I just finished reading Nancy Duarte's excellent book on effective presentations called "Resonate - Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences". Out of the many takeaways from the book, there is one that I haven't been able to get out of my head..."Reports should be distributed. Presentations should be presented." I can't tell you how many reports I've masqueraded as presentations. Tisk tisk. In addition to the proposed presentation structure and the numerous insights Nancy offers, the examples she provides in the book are seriously inspiring.

Here are a few of the best presenters ever recorded (in no particular order):

Benjamin Zander: Conductor of Boston's Philharmonic Orchestra - The power of classical music
Ronald Reagan: 40th U.S. President - Space Shuttle Challenger Address
Hans Rosling: Swedish medical doctor, academic, & statistician - Stats that reshape your worldview
Richard Feynman: Theoretical physicist - Law of Gravitation
Michael Pollan: American author, journalist, activist, and professor - PopTech 2009 - sustainable food
John Ortberg: American pastor - Sermon on love and Pandy
Steve Jobs: Co-founder of Apple Inc. - 2007 Macworld keynote address
Leonard Bernstein: American composer, conductor, and pianist - Young People's Concert
Martin Luther King Jr.: American clergyman and activist - I Have A Dream Speech
Al Gore: 45th U.S. Vice President - An Inconvenient Truth
Randy Pausch: Carnegie Mellon Professor - Achieving Your Childhood Dreams