Why Most PowerPoint Presentations Suck

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Customer Reviews:

The new standard for "computer" books [Posted on 2007-12-20]
Why Most PowerPoint Presentations Suck
Altman's writing sets a new standard for "computer" books. I use the quotation marks because this book doesn't just cover PowerPoint, but also provides solid teachings on delivering more effective presentations, making it more of a "professional" book than one just on computing subjects. That aside, this is the best-written computer-oriented book I've read. Altman has an entertaining style while also clearly demonstrating his expertise on the subject through genuine tips and techniques that are easy to understand and use. If the title doesn't grab you the content certainly will.

Closest Book to What I have been searching [Posted on 2008-02-12]
Although I am a certified Power Point Professional I don't use Power Point anymore. Let me explain. Since Apple came out with Keynote it is far better so I left Power Point in the dust and has never been easier. For Power Point I will agree with the other commenters this book is one of the best I have seen even better than the "Dummy" books I used to recommend to my Community College classes. I would love to have seem a CD with some sample complete presentations.
The main thing I disliked about the book is the fact the illustrations are in Black & white. The only color is on the covers. I believe the book would be better if they were color and what is there would have better resolution.
I am a full time Minister and would love to see something from the stand point of when you have a lot of material you need to give the audience. I speak to the same audience 52 weeks a year and roughly do 110 presentations. I do pickup some points out of every book and this one is no exception.
I am waiting for a book, probably by a preacher who does as many presentations as a do to the same audience, dealing with how to deal with a lot of text putting full Scripture passages in the presentations.
This one is ok but I find it written more to the fellow that does business presentations. There is another audience unless I am the only Preacher that uses Power Point or Keynote.
Great job though Rick.

Useful Tips [Posted on 2008-08-26]
The book is well written by an author who knows how to make effective presentations. This is not a "how to" book for mastering PowerPoint. It is a guide for how to use PowerPoint to enhance presentations. People who suffer through tedious presentations and yearn not to inflict the same on others will benefit from reading this book.

Your presentations need this book [Posted on 2008-11-17]
Rick certainly does tell you how to make your presentations better. I love how he talks about animations and shows you how to tell a story using animations. He shows you some wonderful, eye catching ways to use photos. And you'll understand how he explains the PowerPoint features. In fact you'll enjoy reading about them. When you apply just half of what he says in this book, you will be ahead of most presenters. I have a business in presenting and I learned so many useful tips and tricks. Buy it now.

Nicely Done (with a few nits :-) [Posted on 2008-12-01]
First, a few quibbles.

* The index is worthless. I'm not sure why the author (or the book editor?) dropped the ball on the index, but it's almost non-existent. If this book were more of a typical reference book, you'd lose some points for that, but since it's more of a handbook, it's not so bad.

* No mention of the Macintosh versions (it's not going away -- deal with it :-). I've had more than my share of issues where I prepared my Powerpoint on a Macintosh and then (for whatever reason) had to present on some Windows machine that was tied to the conference room projector. Or, I had to share presentations with teammates who used Windows (and vice versa). Fonts, graphics, video files, animation -- there are plenty of potential cross-platform issues that could really benefit from the author's expertise.

* Size. Yes, size does matter when you are sending presentations to team members via email. PPT files can get really big really fast. I was surprised that there wasn't a short section that addressed ways to minimize the file size of presentations.

I've looked at a lot of computer books over the years, and this book is far better than most. The key thing the author does (that most computer books don't) is really address the user needs as opposed to just outlining the information and regurgitating it. Nicely done.

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