Sizzle & Substance: Presenting with the Brain in Mind

By Eric Jensen

Book Overview

Formerly a publication of The Brain Store

Links brain research to adult learning, providing hundreds of strategies for opening with pizzazz, engaging your participants, handling hecklers, making content relevant, and much more

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0963783297
• ISBN13: 9780963783295
• Release Date: February 1998
• Publisher: Corwin Publishers
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 8.0" x 11.0"

Customer Reviews

Eric Jensen shows how to present like a pro

In Sizzle and Substance, Eric Jensen shows that he is the master of presenting information. His goal is always to enrich an audience's understanding of a topic. Jensen directs presenters to keep the audience in mind when putting together materials and presentation methods. Jensen talks about the three learning styles and provides tips about how to keep the interest of the audience and gain their acceptance of the product, whatever it is. Sometimes other speakers lose sight of this goal by not taking the audience as an important part of the equation. These presenters only want to get the information out there, with no clearly defined goals for their program. My opinion: slide shows and lectures only work with people with one style of learning and bore others to tears. This book is interesting to read just to learn about human nature and how people react and interact with each other.

Sizzle and Substance: Presenting With the Brain In Mind

This is an excellent book. It is inspirational and practical. It will be most helpful to me as I prepare presentations to professional, community and religious groups. I am very thankful to have it in my library.

Great Book!

This book was a great resource in preparing the two presentations for teachers that took place two weeks ago. I had plenty of time to read the book and use some of the suggestions. It was easy to read and apply to my presentations.

Delightful handbook for effective communication

This book is not only a comprehensive handbook for presenters, with detailed and thoughtful memos, checklists, tips and tools and questions for planning, action, surveys... It is also a masterpiece for effective communication, teaching and learning based on the author's synthesis of brain-compatible learning. "The brain is meaning driven." (p.3) Aligned with the stages of learning, Jensen proposes a seven-steps brain-friendly training model: 1. Neural history. 2. Learning environment. 3. Context for success. 4. Acquisition. 5. Elaboration. 6. Memory encoding. 7. Functional integration. The format of the book, is compatible to the brain's grasp and understanding, with "Key Topics" for each chapter, numerous key ideas on the margin and in the boxes, headings and bullets. People with background in NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming)and Ericksonian hypnosis can easily resonate with the stress on states, rapport and the use of language and find it thrilling to get the biological basis to the fundamental aspects of communication: first impressions, states, attention, persuasion, credibility... The brain's need to balance focused atttention with non-focused "down-time" reflection to process information for meaning-making, organization, and future recall given in Chapter 9 is just one example of so many interesting, enlightening and useful ideas that the book is full of. What is satisfying is not just the provision of techniques, but the underlying understanding of how we learn and communicate. Anyone, esp. teachers, parents can also benefit from reading this book.