Jerry Weissman’s brand new collection of 4 authoritative books on making outstanding presentations   Four breakthrough books help you deliver outstanding, winning presentations of all kinds — whatever your goals, whatever your audience!   Jerry Weissman has helped the world’s top executives create the most important presentations of their lives: make-or-break investor presentations that have raised hundreds of billions of dollars from demanding, expert investors. Now, in this remarkable 4 book collection, Weissman teaches everything you need to deliver the most compelling, successful presentations of your life! In Presentations in Action: 80 Memorable Presentation Lessons from the Masters, Weissman reveals how the world’s best presenters have applied timeless principles of outstanding communication – and shows how you can, too. Packed with unforgettable examples from the media, sports, politics, science, art, music, literature, the military, and history, it teaches 100% actionable lessons for supercharging everything from content and graphics to delivery! Next, In the Line of Fire: How to Handle Tough Questions...When It Counts, Second Edition, Weissman shows how to answer even the toughest questions with perfect assurance… avoid the defensiveness, evasiveness, or anger that destroy careers… brilliantly control the entire exchange with hostile questioners! Weissman’s Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story, Updated and Expanded Editionis the industry’s best start-to-finish guide to connecting with even the toughest audiences...telling them compelling stories that focus on what’s in it for them… and moving people to action. Finally, in his brand-new Winning Strategies for Power Presentations, Weissman distills 75 best practices he’s developed through 20+ years coaching executives on high-stakes presentations. He shares powerful new insights into contents, graphics, delivery, Q&A sessions, and more. He also offers new advice on making persuasive political and scripted speeches, developing a richer public speaking voice, interviewing others, demonstrating products, and much more. Every technique is illuminated with a compelling case study, reflecting experiences of communicators ranging from Ronald Reagan to Jon Stewart, Stephen King to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings.   From world-renowned presentation consultant Jerry Weissman

Table of Contents:
Presentations in Action: 80 Memorable Presentation Lessons from the Masters Introduction 1 SECTION I Content: The Art of Telling Your Story 1 A Lesson from Professor Marvel aka The Wizard of Oz 5 How to Customize Your Presentation 2 Obama and You 8 The Most Persuasive Word 3 The “So What?” Syndrome 10 …and How to Avoid It 4 Beware of Jokes 12 Dispelling a Common False Belief 5 Presentation Advice from Abraham Lincoln 14 Clarity, Ownership, and Add Value 6 It Ain't What You Say, It’s How You Say It 16 Lessons in Structure from Jeffrey Toobin and Andrew Weil, M.D. 7 Presentation Advice from Mark Twain 18 Brevity Takes Time 8 Presentation Advice from Mike Nichols 20 How to Find Value in Your Story 9 Show versus Tell in Hollywood 22 The Wrong and Right Way to Tell a Story in Three Films 10 Slogan Power 24 Why the US Army's "Be All That You Can Be" Succeeded 11 How Long Is Too Long?26 When in Doubt, Leave It out 12 The Elevator Pitch in One Sentence 28 How to Describe Your Business Succinctly 13 Do You Know the Way to Spanish Bay? 30 The Correct Way to Practice 14 Getting to “Aha!” 32 The Magic Moment 15 This Is Your Pilot Speaking 34 A Lesson in Flow from the Airlines 16 Presentation Advice from the iPhone 36 Substance and Style in Your Story 17 Presentation Advice from Steve Jobs 38 The Power of Positive Words 18 Presentation Advice from Novelists I 40 Begin with the End in Mind, Then Write, Rewrite, and Rewrite 19 Presentation Advice from Novelists II 42 Storyboard and Verbalize 20 Microsoft Slogans Score a Trifecta 44 Three Persuasive Techniques 21 Presentation Advice from a Physician 46 Audience Advocacy 22 Presentation Advice from a Politician 48 Audience Advocacy 23 Ronald Reagan Meets Lenny Skutnik 50 The Catalyst of Human Interest Stories 24 Human Interest Stories: A Double Advantage 51 Two Ways to Use Anecdotes SECTION II Graphics: The Correct Way to Design PowerPoint Slides 25 The Presentation-as-Document Syndrome 55 Never the Twain Shall Meet 26 Blame the Penmanship, Not the Pen 57 Operator versus User Error 27 You Can't Use a Sentence As a Prompt 59 Less Verbiage Is More Useful 28 Baiting the Salesperson 60 Selling Is about In-Person Communication 29 PowerPoint and Human Perception 62 Scientific Support for Graphics Design 30 PowerPoint Template: Combined Picture and Text 64 The Best Positions for Pictures and Text 31 Shady Characters 67 The Wrong Way and the Right Way to Build Text 32 “I Can Read It Myself!” 69 Three Simple Steps to Avoid Reading Slides Verbatim 33 A Case for Case I: Initial Caps or All Caps 71 Text Design in Presentations 34 A Case for Case II: Serif or Sans 73 Font Design in Presentations 35 What Color Is Your PowerPoint? 75 Contrast Counts 36 Presentation Advice from Corona Beer 78 Peripheral Vision Counts 37 The Cable Crawlers 80 How Television Animates Text 38 Computer Animation 82 Three Simple Rules 39 PowerPoint and the Military 84 Sometimes More Is More SECTION III Delivery Skills: Actions Speak Louder Than Words 40 The Art of Conversation 89 Eye Contact and Interaction Start at Infancy 41 Presentation Advice from Edward R Murrow 91 The "Person-to-Person" Role Model 42 Nonverbal Communication 93 Look Them in the Eye 43 Presentation Advice from Pianist Murray Perahia 95 Concentration Creates Control 44 Presentation Advice from Actress Tova Feldshuh 97 Concentration Creates Communication 45 Presentation Advice from Michael Phelps and Dara Torres 99 How to Control Stress under Pressure 46 Presentation Advice from Frank Sinatra 101 The Art of Phrasing 47 Presentation Advice from Soprano Kiri Te Kanawa103 The Importance of Breathing 48 The One-Eyed Man 105 Necessity Is the Mother of Invention 49 Bill Clinton's Talking to Me! 106 The Power of Group Dynamics 50 Liddy Dole and Person-to-Person 108 From Law School to the Republican National Convention 51 Fast Talking 109 Fun or Maddening 52 Presentation Advice from Titian 111 Position, Position, Position 53 Presentation Advice from Musicians and Athletes 113 The Value of Effortlessness 54 Presentation Advice from Vin Scully 115 From Reagan to Barber to Scully 55 “Ya’ Either Got It, or Ya’ Ain’t!” 116 The Fear of Public Speaking Is Universal 56 How to Eliminate the Fig Leaf 118 A Presentation Lesson from the Military 57 Unwords 120 Even Barack Obama Says Them 58 To Slip or Not to Slip 122 Been There, Done That 59 The Free Throw 124 A Presentation Lesson from Basketball 60 10 Tips for 30 Seconds 126 Help for Job Seekers 61 You Are What You Eat 127 10 Tips about Food and Drink in Presentations SECTION IV Q&A: Handling Tough Questions 62 Speed Kills in Q&A 131 The Vanishing Art of Listening 63 A Lesson in Listening from Barack Obama 133 How to Handle Multiple Questions 64 If I Could Tell Jon Stewart... 135 Talk Shows Include Listening 65 What Keeps You Up at Night? 136 How to Handle the Most Frequently Asked Questions 66 Spin versus Topspin 138 The Political World versus the Business World 67 When Did You Stop Beating Your Wife? 140 How to Handle False Assumption Questions 68 Madoff and Cramer Plead Guilty 142 How to Respond When Guilty as Charged 69 Tell Me the Time, Not How to Build a Clock 144 Keep Your Answers Short 70 Presentation Advice from Jerry Rice 146 Grasp the Question before You Answer 71 Politicians and Spin 147 Putting Lipstick on a Pig 72 Murder Boards149 How Elena Kagan Prepared for Tough Questions 73 Ms. Kagan Regrets 151 Non-Answers to Tough Questions SECTION V Integration: Putting it All Together 74 The Elephant 155 The Whole Is Greater Than the Sum of the Parts 75 Presentation Graphics Meet Linguistics 156 Symmetry in Graphics Design 76 One Presentation, Multiple Audiences 158 12 Presenters, 12 Stories, 1 Set of Slides 77 The Art and Science of Oprah Winfrey160 The Secrets of Oprah Winfrey’s Appeal 78 Right or Left164 The Deep Roots of Human Preferences 79 Graphics Synchronization 168 The Missing Link 80 The House that Jack Built 170 Make All the Parts Fit Footnotes 173 Acknowledgments 177 About the Author 178 Index 179   In the Line of Fire: How to Handle Tough Questions—When It Counts, 2/e Introduction: Universal Challenges, Universal Solutions xv Chapter 1: Agility versus Force 1 Chapter 2: The Critical Dynamics of Q&A 9 Chapter 3: Effective Management Implemented 21 Chapter 4: You’re Not Listening! 29 Chapter 5: Active Listening 43 Chapter 6: Retake the Floor 57 Chapter 7: Provide the Answer 87 Chapter 8: Topspin in Action 105 Chapter 9: Preparation 119 Chapter 10: The Art of War 137 Chpater 11: Lessons Not Learned 151 Chapter 12: The Role Model 165 Endnotes 177 Acknowledgments 187 Index 191   Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story, Updated and Expanded Edition Foreword to the Updated and Expanded Edition xvii Preface: What’s Past Is Prologue xxi Introduction: The Wizard of Aaaahs xxiii Chapter 1 You and Your Audience 1 Chapter 2 The Power of the WIIFY 11 Chapter 3 Getting Creative: The Expansive Art of Brainstorming 21 Chapter 4 Finding Your Flow 41 Chapter 5 Capturing Your Audience Immediately 69 Chapter 6 Communicating Visually 91 Chapter 7 Making the Text Talk 103 Chapter 8 Making the Numbers Sing 121 Chapter 9 Using Graphics to Help Your Story Flow 133 Chapter 10 Bringing Your Story to Life 163 Chapter 11 Customizing Your Presentation 183 Chapter 12 Animating Your Graphics 197 Chapter 13 The Virtual Presentation 215 Chapter 14 Pitching in the Majors 229 Appendix A Tools of the Trade 235 Appendix B Presentation Checklists 237 Acknowledgments 241 About the Author 243 Index 245   Winning Strategies for Power Presentations: Jerry Weissman Delivers Lessons from the World's Best Presenters Introduction xv Natural and Universal Section I Content: The Art of Telling Your Story 1 1. Mark Twain’s Fingernails 3 How to Remember What to Say 2. Kill Your Darlings 7 A Lesson from Professional Writers 3. How Long Should a Presentation Last? 11 Be Brief and Concise 4. Follow the Money 13 “So...?” 5. Fellini on Creativity 15 Consider All the Possibilities—Before You Present 6. How Woody Allen Creates 17 First Things First, Last Things Last 7. What’s Your Point? 19 Leave Pointlessness to Woody Allen 8. Spoiler Alert 21 What’s Your Point? 9. The Cyrano Parable 23 The Story You Tell Versus the Slides You Show 10. “Does that make sense?” 25 ...And Other Meaningless Words 11. Meaningful Words 27 Words That Inspire Confidence 12. Writer’s Block 29 How to Break Through 13. Writer’s Block II 31 Easier Said Than Done 14. Never Say “Never” 33 Well, Almost Never 15. From Bogart to Gingrich 35 Who Did It? 16. Rupert Murdoch’s 90% Apology 39 Who Did It? 17. Winning and Losing the World Cup 41 He’s Just Not That into FIFA 18. John Doerr’s “Chalk” Talks 43 Three Best Practices from a Top Venture Capitalist 19. Vinod Khosla’s Cardinal Rule 45 “Message Sent Is Not the Same as Message Received” 20. The Outline Trap 47 Britannica and Brainstorming 21. Having a ’versation 49 “I” Versus “You” 22. “It’s all about you!” 51 “...But they’re just not that into you.” 23. When Not to Tell ’em 55 “Get on with it!” 24. Bookends 59 Establish Your First and Last Sentences 25. The Sound of Ka-Ching! 61 Scale the “You” 26. David Letterman’s Top Ten 63 Pick a Number 27. Illusion of the First Time 65 Road (Show) Warriors 28. In Praise of Analogies and Examples 69 Add Value and Dimension 29. Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama 71 Masters of the Game 30. Aristotle: The First Salesman 75 The Original Source Section II Graphics: How to Design PowerPoint Slides Effectively 77 31. Vinod Khosla’s Five-Second Rule 79 A Sanity Check for Every Presentation 32. Don’t Raise the Bridge, Lower the Water 81 Better Box Thinking 33. Jon Stewart’s Right 83 Positioned on Purpose? 34. Misdirection 85 Magicians and Graphics 35. Obama Makes a PowerPoint Point 87 The State of the Union and Presentations 36. Go in the Right Direction 89 A Presentation Lesson from Akira Kurosawa 37. PowerPoint and Movie Stunts 91 Use Graphics to Create Continuity 38. The Anti-PowerPoint Party 93 Another Precinct Heard From 39. Signage Versus Documents 95 Drive Your PowerPoint Home 40. The Graphics Spectrum 97 Lives of Quiet Desperation 41. How Audiences See 99 Follow the Action 42. Why Use PowerPoint at All? 103 A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words 43. “But, I’m not an artist!” 107 Rx: Infographics 44. The Kindness of Strangers 111 Stand and Deliver 45. No More Mind-Numbing Number Slides 113 Five Easy Steps to Bring Your Presentation to Life Section III Delivery Skills: Actions Speak Louder Than Words 117 46. Eight Presentations a Day 119 Cause and Effect 47. Sounds of Silence 121 Presentation Advice from Composers and Musicians 48. Stage Fright 123 A Close Cousin of Writer’s Block 49. Swimming Lessons and Presentations 127 Deconstruct and Reconstruct 50. Valley Girl Talk 131 Invisible Question Marks 51. “What do I do with my hands?” 133 A Simple Approach to Gesturing 52. “Look, Ma, no hands!” 137 Anchorperson or Weatherperson 53. Foreign Films 139 The Pause That Refreshes 54. Rx: CrackBerry Addiction 141 Control Yourself! 55. The Eyes Have It 143 Relax! 56. Why Sinatra Stood 145 The Voice of “The Voice” 57. Presentation Counts 147 The Rise and Fall of Rick Perry Section IV: How to Handle Tough Questions 151 58. Listening and Laughing with Johnny Carson 153 Late Night Lessons for Presenters 59. Ready, Fire, Aim! 155 Old Habits Die Hard 60. How to Deal with a Direct Attack 159 “That was certainly a downer!” 61. No Such Thing as a Stupid Question 163 A Lesson in Q&A from Dilbert 62. The Patronizing Paraphrase 165 Trying to Channel Bill Clinton 63. Tricky Questions 169 Be Transparent or Be Trapped 64. Robert McNamara Was Wrong 171 You Must Respond to All Questions 65. Breaking into Jail 175 The Elephant IS in the Room Section V Special Presentations 177 66. Speak Crisply and Eliminate Mumbling 179 Be Your Own Henry Higgins 67. How to Develop a Richer Voice 185 Be Your Own Echo Chamber 68. How to Deliver a Scripted Speech 193 When the Words Count 69. Speaking to an Audience of a Thousand 197 The Big Tent 70. How to Beat the Demo Demons 201 Plan B and More 71. Bring Your Panel Discussion to Life 203 How to Herd Cats 72. Mark Your Accent 207 Eliza Doolittle Is a Myth 73. How to Interview Like a Television Anchorperson 211 Seven Easy Steps 74. Ten Best Practices for the IPO Road Show 215 75. Cicero: Peroration 221 Timeless and Borderless Endnotes 223 Acknowledgments 237 Index 239 About the Author 249