In this book, Stephen Kosslyn, a renowned neuroscientist, presents eight simple principles for constructing a presentation that takes advantage of the information modern science has provided about how perception, memory, and cognition operate.

1. Articulate presentations ; 2. The big picture ; 3. Readable text ; 4. Color, texture, animation, and sound ; 5. Communicating quantitative information: using graphs ; 6. Communicating qualitative information: charts, diagrams, maps, and clipart ; 7. The good, the bad, and the incomprehensible ; Appendix: The principles and their specific needs

"...a world authority on the visual brain ...shows how to use this tool effectively."--Steven Pinker, author of The Language Instinct and Blank Slate "I would say that this is one of the most useful books on PowerPoint to ever be printed."--Garr Reynolds at Presentation Zen "This review may not do justice to the insight and clarity of this excellent book which is easy to read, chock full of examples and filled with illustrations of the principles. It is the best book I have found so far on how to improve presentations--especially in PowerPoint."--Robert Hacker at Sophisticated Finance "Kosslyn puts PowerPoint users on notice. Read this book, and you will be enlightened. Kosslyn's thorough and engaging treatment is based on broad scientific literature, and on his extensive experience. Besides covering the myriad features that PowerPoint offers, Kosslyn provides great advice on how to connect with an audience, tell a story, work at the right level of information, and come up for air." --Lawrence W. Barsalou, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Psychology, Emory University "...a world authority on the visual brain ...shows how to use this tool effectively."--Steven Pinker, author of The Language Instinct and Blank Slate "I would say that this is one of the most useful books on PowerPoint to ever be printed."--Garr Reynolds at Presentation Zen "This review may not do justice to the insight and clarity of this excellent book which is easy to read, chock full of examples and filled with illustrations of the principles. It is the best book I have found so far on how to improve presentations--especially in PowerPoint."--Robert Hacker at Sophisticated Finance "Kosslyn puts PowerPoint users on notice. Read this book, and you will be enlightened.... Kosslyn's thorough and engaging treatment is based on broad scientific literature, and on his extensive experience. Besides covering the myriad features that PowerPoint offers, Kosslyn provides great advice on how to connect with an audience, tell a story, work at the right level of information, and come up for air."--Lawrence W. Barsalou, Emory University

Stephen M. Kosslyn is the former Chair of the Department of Psychology, currently Dean of Social Science and John Lindsley Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. A leading authority on the nature of visual mental imagery and visual communication, he has received numerous honors for his work in this field. His previous books include Image and Mind, Wet Mind: The New Cognitive Neuroscience (with Koenig), and Psychology: The Brain, the Person, the World (with Rosenberg).