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.
Table of Contents:
Foreword Dan Post xvi
Introduction xviii
1 Why Resonate? 1
Persuasion Is Powerful 2
Resonance Causes Change 4
Change Is Healthy 6
Presentations Are Boring 8
The Bland Leading the Bland 10
People Are Interesting 12
Facts Alone Fall Short 14
Stories Convey Meaning 16
You Are Not the Hero 18
The Audience Is the Hero 20
Resonance Rule #1 23
2 Lessons From Myths and Movies 25
Incorporate Story 26
Drama Is Everything 28
Story Templates Create Structure 30
The Hero’s Journey Structure 32
Crossing the Threshold 34
The Contour of Communication 36
The Beginning and Call to Adventure 38
The Middle: Contrast 40
Call to Action 42
The End 44
What Is a Sparkline? 46
Case Study: Benjamin Zander 48
Zander’s Sparkline 50
Resonance Rule #2 53
3 Get To Know The Hero 55
How Do You Resonate with These Folks? 56
Segment the Audience 58
Case Study: Ronald Reagan 60
Meet the Hero 64
Meet the Mentor 66
Create Common Ground 68
Communicate from the Overlap 70
Resonance Rule #3 73
4 Define The Journey 75
Preparing for the Audience’s Journey 76
The Big Idea 78
Plan the Audience’s Journey 80
Tools for Mapping a Journey 82
Acknowledge the Risk 84
Address Resistance 86
Make the Reward Worth It 88
Case Study: General Electric 90
Resonance Rule #4 95
5 Create Meaningful Content 97
Everything and the Kitchen Sink 98
More Than Just Facts 100
Don’t Be So Cerebral 103
Contrast Creates Contour 104
Transform Ideas Into Meaning 107
Recall Stories 108
Turn Information Into Stories 110
Case Study: Cisco Systems 112
Move from Data to Meaning 117
Murder Your Darlings 118
From Ideas to Messages 120
Resonance Rule #5 123
6 Structure Reveals Insights 125
Establish Structure 126
Make Sense 128
Case Study: Richard Feynman 130
Feynman’s Sparkline 132
Order Messages for Impact 134
Create Emotional Contrast 136
Contrast the Delivery 138
Putting Your Story on the Silver Screen 140
Process Recap 142
Resonance Rule #6 145
7 Deliver Something They’ll Always Remember 147
Create a S.T.A.R. Moment 148
Case Study: Michael Pollan 151
Repeatable Sound Bites 152
Evocative Visuals 154
Case Study: Pastor John Ortberg 156
Ortberg’s Sparkline 158
Case Study: Rauch Foundation 160
Case Study: Steve Jobs 163
Jobs’s Sparkline 164
Resonance Rule #7 167
8 There’s Always Room To Improve 169
Amplify the Signal, Minimize the Noise 170
Give a Positive First Impression 172
Hop Down from Your Tower 174
Value Brevity 176
Wean Yourself from the Slides 178
Balance Emotion 180
Host a Screening with Honest Critics 182
Case Study: Markus Covert, PhD 184
Case Study: Leonard Bernstein 187
Resonance Rule #8 191
9 Change Your World 193
Changing the World Is Hard 194
Use Presentations to Help Change the World 196
Don’t Use Presentations for Evil 199
Enron’s Presentations During Implosion 200
Gain Competitive Advantage 202
Case Study: Martin Luther King Jr. 204
King’s Sparkline 206
Case Study: Martha Graham 210
Be Transparent So People See Your Idea 214
You Can Transform Your World 216
Inspiration Is Everywhere 221
Case Study: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 222
Sonata Sparkline 224
Case Study: Alfred Hitchcock 226
Case Study: E. E. Cummings 228
Resonance Rule #9 233
References 234
Picture Credits 237
Index 239
Special Thanks 248
