Clear and to the Point: 8 Psychological Principles for Compelling PowerPoint Presentations - Softcover

Kosslyn, Stephen M.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195320697 ISBN 13: 9780195320695

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2007

Synopsis

True or False?

Most PowerPoint presentations are:
·compelling

·illuminating

·informative

·clear and to the point
Answer: False

Make a change following the principles of Stephen Kosslyn:
·a world authority on the visual brain

·a clear and engaging writer
Making PowerPoint presentations that are clear, compelling, memorable, and even enjoyable is not an obscure art. In this book, Stephen Kosslyn, a renowned cognitive neuroscientist, presents eight simple principles for constructing a presentation that takes advantage of the information modern science has discovered about perception, memory, and cognition. Using hundreds of images and sample slides, he shows the common mistakes many people make and the simple ways to fix them. For example, never use underlining to emphasize a word--the line will cut off the bottom of letters that have descending lines (such as p and g), which interferes with the brain's ability to recognize text. Other tips include why you should state your conclusion at the beginning of a presentation, when to use a line graph versus a bar graph, and how to use color correctly. By following Kosslyn's principles, anyone will be able to produce a presentation that works!

About this title

About the Author

Stephen M. Kosslyn is the former Chair of the Department of Psychology, currently Dean of Social Science and John Lindsley Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. A leading authority on the nature of visual mental imagery and visual communication, he has received numerous honors for his work in this field. His previous books include Image and Mind, Wet Mind: The New Cognitive Neuroscience (with Koenig), and Psychology: The Brain, the Person, the World (with Rosenberg).

Review

"...a world authority on the visual brain ...shows how to use this tool effectively."--Steven Pinker, author of The Language Instinct and Blank Slate

"I would say that this is one of the most useful books on PowerPoint to ever be printed."--Garr Reynolds at Presentation Zen

"This review may not do justice to the insight and clarity of this excellent book which is easy to read, chock full of examples and filled with illustrations of the principles. It is the best book I have found so far on how to improve presentations--especially in PowerPoint."--Robert Hacker at Sophisticated Finance

"Kosslyn puts PowerPoint users on notice. Read this book, and you will be enlightened. Kosslyn's thorough and engaging treatment is based on broad scientific literature, and on his extensive experience. Besides covering the myriad features that PowerPoint offers, Kosslyn provides great advice on how to connect with an audience, tell a story, work at the right level of information, and come up for air." --Lawrence W. Barsalou, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Psychology, Emory University

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0195320697
• ISBN 13: 9780195320695
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 222