If you're looking for a book on design tips for slides, this book is not for you. However, if you're looking for a way to generate better results from your presentations because you have a burning desire to communicate more effectively, 5 Steps to Conquer ‘Death by PowerPoint’ is exactly what you've been seeking.
“5 Steps to Conquer ‘Death by PowerPoint’ proved to be worth the read. Instead of teaching his readers how to make better slides, Bergman focuses on better communication with the audience.”
—Roger Dooley, Forbes
“An excellent book on communications that covers a wide range of communication topics. What sets this book apart is that it is founded on solid academic research. It is also clearly written and presented, making it a great book for students and practitioners alike.”
—David Straker, Changing Minds
“For diagnosing the problem with some all-too-common assumptions about PowerPoint, Eric Bergman deserves our thanks. For providing an elegant five-step solution, he deserves our praise.”
—Neil Hrab, Communicator
If you're a decision-maker looking for a time-saving platform on which to make decisions effectively, every person who presents to you should be required to read this book and implement its recommendations.
"Eric Bergman provides straight-forward advice to presenting ideas effectively. This book is well worth reading."
— Glenn Ives, Chairman, Deloitte & Touche LLP
If you're a sales executive looking to enhance results from the sales presentations delivered by your team, you need to purchase copies for your team before your competitors purchase copies for theirs. Likewise, if delivering slide-driven presentations gives you comfort as a salesperson, nothing is stopping you from continuing. But you should pray that your competitors haven't already purchased this book.
“Although ‘Death By PowerPoint’ wasn’t written with sales people in mind, anyone who sells a product or service could benefit from the advice offered in this practical book.”
— Kelley Robertson, Fearless Selling
5 Steps to Conquer 'Death by PowerPoint' was written to change two behaviours. First, it encourages presenters to stop using PowerPoint (or Keynote or Prezi or SlideRocket, or any other slideware program) to develop the content of their presentations.
Make no mistake. Using any slideware program to develop content compromises presentation success—regardless of whether you’re presenting in a boardroom, conference hall, meeting room or classroom.
“The strong research base that underpins this book provides reassurance that the recommended techniques have been tested and actually do work in a variety of contexts. Eric Bergman's techniques are a window to the future of this important human activity.”
—John Sweller, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of Education, University of New South Wales
The second behaviour the book seeks to change is with audiences. The book introduces the audience manifesto, which is designed to empower audiences everywhere to say: “Please! Enough is enough! We've had our fill of boring, mind-numbing, slide-driven presentations.
"There is life after PowerPoint, and we want to live it.”
"One thing I particularly liked about the book was Bergman's assertion that audiences should take some responsibility in this epidemic by demanding better presentations. To this end, he includes an 'Audience Manifesto' in the final chapter with recommendations on how to communicate it and a downloadable poster."
— Kathy Reiffenstein, Professionally Speaking
"5 Steps to Conquer ‘Death by PowerPoint’ tackles our obsession with popular slideware programs head on while providing an easy-to-follow framework for developing presentations that inform and influence."
—Judy Snow, Professional Communicator