Learn better communication from…comic books?

Some people use Powerpoint well, but not enough people.  Some people excel at communicating effectively without Powerpoint, but –again– not enough people. 

To learn more about crafting presentations read Presentation Zen, especially the post about Learning From The Art of Comics, which talks about Scott McCloud, a fellow who wrote a book about how to create comics.  Many people would instinctively assume that such a book would offer them no assistance in creating effective presentations.  The people who would assume that are the ones who most need to read the book (and the post).   Compelling presentations are hard because you have to (1) distill information and then (2) add sparkle to it.  Most people fail at step #1.  If you can just master that step then you’re in an elite group.  It’s a group that has more comic book writers than lawyers, that’s for sure.

Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert comic strip, recently revealed the secret to writing a bestselling book: "Say what other people are already thinking, but say it better than they are thinking it."  That’s good advice for any kind of presentation, whether it written or spoken.  Essentially, you connect with your audience by refining the hazy, ill-formed thoughts that are swirling around in their heads. So, just learn to do that. 

Then add sparkle.