In my work as a presentation and public speaking coach, I find myself bookmarking and sharing quite a few resources with my clients and students. I’ve assembled some of the most frequently shared ones here on this page.
Recommended Books
Presentations
- HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations, Nancy Duarte
- Good Charts, one of the best, most concise manuals on designing powerful charts for data visualization.
- Slide:ology and Resonate, by Nancy Duarte
- Strategic Storytelling, Dave McKinsey – this book critiques top consulting firms’ presentations while teaching best practices. (See below for 47 real McKinsey slide decks)
- Presentation Zen
- Beyond Bullet Points (How to craft stories and work out timings)
- TED Talks, by Chris Anderson – formal presentations
General Communication
- Communicate with Mastery, by JD Schram
- Persuasion at Work, by Steve J. Martin
- Supercommunicators, by Charles Duhigg
- The Art Of Explanation, Lee LeFever
- Think Faster, Talk Smarter, by Matt Abrahams
- Speaking Up Without Freaking Out, by Matt Abrahams
- Confessions of a Public Speaker, Scott Berkun
- Winning The Story Wars, Jonah Sachs
- Say It Well, Terry Szuplat – speech writing and delivery, mental preparation
Academic Texts on Communication
- Guide to Managerial Communication, Mary Munter
- Business Communication Strategy and Skill, Mary Munter
- The Pyramid Principle, Barbara Minto
Meetings
- HBR Guide to Making Every Meeting Matter
Body Language
- What Every Body is Saying, Joe Navaro
- The Silent Language of Leaders, Carol Kinsey Goman
Charisma
- The Charisma Myth, Olivia Fox Cabane (Chapter 8 “Speaking—and Listening—with Charisma, Chapter 9 Charismatic Body Language)
- Presence, Amy Cuddy
- Psyched Up, Daniel McGinn (pre-performance routines and mental preparation)
Recommended Articles
- The Minto Pyramid Principle: A Blueprint for Compelling Communication and Influential Presentations
- The High Stakes of Poor Communication, Poan Pan in The Atlantic
- 5 strategies for leading better meetings, FastCompany.com
- Want better meetings? Ask these 4 questions, FastCompany.com
- What is an Effective Meeting, McKinsey and Company
- 3 Group Presentation Pitfalls and How To Avoid Them
- Learning Charisma (HBR)
- Want a better pitch? Watch this. By Andy Raskin
- 5 Secrets of a Successful TED Talk
- WaPo Article based on the above research, focusing on Hand Gestures
Recommended Videos
- TED Talks “Before Public Speaking” playlist
- Nancy Duarte: The Secret Structure Of Great Talks
- Nancy Duarte: How to Tell a Story
- Kurt Vonnegut on the Shape of Stories
- How to get the most out of Video Meetings and Look Good Too
- 7 Body Language Secrets
Recommended Podcasts
The following are podcasts I listen to, learn from, and recommend to others. You may want to identify specific episodes based on topic or guest.
- Clear and Vivid, with Alan Alda
- Think Fast, Talk Smart – The Podcasts, with Matt Abrahams
- Leadership Communications, with Rob Cottingham
- Conversations on Careers and Professional Life
Recommended LinkedIn Learning Classes
- Managing Your Anxiety While Presenting, Matt Abrahams
- Foundation of Communication
- Body Language for Leaders, Carol Kinsey Goman
- Communicating With Confidence, Jeff Ansell
- Starting Memorable Conversations, Tatiana Kolovou — if you have trouble with small talk, this is a great one to start with
Pronunciation for ESL
- Rachel’s English video series features specific pronunciation guidance
- 7 tips to drastically improve your pronunciation in English: This blog post has a number of good resources including links to videos and podcasts to help non native American English speakers.
Toastmasters
There is a Toastmasters club on campus, you can find out more on their websites:
Other Online Resources
- Nancy Duarte’s 4 part series on the HBR Blog
- How To Prepare To Speak At Ignite – Article about preparing to give an Ignite talk (short 5 minute talk with 20 slides)
- The Goodman Center: Why Bad Presentations Happen To Good Causes
- The Functional Art: Blog on the topic of data visualization and information graphics
- The Science of People: A research and training firm that focuses on body language
- WeAreColorBlind While not solely relating to data, this resource offers information about colorblindness and web design which can help you identify potential problems with your charts, or other design elements of presentations.
- Slideworks.io: 47 Real McKinsey Presentations
- Resource Media’s Visual Story Lab – This website contains some great blog posts and resources specific to visual communication.