You’re probably thinking, “I’ll stop smoking, lose weight, exercise more,” just as the clock strikes midnight on Dec 31. Those resolutions usually don’t work. Sorry!

Why not make 2013 the year to become a better communicator? Here are a couple of book recommendations that will lead you on the path to becoming a top rate communicator and presenter.

Presentation Zen—Garr Reynolds

Bullets kill. Presentation Zen provides the new rules for visuals so that your audience will buy from you rather than go to sleep. He challenges you to trade in your cluttered slides for simple words and images that reinforce your presentation. He shows you the power of simplicity.  Whether you are new to PowerPoint or a seasoned veteran, this book will shed new light on presentation techniques guaranteed to bring your presentations to a new level.

POP: Stand Out in Any Crowd—Sam Horn 

Sam Horn’s book POP: Stand Out in Any Crowd embodies her marketing philosophy – make sure you are Purposeful, Original, and Pithy. She explains how to communicate a captivating message so that it stands out in a media-saturated world. She shows you how to create a clear, concise strategy that grabs an audience’s attention and keeps them riveted.  Using humor, personal experience, and step-by-step directions, POP helps you convert communication theory into real live success.

The Naked Truth about Giving Great Speeches – Karen Cortell Reisman

Do Your Presentations Leave You Feeling a Little Naked?

In Karen’s book, rather than give you a tome of facts on how to give a speech, Karen has stripped your learning curve by offering the 22 biggest traps and the related fix-its that will benefit you regardless of how often you give presentations. First, you’ll see how you get stuck in a speaker trap. Then, you’ll learn how to fix it.

You’ll find your 22 fix-it principles divided into these C-O-D categories: Tips for substantive Content, memorable Organization, and energized Delivery.