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Your team creates better presentations online with Prezi

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5 Free Interactive Presentation Tools You Can Try Online

Looking for engaging presentation tools without breaking the bank? Here are some of the top interactive programs you can try for free today.

Giving a presentation that’s engaging can be difficult, especially if the material happens to be particularly dry. One of the best ways to keep audiences engaged is by making your presentation interactive.

Luckily, there are plenty of online tools that aim to make creating interactive presentations as easy as possible. Here are five of the best for your consideration.

1. Mentimeter

First up on this list comes Mentimeter. Mentimeter is an online presentation service that allows anyone to quickly and easily create engaging presentations to share with others.

Getting started with Mentimeter is easy. All you have to do is sign up for a free account, and you’ll be good to go. Mentimeter starts off by asking you a couple of questions concerning how you aim to use the service, but this is only to help you as you go.

There are a variety of different templates available with Mentimeter, and based on how you plan to use it, the service will recommend different ones for you. You’re free to browse through the whole selection at any time, however. These are perfect for quickly putting together a presentation for just about any need.

With your Mentimeter presentation made, you’ll be presented with a code across the top of your slides. By visiting the Mentimeter website and inputting the code, you’ll be able to interact with the slides using any smart device.

If you’re looking for a great presentation service that also features some light interactive elements, then Prezi is a good middle-ground option. Prezi is an online presentation creation service that makes creating and generating presentations and slideshows easier than ever.

To get started, there are a wide array of different templates for you to choose from in a range of styles. From there, Prezi features plenty of options to create and adjust your template to fit your presentation needs. There are options here to easily change the style, text, and images being used in just a few short clicks.

When it comes to interactive elements, Prezi has some of the more limited options on this list, though there’s still plenty here to like. Prezi features a collaborative presentation mode. This allows you to share a link with others so that they are able to edit or present with you.

Where this shines, however, is that it also allows you to invite people to comment on your slides. This gives you the option to receive feedback and present in ways that you normally wouldn’t otherwise be able to. Perfect for team efforts.

3. Google Slides

Next up, we have Google Slides. Google Slides is a great piece of software that is entirely free to use and available entirely within your browser. It’s likely that you’ve heard of or used Google Slides in the past, but if you haven’t, don’t fret.

Google Slides is an online presentation service that works entirely from the cloud. This makes it one of the best free PowerPoint alternatives currently out there. This means that you can easily use Google Slides to present just about anything.

Creating slides is easy and effective, and there are plenty of ways to spruce up your slides with themes, templates, and more. Beyond that, however, there are a huge number of ways how to make your presentations more interactive with Google Slides . Largely, this comes down to its Presenter view.

The process can be a little complicated, but effectively, Google Slides comes with its own suite of audience tools that you can use to ask questions directly to your audience. This is a great way to interact with the people that you’re presenting to, be it in a meeting, a classroom, or for a large-scale presentation.

If you’re looking for a powerful presentation tool that has plenty of tools to sink your teeth into, then Visme is a great option for just that. When it comes to time-saving presentation tools that you need to know about , Visme is one of the best.

Visme is an online presentation tool that aims to make creating and sharing ideas easier than ever before. To get started, all you need to do is sign up and choose a template from Visme’s many options.

There are tons to look at here, with a wide variety of different styles and aesthetics to choose from to match whatever environment you’re in. Once you’ve chosen a template, the actual presentation editor is great, too.

There are options here to easily manage graphics, icons, photos, charts, and more. What’s really great, however, is that there are plenty of video tutorials along the way to help you pick up just about any part of Visme’s tool suite and use it easily.

When it comes to audience interaction, Visme has plenty to use there, as well. There are options for form and survey integration right into your slides, and you can even use JotForm and Mailchimp integrations to push this even further.

5. Genially

Finally, we have Genially. Genially is one of the most comprehensive interactive presentation creation services currently available, with a huge host of different features to choose from.

When you first start off with Genially, you’ll want to choose from one of its templates to get started. There are over 10,000 options here to choose from, so you’re bound to find something that suits the style and format that you’re looking for.

When it comes to interactive elements, you can choose from buttons, buttons with text, interactive questions, markers, and more. These elements allow you to inject an interactive element into your presentations that will help to keep your audiences engaged, no matter what your material is.

Get More Out of Your Presentations

As you can see, there are plenty of tools out there that make it easy to create and share interactive presentations regardless of your audience. Whether you’re looking to share a slideshow with your students, or aiming to wow your colleagues at your next meeting, there’s an online tool that’s great for you.

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Blog Marketing 15 Interactive Presentation Ideas to Elevate Engagement

15 Interactive Presentation Ideas to Elevate Engagement

Written by: Krystle Wong Aug 04, 2023

As attention spans continue to shrink, the challenge of engaging audiences in a short timeframe has never been more significant. Let’s face it — grabbing and keeping your audience’s attention can be quite the challenge, especially when time is ticking away. But fear not, I’ve got the perfect solution: interactive presentations!

Believe it or not, creating an interactive presentation is easier than you might think. In this guide, I’ll show you how to effortlessly turn ordinary slides into captivating experiences with 15 interactive presentation ideas that will leave your audience begging for more. From quirky polls and fun games to storytelling adventures and multimedia magic, these ideas will take your presentation game to the next level.

Venngage is a game-changer when it comes to empowering interactive presentations. With just a few clicks, users can customize their favorite presentation templates , add multimedia content and create immersive experiences that leave a lasting impact. Whether you’re a seasoned presenter or a newcomer, get started with Venngage to elevate your presentation game to new heights of engagement and creativity.

Click to jump ahead:

What is an interactive presentation?

15 ways to make a presentation interactive, 7 best interactive presentation software, what are some common mistakes to avoid when creating interactive presentations, interactive presentation faqs, how to create an interactive presentation with venngage.

An interactive presentation is a dynamic and engaging communication format that involves active participation and collaboration between the presenter and the audience. Unlike traditional presentations where information is delivered in a one-way manner, interactive presentations invite the audience to interact, respond and contribute throughout the session.

Think of it as a two-way street where you and your audience have a friendly chat. It’s like playing a fun game where you ask questions, get live feedback and encourage people to share their thoughts. 

To make a good presentation , you can utilize various tools and techniques such as clickable buttons, polls, quizzes, discussions and multimedia elements to transform your slides into an interactive presentation. Whether you’re presenting in-person or giving a virtual presentation — when people are actively participating, they’re more likely to remember the stuff you’re talking about.

Interactive presentations leave a lasting impression on the audience. By encouraging active participation and feedback, interactive presentations facilitate better understanding and knowledge retention. Here are 15 innovative 5-minute interactive presentation ideas to captivate your audience from start to finish:

1. Ice-breaker questions

Start your presentation with intriguing and thought-provoking questions or a fun icebreaker game. These questions should be designed to pique the audience’s curiosity and encourage them to think about the topic you’ll be covering. By doing so, you create an immediate connection with your audience and set the stage for a more engaged and attentive audience.

For example, if you’re giving a business presentation about management and leadership training, you could ask audience questions such as “What’s the best business advice you’ve ever received, and how has it impacted your career?”

2. Live polling

Incorporate live polls during your presentation using audience response systems or polling apps. This allows you to collect real-time feedback, opinions and insights from active participants. Live polling encourages active participation and involvement, making your presentation feel like a collaborative and interactive experience.

3. Q&A sessions

Encourage the audience to ask questions throughout your presentation, especially for pitch deck presentations . Address these questions in real-time, which fosters a more interactive and dynamic atmosphere. This approach shows that you value the audience’s input and promotes a two-way communication flow.

4. Clickable buttons

Add clickable buttons to your slides, allowing the audience to navigate to specific sections or external resources at their own pace. For example, you could include links to your social media accounts or extra reading materials in your education presentation to give further information about the topic and get your students engaged.

By providing this autonomy, you empower the audience to explore areas of particular interest, creating a more personalized and engaging experience through your interactive slideshow.

5. Storytelling

Incorporate anecdotes or personal stories related to your topic. Storytelling is a powerful way to emotionally connect with your audience, making your presentation more relatable and memorable. A little storytelling along with a set of creative slides draws the audience in and keeps them engaged as they follow the narrative.

6. Interactive charts and graphs

Use interactive charts and graphs that respond to user input to make your presentation interactive. For instance, allow the audience to click on data points to view more detailed information or to change the displayed data series. Creating charts with interactive visuals help the audience interact with the data, fostering better understanding and engagement.

7. Animated infographics

Add animations to your infographics, making them visually dynamic and progressive. Animated infographics reveal information gradually, keeping the audience curious and attentive. This transforms complex data into an easily digestible and engaging format.

Venngage’s extensive library of infographic templates is a powerful tool to visualize data and elevate the interactivity of your presentations. Personalizing the visuals ensures a cohesive and professional look throughout your interactive presentation. The templates are highly customizable, allowing you to adjust colors, fonts, and styles to match your presentation’s theme and branding. 

8. Gamification

Introduce an interactive quiz, puzzles, or challenges related to your presentation content. Gamification adds an element of fun and competition, motivating the audience to participate actively and boosting their learning experience. Here are some gaming presentation templates you could use. 

9. Virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR)

If applicable, leverage VR or AR technologies to provide immersive experiences. These interactive presentation tools transport the audience into a virtual or augmented environment, making your presentation more captivating and memorable.

10. Collaborative whiteboarding

Get your audience involved in your presentation by utilizing digital whiteboards or collaborative tools to brainstorm ideas collectively. This fosters teamwork and creativity, enabling the audience to actively contribute and feel a sense of involvement in the presentation.

11. Hyperlinked text

Keep the information in your slides minimal with a simple presentation and incorporate hyperlinks to direct viewers to relevant websites or blogs , resources, or additional information. This encourages self-exploration and gives the audience the opportunity to delve deeper into topics of interest.

12. Role-playing

Engage the audience in role-playing scenarios to explore different perspectives. Role-playing promotes active learning and helps the audience relate the content to real-life situations, enhancing their understanding and retention.

13. Embedded videos

Include video clips in your slides to provide visual explanations, demonstrations, or interviews. Videos add a dynamic element to your presentation, enriching the content and keeping the audience engaged.

14. Audience-generated content

Encourage the audience to contribute ideas, stories or examples related to your professional presentation . Audience-generated content fosters a sense of ownership and involvement, making the presentation more interactive and personalized.

15. Slide transitions

Use slide transitions to create smooth animations between slides. Well-planned transitions maintain the audience’s interest and keep the presentation slides flowing seamlessly.

Interactive elements aside, enhance your presentation with these guides on how to summarize information for a captivating presentation and how to make a persuasive presentation to captivate your audience. 

If you’re looking to create engaging and interactive presentation slides that captivate your audience, these presentation software options are sure to elevate your game:

Prezi is renowned for its dynamic and non-linear presentation style, enabling users to craft visually stunning and interactive presentations. With an array of templates and animation effects, Prezi enhances audience engagement, making your presentations more captivating and memorable.

2. Mentimeter

Mentimeter serves as an audience response system, empowering real-time interaction during presentations. Users can create interactive polls, quizzes, word clouds and more, allowing the audience to respond using their smartphones or other devices. This fosters active participation and provides valuable feedback instantly.

3. Google Slides

Google Slides is a free cloud-based presentation software that not only offers collaboration features but also enables real-time interactions. It includes add-ons and third-party integrations to further enhance interactivity, making it an excellent choice for collaborative and engaging presentations.

4. Microsoft PowerPoint

PowerPoint, a classic presentation software, has evolved to incorporate more interactive features like live captions, real-time collaboration and interactive elements such as quizzes and forms. With its familiar interface and versatile functionalities, PowerPoint remains a reliable choice for interactive presentations.

5. Prezentor

Prezentor caters to sales-oriented presentations focusing on interactive storytelling and data-driven content. It offers analytics to track audience engagement and behavior during presentations, allowing you to fine-tune your approach and keep your audience hooked.

6. Opinion Stage

Opinion Stage is a visual and interactive data collection tool designed to engage and excite audiences whether sitting in a lecture hall, participating in a live Zoom, or watching an on-demand webinar. The Opinion Stage tools are simple and intuitive, making it easy to create attention-grabbing quizzes, surveys, and polls in minutes. A great way to spice up any presentation, encourage audience participation, and collect authentic feedback.

7 . Venngage

Venngage stands out as a versatile design tool that facilitates the creation of interactive infographics, data visualizations and presentations with ease. Offering various interactive elements and animations, Venngage empowers you to craft visually appealing and engaging presentations effortlessly.

With these interactive presentation software options at your disposal, you can unleash your creativity and deliver presentations that leave a lasting impact on your audience. So, go ahead and make your presentations interactive, captivating and memorable!

For more presentation software options, check out this blog on the 12 best presentation software for 2023.

Creating interactive presentations can be a game-changer for engaging your audience and enhancing your presentation skills, but steering clear of common pitfalls is essential. Here are some key mistakes to avoid when crafting your interactive presentations:

1. Overloading with interactivity

While interactivity is fantastic, bombarding your audience with too many interactive elements can backfire. Strive for a balanced approach that enhances engagement without overwhelming your listeners.

2. Ignoring audience relevance

Failing to tailor interactive elements to your audience’s interests and preferences can lead to disconnection. Make sure your interactions resonate with your specific audience for a more meaningful experience.

3. Not testing interactive elements

Skipping thorough testing of interactive features before showtime can spell disaster. Avoid technical glitches by diligently testing all interactive components in advance.

4. Poor timing and pace

Timing is everything, especially with interactive activities. Ensure seamless integration by planning your key points and the timing of your interactive elements carefully.

5. Lack of clear purpose

Every interactive element should serve a purpose and contribute to your presentation’s objectives. Don’t add interactions just for the sake of it — ensure they add value and align with your message.

6. Failing to engage beyond interactivity

While interactive elements are powerful tools, remember that content is king. Combine your interactive features with compelling storytelling and valuable insights to create an immersive and impactful presentation.

Incorporating animated slides into your interactive presentations enhances the overall appeal and interaction, turning an ordinary presentation into an engaging experience. Try it out with one of our animated presentation templates to get started. 

How do you start an interactive presentation?

Begin by grabbing the audience’s attention with an intriguing question or a surprising fact, setting the tone for a dynamic and engaging session.

Which type of presentation is the most interactive?

Workshops and seminars are often the most interactive types of presentations as they encourage active participation, discussions and hands-on activities.

How can interactive presentations enhance audience engagement?

Interactive presentations foster a two-way communication flow, involving the audience through polls, quizzes, discussions and multimedia elements, leading to increased interest, attentiveness and better retention of information.

What are some common interactive elements to include in a presentation?

Common interactive elements include clickable buttons, hyperlinked text, polls, quizzes, interactive charts, multimedia content and audience participation activities.

Can interactive presentations be used for educational purposes?

Absolutely! Interactive presentations are highly effective for educational purposes as they promote active learning, encourage critical thinking, and provide real-time feedback and knowledge exchange opportunities.

Need inspiration on how to give an engaging presentation ? Here are 120+ presentation ideas you could use. 

Venngage makes it easy for anyone to infuse interactivity into their presentations. From clickable buttons and hyperlinked text to interactive infographics and dynamic charts, Venngage offers a diverse range of interactive elements to captivate and engage the audience. Here’s how you can make your presentation more fun and interesting with Venngage:

• Sign up or log in to Venngage to access the platform.
• Choose a presentation template or start with a blank canvas to begin designing your interactive presentation.
• Add and edit slides in the Venngage editor to structure your presentation content effectively.
• Customize the design by selecting themes, fonts, colors and backgrounds to match your style and branding.
• Use interactive elements like buttons, links, pop-ups and hover effects to engage the audience during the presentation.
• Enhance engagement by incorporating interactive media such as videos and audio clips.
• Preview and test your entire presentation to ensure everything works smoothly before presenting it to your audience.
• Save your interactive presentation on Venngage and share it online or download it in various formats for presenting purposes.

Well, I hope these 15 5-minute interactive presentation examples can help unlock a new level of audience engagement for your next presentation. From fun quizzes and interactive storytelling to multimedia magic and gamified challenges, the possibilities are endless. So, don’t be afraid to experiment, tailor the ideas to suit your audience members and let your creativity shine.  

That said, remember to strike a balance and keep the interactivity purposeful and relevant. Some common mistakes to avoid when creating interactive slides include overloading the presentation with too many interactive elements and failing to align the interactive elements with the overall presentation goals and content. 

Got it? Great. Now let’s turn that boring presentation around!

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The Best Interactive Presentation Software and Tools in 2024

Table of Contents

iSpring Suite is a PowerPoint add-on that allows you to create interactive and engaging presentations with relative ease. iSpring Suite makes the list for its wide range of features combined with its simplicity of use . As it’s an add-on for PowerPoint, downloading, setting up, and using iSpring Suite is super simple and intuitive.

What makes this presentation software stand out is the array of features for adding interactivity to your presentations. It allows you to add dynamic assessments with 14 different quiz types, interactive videos, and dynamic role-plays with branching. The software also includes a unique character builder that allows you to add custom-illustrated characters to your presentations.

iSpring Suite has one of the best content libraries of any interactive platform for presentations, with over 90,000 assets and templates to choose from. The tool also allows you to add multimedia and even screen record your presentation into a video tutorial, all within the same program. You have several export options for your presentation, meaning you can upload it to an LMS for your learners to interact with, and for you to manage their learning journeys.

While iSpring Suite is full of useful features for making existing presentations more engaging and interactive or creating them from scratch, it is limited to PowerPoint-based slide decks. If you’re starting from a PowerPoint presentation, then this is an advantage, but if you are looking for a whole new approach to presentations, then this may be a drawback. Moreover, iSpring is one of the more premium options, as it comes in at a higher price.

However, you get what you pay for, and iSpring is feature rich. The newest feature it offers is an AI assistant that can help give inspiration, write content, and design assessments. iSpring Suite is easy to use and feels familiar to anyone who has ever made a PowerPoint presentation. This combination of features and ease of use makes iSpring Suite the best interactive presentation software overall.

Best for: 

iSpring Suite is the best option for small and medium businesses, schools, and universities.

A user’s feedback on G2 – 4.6 out of 5 stars

iSpring changes the PowerPoint game with its user-friendly extensions and features. I will never create another PPT without it. Even though it is very user-friendly, I am not very technologically literate. So, it’s always the best thing ever when I click ‘Help’ and get support from a live agent. I get super quick responses and quick fixes that I wouldn’t have been able to figure out myself. The support team really makes a difference. Shout out to Julia on the tech team!

Nearpod is an interactive presentation tool that is ideally suited for teachers. Where Nearpod stands out is in providing real-time insight into your students’ progress through an interactive learning experience.

Like other interactive presentation software, Nearpod can be used in different ways. First, it works nicely as a tool for making classroom presentations more interactive through class participation activities, such as polls and premade games.

However, Nearpod has two more useful modes that make it great for teachers who need to conduct distance learning. With the first mode, the teacher can present and pace the lesson themselves, with the students accessing the lesson remotely. This works much like a distance learning lesson, and you can benefit from the interactive elements much the same as in the classroom.

The other mode that Nearpod provides allows your students to access and interact with the lesson at their own pace and in their own time. This would be a great tool for students who can’t attend lessons, for example.

Creating interactive lessons with Nearpod is simple and effective, but not outstanding by any means. Where Nearpod does shine, however, is in how easy it is to track your students’ progress and understanding of the material, with formative assessments and quizzes, all within the same app.

While Nearpod could be used for other learning situations, and not just in schools, the app is really geared toward teachers and schoolchildren. The design and features were built with this use in mind. With this target audience, the gamification elements of Nearpod are great. They’re intuitive and very pleasing to the eye, thus making them perfect for kids to engage with the learning content.

Nearpod is also free to use for classes up to 40 students, but it does have some limitations. The app only allows for 100 MB of storage and some LMS integrations. However, Nearpod for Schools offers good value for money and can offer bespoke solutions for you and your intuition’s needs.

NearPod is the best option for schools – especially for distance learning.

I like that there are so many great lessons and activities already created that are available for teachers to choose from. It is also user-friendly and easy to add to any lesson plan! There’s not much I dislike about this learning resource. The only thing I can say is that I have found that NearPod is not always easy for every student to interact with the lesson. Nearpod helps me plan exciting lessons and takes a lot of work and time out of my lesson planning and preparation time. It is also great to use when there is a substitute in class.

Prezi is one of the best online tools for making interactive presentations that look beautiful and dynamic . Prezi’s standout feature is its approach to your presentation structure: instead of a linear format, you can navigate your presentation in a much more flexible and dynamic manner. Besides this unique design approach, Prezi gives you a lot of customization features that center on making presentations that look striking.

If you’ve ever made a presentation, then you probably understand what is meant by a linear presentation – a slide deck where each slide shows some information or visual, and over the course of the presentation, you proceed from slide 1 through to the final slide. Prezi breaks this format. Instead, you can jump to any slide in the deck via animations.

A good way to picture this is to imagine a title slide with subheadings. In Prezi, clicking on a subheading will transport you to a new slide by zooming in and revealing new information. This can be done with images or other design elements, and the crucial part is that you can zoom back out to the master slide to re-navigate to wherever you wish. This system has some advantages.

Non-linear navigation means you don’t have to follow a specific order for your presentation, but can go where you please. Moreover, this structured approach can really help learners categorize information in their minds, as they can see where each element fits into the whole. Lastly, this system can wow your audience and leave a lasting impression on them.

There are, of course, some drawbacks to this kind of interactive slideshow. While a Prezi presentation can look great, it can be problematic. If, for example, you are presenting over an online connection or on an older machine, you may find the zooming animations look a little messy, can be distracting, and not to everyone’s liking. That being said, this is a minor limitation to Prezi’s beautiful design.

Prezi is the best option for businesses with a creative approach.

A user’s feedback on G2 – 4.2 out of 5 stars

As someone who develops apps, Prezi really does stick out among the crowded competition by making presentations interesting and dynamic. With the zoom feature and more creative transitions, we have a fresh alternative to standard PowerPoint slides: every story comes out all the better for our presentations. What I love about Prezi is that you can create more of an interactive background. This gives my work a bit more of a business-like look.

Vaishali T.

4. Mentimeter

Mentimeter is one of the best tools for making presentations interactive by focusing on audience participation . With this app, you can update your slides with live polling, quizzes, and word clouds to keep your audience engaged and interacting with your content.

The word cloud feature is especially useful. It’s very easy to set up and creates a great interactive element for your slide, allowing the audience to contribute answers to a question that are then displayed anonymously on your slide. This kind of interactivity is simple yet effective.

As an interactive presentation platform, Mentimeter focuses on being incredibly simple to use and is therefore nothing special in terms of design features. Mentimeter is best used as a tool for uploading your premade slide deck and adding quick and simple interactive elements for when you present to an audience.

One of the great things about this system is that your audience doesn’t need to download an app but can interact with your slide from the web browser on their phone or other device. This makes it great for delivering presentations to larger audiences when you want to increase engagement or collect feedback.

Mentimeter also allows you to visualize the data you collect during your presentations to further analyze and make decisions accordingly. It is intuitive and simple to use, making it great for workshops, meetings, and events that require feedback.

Mentimeter is the best option for gathering feedback-based statistics at companies, schools, and universities.

Mentimeter is an outstanding tool, its features, the functionality, the ease of creating interactive & engaging presentations with a whole suite of templates are outstanding – as a direct result I have used this extensively which as a result has helped me drive our employee satisfaction measure +6 points above the corporate benchmark.

5. SlideDog

SlideDog is unique among dynamic presentation tools in that, instead of being an interactive presentation maker, it is a tool for seamlessly presenting multiple presentations or files at the same time. SlideDog is a live presentation software designed for multimedia presentations and supports any kind of presentation media.

SlideDog is a niche product, but it is very good at what it does. If you have ever had to present something and found yourself jumping from your presentation to a PDF, YouTube video, or web page, then SlideDog can solve your quandary. You can meld multiple presentations, files, and media together into a single playlist and then hit play. You can set up your presentation to run on its own or control it from a separate device. 

As an interactive presentation app, SlideDog is easy to set up and use and offers some useful features, such as live presenting to multiple devices and some interactive elements such as polls, questionnaires, and an audience chat. While SlideDog doesn’t boast the most sophisticated interactivity, that’s not the focus of the tool.

One of the key use cases that SlideDog can be useful for is tying together multiple presentations delivered by multiple speakers at the same event into one simple and sleek flow. You can upload PowerPoint presentations as well as files from Prezi and SlideDog will keep the animations and visuals intact.

Overall, SlideDog is the perfect tool for its specific use case and is perfect for presenters who find themselves jumping from their slides to webpages, PDFs, or documents during their presentations.

SlideDog is the best option for people who organize meetings, conferences, and other events that involve several speakers with individual materials of different formats.

A user’s feedback on G2 – 4.2 out of 5 stars

The application of SlideDog allows for creating presentations that are interesting in addition to the slides themselves, which could contain web pages, videos, pictures, text, or Excel files. I enjoy the possibility of the user’s presentation to partners or colleagues. The software SlideDog is user friendly, and it is easy to use the interface, has very useful features, a clean design, and accepts the common formats of files.

6. FlowVella

FlowVella is an interactive presentation app for Apple devices that excels at producing clean, professional-looking content that audiences can interact with . FlowVella’s presentations are a great way of making informative presentations that audiences can interact with independently from the presenters. One of its highlighted use cases is in iPad kiosks.

Compared to other software for interactive presentations, FlowVella can seem a little limited in the features it provides for content authoring but instead focuses on making it easy to design very functional interactive slides that combine videos, images, text, and PDFs to create a simple interactive presentation.

FlowVella allows you to make professional-looking info slides with dynamic navigation and seamless media incorporation. You can use the many templates provided to make excellent content. 

Where FlowVella shines is in the sharing and implementation of its presentations. While you can use the app to deliver presentations in a traditional setting, the focus here is on multiple devices, independent and offline experiences, or kiosk mode. If you have ever been to a museum or exhibition, then you have probably interacted with an iPad displaying some information. FlowVella stands out in exactly this kind of environment.

With functionality and simple design at its core, FlowVella focuses on presentations that offer detailed information in a pleasing design, with interactivity that anyone can access. The app is optimized for display devices like iPads, but it also works effortlessly on iPhones and Mac computers.

FlowVella also has a nifty custom URL system for easy sharing and offers comprehensive analytics features so you can analyze how people interact with your presentations. Overall, FlowVella is a great option for its kiosk mode but falls behind competitors in terms of its interactive features.

FlowVella is the best option for exhibitors who need to create content to arrange iPad-based kiosks for events.

A user’s feedback on G2 – 4.1 out of 5 stars

The presentations that can be created have been of interest to clients, attracting attention. It is an effective tool that has allowed me to keep track of each presentation by knowing who sees it and for how long. With this information, it helps me analyze how much impact it has.

7. IntuiFace

IntuiFace is a truly unique platform and one of the best interactive presentation tools for creating bespoke and professional experiences . IntuiFace goes beyond traditional presentations and instead focuses on the unique experience that devices can offer in retail settings or that commercial and educational installations need to provide.

IntuiFace excels in exactly this area by taking any input media, such as images, videos, and text, and creating a truly bespoke experience to present the information to an audience with high levels of interaction. It can be used by businesses to create unique purchasing or product customization experiences, or in exhibitions for unique learning and interaction experiences.

The most amazing thing about IntuiFace is that anyone can use it because it requires absolutely no coding skills to create these solutions. Such bespoke solutions for presenting information and creating unique interactions would normally require a bespoke solution, but not with IntuiFace; it is actually an incredibly intuitive interactive presentation platform.

As you would expect from the intended use case, this tool is optimized to work on devices with touchscreen functionality and maintains its performance across devices of all shapes and sizes. This makes it the go-to option for exhibitions and installations that include the highest levels of interaction with audiences.

Although it is surprisingly intuitive, IntuiFace is not the simplest program for creating interactive presentations and definitely goes above and beyond most presenting needs, which makes it an expensive option for most. It is, however, arguably the best tool for the job when it comes to interactive installations. As a no-code solution, it can be a time- and cost-saving solution for businesses and institutions that would otherwise look to bespoke digital solutions.

IntuiFace is the best option for presentation designers who want to create a “wow effect” on a multi-touch screen at exhibitions, conferences, and other events.

A user’s feedback on G2 – 5 out of 5 stars

IntuiFace combines familiar features you will find in PowerPoint, Keynote, Photoshop, and Illustrator with a unified UI and an easy-to-use set of features and tools. The supported APIs make interfacing with external data possible, a function that once required extensive custom coding. Deploying experiences via the IntuiFace cloud has been of great benefit to my clients located out of state. 

Visme stands out for its visuals and simplicity . As interactive tools for presentations go, Visme is simple to use, and it’s easy to find all the features you might need for your design. You can choose from a huge selection of templates and make your presentations visually appealing with their enormous content library.

With data visualizations and media integration, Visme excels in the design area. This means you can convert existing slides or documents into beautiful presentations or create them from scratch. Your presentations will also be engaging with several interactive features.

Visme offers customized navigation, animations, clickable assets, polls, quizzes, and videos, all of which can make your presentation more engaging. However, it doesn’t stand out in terms of interactivity, instead focusing on ease of use and design.

One feature that Visme is proud to offer is its AI-powered design assistant, which can take your prompts and help you design your slides accordingly. This could be a great tool for accelerating the design process and compensating for a lack of inspiration. The tool is, however, still in beta and may not be a useful tool for those who want to take design into their own hands.

Visme’s other great features are the simple infographic tool for data visualization and the end-to-end branded content creation. Visme stands out as a great option for those who value design and want an intuitive platform for making awesome-looking presentations.

Visme is the best option for educators, presenters and communicators – especially those who prefer team work – as Visme lets you organize the project data into folders and provide role-based permissions.

Visme is an infographic maker tool with hundreds of beautiful templates to create visually-effective infographics. I can collaborate with my team members in real-time to get and implement the best ideas.

Harinder S.

9. Pear Deck

Pear Deck is another excellent interactive presentation tool for teachers. In this case, Pear Deck is especially notable for its capacity to create presentations with differentiated instruction for a range of diverse learners .

Just like Nearpod, Pear Deck is designed to be used by teachers, and while it can be used for distance learning, it focuses more on being a classroom tool for interactive learning. Pear Deck is designed to maximize the engagement and interactivity of your slide-based presentations. It incorporates analytics and feedback into the platform.

This classroom interactivity tool is great for encouraging students to get involved with the material on screen through tasks, quizzes, and discussions that are built into the presentation. You can also collect real-time feedback for immediate insights into your students’ comprehension and assess each student individually.

The standout feature of Pear Deck is the way it helps you include differentiated instruction, meaning you can provide different levels of support or challenge to different students. This means you can close learning gaps by supporting weaker learners while simultaneously pushing stronger learners to achieve more, all in the same lesson.

Pear Deck achieves this through a wide range of pre-made blocks, templates, and even lessons. The program allows you to create these engaging lessons, but is limited in its design options. While Pear Deck is a great choice for teachers in schools, NearPod surpasses it slightly as the top pick. However, Pear Deck is a great option for its differentiated instruction capability. In real terms, both are good options for teachers, and it will boil down to personal choice.

Pear Deck is the best option for schools and educators working with children.

A user’s feedback on G2 – 4.4 out of 5 stars

Pear Deck is a great way to get students engaged in a simple, and maybe boring, PowerPoint presentation. I use Google Slides and try to make it engaging. Pairing it with Pear Deck allows students to get engaged in ways that work for them.

Jonathan K.

10. Genially

Genially makes the list for its excellent options for gamified presentations . Like other interactive tools for presentations, it is simple to use, looks great, and has plenty of features for interactivity, but that doesn’t place it above the others. Genially stands out most of all for its gamification options, which are simple to implement.

The gamification tab in Genially’s presentation builder is intuitive and makes it easy to add quizzes, drag-and-drop games, and even an escape room game into your presentation. Gamification is a huge topic in eLearning and has been proven to positively impact learning across many fields, therefore making it a huge bonus for your presentation.

While other interactive platforms for presentations make gamification possible, Genially has great options that are incredibly easy to implement. Moreover, Genially also offers a wide range of interactive elements such as hover-over labels, hotspots, and pop-ups, which also means learners can interact with your presentations without the need for a presenter.

Genially makes visually impressive presentations and is simple to use. It is also priced competitively, and offers plenty of value for its cost, and even offers a generous free plan.

Genially is the best option for people from different professional areas who want to engage their audience by presenting their content dynamically, beautifully, and in a highly interactive way.

Genially is the best web-based design enhancement tool I’ve ever used. The media options, integration options, templates, etc. are absolutely top notch, and look incredible on any style of Genially you create! I mostly use Genially for creating flyers, interactive images, and interactive (non-linear) presentations. I’ve created my own “brand” inside of Genially, and it’s incredibly easy to use everything I’ve created anywhere I want, as well as to use the pre-created media. It’s just an amazing tool.

11. Beautiful.ai

Beautiful.ai is one of the most innovative online presentation tools for its use of AI in the design process . What Beautiful.ai does is to simplify and accelerate the process of creating visually succinct presentations from your content, through the use of artificial intelligence. All you have to do is insert your text and media, and the AI assistant does the rest.

This system works great for applying a theme to an existing presentation in order to apply branding, for example. You just have to select your template and colors, and the AI assistant will make sure that each slide is optimized to look great. Beautiful.ai removes the need to go through all your slides, adjusting fonts, scales, positions, colors, and more; it all just works.

Beautiful.ai is a time-saving tool that allows you to focus on the content of your presentation. While it is truly amazing at what it does, it isn’t designed to do much else. Beautiful.ai doesn’t add interactivity options, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make engaging slides with it.

Like other interactive presentation software, Beautiful.ai has added a generative AI feature to its platform, allowing you to create slides from written prompts. While this does have the potential to be an effective time-saving tool, it is hit-and-miss in its current form. Like many other generative AI options, it usually doesn’t give you exactly what you want, so if you are serious about your presentations, you still need to make them yourself. However, with Beautiful.ai, the design can be automated effectively.

Beautiful.ai is the best option for people who create or edit presentations often and want to spend less time on that task, while keeping their work at a high level.

A user’s feedback on G2 – 4.7 out of 5 stars

I like the AI Bot that creates beautiful slides with great visuals. This enables one to create an entire presentation in a short time. It is better than other platforms because of the numerous templates available and the accuracy. The suggestions to shorten or change the tone of the text are also a plus.

Catherine O.

How We Tested the Best Interactive Presentation Software

In order to provide an informed and unbiased list of the best interactive presentation software, we first established our expectations, then collected our sources, and finally tested, critiqued, and reviewed.

We decided that each of our choices needed to offer a stand-out feature, to ensure that every single product on the list would be useful to someone, but we also needed to assess each product for the range of features it did or didn’t offer. We then read related articles and review videos to gain insights from reputable sources.

We downloaded and tested the free versions of the products where possible to get a feel for their functionalities. Finally, we put our experience and that of others together in order to assemble an insightful list of the most useful and capable tools for making presentations more interactive.

FAQ on Using Interactive Presentation Software

Many questions arise when discussing interactivity in presentations, so we collected some of the most frequently asked questions and provided our experienced answers.

1. How can I make my presentation interactive?

Interactivity in a presentation means having your audience participate in your delivery to some degree, and this can be achieved through different means. You can establish higher levels of engagement through media and interesting visuals, but interactivity requires a little more.

You need to get your audience involved. You can add questions to your presentations and include a way for learners to share their answers. Another option is to add games to the slides or have your audience navigate through the content themselves. Giving your audience autonomy is an effective way to boost learning and enjoyment.

2. How do I make an interactive PowerPoint presentation for eLearning?

PowerPoint presentations and effective eLearning can go hand in hand, presuming that you understand the key components of effective eLearning and apply that theory to your PowerPoint through effective interactivity. 

Interactivity is one of the most effective methods of achieving high-quality eLearning success, and this can be implemented through software such as iSpring Suite, which allows you to add interactive elements to your PowerPoint presentations. Once your PowerPoint presentation includes interactive elements, you can present it directly or upload it to an LMS for further eLearning effectiveness.

3. What are some other popular PowerPoint alternatives for creating interactive presentations online?

There are several popular alternatives to using PowerPoint for creating interactive presentations online. One of the most commonly used options is Google Slides, which is compatible with several of the tools on our list. Other great examples include Prezi, Mentimeter, FlowVella, Visme, and Beautiful.ai.

4. How does Google Slides compare to PowerPoint as a presentation tool?

Google Slides and PowerPoint are extremely similar to use as presentation tools. If you know how to use one, you can use the other without issues. Where Google Slides differs is that it is an online tool, like other Google services, so all of your projects are saved and edited online. This means they can be collaborated on and shared a little more easily. 

Google Slides also offers seamless integration with other Google services, such as Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Drive. One bonus is that Google Slides can integrate automatically with Google Classroom, allowing you to share your presentations with students if you’re a teacher.

That’s our list of the 11 best interactive presentation software and tools. We hope you found the choices helpful and located the right tool for your use case, or at least could find the information you need to arrive at an informed conclusion about which tool is best.

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Scoping reviews and evidence maps are forms of evidence synthesis that aim to map the available literature on a topic and are well-suited to visual presentation of results. A range of data visualisation methods and interactive data visualisation tools exist that may make scoping reviews more useful to knowledge users. The aim of this study was to explore the use of data visualisation in a sample of recent scoping reviews and evidence maps on health topics, with a particular focus on interactive data visualisation.

Ovid MEDLINE ALL was searched for recent scoping reviews and evidence maps (June 2020-May 2021), and a sample of 300 papers that met basic selection criteria was taken. Data were extracted on the aim of each review and the use of data visualisation, including types of data visualisation used, variables presented and the use of interactivity. Descriptive data analysis was undertaken of the 238 reviews that aimed to map evidence.

Of the 238 scoping reviews or evidence maps in our analysis, around one-third (37.8%) included some form of data visualisation. Thirty-five different types of data visualisation were used across this sample, although most data visualisations identified were simple bar charts (standard, stacked or multi-set), pie charts or cross-tabulations (60.8%). Most data visualisations presented a single variable (64.4%) or two variables (26.1%). Almost a third of the reviews that used data visualisation did not use any colour (28.9%). Only two reviews presented interactive data visualisation, and few reported the software used to create visualisations.

Conclusions

Data visualisation is currently underused by scoping review authors. In particular, there is potential for much greater use of more innovative forms of data visualisation and interactive data visualisation. Where more innovative data visualisation is used, scoping reviews have made use of a wide range of different methods. Increased use of these more engaging visualisations may make scoping reviews more useful for a range of stakeholders.

Peer Review reports

Scoping reviews are “a type of evidence synthesis that aims to systematically identify and map the breadth of evidence available on a particular topic, field, concept, or issue” ([ 1 ], p. 950). While they include some of the same steps as a systematic review, such as systematic searches and the use of predetermined eligibility criteria, scoping reviews often address broader research questions and do not typically involve the quality appraisal of studies or synthesis of data [ 2 ]. Reasons for conducting a scoping review include the following: to map types of evidence available, to explore research design and conduct, to clarify concepts or definitions and to map characteristics or factors related to a concept [ 3 ]. Scoping reviews can also be undertaken to inform a future systematic review (e.g. to assure authors there will be adequate studies) or to identify knowledge gaps [ 3 ]. Other evidence synthesis approaches with similar aims have been described as evidence maps, mapping reviews or systematic maps [ 4 ]. While this terminology is used inconsistently, evidence maps can be used to identify evidence gaps and present them in a user-friendly (and often visual) way [ 5 ].

Scoping reviews are often targeted to an audience of healthcare professionals or policy-makers [ 6 ], suggesting that it is important to present results in a user-friendly and informative way. Until recently, there was little guidance on how to present the findings of scoping reviews. In recent literature, there has been some discussion of the importance of clearly presenting data for the intended audience of a scoping review, with creative and innovative use of visual methods if appropriate [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Lockwood et al. suggest that innovative visual presentation should be considered over dense sections of text or long tables in many cases [ 8 ]. Khalil et al. suggest that inspiration could be drawn from the field of data visualisation [ 7 ]. JBI guidance on scoping reviews recommends that reviewers carefully consider the best format for presenting data at the protocol development stage and provides a number of examples of possible methods [ 10 ].

Interactive resources are another option for presentation in scoping reviews [ 9 ]. Researchers without the relevant programming skills can now use several online platforms (such as Tableau [ 11 ] and Flourish [ 12 ]) to create interactive data visualisations. The benefits of using interactive visualisation in research include the ability to easily present more than two variables [ 13 ] and increased engagement of users [ 14 ]. Unlike static graphs, interactive visualisations can allow users to view hierarchical data at different levels, exploring both the “big picture” and looking in more detail ([ 15 ], p. 291). Interactive visualizations are often targeted at practitioners and decision-makers [ 13 ], and there is some evidence from qualitative research that they are valued by policy-makers [ 16 , 17 , 18 ].

Given their focus on mapping evidence, we believe that scoping reviews are particularly well-suited to visually presenting data and the use of interactive data visualisation tools. However, it is unknown how many recent scoping reviews visually map data or which types of data visualisation are used. The aim of this study was to explore the use of data visualisation methods in a large sample of recent scoping reviews and evidence maps on health topics. In particular, we were interested in the extent to which these forms of synthesis use any form of interactive data visualisation.

This study was a cross-sectional analysis of studies labelled as scoping reviews or evidence maps (or synonyms of these terms) in the title or abstract.

The search strategy was developed with help from an information specialist. Ovid MEDLINE® ALL was searched in June 2021 for studies added to the database in the previous 12 months. The search was limited to English language studies only.

The search strategy was as follows:

Ovid MEDLINE(R) ALL

(scoping review or evidence map or systematic map or mapping review or scoping study or scoping project or scoping exercise or literature mapping or evidence mapping or systematic mapping or literature scoping or evidence gap map).ab,ti.

limit 1 to english language

(202006* or 202007* or 202008* or 202009* or 202010* or 202011* or 202012* or 202101* or 202102* or 202103* or 202104* or 202105*).dt.

The search returned 3686 records. Records were de-duplicated in EndNote 20 software, leaving 3627 unique records.

A sample of these reviews was taken by screening the search results against basic selection criteria (Table 1 ). These criteria were piloted and refined after discussion between the two researchers. A single researcher (E.S.) screened the records in EPPI-Reviewer Web software using the machine-learning priority screening function. Where a second opinion was needed, decisions were checked by a second researcher (M.R.).

Our initial plan for sampling, informed by pilot searching, was to screen and data extract records in batches of 50 included reviews at a time. We planned to stop screening when a batch of 50 reviews had been extracted that included no new types of data visualisation or after screening time had reached 2 days. However, once data extraction was underway, we found the sample to be richer in terms of data visualisation than anticipated. After the inclusion of 300 reviews, we took the decision to end screening in order to ensure the study was manageable.

Data extraction

A data extraction form was developed in EPPI-Reviewer Web, piloted on 50 reviews and refined. Data were extracted by one researcher (E. S. or M. R.), with a second researcher (M. R. or E. S.) providing a second opinion when needed. The data items extracted were as follows: type of review (term used by authors), aim of review (mapping evidence vs. answering specific question vs. borderline), number of visualisations (if any), types of data visualisation used, variables/domains presented by each visualisation type, interactivity, use of colour and any software requirements.

When categorising review aims, we considered “mapping evidence” to incorporate all of the six purposes for conducting a scoping review proposed by Munn et al. [ 3 ]. Reviews were categorised as “answering a specific question” if they aimed to synthesise study findings to answer a particular question, for example on effectiveness of an intervention. We were inclusive with our definition of “mapping evidence” and included reviews with mixed aims in this category. However, some reviews were difficult to categorise (for example where aims were unclear or the stated aims did not match the actual focus of the paper) and were considered to be “borderline”. It became clear that a proportion of identified records that described themselves as “scoping” or “mapping” reviews were in fact pseudo-systematic reviews that failed to undertake key systematic review processes. Such reviews attempted to integrate the findings of included studies rather than map the evidence, and so reviews categorised as “answering a specific question” were excluded from the main analysis. Data visualisation methods for meta-analyses have been explored previously [ 19 ]. Figure  1 shows the flow of records from search results to final analysis sample.

Flow diagram of the sampling process

Data visualisation was defined as any graph or diagram that presented results data, including tables with a visual mapping element, such as cross-tabulations and heat maps. However, tables which displayed data at a study level (e.g. tables summarising key characteristics of each included study) were not included, even if they used symbols, shading or colour. Flow diagrams showing the study selection process were also excluded. Data visualisations in appendices or supplementary information were included, as well as any in publicly available dissemination products (e.g. visualisations hosted online) if mentioned in papers.

The typology used to categorise data visualisation methods was based on an existing online catalogue [ 20 ]. Specific types of data visualisation were categorised in five broad categories: graphs, diagrams, tables, maps/geographical and other. If a data visualisation appeared in our sample that did not feature in the original catalogue, we checked a second online catalogue [ 21 ] for an appropriate term, followed by wider Internet searches. These additional visualisation methods were added to the appropriate section of the typology. The final typology can be found in Additional file 1 .

We conducted descriptive data analysis in Microsoft Excel 2019 and present frequencies and percentages. Where appropriate, data are presented using graphs or other data visualisations created using Flourish. We also link to interactive versions of some of these visualisations.

Almost all of the 300 reviews in the total sample were labelled by review authors as “scoping reviews” ( n  = 293, 97.7%). There were also four “mapping reviews”, one “scoping study”, one “evidence mapping” and one that was described as a “scoping review and evidence map”. Included reviews were all published in 2020 or 2021, with the exception of one review published in 2018. Just over one-third of these reviews ( n  = 105, 35.0%) included some form of data visualisation. However, we excluded 62 reviews that did not focus on mapping evidence from the following analysis (see “ Methods ” section). Of the 238 remaining reviews (that either clearly aimed to map evidence or were judged to be “borderline”), 90 reviews (37.8%) included at least one data visualisation. The references for these reviews can be found in Additional file 2 .

Number of visualisations

Thirty-six (40.0%) of these 90 reviews included just one example of data visualisation (Fig.  2 ). Less than a third ( n  = 28, 31.1%) included three or more visualisations. The greatest number of data visualisations in one review was 17 (all bar or pie charts). In total, 222 individual data visualisations were identified across the sample of 238 reviews.

Number of data visualisations per review

Categories of data visualisation

Graphs were the most frequently used category of data visualisation in the sample. Over half of the reviews with data visualisation included at least one graph ( n  = 59, 65.6%). The least frequently used category was maps, with 15.6% ( n  = 14) of these reviews including a map.

Of the total number of 222 individual data visualisations, 102 were graphs (45.9%), 34 were tables (15.3%), 23 were diagrams (10.4%), 15 were maps (6.8%) and 48 were classified as “other” in the typology (21.6%).

Types of data visualisation

All of the types of data visualisation identified in our sample are reported in Table 2 . In total, 35 different types were used across the sample of reviews.

The most frequently used data visualisation type was a bar chart. Of 222 total data visualisations, 78 (35.1%) were a variation on a bar chart (either standard bar chart, stacked bar chart or multi-set bar chart). There were also 33 pie charts (14.9% of data visualisations) and 24 cross-tabulations (10.8% of data visualisations). In total, these five types of data visualisation accounted for 60.8% ( n  = 135) of all data visualisations. Figure  3 shows the frequency of each data visualisation category and type; an interactive online version of this treemap is also available ( https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/9396133/ ). Figure  4 shows how users can further explore the data using the interactive treemap.

Data visualisation categories and types. An interactive version of this treemap is available online: https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/9396133/ . Through the interactive version, users can further explore the data (see Fig.  4 ). The unit of this treemap is the individual data visualisation, so multiple data visualisations within the same scoping review are represented in this map. Created with flourish.studio ( https://flourish.studio )

Screenshots showing how users of the interactive treemap can explore the data further. Users can explore each level of the hierarchical treemap ( A Visualisation category >  B Visualisation subcategory >  C Variables presented in visualisation >  D Individual references reporting this category/subcategory/variable permutation). Created with flourish.studio ( https://flourish.studio )

Data presented

Around two-thirds of data visualisations in the sample presented a single variable ( n  = 143, 64.4%). The most frequently presented single variables were themes ( n  = 22, 9.9% of data visualisations), population ( n  = 21, 9.5%), country or region ( n  = 21, 9.5%) and year ( n  = 20, 9.0%). There were 58 visualisations (26.1%) that presented two different variables. The remaining 21 data visualisations (9.5%) presented three or more variables. Figure  5 shows the variables presented by each different type of data visualisation (an interactive version of this figure is available online).

Variables presented by each data visualisation type. Darker cells indicate a larger number of reviews. An interactive version of this heat map is available online: https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/10632665/ . Users can hover over each cell to see the number of data visualisations for that combination of data visualisation type and variable. The unit of this heat map is the individual data visualisation, so multiple data visualisations within a single scoping review are represented in this map. Created with flourish.studio ( https://flourish.studio )

Most reviews presented at least one data visualisation in colour ( n  = 64, 71.1%). However, almost a third ( n  = 26, 28.9%) used only black and white or greyscale.

Interactivity

Only two of the reviews included data visualisations with any level of interactivity. One scoping review on music and serious mental illness [ 22 ] linked to an interactive bubble chart hosted online on Tableau. Functionality included the ability to filter the studies displayed by various attributes.

The other review was an example of evidence mapping from the environmental health field [ 23 ]. All four of the data visualisations included in the paper were available in an interactive format hosted either by the review management software or on Tableau. The interactive versions linked to the relevant references so users could directly explore the evidence base. This was the only review that provided this feature.

Software requirements

Nine reviews clearly reported the software used to create data visualisations. Three reviews used Tableau (one of them also used review management software as discussed above) [ 22 , 23 , 24 ]. Two reviews generated maps using ArcGIS [ 25 ] or ArcMap [ 26 ]. One review used Leximancer for a lexical analysis [ 27 ]. One review undertook a bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer [ 28 ], and another explored citation patterns using CitNetExplorer [ 29 ]. Other reviews used Excel [ 30 ] or R [ 26 ].

To our knowledge, this is the first systematic and in-depth exploration of the use of data visualisation techniques in scoping reviews. Our findings suggest that the majority of scoping reviews do not use any data visualisation at all, and, in particular, more innovative examples of data visualisation are rare. Around 60% of data visualisations in our sample were simple bar charts, pie charts or cross-tabulations. There appears to be very limited use of interactive online visualisation, despite the potential this has for communicating results to a range of stakeholders. While it is not always appropriate to use data visualisation (or a simple bar chart may be the most user-friendly way of presenting the data), these findings suggest that data visualisation is being underused in scoping reviews. In a large minority of reviews, visualisations were not published in colour, potentially limiting how user-friendly and attractive papers are to decision-makers and other stakeholders. Also, very few reviews clearly reported the software used to create data visualisations. However, 35 different types of data visualisation were used across the sample, highlighting the wide range of methods that are potentially available to scoping review authors.

Our results build on the limited research that has previously been undertaken in this area. Two previous publications also found limited use of graphs in scoping reviews. Results were “mapped graphically” in 29% of scoping reviews in any field in one 2014 publication [ 31 ] and 17% of healthcare scoping reviews in a 2016 article [ 6 ]. Our results suggest that the use of data visualisation has increased somewhat since these reviews were conducted. Scoping review methods have also evolved in the last 10 years; formal guidance on scoping review conduct was published in 2014 [ 32 ], and an extension of the PRISMA checklist for scoping reviews was published in 2018 [ 33 ]. It is possible that an overall increase in use of data visualisation reflects increased quality of published scoping reviews. There is also some literature supporting our findings on the wide range of data visualisation methods that are used in evidence synthesis. An investigation of methods to identify, prioritise or display health research gaps (25/139 included studies were scoping reviews; 6/139 were evidence maps) identified 14 different methods used to display gaps or priorities, with half being “more advanced” (e.g. treemaps, radial bar plots) ([ 34 ], p. 107). A review of data visualisation methods used in papers reporting meta-analyses found over 200 different ways of displaying data [ 19 ].

Only two reviews in our sample used interactive data visualisation, and one of these was an example of systematic evidence mapping from the environmental health field rather than a scoping review (in environmental health, systematic evidence mapping explicitly involves producing a searchable database [ 35 ]). A scoping review of papers on the use of interactive data visualisation in population health or health services research found a range of examples but still limited use overall [ 13 ]. For example, the authors noted the currently underdeveloped potential for using interactive visualisation in research on health inequalities. It is possible that the use of interactive data visualisation in academic papers is restricted by academic publishing requirements; for example, it is currently difficult to incorporate an interactive figure into a journal article without linking to an external host or platform. However, we believe that there is a lot of potential to add value to future scoping reviews by using interactive data visualisation software. Few reviews in our sample presented three or more variables in a single visualisation, something which can easily be achieved using interactive data visualisation tools. We have previously used EPPI-Mapper [ 36 ] to present results of a scoping review of systematic reviews on behaviour change in disadvantaged groups, with links to the maps provided in the paper [ 37 ]. These interactive maps allowed policy-makers to explore the evidence on different behaviours and disadvantaged groups and access full publications of the included studies directly from the map.

We acknowledge there are barriers to use for some of the data visualisation software available. EPPI-Mapper and some of the software used by reviews in our sample incur a cost. Some software requires a certain level of knowledge and skill in its use. However numerous online free data visualisation tools and resources exist. We have used Flourish to present data for this review, a basic version of which is currently freely available and easy to use. Previous health research has been found to have used a range of different interactive data visualisation software, much of which does not required advanced knowledge or skills to use [ 13 ].

There are likely to be other barriers to the use of data visualisation in scoping reviews. Journal guidelines and policies may present barriers for using innovative data visualisation. For example, some journals charge a fee for publication of figures in colour. As previously mentioned, there are limited options for incorporating interactive data visualisation into journal articles. Authors may also be unaware of the data visualisation methods and tools that are available. Producing data visualisations can be time-consuming, particularly if authors lack experience and skills in this. It is possible that many authors prioritise speed of publication over spending time producing innovative data visualisations, particularly in a context where there is pressure to achieve publications.

Limitations

A limitation of this study was that we did not assess how appropriate the use of data visualisation was in our sample as this would have been highly subjective. Simple descriptive or tabular presentation of results may be the most appropriate approach for some scoping review objectives [ 7 , 8 , 10 ], and the scoping review literature cautions against “over-using” different visual presentation methods [ 7 , 8 ]. It cannot be assumed that all of the reviews that did not include data visualisation should have done so. Likewise, we do not know how many reviews used methods of data visualisation that were not well suited to their data.

We initially relied on authors’ own use of the term “scoping review” (or equivalent) to sample reviews but identified a relatively large number of papers labelled as scoping reviews that did not meet the basic definition, despite the availability of guidance and reporting guidelines [ 10 , 33 ]. It has previously been noted that scoping reviews may be undertaken inappropriately because they are seen as “easier” to conduct than a systematic review ([ 3 ], p.6), and that reviews are often labelled as “scoping reviews” while not appearing to follow any established framework or guidance [ 2 ]. We therefore took the decision to remove these reviews from our main analysis. However, decisions on how to classify review aims were subjective, and we did include some reviews that were of borderline relevance.

A further limitation is that this was a sample of published reviews, rather than a comprehensive systematic scoping review as have previously been undertaken [ 6 , 31 ]. The number of scoping reviews that are published has increased rapidly, and this would now be difficult to undertake. As this was a sample, not all relevant scoping reviews or evidence maps that would have met our criteria were included. We used machine learning to screen our search results for pragmatic reasons (to reduce screening time), but we do not see any reason that our sample would not be broadly reflective of the wider literature.

Data visualisation, and in particular more innovative examples of it, is currently underused in published scoping reviews on health topics. The examples that we have found highlight the wide range of methods that scoping review authors could draw upon to present their data in an engaging way. In particular, we believe that interactive data visualisation has significant potential for mapping the available literature on a topic. Appropriate use of data visualisation may increase the usefulness, and thus uptake, of scoping reviews as a way of identifying existing evidence or research gaps by decision-makers, researchers and commissioners of research. We recommend that scoping review authors explore the extensive free resources and online tools available for data visualisation. However, we also think that it would be useful for publishers to explore allowing easier integration of interactive tools into academic publishing, given the fact that papers are now predominantly accessed online. Future research may be helpful to explore which methods are particularly useful to scoping review users.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

Organisation formerly known as Joanna Briggs Institute

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Melissa Harden, Senior Information Specialist, Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, for advice on developing the search strategy.

This work received no external funding.

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Emily South & Mark Rodgers

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Both authors conceptualised and designed the study and contributed to screening, data extraction and the interpretation of results. ES undertook the literature searches, analysed data, produced the data visualisations and drafted the manuscript. MR contributed to revising the manuscript, and both authors read and approved the final version.

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Correspondence to Emily South .

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Supplementary Information

Additional file 1..

Typology of data visualisation methods.

Additional file 2.

References of scoping reviews included in main dataset.

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South, E., Rodgers, M. Data visualisation in scoping reviews and evidence maps on health topics: a cross-sectional analysis. Syst Rev 12 , 142 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-023-02309-y

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Received : 21 February 2023

Accepted : 07 August 2023

Published : 17 August 2023

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-023-02309-y

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