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It is pretty hard to find anything traditional with the internet as it has really only been in common use for about 13 years. However, there are certain sales traditions that the old door to door salesman would use to increase their chances of a sale. A quick presentation and throw in some wow this works great, close the sale and off to the next home.

Some of you may even remember the door to door salesman, this was basically doing a cold call door to door through out a neighborhood day after day. The profitable ones would get repeat calls and referrals because of a good presentation, communication wasn’t an expectation or option due to the lack of technology. Remember there were no cell phones, email, websites etc…

Now the customer has the advantage through information, as they no longer have to take the word of the salesman in their house with the quick home presentation. Now they can look at something and simply type the product or service into Google and get all the feedback they need to decide if it’s what they want.

Don’t get me wrong, presentation is still important, but trust and communication are more important. With the technology we have in place, the customer should be given plenty of options within your presentation to reach you and ask questions because good communication can repair a bad presentation. Ultimately the goal is to have both, but how would you know you have a good presentation if there is no communication?

I first learned about Nancy Duarte and her ninja-like Powerpoint slide skills though a webinar presented by Speaker Net News. Ms. Duarte’s clear, usable information in just the short webinar was invaluable. I was immediately able to put many of her suggestions to use.

What I most liked was her recommendation to have two slide shows. One that you show to the audience which incorporates the clean, big picture conceptual slides and another which contains all your details and is basically the high tech version of “3×5″ notes. I’ve used the second, more detailed slide show to put on SlideShare for the participants to view later.

“resonate: Present Visual Stories Transform Audiences” answers questions not covered by her first book “slide:ology.” You can have the most well-designed slides in the world, but if your story doesn’t resonate with the audience, you’ve failed.

In the introduction to “resonate” the author acknowledges this and calls “resonate” the “prequel” to the first. The book is wonderfully designed, with easily digestible chunks of information on the left side matched with a picture on the right side (as if it were a slide illustrating the point). It’s not only good information, but it’s interesting to read. Just like Ms. Duarte teaches you to create your slides and presentations.

The key point to “resonate” is that a presentation is something that falls between the two opposites of a report (detailed documentation) and stories (which are emotional and experiential). The successful presentation incorporates the best of both, using structure and providing information, but communicating it in an engaging way that will help the audience learn, believe and take action.

There is a clear story pattern or structure, which can be used to present even the most prosaic of information, called the “hero’s journey.” In this case the audience is the hero, not you. You are given detailed directions, ideas and “how to” on building your own presentation to take your audience (the heroes) through their own journey.

To help you along the way, there are case studies of some of the most powerful and moving speeches in history including Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream,” Richard Feynman’s famous gravity lecture, and Ronald Reagan address to America after the Challenger disaster. You’ll see and be taken on the hero’s journey in all of the examples.

Like me, you’ll probably want to start working on your presentations before you finish the book. Go ahead and get started, but come back to chapter 8 where you’re given help on improving. Then go out and use your new knowledge to change the world.