An Interview with Jerry Weissman

Jerry Weissman founded Power Presentations, Ltd. in 1988 in Silicon Valley. His background in broadcasting, television production, publication, professional writing and classic rhetoric made Weissman uniquely suited to create a new comprehensive, media-based approach to presentation coaching. Mr. Weissman's initial focus was to help companies in Information Technology develop their general presentation skills. One of his debut efforts was the Cisco Systems IPO roadshow. Following its very successful launch, Don Valentine, of Sequoia Capital, and then Chairman of Cisco's Board of Directors, attributed "at least two to three dollars" of the offering price to Mr. Weissman's coaching.

(PRWEB) December 23, 2003 --Jerry Weissman founded Power Presentations, Ltd. in 1988 in Silicon Valley. His background in broadcasting, television production, publication, professional writing and classic rhetoric made Weissman uniquely suited to create a new comprehensive, media-based approach to presentation coaching.

Mr. Weissman's initial focus was to help companies in Information Technology develop their general presentation skills. One of his debut efforts was the Cisco Systems IPO roadshow. Following its very successful launch, Don Valentine, of Sequoia Capital, and then Chairman of Cisco's Board of Directors, attributed "at least two to three dollars" of the offering price to Mr. Weissman's coaching. In addition to Cisco, Weissman has coached hundreds of CEO's prior to their IPO roadshows.

Over time, Mr. Weissman's focus expanded to include Life Sciences (Biotechnology, Medical Devices and Medical Services); and then further into Retail, Real Estate and Restaurants. Until recently, all of Weissman's coaching has been delivered to small groups through custom programs. At the request of Microsoft and with encouragement from other long-term clients, Mr. Weissman has broadened his services to accommodate large groups in a new cost effective seminar program called The Master Class.

Mr. Weissman holds a Masters in Speech and Drama from Stanford University. He spent a decade at WCBS-TV in New York City, where he produced Public Affairs programs and series. In his role as a Public Affairs producer, Mr. Weissman brought lay people into the studio, made them feel comfortable, look comfortable, helped them develop a succinct story, provide graphics support and field questions. Each of these components was to become a fundamental building block for the Power Presentations, Ltd. program.

Since the start of Power Presentations, Ltd. fourteen years ago, it has become the preferred source for presentation coaching. Mr. Weissman has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes ASAP, Fast Company and Business 2.0 and the Los Angeles Times, among others. Weissman is a regular speaker at national conferences.

Mr. Weissman is the author of the bestselling book, 'Presenting to Win: the Art of Telling Your Story' (Financial Times/ Prentice Hall 2003)

Geetesh: Nowadays, you hear PowerPoint being compared to death. What do you think about this whole thing?

Jerry: While it is true that many presentations are mind-numbingly poor, the fault is not in Microsoft PowerPoint, but in the presenter. To blame the software for poor presentations is like blaming poor handwriting or spelling on the Montblanc Pen Company. The fault is not with the pen, but the penmanship. Presenters must learn to adopt the Less is More rule.

More at:

http://www.indezine.com/products/powerpoint/personality/jerryweissman.html
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