with their lives. That difference could be something as modest as “make this a great place to work” or as lofty as “save lives in Ethiopia.”
- People can only process one inbound message at a time. They will either listen to you or read your slides; they cannot do both.
# 📜 Quotes
“Progress is impossible without change; and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” - George Bernard Shaw
“The public is composed of numerous groups whose cry to us writers is: ‘Comfort me.’ ‘Amuse me.’ ‘Touch my sympathies.’ ‘Make me sad.’ ‘Make me dream.’ ‘Make me laugh.’ ‘Make me shiver.’ ‘Make me weep.’ ‘Make me think.’” - Henri René Albert
- This book is simultaneously an explanation, a how-to guide, and a business justification for story-based messaging. It will take you on a journey to a level of presentation literacy that very few have mastered.
- Very informative design and narration, lots of graphs, statistics and case studies
# 👎🏻 What I Didn't Like About It
- Nothing, it’s just very easy to read and comprehend guidance book
# 👨🎓 What I’ve Learned
- The enemy of persuasion is obscurity.
- You are not the hero who will save the audience; the audience is your hero.
- All types of writing, including presentations, fall somewhere in between two extreme poles: reports and stories.
- It does seem like a contradiction, but mentors are selfless and think of themselves in the context of others.
- No matter what the tool is, the audience should leave each presentation knowing something they didn’t know before and with the ability to apply that knowledge to help them succeed.
- Whether it’s based on altruism or ego, people like to make a difference with their lives. That difference could be something as modest as “make this a great place to work” or as lofty as “save lives in Ethiopia.”
- People can only process one inbound message at a time. They will either listen to you or read your slides; they cannot do both.
# 📜 Quotes
“Progress is impossible without change; and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” - George Bernard Shaw
“The public is composed of numerous groups whose cry to us writers is: ‘Comfort me.’ ‘Amuse me.’ ‘Touch my sympathies.’ ‘Make me sad.’ ‘Make me dream.’ ‘Make me laugh.’ ‘Make me shiver.’ ‘Make me weep.’ ‘Make me think.’” - Henri René Albert
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