Presentation Patterns is the first book on presentations that categorizes and organizes the building blocks (or patterns) that you ll need to communicate effectively using presentation tools like Keynote and PowerPoint. Patterns are like the lower-level steps found inside recipes; they are the techniques you must master to be considered a master chef or master presenter. You can use the patterns in this book to construct your own recipes for different contexts, such as business meetings, technical demonstrations, scientific expositions, and keynotes, just to name a few. Although there are no such things as antirecipes, this book shows you lots of antipatterns things you should avoid doing in presentations. Modern presentation tools often encourage ineffective presentation techniques, but this book shows you how to avoid them. Each pattern is introduced with a memorable name, a definition, and a brief explanation of motivation. Readers learn where the pattern applies, the consequences of applying it, and how to apply it. The authors also identify critical antipatterns: clich s, fallacies, and design mistakes that cause presentations to disappoint. These problems are easy to avoid once you know how. Presentation Patterns will help you Plan what you ll say, who you ll say it to, how long you ll talk, and where you ll present Perfectly calibrate your presentation to your audience Use the storyteller s narrative arc to full advantage Strengthen your credibility and avoid mistakes that hurt it Hone your message before you ever touch presentation software Incorporate visuals that support your message instead of hindering it Create highly effective infodecks that work when you re not able to deliver a talk in person Construct slides that really communicate and avoid Ant Fonts, Floodmarks, Alienating Artifacts, and other errors Master 13 powerful techniques for delivering your presentation with power, authority, and clarity Whether you use this book as a handy reference or read it from start to finish, it will be a revelation: an entirely new language for systematically planning, creating, and delivering more powerful presentations. You ll quickly find it indispensable no matter what you re presenting, who your audiences are, or what message you re driving home.

In today's fast-paced and volatile business environment, where customers are demanding increased flexibility and lower cost, companies must operate in a waste-free environment to maintain a competitive edge and grow margins. Lean Enterprise is the process that companies are now adopting to provide superior customer service and improve bottom line performance. Are you contemplating Lean Enterprise for your manufacturing or office facility? Are you already implementing Lean, but dissatisfied with the speed of change? Do your employees think that Lean is just the new flavor of the month? Are you being forced to go Lean by your customers, or your competitors? Are you anticipating going offshore to cut costs? Irrespective of your situation, this book is for you. The Elusive Lean Enterprise is designed to help guide you through the Lean transformation and avoid the pitfalls. Find out why many companies are failing to live up to the promise of Lean, and why there are alternatives to outsourcing or going offshore. In The Elusive Lean Enterprise, lean experts Keith Gilpatrick and Brian Furlong show you what to do, what you must not do, and how to make Lean the way business is done in the 21st century. Learn from the mistakes of others and avoid the trial and error implementation process that often kills the initiative. Find out why you must change, how to change, and how to institutionalize the process. Understand the costs of outsourcing or going offshore and compare these to the Lean alternative. For companies that invest the time and have an effective strategy, Lean Enterprise can produce outstanding results. For those companies that fail to commit to the process and truly change the culture, a Lean Enterprise will truly remain elusive.

The seven stories in Pam Durban's widely praised debut collection are tales of family, of love and loss, of survival and affirmation. Durban's resonant prose subtly obliges her readers to experience the rush of icy water in a stream, the taste of greens freshly snatched from an overgrown garden, the dread weight of confusion and uncertainty. In "This Heat," the opening story, a mill worker faces the long-expected loss of her teenage son when his weak heart finally gives out. In the title story, which concludes the collection, a formidably eccentric woman abruptly leaves her daughter and granddaughter to answer a "calling" to do missionary work in Africa. Framed between these two stories is a gathering of characters made real and consequential by Durban's touch: a country singer more than a few big breaks short of stardom, a preadolescent boy lovestruck over his private swimming instructor, a father cut off from his children by haunting war memories, and others.

A companion text to Rodman's popular seminar, "How to create and manage wealth".