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.

Foreword Dan Post xvi

Introduction xviii

1 Why Resonate? 1

Persuasion Is Powerful 2

Resonance Causes Change 4

Change Is Healthy 6

Presentations Are Boring 8

The Bland Leading the Bland 10

People Are Interesting 12

Facts Alone Fall Short 14

Stories Convey Meaning 16

You Are Not the Hero 18

The Audience Is the Hero 20

Resonance Rule #1 23

2 Lessons From Myths and Movies 25

Incorporate Story 26

Drama Is Everything 28

Story Templates Create Structure 30

The Hero's Journey Structure 32

Crossing the Threshold 34

The Contour of Communication 36

The Beginning and Call to Adventure 38

The Middle: Contrast 40

Call to Action 42

The End 44

What Is a Sparkline? 46

Case Study: Benjamin Zander 48

Zander's Sparkline 50

Resonance Rule #2 53

3 Get To Know The Hero 55

How Do You Resonate with These Folks? 56

Segment the Audience 58

Case Study: Ronald Reagan 60

Meet the Hero 64

Meet the Mentor 66

Create Common Ground 68

Communicate from the Overlap 70

Resonance Rule #3 73

4 Define The Journey 75

Preparing for the Audience's Journey 76

The Big Idea 78

Plan the Audience's Journey 80

Tools for Mapping a Journey 82

Acknowledge the Risk 84

Address Resistance 86

Make the Reward Worth It 88

Case Study: General Electric 90

Resonance Rule #4 95

5 Create Meaningful Content 97

Everything and the Kitchen Sink 98

More Than Just Facts 100

Don't Be So Cerebral 103

Contrast Creates Contour 104

Transform Ideas Into Meaning 107

Recall Stories 108

Turn Information Into Stories 110

Case Study: Cisco Systems 112

Move from Data to Meaning 117

Murder Your Darlings 118

From Ideas to Messages 120

Resonance Rule #5 123

6 Structure Reveals Insights 125

Establish Structure 126

Make Sense 128

Case Study: Richard Feynman 130

Feynman's Sparkline 132

Order Messages for Impact 134

Create Emotional Contrast 136

Contrast the Delivery 138

Putting Your Story on the Silver Screen 140

Process Recap 142

Resonance Rule #6 145

7 Deliver Something They'll Always Remember 147

Create a S.T.A.R. Moment 148

Case Study: Michael Pollan 151

Repeatable Sound Bites 152

Evocative Visuals 154

Case Study: Pastor John Ortberg 156

Ortberg's Sparkline 158

Case Study: Rauch Foundation 160

Case Study: Steve Jobs 163

Jobs's Sparkline 164

Resonance Rule #7 167

8 There's Always Room To Improve 169

Amplify the Signal, Minimize the Noise 170

Give a Positive First Impression 172

Hop Down from Your Tower 174

Value Brevity 176

Wean Yourself from the Slides 178

Balance Emotion 180

Host a Screening with Honest Critics 182

Case Study: Markus Covert, PhD 184

Case Study: Leonard Bernstein 187

Resonance Rule #8 191

9 Change Your World 193

Changing the World Is Hard 194

Use Presentations to Help Change the World 196

Don't Use Presentations for Evil 199

Enron's Presentations During Implosion 200

Gain Competitive Advantage 202

Case Study: Martin Luther King Jr. 204

King's Sparkline 206

Case Study: Martha Graham 210

Be Transparent So People See Your Idea 214

You Can Transform Your World 216

Inspiration Is Everywhere 221

Case Study: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 222

Sonata Sparkline 224

Case Study: Alfred Hitchcock 226

Case Study: E. E. Cummings 228

Resonance Rule #9 233

References 234

Picture Credits 237

Index 239

Special Thanks 248