Nancy Duarte Quotes

“All bad presentations struggle to keep the audience interested. The audience squirms wishing they could escape. The audience has given the presenter an hour of their life, so they want that hour to be useful. It's disrespectful of a presenter to not show up rehearsed and prepared with information and insights that will improve the lives of the audience in some way. Presenting will do only one of two things for you: it will either diminish your credibility or yield results. Most bad presentations hurt the presenter's credibility.”

“Audience interest is directly proportionate to the presenter's preparation. You better spend time and energy on any presentations where the stakes are high. If you are trying to close a large sale or speak at a conference to an audience of potential clients, you better be on your game. An audience can tell how much energy you spent on your presentation, which is a reflection of how much you valued their time. If they gave you an hour of their time, you need to make it worth it to them by treating their time as a valuable asset by making the content valuable to them.”

“Effective communication is fascinating to me yet bad communication is just as fascinating. There are lessons to be learned from both.”

“If you feel tempted to use a picture of two hands shaking in front of a globe, put the pencil down, step away from the desk, and think about taking a vacation or investigating aromatherapy.”

“In myths and movies, the mentor can play a few roles: they bring the hero a magical gift, teach them how to use a special tool, or help the hero get unstuck. In a presentation setting, the presenter is the mentor. Our role as a presenter is similar to a mentor. We should be brining something of important value to our audience, they should not leave empty handed. There should be something useful and somewhat life-altering that we give them. It's not very often that we sit through a presentation and feel like we've sat at the feet of a mentor, but we should.”

“Most great leaders are also great communicators. Great leaders have learned how to persuade so their objectives can be reached. The most powerful device to persuade is story. Stating facts and figures is not memorable. Emotionally connecting your audience to your idea through story will move them.”

“Personal stories are the emotional glue that connects your audience to your message.”

“Practice design, not decoration: Don't just make pretty talking points. Instead, display information in a way that makes complex information clear.”

“Presentations are the most amazing persuasion tool available in organizations today.”

“Sometimes all it takes is a kind word of encouragement to get your heroes back on the right path.”

“Structure is what makes communication hang together. It's like the rails that a train runs on. Without them, things wouldn't move very far. If you only have time to do one thing in your presentation, make sure it has a clear and identifiable structure. Without this, you'll have no credibility.”

“The future isn't a place that we're going to go, it's a place that you get to create.”

“The only difference between the failure of a great idea and the success of a mediocre idea was the way in which the idea was communicated.”

“The only way to resonate at a level that persuades is to know who you are addressing.”

“To keep people interested, your presentation needs to have contrast.”

“To me, presentations are the most powerful device. You can't really name a movement that didn't start with the spoken word.”

“When ideas are communicated effectively, people follow and change.”

“Words that are carefully framed and spoken are the most powerful means of communication there is.”

“Leading people requires not only sensing change afoot, but imagining a brighter future and communicating it in a way that motivates others to follow you there.”

“Changing beliefs changes actions.”

“Don’t blend in; instead, clash with your environment. Stand out. Be uniquely different. That’s what will draw attention to your ideas.”

“Getting ahead of the next curve requires courage and communication: Courage to determine the next bold move, and communication to keep the troops committed to the value of moving forward. Rallying stakeholders to move together in a common course of action is all part of the innovation and survival process. Leaders at every level in an organization need to be skillful at creating resonance if that organization is to control its own destiny.”

“Gussying up slides that have meaningless content is like putting lipstick in a pig.”

“Ideas are not really alive if they are confined to only one person’s mind.”

“Ideas need to stand out to be noticed. There is so much noisy information out there that if your message is bland, it won't be heard or acted upon.”

“It has been said that ‘without hope the people perish.’ And without hearing powerful and timely words of encouragement, the people may never find cause for hope.”

“It’s the presenter’s job to know and tune into the audience’s frequency. Your message should resonate with what’s already inside them.”

“Mentors are selfless and think of themselves in the context of others.”

“Personal values will ultimately drive their behavior, so ideally you should identify and align with existing values.”

“Spending energy to understand the audience and carefully crafting a message that resonates with them means making a commitment of time and discipline to the process.”