James O'Rourke's contribution to the Truth About series of business books, The Truth About Confident Presenting, is in its own way a somewhat unusual source of presentation wisdom. Unlike other presentation books, it is a relatively dry and an exclusively textual exposition of fifty-one presentation dos and don'ts, many of which are painfully obvious to anyone steeped in the business of making presentations. Yet in the proper context, it can be a useful guidebook to aid in the preparation and delivery of quality presentations. The book is divided into ten sections that discuss varying dimensions of the presentation process. These include: getting ready to speak, what makes people listen, developing support for a presentation, getting up to speak, managing anxiety, nonverbal communication, the use of visual aids, handling an audience, what makes a presentation work, and so on.
More seasoned presenters may find this spread of topics rather elementary, and to them this book will be just a refresher of things to keep in mind. But for novice presenters The Truth About Confident Presenting is a useful resource for developing a sense of the minimum standards expected of any professional presentation, whether or not slideware is involved.
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