Better Presentations: A Guide for Scholars, Researchers, and Wonks

Better Presentations: A Guide for Scholars, Researchers, and Wonks

By: Jonathan Schwabish
  • Takes you through the entire process of building, designing, and giving a presentation.
  • Details essential strategies for developing clear, sophisticated, and visually captivating presentations.
  • Follow three core principles―visualize, unify, and focus―to create better, more effective presentations.

Many smart people often become selfish idiots when they give a presentation. Jon's much-needed book is a must read for just about anyone asked to share some slides.

Seth Godin

Seth Godin

Author of Really Bad Powerpoint
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More Praises

Do us all a favor: read this book before your next presentation. From font size to data visualization, Schwabish guides you through creating a presentation that will both hold your audience's attention and effectively deliver information.

Susan Dynarski

University of Michigan
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Modern scholars spend many hours a week watching or giving presentations; every one of us should be forced to practice the wisdom of Jonathan Schwabish's wonderful short book. I thought I had mastered this craft and imposed my mastery on others, but I learned so much from Better Presentations that from now on, I'll just say "Read the book!

Robert E. Hall

Stanford University
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Your work can shape the future only when others understand you. You can show how your ideas matter if you master the fundamentals of communication, and this book shows how to do just that.

Carmen Simon

Author of Impossible to Ignore
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If you are a scientist or scholar who doesn't care about designing beautiful slides for your presentations, you are doing it wrong. Elegance, clarity, and good visual composition make your messages understandable. In this concise book, Jonathan Schwabish outlines simple but essential rules of design and data visualization that anybody can benefit from. Apply them, and I guarantee that you will never again see a bored face in your audience.

Alberto Cairo

University of Miami, author of The Truthful Art: Data, Charts, and Maps for Communication
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Data visualization has provided a new set of powerful tools to help analysts communicate their ideas more clearly and effectively. Jon Schwabish helped to pioneer the use of these tools in the policy community, and Better Presentations is full of valuable insights that teach his approach to others. Both new and experienced analysts would benefit immensely from reading this book.

Douglas Elmendorf

Former director of the Congressional Budget Office
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Book Details

Publisher : Columbia University Press (November 15, 2016)
Language : English
Paperback : 192 pages
ISBN-10 : 0231175213
ISBN-13 : 978-0231175210
Item Weight : 1.1 pounds
Dimensions : 9 x 7 x 0.5 inches
Best Sellers Rank : #126,178 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#17 in Presentation Software Books
#116 in Media & Communications Industry (Books)
#138 in Public Speaking Reference

About the Author

Jonathan Schwabish

Biography

Jonathan Schwabish is an economist, writer, teacher, and creator of policy-relevant data visualizations. He is a senior research associate and data visualization specialist at the Urban Institute and publishes a blog and podcast at his site PolicyViz.com, where he helps people improve the way they process, visualize, analyze, and present their data and research. His tutorials, remakes, and interviews with data visualization and presentation experts speak to scholars, policy wonks, and anyone with a data story to tell. He is on Twitter @jschwabish.

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