★★★★★ 4
An outsider's view
Format: Paperback
When it comes to Cliff Atkinson's Beyond Bullet Points, I am a bit of an outsider. I don't read many computer books and, while I have worked with PowerPoint, my presentations are very simple. Since I admittedly use my share of bullet points in these presentations, I thought learning about an alternative approach would be useful. And while there are definite benefits to reading this book, it may not be perfect for everyone.
Many people use bullet points in their PowerPoint presentations; this can be a great way to organize thoughts, but Atkinson has a difference approach. Essentially, the Beyond Bullet Points method treats presentations as stories told in three "acts." Act One develops the story, Act Two develops the action and Act Three frames the resolution. Each act is broken down into scenes which provide the details. The first portion of the book explains how to work with each act; the second portion deals with the evolution from initial outline to final presentation.
This book assumes a certain amount of PowerPoint knowledge; if you want to learn about the application, this is not the place to start (on the other hand, you don't need to be a PowerPoint expert). One of the nicest things about Atkinson's approach is the way he allows presentations to be pared down to fit the time frame required: his method is designed best with a 45 minute presentation, but it can be easily compressed to a 15 minute or even 5 minute presentation. Another nice thing is that he has a website that readers can access that provides some helpful materials such as template documents.
On the other hand, Atkinson treats the issue of bullet points/no bullet points as something of a black-and-white issue. He doesn't really acknowledge that there may be a middle ground where bullet points should be used in certain situations, perhaps even in conjunction with his approach. I think it's more appropriate to view the Beyond Bullet Points as an alternative approach to PowerPoint presentations, not the ONLY approach.
Atkinson's writing style is straightforward, and like many computer books, a little dry. But as stated earlier, I am reading this book with something of an outsider's view. This is a good book, but Atkinson's inability to look beyond his own approach keeps it from being a five-star work. Nonetheless, if you do a lot of PowerPoint presentations, there is enough useful material in here to merit a read.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2006
