Retelling No B.S. Guide to Powerful Presentations by Dan Kennedy
I just finished reading No B.S. Guide to Powerful Presentations by Dan Kennedy and I have thoughts.
This book is about one thing: how to make presentations that actually get results. Not academic “public speaking” advice. Not “imagine your audience in their underwear” stuff. Real, practical, sometimes brutally honest advice about crafting presentations that move people to action.
What This Book Is About
Dan Kennedy is a direct response marketing legend. He’s helped build companies worth millions, written TV infomercials that generated billions in revenue, and personally delivered one presentation over 400 times to more than 3 million people. The guy knows what works.
The book covers everything from overcoming stage fright to building offers people can’t refuse. It’s split into three sections:
Section I - How to put together your presentation. This is the meat. How to structure it, what to say, how to make promises that land, and how to be a “presentainer” (yes, that’s a word they made up).
Section II - Taking your presentation online. Webinars, video, automated presentations. How to reach more people without being in the room.
Section III - What happens after the presentation. Follow-up, storytelling, and how to turn a single talk into a business engine.
Why I’m Retelling This Book
Most presentation advice is generic. “Make eye contact.” “Tell a story.” “Use bullet points.” Kennedy doesn’t do that. He treats presentations as a business tool. Every slide, every story, every pause has a purpose.
Whether you’re pitching clients, running webinars, or speaking at events, this book has stuff you can actually use. And I want to break it down chapter by chapter so you get the key ideas without the fluff.
What’s Coming
Over the next 20 days, I’ll walk through each chapter. Here’s the roadmap:
- Can One Presentation Change Everything? - The Introduction
- Amateur or Pro? - Chapter 1
- How to Be Fearless - Chapter 2
- Know Your Audience - Chapter 3
- What Is a Presentation? - Chapter 4
- The Speakers’ Formula - Chapter 5
- Irresistible Offer Architecture - Chapter 6
- The Structure of Promises - Chapter 7
- Mass Persuasion Secrets - Chapter 8
- Demonstration in Presentations - Chapter 9
- Finding People to Present To - Chapter 10
- No Two Audiences Are Equal - Chapter 11
- The Power of Webinars - Chapter 12
- Treat It Like TV - Chapter 13
- Automated Webinars - Chapter 14
- Turning Leftovers into Rich Meals - Chapter 15
- The Post-Presentation Conversation - Chapter 16
- Does the Best Story Win? - Chapter 17
- Fuel Your Business with Presentations - Chapter 18
- Final Thoughts - Series wrap-up
Book Details
- Title: No B.S. Guide to Powerful Presentations
- Author: Dan S. Kennedy (with Dustin Mathews)
- ISBN: 978-1-61308-364-2
- Publisher: Entrepreneur Press (2017)
Let’s get into it. First up tomorrow: the introduction, where Kennedy makes the case that one great presentation can literally change your entire business.
This is post 1 of 21 in my retelling of No B.S. Guide to Powerful Presentations by Dan Kennedy.