Resonate : Present Visual Stories That Transform Audiences

Presentations are meant to inform, inspire, and persuade audiences. So why then do so many audiences leave feeling like they've wasted their time? All too often, presentations don't resonate with the audience and move them to transformative action.

Just as the author's first book helped presenters become visual communicators, Resonate helps you make a strong connection with your audience and lead them to purposeful action. The author's approach is simple building a presentation today is a bit like writing a documentary. Using this approach, you'll convey your content with passion, persuasion, and impact.

Author has a proven track record, including having created the slides in Al Gore's Oscar winning An Inconvenient Truth

Focuses on content development methodologies that are not only fundamental but will move people to action

Upends the usual paradigm by making the audience the hero and the presenter the mentor

Shows how to use story techniques of conflict and resolution

Presentations don't have to be boring ordeals. You can make them fun, exciting, and full of meaning. Leave your audiences energized and ready to take action with Resonate.

“Finally Someone has incorporated the power of story into presentations!”-Damon Lindelof, Co-creator of LOST

“To write a book about effective and inspiring communication is a challenge because it has to demonstrate what it advocates. Nancy Duarte has certainly done that. Compelling. Convincing. Utterly practical. This is a gem!”-Patrick Lencioni, President, The Table Group; Author, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

“Few things excite me more than a great communicator something I’ve wanted to be ever since I ran for president of the seventh grade. While I think I’ve come a long way on that journey, I never fully understood what it takes to be a world-class communicator until I read Nancy Duarte’s Resonate. Read this book, absorb this book, practice what it preaches, and you’ll be on your way to being a great communicator. Thanks, Nancy.”-Ken Blanchard, Co-author of The One Minute Manager; Recipient of Golden Gavel Award

Since 1988, Nancy Duarte's award-winning firm has created over a quarter of a million presentations that have shaped the perception of the world's leading brands and thought leaders. Duarte Design is one of the largest design firms and woman-owned businesses in Silicon Valley, and its clients include: Adobe, Cisco, Citrix, Food Network, Facebook, GE, Google, Al Gore, HP, Kaiser Permanente, McAfee, Microsoft, Nokia, Qualcomm, TED, and Twitter.

Introduction.

1 Why Resonate?

Persuasion Is Powerful.

Resonance Causes Change.

Change Is Healthy.

Presentations Are Boring.

The Bland Leading the Bland.

People Are Interesting.

Facts Alone Fall Short.

Stories Convey Meaning.

You Are Not the Hero.

The Audience Is the Hero.

Resonance Rule #1.

2 Lessons from Myths and Movies.

Incorporate Story.

Drama Is Everything.

Story Templates Create Structure.

The Hero’s Journey Structure.

Crossing the Threshold.

The Contour of Communication.

The Beginning and Call to Adventure.

The Middle: Contrast.

Call to Action.

The End.

What Is a Sparkline?

Case Study: Benjamin Zander.

Zander’s Sparkline.

Resonance Rule #2.

3 Get To Know the Hero.

How Do You Resonate with These Folks?

Segment the Audience.

Case Study: Ronald Reagan.

Meet the Hero.

Meet the Mentor.

Create Common Ground.

Communicate from the Overlap.

Resonance Rule #3.

4 Define the Journey.

Preparing for the Audience’s Journey.

The Big Idea.

Plan the Audience’s Journey.

Tools for Mapping a Journey.

Acknowledge the Risk.

Address Resistance.

Make the Reward Worth It.

Case Study: General Electric.

Resonance Rule #4.

5 Create Meaningful Content.

Everything and the Kitchen Sink.

More Than Just Facts.

Don’t Be So Cerebral.

Contrast Creates Contour.

Transform Ideas Into Meaning.

Recall Stories.

Turn Information Into Stories.

Case Study: Cisco Systems.

Move from Data to Meaning.

Murder Your Darlings.

From Ideas to Messages.

Resonance Rule #5.

6 Structure Reveals Insights.

Establish Structure.

Make Sense.

Case Study: Richard Feynman.

Feynman’s Sparkline.

Order Messages for Impact.

Create Emotional Contrast.

Contrast the Delivery.

Putting Your Story on the Silver Screen.

Process Recap.

Resonance Rule #6.

7 Deliver Something they’ll Always Remember.

Create a S.T.A.R. Moment.

Case Study: Michael Pollan.

Repeatable Sound Bites.

Evocative Visuals.

Case Study: Pastor John Ortberg.

Ortberg’s Sparkline.

Case Study: Rauch Foundation.

Case Study: Steve Jobs.

Jobs’s Sparkline.

Resonance Rule #7.

8 There’s Always Room to Improve.

Amplify the Signal, Minimize the Noise.

Give a Positive First Impression.

Hop Down from Your Tower.

Value Brevity.

Wean Yourself from the Slides.

Balance Emotion.

Host a Screening with Honest Critics.

Case Study: Markus Covert, PhD.

Case Study: Leonard Bernstein.

Resonance Rule #8.

9 Change Your World.

Changing the World Is Hard.

Use Presentations to Help Change the World.

Don’t Use Presentations for Evil.

Enron’s Presentations During Implosion.

Gain Competitive Advantage.

Case Study: Martin Luther King Jr.

King’s Sparkline.

Case Study: Martha Graham.

Be Transparent So People See Your Idea.

You Can Transform Your World.

10 Inspiration Is Everywhere.

Case Study: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Sonata Sparkline.

Case Study: Alfred Hitchcock.

Case Study: E. E. Cummings.

Resonance Rule #9.

References.

Picture Credits.

Index.

Special Thanks.