About This Course

As one course among many in the American Management Association’s curriculum, Presentation Success: How to Plan, Prepare, and Deliver Effective Presentations is designed for anyone who needs to develop effective presentation skills. This course offers an updated, step-by-step approach to planning, preparing, and delivering presentations to both large and small groups. Practical tools include a planning worksheet where you’ll evaluate your audience, define your objectives, choose the right format, select and organize information, and identify where and how to use presentation aids. A preparation worksheet will lead you through each step of your presentation, from preparing your opening and writing transitions to planning your questions and answers (Q&A) and troubleshooting possible problems. You’ll learn strategies for effective delivery, including tips on using body language, communicating and listening successfully, and obtaining feedback. In-text exercises enable you to pull the pieces together and practice the skills you need. A comprehensive resource section and job aids for quick reference round out the course materials.

Janis Fisher Chan is co-founder of Advanced Communications Designs, Inc., a training company established in 1980 to help people communicate clearly and work together efficiently. A specialist in training program design, Ms. Chan has developed and conducted customized classroom and self-study courses in making effective presentations, professional writing skills, performance management, project management, managing teams, and other business related topics.

With her business partner, Diane Lutovich, Ms. Chan is the author of four self-study writing skills books: Professional Writing Skills, Grammar for Grown-ups, Writing Performance Documentation, and How to Write Reports and Proposals. Ms. Lutovich and Ms. Chan are also co-authors of Winning Ways, an innovative classroom program on appraising performance. Ms. Chan earned her B.A. and M.A. from San Francisco State University and has completed post-graduate work in organizational psychology. She has been delivering winning presentations for over 20 years.

The publisher wishes to thank the following people for their review of the manuscript of this course: Dennis Becker, President of The Speech Improvement Company, Inc., Brookline, Massachusetts; Terry C. Smith, an independent consultant in Arnold, Maryland; and Elayne Snyder, a consultant and founder of Elayne Snyder Speech Consultants, New York, New York.