Presentation S.O.S.: From Perspiration to Persuasion in 9 Easy Steps

The downside of this book is that it has no visuals, no pictures, no fancy color printing inside, and it is printed in expensively; no bells & whistles - just meat & potatos. Recently, wanting to move my presentation skills to the next level, I spent $1,500 on books & audio. Without a doubt THIS BOOK IS THE BEST resource for advanced presenters. Of all the trainings in my career I've had in presentaiton, negotiation, media & crisis communication, I recommend this as 'the golden little book' to connect with an audience. I applied the ideas now 3 times to big presentations and each time with "knock-out" success & unsolicited feedback from the audience afterwards. Practice makes perfect !

In addition to the positives mentioned in the other reviews, I have to highlight a great chapter on the often misused PowerPoint ("PowerPoint Doesn't Bore Audiences, Lousy Speakers Do") By emphasizing the importance of a good presentation and clear, simple and direct PowerPoint slides, Wiskup shows how to get the most from this tool without getting bogged down by the its technicalities. As a former training director I've seen lots of bad PowerPoint and this book provides a simple antidote.

I loved the book. I had to give my "State of the Foundation" speech recently at our Annual Dinner, and got great feedback. I credit a lot of that to what I have learned from this book - most importantly I included some stories and didn't spout off a lot of statistics.

Any one chapter of Mark Wiskup's book is worth the price of the whole thing. The novice will appreciate the first chapter on stage fright; I've been a professional speaker for more than a decade, and I found something useful in every chapter. Wiskup's chatty style, clear prose, and story-telling ability even make this an enjoyable read. My favorite discovery was the Power Sound Bite, which Wiskup calls the PSB. This is the clear, concise and engaging message we all wish we had at our fingertips when someone asks, "What can you do for me and my business?" Wiskup shows you how to build a PSB and provides examples of good, mediocre and bad ones. He also tackles story-telling, which is almost a lost art in some places( even though we all freely admit that we'd much rather listen to a compelling story than a recitation of numbers or business-speak clichés). If you've ever used the phrase "integrated solutions" and seen people's eyes glaze over, but this book. If you've ever said that anything was "(fill-in-the-blank)-centric," buy this book. If you've ever used the clichés "at the end of the day" or the filler word "basically," buy this book and read it before your next presentation, whether it's in front of a large audience or a single decision-maker.

Does the thought of standing up in front of a crowd leave you with cold chills running down your spine? The ability to deliver a speech is crucial to upward career mobility. Millions lack this necessary skill because they allow their fears to hold them prisoner. In Presentation S.O.S.: From Perspiration to Persuasion in 9 Easy Steps, communication expert Mark Wiskup offers nine quick and easy steps that will have you quickly making unforgettable presentations. His helpful advice shows you how you are able to capture your audience from the beginning and hold it until the end. Being a trainer, I felt I had a good grasp on the techniques that were involved in giving an effective speech. This book showed me my skills were sadly lacking and there was much I could do to improve. I enjoyed the straightforward advice that helped me open my eyes to my own faults. Very highly recommended. [...]