This is a review of the eBook, Learn Powerpoint: Become a PowerPoint Guru, written by David Tracy. Tracy is a management consultant of 12 years, where he focused on corporate strategy and M&A. This ebook is a a compilation of all the PowerPoint frameworks, tricks, and lessons Tracy has acquired over years of experience. The ebook covers beginner to advanced topics, including presentation structuring, storyboarding, and PowerPoint diagramming techniques.
I would recommend this book to anyone working in business. After all, PowerPoint is one of the most important communication tools in the corporate world. Its widespread adoption spans across roles, industries, and geographies. Whether you’re a college intern or a c-level executive, you will need to create effective presentations that engage your audience and effectively communicate your messages.
The ebook is an easy read, just shy of 60 pages, and packed tight with content. It is divided into 3 core sections. In the first section, Tracy covers the basics of PowerPoint, which includes setting up your button shortcuts, keyboard shortcuts, a compilation of PowerPoint formatting guidelines, and a concept he refers to as the Consulting Presentation Framework. He asserts this Framework is followed by all major consultancies, such as McKinsey, BCG, Booz Allen, Deloitte, and so forth. It includes very specific rules around font choices, grammar, and content structuring.
The second section is all about “storyboarding.” He discusses several methodologies used by consulting firms, such as the Barbara Minto’s Pyramid Principle of creating your overall story, MECE in strengthening your story, and PCPV in structuring your individual slides for your exact audience.
In the last section, titled “The Art of PowerPoint,” Tracy discusses the different ways of making your slides look professional and pretty. This is a fairly detailed discussion, where he introduces a multitude of charts and diagrams; and the specific situations to use each. Personally, I found this to be one of the most important chapters. In addition, he walks through a detailed example of creating a unique diagram from scratch. The specific example he uses is a toolbox. He starts off with finding a representative picture on Google Image Search. Then, he outlines the steps of recreating it using AutoShapes and PowerPoint effects.
In addition to the PowerPoint eBook, on his website (learnppt.com), you can also find other PowerPoint resources. You can browse his store of PowerPoint Diagrams, download sample chapters from the eBook, and download theBasic PowerPoint Toolkit for free.
