What Does the Road Ahead Look Like?

This book guides you step by step as you see how BBP is applied in depth to one specific example presentation, using tools and techniques that you can apply to any presentation. People give such a wide range of types of presentations that it’s difficult to choose a single type to demonstrate how to apply the approach. The example presentation used in Chapters 4 through 8 features a topic most people can relate to—finance—and shows how BBP handles a challenging topic that would normally use only bullet points along with charts and graphs. The example in this book is intended to be delivered as a 45-minute presentation, so you can get a sense of what it takes to produce a presentation that long. This example topic is very different from the jury presentation in Chapter 1 yet still produces clear communication using the same underlying approach. You can adapt the same BBP process to a wide range of presentation topics, contexts, and purposes—Chapter 9 gives you a tour of more examples that you can review for inspiration.

What Tools Do I Need for BBP? This book and the companion CD include what you need to get started with BBP. Of course, you’ll also need a computer with Microsoft Office Word 2007 and PowerPoint 2007 installed. As you begin or continue to work with BBP, the companion Web site to this book at www.beyondbulletpoints.com offers additional resources and a community to help you create BBP presentations smarter, faster, and easier from start to finish. If you have the capability, using a Tablet PC to create and give your BBP presentations will accelerate the process of working with your storyboard and will improve your live presentations by giving you the ability to interact with the audience in ways that are not possible otherwise. Many computer manufacturers offer Tablet PCs—to see what’s available, do a Web search for “Tablet PC reviews.”