Customer Rating:      Summary: What's the point? Comment: It is a good book but what seems so obvious isn't always easy to solve. This book definitely helps but there are others you need to look at as well and several websites now available. I think maybe instead of calling it PowerPoint it should be called WhatsThePoint. So many people throw a bunch of slides together but have no point. Many just transfer a write up to PPT instead of creating a separate presentation. The most effective presenters are good storytellers. It's not easy. Most people will look back at what they thought was a good presentation years later and gag. Your slides should support your story not be a written version of it. You really care about cleaning up this planet then I suggest we all start by making better PPTs.
Customer Rating:      Summary: It's OK. Comment: It's OK, but if this Author wants to be taken a bit more seriously, I would recommend that he use more professional titles. I understand the marketing nature of a catchy title, but...
Customer Rating:      Summary: Nicely Done (with a few nits :-) Comment: 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.
Customer Rating:      Summary: Your presentations need this book Comment: 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.
Customer Rating:      Summary: Useful Tips Comment: 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.
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