If you have a sleep problem, you know how quickly a PowerPoint presentation can induce that foggy haze unlike anything except Ambien.  Considered a must-use tool, PP presentations now conjure hellish feeling of having to endure a yawnfest of slides packed with far too much detail --dull paragraph-long bullets that are repeated verbatim in monotone by the speaker, with caricature-like clip art and animation.  But let’s not kill the medium. PowerPoint is merely the messenger. It’s all about throwing out bad, time-worn habits to build strong, compelling presentations.

A book that I ran across a couple weeks ago in Kramer Books, Slide:ology by Nancy Duarte, sets out the true art AND science behind constructing and delivering  presentations.  I then, coincidently, ran across a live webcast with Duarte, interviewed by Chris Brogan, the writer/blogger of all things marketing and communications (bestselling co-author of Trust Agents), which revealed some great truths.

You can watch their 29 minute video discussion at http://www.chrisbrogan.com/duarte/, or read some of the best highlights I took down below.   Duarte also published a subsequent companion book, Resonate, which explains and dissects the power of storytelling in today’s communications.