Say It With Presentations: How to Design and Deliver Successful Business Presentations

For over 45 years, McKinsey & Company's Gene Zelazny has been showing McKinsey consultants and professionals around the world how to plan, design, and deliver effective business presentations_and how to improve and expand their repertoire of presentation skills.

Now in this revised and expanded edition of Say It With Presentations, Mr. Zelazny brings together his years of valuable communication experience to show managers_even those with little or no presentation experience_how to prepare winning presentations using his proven methodology and the full range of PowerPoint techniques.

Written in a clear, highly engaging style, this essential business tool covers everything from defining the situation…to developing the right mix of visual aids to interest your audience without overpowering them. Say It With Presentations features a wealth of practical information on:

Selecting the best medium_traditional standup presentation, discussion meeting, video conference, or virtual presentation

Designing your presentation_knowing what to put in and what to leave out

Determining your message_how to make it clear, direct, and appropriate for the intended audience

Writing the presentation_crafting the most effective story line, introduction, and ending

Making the most of visuals_including computer-driven onscreen presentations with animation, scanned images, sound, video, and links

Creating charts, text visuals, and storyboards_to produce the most attractive and convincing presentation

Projecting confidence, conviction, and enthusiasm_to hold audience attention and generate interest in your ideas

Rehearsing the presentation_to search out imperfections and make the event as compelling as possible

Setting up facilities and equipment_to ensure that everything is working smoothly and geared for a first-rate presentation

Applying your delivery skills_putting together all the oral, video, and audio effects and delivering them at the right pace

Getting used to answering questions_by preparing for and anticipating post-presentation queries from the audience

Filled with scores of helpful illustrations, this wide-ranging sourcebook also explains how to take humor seriously and incorporate it into a presentation…and how to use the “Audience Bill of Rights” to focus clearly on the needs of the audience.

Comprehensive and completely up to date, the new edition of Say It With Presentations contains all the skills-building information, methods, tips, and pointers that business professionals need to win over clients and reap greater financial rewards.

Gene Zelazny is the Director of Visual Communications for McKinsey & company, where he works with the professional consulting staff to create, design, and rehearse presentations. Zelazny frequently shares his ideas at many of the world's major business schools, including Chicago, Columbia, Harvard, Kellog, INSEAD, London Business School, Oxford, Sloan, Stanford, Tuck, and Wharton. His bestselling Say it with Charts has been translated into French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese.