Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences

Nancy Duarte has done it again.Her new book, resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences, is a prequel to the best-selling slide:ology, which set a new standard for excellence in PowerPoint design. Resonate is the book to read before you read slide:ology, because it explains how to understand audiences, create persuasive content and structure a talk before firing up PowerPoint.The book equals slide:ology's beauty, sharing the same high production standards and stunning graphics. But don't be seduced by its design or the misled by the subtitle. My one complaint with resonate is that the subtitle is too limiting. It's far more than a book on how to "present visual stories"; rather, it's an extensive listing of the secrets and essential truths of the best storytellers and public speakers, whether they use visuals or not.Whereas Duarte's first book explored the intricacies of design and the contrasts of the color wheel, resonate explores the intricacies of storytelling and effective ways to build emotional contrasts into the core of the speakers' message.The book not only opposes the cultural norm that presentations are nothing more than written reports, filled with mind-numbing detail; it also stands firmly on the side of the speaker who tells a story, crafted to produce an emotional response and deliver a memorable experience. Stories, Duarte explains, have conveyed meaning to audiences through the ages. They've been a tool of persuasion since the earliest myths were told around campfires.Hearts and mindsThe fundamental secret of changing the audience's minds, Duarte tells us, is to tell a story that resonates with them:"The audience does not need to tune themselves to you--you need to tune your message to them. Skilled presenting requires you understand their hearts and minds and create a message to resonate with what's already there."The strength of the book is the clarity with which Duarte explains, step by step, how to change the minds of an audience. From the screenwriter who opens a movie with an inciting incident to an understanding of the stages of the hero's journey in a novel, Duarte explains how to deliver presentations where something magical happens. Of course, that means her suggestions can be used for good or evil; for example, she explains how Enron executives used presentations as a propaganda device to spread lies and defraud thousands. Fortunately, her other case studies describe presentations which change the world for the better, with inspirational messages that convey feeling, emotion and meaning.`Sparklines'Duarte has invented a powerful analytical tool she calls a "sparkline" to map the structure of any speech. A sparkline is a graphical representation of a presentation that shows the points at which it moves between describing "what is" to describing "what could be." Color-coding and text-positioning on the sparkline reveal the "shape" of a particular presentation and map the audience response by noting laughter and applause. No two sparklines are alike, because no two presentations are alike.Sparklines offer communications professionals a way to make an impact in the C-Suite. Anyone with the time (and courage) to create a sparkline analyzing executive speeches in your own organization will now be able to deliver a report on the strengths and weaknesses of the presentation that can be grasped at a glance.Turning information into storiesIf you are responsible for executive communications in the corporate world, you'll appreciate the practical steps Duarte shares that turn abstract information into emotionally appealing stories. Her case study on how her company--Duarte Design--transformed a single high-tech product slide into a story with a "hero" who faces conflicts and challenges that the product then solves, shows what can be achieved with a little creative effort.The creative process that Duarte Design uses with clients such as Cisco Systems, Google, Adobe and Microsoft is outlined for all of us to learn and apply as we grow in our careers. As Dan Post, the President of Duarte Design, says in the foreword:"If great presentations were easy to build and deliver, they wouldn't be such an extraordinary form of communication. Resonate is intended for people with ambition, purpose, and an uncommon work ethic. Applied with passion and purpose, the concepts in this book will accelerate your career trajectory or propel your social cause .... Few pursuits in professional self-improvement have as much professional leverage."Changing the worldDuarte's real heroes are those people who give speeches that change the world, none more so than Dr. Martin Luther King. Her sparkline analysis of his I Have a Dream speech is worth the price of the book. She analyzes the "shape" of King's speech as it moves from what is to what could be, highlighting the use of repetition, dramatic pauses and metaphor to change the minds of his audience and ultimately change the world.

Nancy Duarte explores the art of effective communication through powerful presentations. It emphasize the importance of crafting messages that resonate with audiences by using storytelling techniques. I am following her example to create a powerful presentation.

2012-1129: Just 2 years & one month ago I wrote the reviews shown below the double-dash line. After repeatedly reflecting on the book, I think i finally "get it." On a literal level, sound-harmonics can "encourage" sympathetic vibrations of items around it. (Ever been alongside a car with a boombox blaring and your own car started vibrating?) To have that effect on our audience on a heart-motivating, mentally stimulating level is to learn what causes them to "vibrate" with motivated action and then to accentuate that vibration through our words--both WHAT we say and HOW we say it. (People seem to instinctively know how to get their closest associates' "goat" by teasing them. Its the same concept but in a positive way.)==========================================================I bought Slide-ology and wrote a review of it for peers at work. (I love sharing.) I stumbled across Nancy's new book, "Resonate" quite by accident and immediately ordered it here on Amazon. I have read a little over half(on pg. 126 of 232 currently--back matter constitutes another 15 pages or so).Although I have truly found some material mentally invigorating, I do have two big criticisms:1) Nancy (the author) uses the terms "resonate" and "frequency" in such vague ways that the reader never really quite figures out what she means. I really wonder if she herself knows what she means. I counted at least 4 contextual meanings, none of which are consistent. Its not that I need just one all-encompassing definition, its just I couldn't get a handle on just how to understand those terms.2) The book is unnecessarily too long. I reviewed the TOC multiple times. Although it appears structurally logical, when I read the actual content, it seems to bounce around a great deal. I am not the sort of person to casually read a book of this sort. I have a pen with me and make copious marginal notes as well as added sticky-notes. Finally, I transcribe all my notes into a word document to create a summary that I can use as a reference. I found myself flipping back and forth, making cross-reference notes because a concept that was touched on (for example, "The Big Idea on pg. 78) is then expanded on page 120, "From Ideas to Messages." Now,I appreciate the bk seems to intend to start with a "wide-angle" lens and then further in book, "zoom in" to details, but it would have been much more succinct (in my opinion) if all that were presented together at the outset. I would have organized the material in this book much differently. From my perspective, she fails her own advise on page 126 regarding establishing structure by repeatedly returning to the same matters over and over. My recommendation: Read the first 78 pages of the book, and you have the crux of the whole 232 pages.So am I am saying "don't read this"? Not at all. Just know that if you truly want to reap the benefits of Nancy's insight, it will take more than just a casual read. You will need to take notes to glean and make any sense of this book. For example, even though she clearly defines "The Big Idea" on page 78 in the very first sentence, and she further explains WHAT it is in concise example on pg. 79, the chapter misses the mark explaining, how, when, where. The examples given are too terse to make sense of it. I'm sure some will take me to task on this write-up. Just remember, it is only my opinion.Update 2010-1103: I have finished the book, gone back & completed an organized outline (from the disorganized mess this book was in) and even created a graphic that succinctly illustrates the overall "journey." Although I still hold to my stand that the 1st 78 pages IS the book, there are a couple other helpful items beyond that:Developmental Organization of content: pages 142 to 143Examples of use of tugging on heart-strings to teach a lesson: pages 156-161I did make several marginal notes throughout the book, but after going through it, if I found what i needed was a checkoff list. So i created my own containing all the questions I need to answer in the development phase. Unfortunately, it would mean nothing to those who haven't read the book, so read it and develop your own checklist.