how to create an effective training presentation

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How to Create and Deliver Training Presentations That Make an Impact

Blended learning and hybrid workplaces have improved how employees train and optimize their work output. Corporate training is now a rich combination of in-person group sessions, live online lessons, and SCORM courses that employees can follow at their own pace. 

Are your training presentations up to the challenge?

Learning & Development strategists, HR, and performance management managers take note. In this guide, we’ll show you how to create a training deck from start to finish . Plus, some template examples and optimization tips for creating training presentations that make learning more effective.

What is a Training Presentation?

A training presentation is a set of slides created to teach a skill or increase knowledge of a topic. They’re used in training and development strategies in companies worldwide. Across the slides in a training presentation, employees learn essential information and skills to do their jobs better and grow in their careers.

Types of Training Presentations

Training presentations form part of all L&D initiatives in an HR department. They have one of two purposes; to train employees for the job at the present moment and to train them for growth and the future. 

Training for the job instructs employees on how to carry out their assigned tasks and responsibilities . The skills they learn follow guidelines from the company’s brand, processes, and structure.

Examples include:

• On-the-job training
• Practice simulations
• Orientation
• Skillbuilding 

To train for growth , employees are given resources to increase their capabilities, like learning new technology or methodology. They learn skills that will help their career future, preparing them for a promotion within the company or for changing teams laterally in a new role.

Growth training includes topics like:

• Soft skills
• New technology
• New processes or methodologies
• Job rotation
• Personal development
• Career expansion

Why Are Training Presentations Important?

High-quality training and development initiatives in a corporate setting offer many benefits. Three of the most relevant are employee buy-in and retention, company culture, and professional development.

Employee Buy-in and Retention

When training presentations are achieved at a high standard, team members in People Management, Human Resources, Learning & Development, and DEI feel confident and proud of their work in training fellow employees. 

They accompany employees along training paths, so it’s better if they’re invested in what they’re sharing. For a solid brand identity —and clear company culture—thorough training helps with buy-in straight out of the gate with an onboarding strategy. Then continues with regular training initiatives that lead to retention, satisfaction and loyalty.

Company Culture 

The role of company culture in an organization has a lot of weight towards brand equity. But a strong culture doesn’t happen overnight; it’s instilled in the employees’ minds through team-building activities, motivational seminars, and equitable training in all aspects of work.

Company culture flows through the ongoing interaction between trainers and trainees. Group sessions and training days help build relationships between teams and employees. Feeling invested is a trait developed through the right type of training. 

Professional Development

High-quality training for professional development is essential in every organization. On-the-job training for daily tasks is only part of the puzzle; employees also need to train for growth.

In-company training for professional development includes training for higher—or lateral—positions. Offering training for the future not only heightens professional development for individual employees but also carves a strong culture.

How to Create a Training Presentation

Let’s create a training deck together. We’ll use a case study to guide us along.

You and your L&D team at an IT Company are preparing a company-wide training session about the SCRUM framework before implementing it in more aspects of the business. The Training presentation is titled “Understanding the SCRUM Framework. Agilizing our productivity, together.” Sessions will be blended/hybrid to accommodate both in-office and remote employees. There will be a camera recording the instructor, and remote employees will see the presentation and the video of the instructor talking side by side on their screen.

1. Plan and prepare

Planning and strategizing are as important in training as in other business areas. Your training presentation already has a purpose, company-wide training about the SCRUM framework. But if you aren’t sure what employees need to learn to increase productivity and employee satisfaction, you’ll have to do some research. 

Figuring out your people’s learning and development needs takes some work. Are you using a performance management system? What does the reporting reveal? Where are employees failing to set goals? How can training presentations help? 

Analyze the reports, and you’ll see where they’re lacking. Plan upskilling strategies around those topics. With a clear objective, start preparing the training, presentation, and conversation points for group sessions. 

Put together a lesson plan covering the main characteristics of your presentation. Use it as a foundational reference during the production of the training presentation slides .

2. Create a basic structure 

Creating a structure for a training presentation is a critical step before designing slides or even writing the content. Training presentations with a set structure are more impactful than ones without. 

Following a structure makes the transference of knowledge much simpler. Write an outline that follows that structure. Do it on a document or use a visual tool like a storyboard to overview the full presentation deck .

The main structure for any training presentation has three parts; beginning, middle, and end. Yes, it’s that simple.

• Start with an agenda slide that covers the contents of the training presentation and builds a framework of what to expect out of this training program. Follow by listing the syllabus for the course and required learning material that will be accessible, and where students should download/access such content.
• Inform learners that at the end of the presentation, they will have all the basic and practical knowledge to understand and begin working with a SCRUM framework. 
• Explain (if necessary) what they need as a prerequisite to get the most out of the training.
• Any instructions they need to follow during the session, such as how to approach practical exercises or instructions for deliverables expected. 
• Share all supplemental material through links they can download or access from. This should also include any book chapter mentioned, video resources, photos, etc. Cloud-based storage accessible from the Company’s intranet tends to suit all needs.

• Throughout the meatiest slides of the presentation, teach them about the SCRUM framework. Then share how their team will use it to agile production and work in general.
• Use visual training techniques to explain themes and topics clearly.
• Create interactive moments for learners to imprint information. 
• Incorporate a variety of teaching formats to cover all learning styles; video, text, images, infographics, interactive activities, etc.

• Craft a few slides summarizing what they learned using a highlights list.
• Have learners take a quiz to test their knowledge and offer results that include the right answers to the questions they got wrong.
• Share references to supplemental material where learners can get more information on the topic.

The Middle Structure

In the middle is where most of the magic happens. A training presentation is much like a lecture in its purpose. Therefore, using teaching and lecture techniques in your presentations can only be a good idea.

Here are six lecture structures that you can apply to the middle of your presentation. For the SCRUM Framework training, we’ll use the first example .

• Start with what students can be expected to know to what students don’t know.  
• Proceed from reality to abstract ideas, theories, and principles.
• Begin with generalizations and continue with particular examples and applications.
• Open with simple ideas and round them up with complex ones
• Start sharing common misconceptions and then explain the truth.
• Go from a whole view to a detailed view. 

3. Gather resources

Organize all the content you’ll need for the presentation in a folder on the cloud or your team’s content library. Browse the SlideModel template collection, where you’ll find plenty of slides, full decks, and cut & copy elements to include in your training deck. For the slides to describe the SCRUM framework, we used this 3D PPT template of how the parts of the framework are interconnected.

Resource checklist for any training presentation:

• All visuals, videos, and PowerPoint slides add value to the training. 
• Case studies and examples support your points.
• Your company has the appropriate licenses to use the resources that are included in the final design.
• All references, citations and attributions are gathered for inclusion in the training documentation. 
• Your templates are from Slidemodel. 

4. Design the slides

Now, it’s time to put it all together and design the slides. Get all your resources ready, a list of all the templates you’ll use, and start a new project on PowerPoint.

Have your outline and/or storyboard open and start designing slides. Start with the cover and then follow the structure you decided on. Work your way through to the end and add a quiz. Here are some instructional presentation design best practices to help you along.

• Create visual unity and balance by choosing a color theme and font pairing that supports the brand message and purpose of the training.
• Mind the flow between slides from beginning to end. Use subtle transitions that don’t distract from the learning.
• Use a table of contents, section dividers, and interactive slide menus for easier navigation.
• Ensure each slide has a focal point and a visual hierarchy between all other elements.

All training material emulates the company brand, its values and vision. As marketing material follows visual and messaging brand guidelines, so should internal development content. 

Rather than mix & match slide templates, you can try a really fast method to create an entire training presentation by stating its topic, checking the suggested content, and selecting the desired slide design. This is possible thanks to the SlideModel’s AI Presentation Maker .

5 Training Presentation Slide Examples

Are you looking for inspiration to create a training presentation? SlideModel has numerous designs suitable for explaining, visually dissecting, and analyzing the material. Likewise, you’ll find templates that help L&D strategists communicate with instructors during the planning phase and beyond. 

Here are five templates that can help with your training presentation design.

Employee Onboarding

First, this multi-slide ppt template for training is an employee onboarding presentation . Use it to cover all characteristics of a corporate onboarding process. Slides include;

• Pre-boarding
• Training Activities
• Onboarding Roadmap
• Title & closing slides

Managerial Grid

The Blake & Mouton managerial grid is a great way to explain and analyze the different types of management based on production concerns and people concerns. Production concerns are characterized by tasks, and people are concerned with relationships. 

Matrix Grids can be used for other purposes as well. Like stakeholder engagement , talent analysis , and content marketing.

Multichapter Presentation

Does your training content span long chunks of information? Separate it into digestible sections and create a multichapter training presentation. If it still feels very long, separate each chapter into a lesson of a comprehensive digital course. This multichapter presentation template will help you either way. Plus, it will add considerable visual value to the deck as a whole.

SWOT Analysis

Teaching the SWOT Analysis process is best achieved with a “start big and continue into the details” presentation structure. This 5-slide template starts with the main idea and then delves deeper into each section. A visual structure like this also works for any concept that needs explanatory simplification. Simply separate the main concept into four parts and create a further slide for each.

5Cs of Customer Service

Nothing exudes versatility as much as infographics. This template has one function, to describe and analyze the 5Cs of customer service . Nevertheless, you get six visually different infographic compositions for the same topic in one template. How else can your content be separated into five sections with the same first letter? This—all words with the same first letter—is a mnemonic technique that will help your learners absorb and retain information.

How to Deliver Your Training Presentation

How will you deliver the training presentation to your learners? Depending on the company culture and working model, your training presentation will appear in any of the following scenarios.

1. As visual support to your In-person group training session.

The in-person group training session is the most common—until the pandemic changed many things. Your training presentation is the visual support during the event. 

Here are some tips for delivering a presentation during a group training session.

• Practice your ability to talk to a group. Notice your voice inflections or lack thereof. Practice the lesson with the training slides to support your spoken or activity-based teaching material.
• Remember that presenting a business presentation and teaching with a training presentation aren’t the same. If you’re new to in-person group training, research to learn and practice instruction skills.
• While training, maintain constant interaction with the learners. Ask them questions, and let them ask you questions. Invite anyone interested to join the online whiteboard for notetaking and mind-mapping the lesson.

2. As Part of a Live Online Session for Hybrid Teams.

Online, blended learning is quickly becoming popular with L&D teams. But how does it work? And why is it so special?

When you have hybrid teams with some employees in-office, others at home, and even more in other parts of the world, you need training solutions that work for everyone.

For the SCRUM training, we’d do the following:

• Prepare the training presentation slide deck.
• Organize a space for the in-person group and plan the event.
• Set up a camera to record the lesson or training session.
• Invite all employees to the session and offer them options of attendance; in-person, online, and live, watching the event recording.
• Get set up to stream the session live. You can use a webinar tool like Streamyard or the one inside your LMS platform. Someone might need to help so you can concentrate on the training rather than the technical tasks.
• Stream the lesson live and record it. On Chromecast , choose to use the split screen. One side shows the video of you teaching, and the other is the training presentation you prepared.
• Send the recording to the employees that didn’t attend in person or live online.

3. As a lesson in a digital course

Your training presentation can be its own course or part of a bigger one. In a comprehensive multi-lesson course, each section has its training presentation or a combination of presentations and other material. Use e-learning tools like SCORM and xAPI to create courses learners can do at their own pace, which you can keep track of. 

Create your SCORM and xAPI courses with PowerPoint, SlideModel, and the iSpring PPT plugin . Once finished, upload it all to your LMS platform and enroll employees to learn.

What’s the difference between SCORM and xAPI? The visual below has all the answers.

Read our guide on how to create an online course for detailed instructions and tips to make your course stand out.

3. As a PDF document

Delivering a training presentation as a PDF document shouldn’t be your first choice, but consider it for those employees that prefer learning that way. The same training presentation you create for in-person training, online learning or hybrid sessions can be downloaded as a PDF and shared via email or through the learning portal.

Takeaways for how to create successful PowerPoint Training Presentations

Optimize your training presentations to be as efficient as possible using instructional design techniques from the pros. Start with your trusty authoring combination of PowerPoint and SlideModel, and add an iSpring design plugin to complete the toolkit. Follow the steps in the sections above and then some.

Implement Interactivity 

Add interactivity to your training presentations to make them more engaging while touching on more learning styles. Interactivity can be as simple as a navigation menu between slides, dialogue simulations, and quick in-slide quizzes. Use xAPI and an LMS to create interactive training presentations for any topic.

After discussing the importance of interactivity, take a look at our 5-topic training presentation template showcased in the following video. With a tabbed menu, this training PPT template is ideal for presenting the agenda of your training session and delivering it in a streamlined manner. Each tab can represent a unique topic or module, making it easier for your audience to follow along and understand the progression of your training. The slide layout not only enhances visual appeal, making it more engaging than traditional slides, but also promotes organized content delivery.

Animated presentation templates, such as the one shown, are an effective way to captivate your audience and make the learning experience more memorable. This kind of animations add an element of surprise and engagement that static slides might lack. When paired with interactive elements mentioned earlier, such training templates can transform your training presentations into immersive learning experiences.

Add In-Slide Video

Hybrid learning and online learning have a wide berth of possibilities. One is in-slide video recordings of you—the training presenter—talking to the audience on the other side of the screen. 

This is especially practical for digital training presentations that never had an in-person session and instead are all done online. Use tools like Loom and Camtasia to record yourself speaking as you flip through the training slides. Then share the final video output on your company’s learning platform.

Offer Supplemental Material

Regardless of how you deliver your training deck, it’s always a good idea to offer supplemental material for the learner. Let’s look at some ideas:

• If you deliver the training presentation as a video with much narration, offer a PDF transcript for download. 
• On an LMS platform, add printable PDF worksheets and further reading material.
• Before or during an in-person session, give handouts and worksheets.
• In a hybrid webinar, share links to online games that help reinforce the topic.
• In any scenario, offer further resources for self-paced learning.

Incorporate Gamification

One of the best teaching techniques for turning training presentations from meh to memorable is gamification. Using games and game-like visual qualities helps learners capture and retain information better. Gamification techniques like badges, challenges, and competition elevate the learner’s feeling of happiness and contentment. They enjoy the process more and therefore learn more effectively.

Cover Multiple Platforms

Reach all employees where they are by creating and delivering versatile training presentations that are viewable on any device, from wall projectors to mobile phones. Create interconnectivity between them with downloads, digital whiteboards for notetaking, online chatrooms, handouts, etc.  

Don’t forget also to follow accessibility standards. For example, closed caption subtitles on videos and e-reader-compatible text. 

Share Questionnaires And Surveys At The End

Do you agree with the business notion that nothing in business is worth it unless you can track it? If so, then your training presentations must have a callback. Shortly after the learner has attended, watched, or listened to your training presentation, send them a short survey to gauge their satisfaction. Combine this with testing and quizzing results, and over a short time; you’ll have a good grasp on the effectiveness of your training.

Give a Certificate of Completion

Offer your learners a certificate of completion. As its name indicates, a certificate is essential for certifying that a person has taken your course. Create a visual certificate that you can send as a pdf in an email. Include all the necessary information for the learner to mention the completed course on their LinkedIn profile.

In less than three thousand words, you learned why training presentations are important for business, how to create and deliver them, plus tips on how to make your training presentations amazing.

Your L&D team and all your trained employees will benefit from optimized training presentations that use SlideModel templates for PowerPoint and Google Slides. Support your learners with visuals and instructional infographics. Start downloading educational templates today.

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Our Top 8 Tips For Creating Effective Training Presentations!

Table of contents.

Staff training for all employees, including managers, supervisors, and executives, is vital to an efficient and safe working space. For optimal results, you not only need active participants and good public speaking skills, but you need effective training materials that are easy to digest.

If you’re hoping to create a staff training PowerPoint presentation, or any other training material, this is the place to be. Here’s our guide to creating effective training presentations that leave lasting impressions on your trainees .

What Is A Training Presentation?

As many individuals in the human resources department know, employee training is mandatory for employees to complete when they start a job.

A training presentation is a learning material that helps build the right skills that employees need in order to perform their jobs accurately. For optimal results, your training presentations should include lessons that showcase the specialized knowledge in well-structured and easy-to-read slides .

An effective presentation will create a great learning experience for your audience and will illustrate the main message throughout the presentation.

Youth Employment Services Training Presentation

Youth Employment Services (YES) was faced with the challenge of developing a training series aimed at you guessed it, increasing youth employment. A typical PowerPoint just wasn’t captivating enough, so we gave them an engaging presentation from start to finish.

Why Are Effective Employee Training Presentations Beneficial To My Company?

Providing relevant training information to your team is extremely important to the overall safety and efficiency of your company. A solid training presentation that can provide knowledge and important information to your participants can benefit your company in a number of ways. Here are just a few that come to mind:

Peace Of Mind

First, a training presentation can provide peace of mind to your organization. When your team members fully understand the importance of safety requirements or the different responsibilities of their job, it means you can rest assured that they are well equipped for daily tasks and emergency situations.

Employee Retention

Another benefit of effective training presentations is employee retention. When your employees fully understand their role in your organization and feel equipped and supported, they are more likely to stay in their role. Also, knowledge is power and development/progression is more than just monetary.

Setting Standards & Expectations

Finally, an effective training course will ensure that your team members have a set of clear expectations and standards to hold to throughout their time at your company. Clear expectations for your employees can not only lead to a more efficient workplace, but can also create a safer and healthier work environment.

5 Tips That Ensure You Have An Effective Training Presentation

Now that we understand what a training presentation is and why a good presentation is so beneficial for your company, we can focus on how to create a professional and effective training presentation.

Here are 5 training presentation tips that you can use to enhance your training Powerpoint slides and keep the materials interesting to your audience:

Tell Your Story And Articulate Your Learning Goals

When you present your training course to your employees, you want to first start with a summary of the organization’s story and what your main goals are. Your brand’s story should be woven throughout the presentation so that everything ties back together. This solid structure will allow you to build off it and further engage your audience.

In order to engage your team you want them to understand why your business exists and what the main mission or key goals are. When you include these things in your Powerpoint presentation, you can further engage your audience.

As seen in this training presentation for Soccer Shots , the organization’s mission and main goals are clearly articulated at the beginning of the training session.

Make Your Presentation Accessible

In order to even fully engage your students at a training session, they need to be able to hear the presenter and see and read the slides.

Creating an accessible presentation will allow every person in the audience to gain knowledge from the Powerpoint slides.

Accessibility can mean different things for different people, so it’s important to know what kind of needs your audience requires. For example, you may need to use a larger text size, a microphone, a clear font, sign language, or narration throughout the presentation.

As a presenter, it’s important to ensure that everyone present at the session is able to reach each slide, complete each task, and can hear the trainer’s speech.

Cater To Different Learning Styles

Another aspect of a good training presentation is understanding that everyone learns differently. Where some employees can gain a lot of knowledge from slides full of bullet points, other employees may need more interactive elements during the training presentation.

To ensure that your professional training presentation appeals and engages all types of learners, you should try to include a variety of elements in your PowerPoint presentation design .

For example, you might include more graphics, images, or videos that can talk for you. Or, you can have specific conversations starters where participants can engage in conversation with the trainer and the other audience members.

Too much text can lead to an information overload that can cause participants to zone out while the trainer is talking. Instead, structure your presentation slides with some white space so your audience isn’t overwhelmed with information.

Use Real World Examples In Your Training Sessions

Another way to boost training skills in a good training presentation is throughout using real life examples. While data charts and abstract ideas can provide extremely helpful information to participants, real world examples can allow that information to stick.

People are more perceptive to ideas that make an impact on their own lives. So, if you include examples from daily life to illustrate and explain your point, you may find that your audience is more engaged in the training presentation.

Now, use your findings to integrate realistic situations as examples or exercises that show trainees the value of your session. The key to an engaged and motivated audience is to keep things real.

Design Is Critical, So Don't Underestimate It

One of the most important tips for creating effective training presentations is that design matters. As much as it may seem that the information is more important than the design for a training course, the design is actually very critical.

Not only can your design reinforce your brand image and brand identity, but it can further engage your participants. Charts that showcase data and information, graphics, high quality images, eye catching colours, and smooth transitions can all help you make a powerpoint presentation that gets your point across effectively.

A great presentation template and slide deck will have a organic design that not only pleases the eye, but will explain important information to your audience.

Consider Additions or Alternatives To Help Support Your Training Efforts

An effective presentation isn’t just about the slides. There are other components that you need to keep in mind before leading your presentation.

Practice Your Presentation Skills

For one, the trainer will need to practice the presentation ahead of the course.

Good public speaking skills and having a strong idea of what you are talking about can all help with creating an effective and engaging presentation.

Use Effective Handouts

You may also want to use handouts to aid your presentation, but make sure it isn’t just information that is already on a slide in your presentation.

Whether it’s an article with more information, notes about the course, a summary of information, or further tips, handouts can be beneficial for your audience.

Hire a Design Agency

Finally, you should consider hiring a presentation design agency to help you create these slides.

While a presentation template can be a good starting point, a great presentation requires a lot more time, effort, and skill. A professional design agency can take this task off your hands so you can focus on the speech aspect.

This was the case for a Lawyer at BelkerPalm Legal who was giving a presentation to a group of law students. Although his experience was vast and his presentation skills were strong, he didn’t have the visuals to back him up. He was relieved to find the Geeks!

Need Help Designing Your Training Materials?

Look no further than the geeks!

We’re a presentation and training manual design company that truly understand how crucial it is building effective training materials for new employees. We’ve done it for clients, and ourselves, but we always put you first.

Author:  Content Team

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How can you make a good presentation even more effective?

This page draws on published advice from expert presenters around the world, which will help to take your presentations from merely ‘good’ to ‘great’.

By bringing together advice from a wide range of people, the aim is to cover a whole range of areas.

Whether you are an experienced presenter, or just starting out, there should be ideas here to help you to improve.

1. Show your Passion and Connect with your Audience

It’s hard to be relaxed and be yourself when you’re nervous.

But time and again, the great presenters say that the most important thing is to connect with your audience, and the best way to do that is to let your passion for the subject shine through.

Be honest with the audience about what is important to you and why it matters.

Be enthusiastic and honest, and the audience will respond.

2. Focus on your Audience’s Needs

Your presentation needs to be built around what your audience is going to get out of the presentation.

As you prepare the presentation, you always need to bear in mind what the audience needs and wants to know, not what you can tell them.

While you’re giving the presentation, you also need to remain focused on your audience’s response, and react to that.

You need to make it easy for your audience to understand and respond.

3. Keep it Simple: Concentrate on your Core Message

When planning your presentation, you should always keep in mind the question:

What is the key message (or three key points) for my audience to take away?

You should be able to communicate that key message very briefly.

Some experts recommend a 30-second ‘elevator summary’, others that you can write it on the back of a business card, or say it in no more than 15 words.

Whichever rule you choose, the important thing is to keep your core message focused and brief.

And if what you are planning to say doesn’t contribute to that core message, don’t say it.

4. Smile and Make Eye Contact with your Audience

This sounds very easy, but a surprisingly large number of presenters fail to do it.

If you smile and make eye contact, you are building rapport , which helps the audience to connect with you and your subject. It also helps you to feel less nervous, because you are talking to individuals, not to a great mass of unknown people.

To help you with this, make sure that you don’t turn down all the lights so that only the slide screen is visible. Your audience needs to see you as well as your slides.

5. Start Strongly

The beginning of your presentation is crucial. You need to grab your audience’s attention and hold it.

They will give you a few minutes’ grace in which to entertain them, before they start to switch off if you’re dull. So don’t waste that on explaining who you are. Start by entertaining them.

Try a story (see tip 7 below), or an attention-grabbing (but useful) image on a slide.

6. Remember the 10-20-30 Rule for Slideshows

This is a tip from Guy Kawasaki of Apple. He suggests that slideshows should:

• Contain no more than 10 slides;
• Last no more than 20 minutes; and
• Use a font size of no less than 30 point.

This last is particularly important as it stops you trying to put too much information on any one slide. This whole approach avoids the dreaded ‘Death by PowerPoint’.

As a general rule, slides should be the sideshow to you, the presenter. A good set of slides should be no use without the presenter, and they should definitely contain less, rather than more, information, expressed simply.

If you need to provide more information, create a bespoke handout and give it out after your presentation.

7. Tell Stories

Human beings are programmed to respond to stories.

Stories help us to pay attention, and also to remember things. If you can use stories in your presentation, your audience is more likely to engage and to remember your points afterwards. It is a good idea to start with a story, but there is a wider point too: you need your presentation to act like a story.

Think about what story you are trying to tell your audience, and create your presentation to tell it.

Finding The Story Behind Your Presentation

To effectively tell a story, focus on using at least one of the two most basic storytelling mechanics in your presentation:

Focusing On Characters – People have stories; things, data, and objects do not. So ask yourself “who” is directly involved in your topic that you can use as the focal point of your story.

For example, instead of talking about cars (your company’s products), you could focus on specific characters like:

• The drivers the car is intended for – people looking for speed and adventure
• The engineers who went out of their way to design the most cost-effective car imaginable

A Changing Dynamic – A story needs something to change along the way. So ask yourself “What is not as it should be?” and answer with what you are going to do about it (or what you did about it).

For example…

• Did hazardous road conditions inspire you to build a rugged, all-terrain jeep that any family could afford?
• Did a complicated and confusing food labelling system lead you to establish a colour-coded nutritional index so that anybody could easily understand it?

To see 15 more actionable storytelling tips, see Nuts & Bolts Speed Training’s post on Storytelling Tips .

8. Use your Voice Effectively

The spoken word is actually a pretty inefficient means of communication, because it uses only one of your audience’s five senses. That’s why presenters tend to use visual aids, too. But you can help to make the spoken word better by using your voice effectively.

Varying the speed at which you talk, and emphasising changes in pitch and tone all help to make your voice more interesting and hold your audience’s attention.

For more about this, see our page on Effective Speaking .

9. Use your Body Too

It has been estimated that more than three quarters of communication is non-verbal.

That means that as well as your tone of voice, your body language is crucial to getting your message across. Make sure that you are giving the right messages: body language to avoid includes crossed arms, hands held behind your back or in your pockets, and pacing the stage.

Make your gestures open and confident, and move naturally around the stage, and among the audience too, if possible.

10. Relax, Breathe and Enjoy

If you find presenting difficult, it can be hard to be calm and relaxed about doing it.

One option is to start by concentrating on your breathing. Slow it down, and make sure that you’re breathing fully. Make sure that you continue to pause for breath occasionally during your presentation too.

For more ideas, see our page on Coping with Presentation Nerves .

If you can bring yourself to relax, you will almost certainly present better. If you can actually start to enjoy yourself, your audience will respond to that, and engage better. Your presentations will improve exponentially, and so will your confidence. It’s well worth a try.

Improve your Presentation Skills

Follow our guide to boost your presentation skills learning about preparation, delivery, questions and all other aspects of giving effective presentations.

Start with: What is a Presentation?

Continue to: How to Give a Speech Self Presentation

See also: Five Ways You Can Do Visual Marketing on a Budget Can Presentation Science Improve Your Presentation? Typography – It’s All About the Message in Your Slides

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How to Create a Training PowerPoint Presentation

A well-designed PowerPoint training presentation can be a powerful tool for conveying information, fostering training skills, engaging learners, and facilitating understanding. This type of presentation can be applied in many industries and can suit different learning styles.

Whether you’re a seasoned trainer looking to enhance your presentation skills or are new to the world of instructional design, this article will guide you through the essential steps to create a training PowerPoint presentation that captivates your audience and delivers meaningful learning outcomes.

What Is a Training Presentation?

A training presentation is a visual tool designed to deliver knowledge in a structured and engaging way in different training contexts.

It is a format that allows instructors to present training materials that keep the audience responsive and motivated, promoting comprehension and retention.

Training presentations are used extensively in educational settings and in staff training. Whether you’re introducing new employees to company policies, teaching students a complex subject, or demonstrating how to use a new software tool, training presentations make learning more effective and engaging.

A good training presentation is a combination of several design and structural elements that ultimately enhance learning effectiveness. Here are some key elements of training presentations:

• Content . The core of a training presentation is the content you deliver to your audience. It’s the information you want your trainees to absorb, memorize, and use effectively in the future.
• Visuals . Visual elements play a crucial role in training presentations. Besides using slides with text, presenters also include graphics, images, and even interactive elements . These visuals help learners better understand and remember the training material.
• Structure . Even with top-notch content and amazing visuals, if the presentation structure is not organized logically, the audience will have a hard time understanding it. That’s why a clear outline is needed so the learners can follow the flow of information and build their knowledge during the training session.
• Practical exercises and assessments . It’s a good idea to include assessments or quizzes in your training presentations to determine participants’ understanding and measure the effectiveness of the training. As an instructor, you can also integrate real-life cases and scenarios to help trainees put the recently acquired knowledge into practice.

The Importance of Effective Training Presentations

In short, an effective training presentation lays the foundation for more profound training experiences. By structuring information logically and using engaging visuals and interactive elements, training presentations improve training and promote efficient retention of knowledge.

An effective training presentation can become a powerful tool for employee training and professional development because it:

• allows the participants to visualize the training content in a logical structure;
• can be adapted to accommodate different learning styles;
• improves the skill development process for both new and seasoned employees;
• provides a tangible resource that trainees can revisit when they want to refresh their knowledge. 

Types of Training Presentations

Training presentations come in many forms, depending on learning goals, target audiences, and training contexts. Understanding the different types of training presentations can help you choose the format that’s most suitable for achieving your training objectives.

Let’s take a closer look at some common types of training presentations:

1. Informative Presentation

Informative presentations are the foundation of knowledge transfer. They are designed to deliver key information, facts, or concepts to the training audience. Informative presentations often rely on an instructor with great presentation skills who leads the session.

Some examples of this type of presentation are:

• Lecture-style presentations
• Product knowledge training
• Safety briefings
• Compliance training

These presentations often include a summary slide that highlights what the trainees should take away from the session.

2. Skill Development Presentation

Skill development presentations are all about hands-on learning. They provide trainees with opportunities to gain practical skills or new professional competencies. These presentations typically include: 

• Demonstrations 
• Guided exercises 
• Interactive simulations and role-plays
• Feedback and evaluations

All these elements help participants put theory into practice right away. Skill development presentations can also come in the form of pre-recorded video presentations that illustrate how the skills work in real life.

You can use the following questions to define your training presentation’s objectives:

• What do you want your audience to learn from the presentation?
• What specific skills or knowledge should they acquire?
• How will this training benefit the organization?
• Is there a behavioral change you want to achieve?
• How can you measure the success of your training presentation?

Step 2. Outline the structure

The next step is to define the structure of your PowerPoint presentation . Break down your content into logical sections or modules . Prioritize key information and decide on the main points you want to cover in each section.

You can divide your presentation into sections based on the main topics, the key skills, or the type of activity you’re going to include in the training. It’s up to you to choose the structure. Just make sure to follow it consistently throughout the presentation.

Content creator:

Charuan Aguilera

A learning and training enthusiast, Charuan seeks to empower his readers with the latest insights and trends in e-learning.

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How to make a great presentation

Stressed about an upcoming presentation? These talks are full of helpful tips on how to get up in front of an audience and make a lasting impression.

The secret structure of great talks

The beauty of data visualization

TED's secret to great public speaking

How to speak so that people want to listen

How great leaders inspire action

Employee training and development presentation: The all-in-one guide

Master employee training presentations to boost performance and drive success.

Raja Bothra

Building presentations

Welcome to our comprehensive guide on employee training and development.

In this blog post, we're going to dive deep into the world of employee growth, learning, and presentation. Whether you're a seasoned HR manager or a fresh-faced trainee, there's something here for everyone.

What is employee training and development?

Let's start with the basics. Training and development are the backbone of a thriving workforce. It's not just about teaching your employees new skills; it's about empowering them to excel and grow within your organization.

In essence, it's about nurturing talent, boosting productivity, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Now, who wouldn't want that?

Benefits of employee training and development presentation

Before we delve into the intricacies, let's explore why employee training and development presentations hold such significance.

Enhanced productivity - Igniting the engine of efficiency

Imagine your team as a high-performance sports car. A well-structured training program serves as the premium fuel that can supercharge your team's output. It fine-tunes their skills, refines their techniques, and propels them toward peak performance. The result? Enhanced productivity that propels your organization toward its goals.

Employee satisfaction - The heartbeat of a thriving workplace

Investing in training needs is a clear demonstration of your commitment to your team's growth. It's like telling your employees, "We believe in you, and we're here to help you succeed." This commitment translates to happier employees. When employees feel valued and equipped with the tools to excel, job satisfaction soars. And a satisfied workforce is a motivated one, ready to conquer challenges.

Improved managerial skills - Transforming managers into leaders

Every organization dreams of having superstar leaders. Effective training methods are the alchemy that can turn any manager into a beacon of leadership. It's about equipping them with the knowledge and skills to inspire, guide, and drive their teams toward greatness. When your managers shine, your organization shines brighter.

Talent retention - Keeping the stars aligned

When you invest in your employees' growth, you're making an investment in your organization's future. It's a magnet that draws them closer and makes them want to stay. Talent retention becomes less of a challenge when your employees see a clear path for advancement and feel their contributions are acknowledged and nurtured.

Now that we've painted the big picture, let's shift our focus to the finer brushstrokes that make this masterpiece complete.

How to structure an effective employee training and development presentation

Creating an impactful employee training presentation, or PPT, is akin to orchestrating a captivating symphony rather than tackling rocket science. It's about weaving a narrative that enthralls your audience, all while utilizing engaging slides as your musical notes. Here's your roadmap to composing this symphony of knowledge:

1. Start with a hook - Setting the stage for intrigue

Picture your presentation as the opening scene of a blockbuster movie. It needs to grab your audience's attention from the very beginning. You can achieve this by crafting an intriguing hook. Whether it's a compelling anecdote, a thought-provoking question, or a surprising statistic, your hook should be a magnetic force that draws your audience in.

2. Know your audience - Tailoring the experience

Much like a master tailor who creates a suit to fit an individual perfectly, your presentation should be tailored to your audience. Consider the diverse spectrum of attendees, from the eager-to-learn new employee to the seasoned managerial staff seeking leadership insights. Understanding their needs, expectations, and aspirations is the key to crafting a presentation that resonates deeply.

3. Interactive slides - Breathing life into learning

To keep your audience engaged, don't settle for passive observation. Infuse your presentation with interactivity. Utilize trainer-led discussions, present on-the-job scenarios, and incorporate quizzes that challenge and stimulate thought. It's not just about telling; it's about involving your audience in the learning process.

4. On-the-job training - Learning by doing

Theory alone won't cut it. For your message to truly resonate, hands-on experience is invaluable. Incorporate on-the-job training elements, such as job rotation and practical exercises. These tangible experiences drive your message home, transforming abstract concepts into concrete skills.

5. Templates galore - Polishing your presentation to perfection

Why reinvent the wheel when you have a treasure trove of templates at your disposal?

Leverage the power of PowerPoint and presentation slides templates to give your content a polished, professional look. These templates not only save time but also ensure consistency and visual appeal throughout your presentation.

Remember, structuring an effective employee training and development presentation is all about creating an immersive learning experience. By adhering to these guidelines and adding your unique flair, you'll craft a presentation that not only educates but also captivates your audience. It's your time to shine in the spotlight of knowledge dissemination!

Do's and don'ts of an employee training and development presentation

Now, let's talk about some dos and don'ts to keep in mind while creating your masterpiece.

• Be engaging : Nobody likes a snooze-fest. Keep your audience hooked with your charismatic presentation style.
• Stay organized : Structure is your friend. Organize your content logically, and your audience will thank you.
• Incorporate feedback : Don't shy away from feedback. It's your secret sauce for improvement.

Don'ts :

• Death by powerpoint : Too many words on a slide can lead to a coma. Keep it concise and visual.
• Winging it : Know your stuff. Avoid reading slides word-for-word.
• Ignoring Q&A : The training process isn't complete without addressing questions.

Summarizing key takeaways

Before we wrap up, let's recap what we've learned:

• Effective employee training and development is the key to success.
• A well-structured presentation is your secret weapon.
• Engage your audience, tailor your content, and use templates wisely.

In conclusion, employee training and development are the cornerstones of a thriving organization. From training and development strategies to effective training practices , we've covered it all. Now, go forth and empower your team for success.

1. What is the role of human resource strategy in employee training and development initiatives?

Human resource strategy plays a pivotal role in shaping the direction and objectives of employee training and development. It aligns the organization's training programs with its long-term goals, ensuring that learning and development efforts contribute to the overall success. By crafting a well-thought-out strategy, organizations can effectively train employees , enhance organizational capabilities, and empower their workforce for the future.

2. How can a mentor be integrated into a learning and development plan?

Incorporating a mentor into a learning and development program can be highly beneficial. A mentor provides guidance, shares expertise, and facilitates the growth of individual employees. This personalized approach fosters a culture of continuous improvement and can be an invaluable asset in a comprehensive development program .

3. What role does training evaluation play in improving employee performance?

Training evaluation is the compass that guides organizations towards enhancing employee performance . It involves assessing the effectiveness of training programs, identifying areas of improvement, and implementing necessary changes. This feedback loop ensures that training and development initiatives remain aligned with organizational goals and continually strive for excellence.

4. Can you explain the importance of creating a learning organization?

Creating a learning organization is a vital aspect of long-term success. Such organizations prioritize the acquisition of knowledge and skills at every level. They encourage individual employee growth, provide resources for development , and promote a culture of lifelong learning . In essence, they upgrade their capabilities continually to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving world.

5. What are the key elements to consider when designing a presentation structure for employee training and development?

Creating an effective presentation structure for employee training and development is crucial. It involves organizing content logically and ensuring it aligns with the learning objectives. Additionally, incorporating engaging elements like interactive exercises, quizzes, and discussions can enhance the learning experience.

In summary, human resource strategy, mentors, training evaluation, learning organizations, and e-learning methods are all integral components of successful employee training and development programs. They not only improve individual performance but also contribute to the overall growth and success of organizations.

Create your employee training and development presentation with prezent

Now that you're armed with knowledge, it's time to put it into action. With Prezent at your side, creating an outstanding employee training and development presentation is a breeze. Our user-friendly platform offers a plethora of templates and tools to assist you in crafting a presentation that truly shines.

So, what are you waiting for?

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How to Make a “Good” Presentation “Great”

• Guy Kawasaki

Remember: Less is more.

A strong presentation is so much more than information pasted onto a series of slides with fancy backgrounds. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others. Here are some unique elements that make a presentation stand out.

• Fonts: Sans Serif fonts such as Helvetica or Arial are preferred for their clean lines, which make them easy to digest at various sizes and distances. Limit the number of font styles to two: one for headings and another for body text, to avoid visual confusion or distractions.
• Colors: Colors can evoke emotions and highlight critical points, but their overuse can lead to a cluttered and confusing presentation. A limited palette of two to three main colors, complemented by a simple background, can help you draw attention to key elements without overwhelming the audience.
• Pictures: Pictures can communicate complex ideas quickly and memorably but choosing the right images is key. Images or pictures should be big (perhaps 20-25% of the page), bold, and have a clear purpose that complements the slide’s text.
• Layout: Don’t overcrowd your slides with too much information. When in doubt, adhere to the principle of simplicity, and aim for a clean and uncluttered layout with plenty of white space around text and images. Think phrases and bullets, not sentences.

As an intern or early career professional, chances are that you’ll be tasked with making or giving a presentation in the near future. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others.

• Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist at Canva and was the former chief evangelist at Apple. Guy is the author of 16 books including Think Remarkable : 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference.

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Blog – Creative Presentations Ideas

infoDiagram visual slide examples, PowerPoint diagrams & icons , PPT tricks & guides

7 Sections for Effective Presentation Training Slides

Last Updated on March 11, 2024 by Rosemary

Are you delivering a public speaking or presentation skills training? Find some inspiration for your slides here.

Explore our Business Performance PPT Reports category on the website for more resources to boost your presentation impact.

In this article I suggest how you can prepare engaging PowerPoint visuals covering presentation training topics, specifically:

• How to illustrate presentation structure and content types on a slide
• Visualizing speaker and listener types
• Presenting various meeting room setups
• How to show hints for preparing speech and presentation itself
• Closing the presentation training with a recap and summary slide

Whether you are a professional communication trainer or a beginner, I believe you can find some handy examples.

Note: All slide examples are from the Presentation Skills Training PPT Toolbox . Click the pictures to see details.

We’re talking a lot here about presentation content, right visualizations, showing concepts… Let’s get back tot he roots and recall the very basics of high-quality presentation and how it should look like.

Words are the most powerful drug used by mankind. Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling was right that words are a very powerful tool, however, if used and delivered effectively. Let’s break down some theories into short sections.

#1: Illustrating Presentation Structure by Drawing

In my presentation experience, I see usually those 3 most popular kinds of structures: classical 3-part, monotonous and ‘Hollywood-movie’ style. When you explain such structures, I suggest you draw a simple diagram like the one above. Either on a flipchart or if you want to have materials prepared before, then make a slide with those speech flow diagrams.

You can either show them all together on one slide for comparison or put each on a separate slide. This way you will get attention and focus on one presentation type at a time.

For discovering more tips for structuring presentations I recommend checking Nancy Duarte’s blog series:  Structure Your Presentation Like a Story and her book Resonate.

4MAT – My Favorite Presentation Structure

Out of various speech structures, I like the most the 4MAT concept. It is pretty simple and works for me.

I suggest that when you create a presentation, ask yourself those four questions. Those are questions listeners have in their heads when they listen to you.

Using the 4MAT framework helps me to see things from the viewpoint of my audience and be sure listeners will get their ideas right.

#2: Explore Presentations by Content

It’s obvious the presentation content defines the presentation type. However, it’s good to remind yourself what’s the goal of the presentation – to inspire or to entertain only? Do you want to persuade your audience of your idea or only to inform, to give a report?

Some examples:

• For inspiring presentations: Talks on TED.com are the best examples. Or check one of Elon Musk’s speeches on the Mars Mission .  Politicians use this presentation to type a lot
• Informative presentations are usually used when you do a project summary report or yearly business review. Unfortunately, lots of school lectures fall into this category, even though the teachers should work on moving towards an inspiring segment with a bit of entertainment to keep kids attention.
• For persuasive presentations just think of the last sales or marketing presentation you experienced.
• For entertainment – check out any stand-up comedy talks, for example, this (being a father I really appreciate that later talk).
• A mixture of entertainment and information is e.g. famous John Oliver show

You have to make sure that your speech is relevant to the audience you’re speaking to.

#3: Analyze the Speaker Types

When teaching about properly preparing a talk, you need to consider also different speaker types classification. I put here four kinds of presenters: a typical talkative salesman style, an analyst type who likes to go into details (sometimes too much), a monotonous teacher style (that would need a point of wake up) and an involving storyteller. However, you can think of other examples based on your experience.

Depending on the particular speaker type, you can use its strong sides to build the presentation differently and also support it with proper visuals. For instance, for a talkative salesman, the agenda slides can provide a structure to follow. On the other hand, a too much detailed analyst on lengthy teacher talk can benefit from having a strong visual section slides that will wake up your audience.

#4: Analyze the Listener Groups

Knowing the speaker type is one thing. However, even more, important is to examine the audience carefully to reach them best.

Every presenter should ask first “Who are my listeners”? Do they prefer a formal or informal way of communication? Are they feelers or thinkers (see MBTI types of personality )? Will the audience be active or rather passive during the talk?

When doing a presentation training, you should address this key question. And what is the better way than to illustrate it e.g. by a set of icons?

In my slides, I added there also a hand drawn chart where you can position the major listeners’ types. Then you can place and move around the central circle to show various audience cases on a knowledge and involvement scale.

In a training, you can include a similar chart (or apply those presentation training diagram slides ) for determining the audience type.

#5: Room set up – the importance of the presentation environment

After talking about the presentation audience and speaker types, a good presenter should think also about the place where the talk will take place. Choosing a suitable environment is an important factor for the effective delivery of the speech.

I distinguish here five common kinds of room setups: classroom, multiple groups environment, interactive roundtable, big theater and sitting in a circle. Each one suits a different purpose. Some of these you need to arrange before, of course, you will know if you speak at a big conference that there will likely be a theater-like room. However, sometimes even a small change of sitting arrangements can provide a totally different atmosphere for a speech.

• Classroom setup assumes rather one-directional communication from teacher to students.
• Roundtable or sitting in a circle encourages discussion and underlines equality of all participants.
• Having clusters of multiple groups is great if you want to have several teams working on some group work.

#6: Presenting Hints for Speech Preparation

If you want to add a list of things to remember before making a presentation, I suggest you try to illustrate each point with some image, as I did above. This creates a better mnemonic association for each point and people will remember the hints longer. Even better, replace the bullet points with a vivid diagram along with keeping the icons.

#7: Presenting Summary of the Training

At the end of the training, remember to repeat the main message once again. Present the main conclusion, and give your audience something to think about. You can write it down on a slide clearly, without too many distractions. Or write it by hand on a board or flipchart.

Resources for Presentation Training

Besides the links I shared above I recommend those further reading and resources

• Toastmasters International public speaking clubs all over the world
• Books: Slide:ology Nancy Duarte and Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds
• Our PowerPoint Training templates for various soft-skills training, see details below.
• Feedback Training Presentation Hints 
• Motivation Training Presentation Template & Ideas

So if you’re having training on how to create and deliver a presentation, you can reuse slides from our collection in your projects. Or just get inspiration from my slides and create them yourself.

If you decide to go for our hand-drawn style diagrams, you will be able to easily edit all content, adapt the colors to your brand, and add the whole slides or particular charts to your training presentation.

For more inspiration, subscribe to our YouTube channel:

Graphics resource: Presentation skills training toolbox

You can also check the presentation template we’ve designed with illustrations of types of speakers or presentation structures:

Presentation Skills Training Toolbox

If you like such scribble style, see the complete All Scribble Symbols Bundle , with over 250 handwritten hand-drawn symbols and shapes.

About the author: Peter Zvirinsky is a slide design trainer and the founder of infoDiagram. He is helping presenters, trainers and various business managers to communicate their ideas in clear visual way usually in form of PowerPoint slides. Peter loves changing text information into simple diagrams and he wants to inspire also others to use this visualization process in everyday life. Reach out to Peter on LinkedIn or via his slide design & training website.

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Chief Diagram Designer, infoDiagram co-founder View all posts by Peter Z

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Top 10 tips to create effective elearning presentations and slideshows.

How To Create Effective eLearning Presentations and Slideshows

Each eLearning deliverable, regardless of the learning objective, in order to be effective has to be as interactive, immersive, and engaging as possible. Fortunately, there are now a variety of presentation and slideshow creation tools that can help you to produce amazing and effective eLearning presentations and slideshows for your learners. I highly encourage you to use the following eLearning presentation and slideshows tips in order to take full advantage of them.

• Map out your strategy in advance. Before you dive into the creation process, it's always wise to map out your entire eLearning presentation or slideshow. Develop a plan for each page and decide which elements you are going to include. You may want to consider developing a mind map or storyboard to help you with this process. Determine the flow and pace of the eLearning presentation or slideshow, so that you can design the eLearning experience around this structure. Keep in mind that organization is key when creating eLearning presentations, as it will allow you to stay on-topic and only include elements that are absolutely necessary.
• Always focus on the learning goals. Always be aware of the learning objectives , so that you can custom tailor every aspect of the eLearning presentation to help learners get one step closer to achieving their primary goal. For example, prior choosing the ideal graphics to incorporate, decide whether or not that particular element is going to serve your learning objectives. If you haven't already figured out your learning objectives, then you may want to read the Use Perfect Learning Objectives To Boost The Quality of your e-Learning article, which highlights the basics of objective creation and implementation.
• Text should be concise, clear, and carefully crafted. The text you include in your presentation or slideshow should be succinct and clear. Having lengthy paragraphs and run-on sentences will only distract or bore the learners. Consider adding bullet points if there is a great deal of text, or omit certain pieces of information that may be irrelevant. Also, if you are narrating the presentation, try not to include text for topics or ideas that you have already verbally presented, unless of course it's a key point that needs to be stressed. You may find valuable the 4 Tips To Choose The Right Text For Your eLearning Course article that shares invaluable tips on how you can choose the right text to make a good first impression.
• Use high quality, relevant images. Choose high quality images and photos for your eLearning presentation in order to make it more engaging and immersive. However, remember that the images you use should be relevant to the topic-at-hand. In other words, don't just use graphics for the sake of using graphics. Also, be picky about the images you incorporate, and don't use too many on any one particular page. Last, but certainly not least, always ensure that you own the rights to the photo or that you opt for royalty free images. If you need help to select the ideal visuals, so that you can develop eLearning content that is both informative and immersive, I highly encourage you to read the 7 Tips To Choose Images And Graphics For Your eLearning Course article.
• Keep colors, branding, and overall design consistent throughout. In terms of aesthetic appeal , few things are worse than an eLearning presentation that looks like its parts were just pieced together. In other words, the slides of your eLearning slideshow shouldn’t look as though they have been designed by different individuals. Cohesive eLearning design is a vital aspect of your eLearning slideshow or presentation as it helps learners from becoming confused. So, make sure that the colors, fonts, branding, and overall design of the project flows well and is consistent throughout the presentation or slideshow. Also, the design should effectively reflect your brand's image and message.
• Include audio or video to create a more immersive experience. Audio or video integration is ideal, especially if you are trying to make your eLearning presentation more dynamic and interactive. Narration, background music, and video explanations are all examples of multimedia tools that you can (and should) use. Some say that videos hold the future of eLearning . If you would like to know how to effectively use videos in eLearning, I highly encourage you to read the 10 Tips To Effectively Use Videos in eLearning article.
• Embed links to references and resources. Including links to articles, reference sites, and other web resources can give you the opportunity to expand the learning experience of your learners beyond the eLearning presentation. Rather than making the learners scour the web for these resources, you can direct them to specific sites that they may find helpful.
• Integrate real life examples. Real life examples, such as those that your learners will encounter on the job, allow them to relate to the content. They also help them to see the value of the eLearning experience, given that they are made aware of exactly how to utilize the knowledge or skills acquired in the real world. This gives them added motivation to pay attention and absorb the information you are offering through the presentation.
• Limit the amount of time spent on each slide. Don't spend more than 20 to 30 seconds on each page or slide. You want the eLearning presentation or slideshow to move along at a steady pace, rather than remain stagnant on a specific screen. This way, learners keep staying focus and engaged rather than get bored. Also, try to focus on one core topic or idea for each screen, if at all possible, as this can help to avoid cognitive overload .
• Don't forget about recaps and self assessments. Even though an eLearning presentation may not be a full course, it's still important to include recaps or self-assessments to ensure that the learners are acquiring and retaining the information. For example, you can add a recap screen after every ten slides in order to summarize the concepts, or have them complete a self assessment quiz at the end of the slideshow. This will also help them to commit the information to their long-term memory, rather than forgetting about it as soon as they click away from the presentation.

Finding the slideshow and presentation creation tool that is just right for you and your instructional design needs is key. As such, when searching for the ideal program, you'll want to ensure that it offers the features and creative control you want and the usability you need. If you'd like to learn more about slideshows in eLearning, the 5 Best Free Slideshow Presentation and Creation Tools article is a must read. This article highlights the 5 best free slideshow and presentation creation tools and also features an explanation of how to use each tool, giving you the opportunity to take full advantage of each design program.

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Effective Business Presentations with Powerpoint

This course is part of Data Analysis and Presentation Skills: the PwC Approach Specialization

Taught in English

Some content may not be translated

Instructor: Alex Mannella

Financial aid available

101,745 already enrolled

(1,059 reviews)

Skills you'll gain

• Data Analysis
• Communication
• Presentation Design
• Presentation

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There are 4 modules in this course

This course is all about presenting the story of the data, using PowerPoint. You'll learn how to structure a presentation, to include insights and supporting data. You'll also learn some design principles for effective visuals and slides. You'll gain skills for client-facing communication - including public speaking, executive presence and compelling storytelling. Finally, you'll be given a client profile, a business problem, and a set of basic Excel charts, which you'll need to turn into a presentation - which you'll deliver with iterative peer feedback.

This course was created by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP with an address at 300 Madison Avenue, New York, New York, 10017.

Preparing a Presentation

This course is about presenting the story of the data, using PowerPoint. You'll learn how to structure a presentation and how to include insights and supporting data. You'll also learn some design principles for creating effective PowerPoint slides with visuals displaying data. Though application based exercises, you'll gain foundational communication skills - including public speaking, professional presence and compelling storytelling. Finally, you'll be given a client profile, a business problem, and a set of basic Excel charts, that you will use to create a presentation. You’ll receive peer feedback that you can use to enhance future presentations. This course was created by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP with an address at 300 Madison Avenue, New York, New York, 10017

What's included

13 videos 5 readings 1 quiz 5 discussion prompts

13 videos • Total 47 minutes

• Welcome to Course 4 • 2 minutes • Preview module
• Welcome to Week 1 • 3 minutes
• The eight-step approach to prepare for a presentation • 3 minutes
• Step 1 - Know your audience and Step 2 - Know your purpose • 6 minutes
• Step 3 - Structure the body of your presentation • 7 minutes
• Step 4 - Plan how you will start your presentation • 3 minutes
• Step 5 - Plan how you will end your presentation • 2 minutes
• Step 6 - Prepare your visual aids • 3 minutes
• Step 7 - Anticipate the questions you may be asked • 6 minutes
• Step 8 - Practice your presentation • 3 minutes
• Presenting on short notice • 3 minutes
• Week 1 Closing • 1 minute
• A Message from our Chief People Officer at PwC • 0 minutes

5 readings • Total 50 minutes

• Course Overview and Syllabus • 10 minutes
• Meet the PwC Instructors • 10 minutes
• Case Study and Materials • 10 minutes
• Outlining and Wireframing • 10 minutes
• The eight-step approach to prepare for a presentation • 10 minutes

1 quiz • Total 30 minutes

• Week 1 Quiz • 30 minutes

5 discussion prompts • Total 50 minutes

• Meet Your Classmates • 10 minutes
• How do you get to know your audience? • 10 minutes
• When do you field questions during a presentation? • 10 minutes
• Preparing for a presentation on short notice • 10 minutes
• When is it appropriate to change the order of the eight-step approach? • 10 minutes

Communication styles

This week, we will be covering the different types of communications styles. You’ll start off by gaining an understanding of your personal professional presence and learn how to maximize it. You’ll learn about verbal and nonverbal communications, and strategies to enhance your questioning and listening skills. We will also discuss how differences in culture can impact how you communicate.

9 videos 1 reading 1 quiz 1 discussion prompt

9 videos • Total 67 minutes

• Introduction to Week 2 • 1 minute • Preview module
• Maximizing your professional presence • 12 minutes
• Communicating with confidence • 3 minutes
• Verbal communications • 5 minutes
• Non-verbal communications • 6 minutes
• Cultural Considerations in Communication • 7 minutes
• Culture and Presentations • 19 minutes
• Questioning and listening skills • 8 minutes
• Week 2 Closing • 1 minute

1 reading • Total 10 minutes

• Tip Sheet: Communicating with confidence • 10 minutes
• Week 2 Quiz • 30 minutes

1 discussion prompt • Total 10 minutes

• How do verbal and non-verbal communications impact your message? • 10 minutes

Creating effective slides using PowerPoint

This week, we're discussing how to create effective slides using PowerPoint. You’ll learn about the tools available within PowerPoint, how to structure your storyline, create storyboards, identify primary elements of slide design, display data and finalize your slide presentation. There is a peer review activity where you will apply the skills learned and create a storyboard. Finally, you will also get a chance to identify errors in a presentation to test your knowledge of standard industry practices.

9 videos 5 readings 2 quizzes 1 peer review 2 discussion prompts

9 videos • Total 49 minutes

• Introduction to Week 3 • 2 minutes • Preview module
• Introduction to PowerPoint (2013) • 13 minutes
• What type of deck should you use? • 3 minutes
• Structure your storyline • 9 minutes
• Creating a storyboard • 5 minutes
• Primary elements of slide design • 2 minutes
• Displaying data • 5 minutes
• Finalizing your deck • 6 minutes
• Week 3 Closing • 1 minute
• PowerPoint Practice Activity • 10 minutes
• Types of logic • 10 minutes
• Tip Sheet: Storyboarding • 10 minutes
• Slide writing guide • 10 minutes
• Tip Sheet: Displaying data • 10 minutes

2 quizzes • Total 60 minutes

• Identifying errors in a deck exercise • 30 minutes
• Week 3 Quiz • 30 minutes

1 peer review • Total 60 minutes

• Create a storyboard in PowerPoint • 60 minutes

2 discussion prompts • Total 20 minutes

• What other tools have you used to create a presentation? • 10 minutes
• What experiences do you have using cloud based presentation tools? • 10 minutes

Delivering a presentation

This week, you’re going to build and deliver a presentation to your peers, and receive feedback from them. You will create a presentation of about 10 slides, employing the guidelines and industry best practices that have been discussed in this course. You can use the presentation storyboard that you created last week, which your peers have reviewed and given you feedback on. Review what you’ve developed so far, and make changes or additions that you think will enhance the presentation. Once you’ve finalized your presentation, you will present it in a video using your smartphone or computer. Once you’re satisfied with the PowerPoint presentation and video, you will be submitting both for peer review. You can use this feedback for current and future presentations that you will make during your career.

2 videos 2 readings 1 quiz 1 peer review

2 videos • Total 4 minutes

• Introduction to Week 4 • 2 minutes • Preview module
• Week 4 and Course Wrap-Up • 1 minute

2 readings • Total 20 minutes

• Final course simulation • 10 minutes
• Best tips for recording your own video • 10 minutes
• Simulation Validation Quiz • 30 minutes
• Delivering your final presentation • 60 minutes

Instructor ratings

We asked all learners to give feedback on our instructors based on the quality of their teaching style.

With offices in 157 countries and more than 208,000 people, PwC is among the leading professional services networks in the world. Our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We help organisations and individuals create the value they’re looking for, by delivering quality in assurance, tax and advisory services.

Recommended if you're interested in Business Essentials

Data Analysis and Presentation Skills: the PwC Approach

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Data Visualization with Advanced Excel

Data Analysis and Presentation Skills: the PwC Approach Final Project

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Learner reviews

Showing 3 of 1059

1,059 reviews

Reviewed on May 11, 2020

Good course, approach to build presentations is great, but a little lack of more deep dive into technical side of building nice looking pptx

Reviewed on Apr 24, 2020

Very Good Course, I have learnt many from this course, it's useful for my type of job. I have recommended to friends about this course.

Reviewed on Jul 6, 2020

This course was interesting to understand verbal and non verbal skills. Furthermore it helps to have an scketch to prepare a successful presentation

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Frequently asked questions

When will i have access to the lectures and assignments.

Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:

The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.

The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.

What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?

When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.

What is the refund policy?

If you subscribed, you get a 7-day free trial during which you can cancel at no penalty. After that, we don’t give refunds, but you can cancel your subscription at any time. See our full refund policy Opens in a new tab .

Is financial aid available?

Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

More questions

Training Presentation Example

Are you training a team of new recruits to your company? Or delivering a webinar on a topic in your industry? To pull off a training session, webinar, or coaching session effectively, you’ll need an organized presentation as a visual aid.

A good training presentation can provide structure to your speech and boost your confidence as a presenter. It can also deliver your message efficiently, and stick with your audience long after your presentation is over.

Use our training presentation template to:

• Present information simply and logically
• Help you stay focused on your speech
• Motivate, inspire, or inform your audience

Customize Your Training Presentation Template

Structuring your training presentation properly and including the right slides are both important. Illustrate your points by using graphics like bullet lists, pictographs, bar charts, images, and more. Each of these options can be added to your training presentation template in an instant. We reviewed the best training presentation examples and here are the recommended slides to include:

Pro Tips for Creating Your Training Presentation

Here are tips from our favorite training presentation examples.

Does your presentation inform, inspire, persuade, or entertain? Tailor your speech according to your goals.

Make sure you add an introduction in the beginning of your presentation. Explain why you’re speaking on the topic to build your audience’s confidence and trust.

Will your audience want to listen to your speech, or engage with it through questions and stories? Are they completely new to the presentation topic or will they be experts?

Before your training or webinar ends, leave your audience with a summary of your main message.

More Popular Templates

Dropbox Pitch Deck

You’ve likely used DropBox for saving and sharing files, but 13 years ago MIT students Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi were just hoping for a little funding to get their start-up off the ground. The initial pitch deck landed them their $1.2M seed round in 2007, though it left room for improvement. We recreated it in Beautiful.ai.

Peloton Pitch Deck

This Peloton pitch deck shows how simple presentations can persuade investors into action with simple, clean design.

Webinar Recap Presentation Template

Learn how Beautiful.ai’s webinar recap presentation template can act as a follow up for your audience to expand your reach after the webinar.

Trade Show Presentation Template

Learn how Beautiful.ai’s trade show presentation template can help teams take their exhibit to the next level and grab the attention of attendees.

Team Bulletin Presentation Template

Learn how Beautiful.ai’s team bulletin presentation template can help teams communicate important updates and stay connected.

KPI Marketing Report Template

Learn how Beautiful.ai’s KPI marketing report presentation can help your team identify strengths and weaknesses in your marketing strategy.

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Blog Training and Development

How to Create Engaging Training Materials with Visuals (+ 20 Templates & Examples)

By Sara Austin , Aug 09, 2022

In years past, HR or L&D departments handed their employees training materials laboriously created in Microsoft Word. These guides were too wordy and too boring. For the most part, employees never looked at them again after training was over.

Boring training materials are not memorable, and they don’t help your employees improve their performance.

Let’s look at how we can create more engaging training materials with visuals. You can then customize your own training documents using our easy-to-edit training templates and simple online editor.

Click to jump ahead:

What are training materials, why are training materials important, what is included in training materials.

• How do you write training materials?
• Training materials templates

Training materials FAQ

Training materials are digital or printed content of a training program. These can be used for student or employee training and development — but in the context of this blog post I’ll be discussing business/corporate training materials only.

Training materials come in different formats ( which I’ll discuss in a minute ). Here’s an example of one:

Just so you know, some of our templates are free to use and some require a small monthly fee.  Sign up  is always free, as is access to Venngage’s online drag-and-drop editor.

Besides presentations, training materials can be infographics, checklists and more. This onboarding infographic guides managers on how to best onboard new hires remotely:

From onboarding to professional development , training materials play an essential role in human resource strategy. Well-designed training content can effectively communicate expectations, establish roles and responsibilities, and define processes and procedures. Let’s take a closer look at the role of training materials in your organization.

Return to Table of Contents

Whether your business is two employees or thousands, training materials are an invaluable resource. Organizations need training content of all kinds: training materials for leadership development, training plans for up-skilling employees, customer service training materials to teach phone skills, or even training materials for trainers.

Related : Employee Training: Definition, Benefits & Visual Aids

Training materials are essential for:

1. Establishing best practices

Creating consistency in processes and procedures is essential for helping businesses scale. Your training materials will help to define the best practices for your organization.

2. Defining roles and responsibilities

Your training materials can help your team to understand what their job is and what is expected of them. And, because you have established your training materials as the single source of truth on these roles and responsibilities, both you and they can refer to this resource as needed.

3. Improving employee performance

You can’t expect employees to hit a target that you haven’t defined. Your training materials are a great place to determine what exemplary performance looks like, as well as to articulate avenues for professional development.

Related :  How to Easily Create Job Aids That Improve Employee Performance

4. Improving compliance

In addition to procedures and practices, organizations are also governed by rules. Providing a clear articulation of an organization’s rules and governing regulations establishes an expectation of compliance and outlines the potential consequences of ignoring these rules.

Training materials for your organization could include everything from presentations, manuals to job aids and more.

Here are some of the most common types of training materials you might use for your organization:

• Presentations : They use graphics and words to deliver information. No need for Death by PowerPoint, Venngage has awesome presentation templates that are easy to customize for your organization.
• Checklists : Lists are used to organize sets of information, from a checklist of tasks to a directory of phone numbers . Why not make it attractive enough to keep on the wall?
• Worksheets or Workbook: They can serve one of two purposes: to collect information or help with making calculations.
• Exercises or Activities
• Procedures Documents : They provide sequential explanations for how to perform work-related tasks and functions. Make them pretty and functional enough and your employees might even use them in the future.
• Course Outline
• Forms and Self-Assessments

Related: Learning and Development 101: How to Get Started [With Visual Tips and Templates]

How do you create training materials?

Developing effective training materials is as much of a science as it is an art. To present information effectively, you have to know how to capture your audience’s attention and give them information that is easy to understand and remember.

Here are some of our best tips for how to prepare training materials that deliver real results.

1. Know your audience and write for them

You can’t communicate effectively without knowing who your audience is.

For corporate training materials, you’re mainly presenting information to your colleagues. If they’re from the same department as yours, chances are they already understand most of the jargons, so you won’t need to refrain from using those.

However, if you’re developing training materials for coworkers from a different department, or for new hires — make sure you scrutinize for technical/industry language. Which brings us to our next point…

2. Use accessible, approachable language

The best practice is to write your training materials to be understood at the 7th to 8th-grade level. Don’t use overly big words. The wisest training content creators know that the goal is to inform, not impress.

Of course, you should also know to use jargons where they fit. If your audience is already used to using a certain amount of technical language, they’ll process those words more easily than simpler (or oversimplified) terms.

3. Keep it short

Punch up your training material by keeping it short and visually impactful. Too many words on a page dilute your message. Focus on the most important stuff and toss out the rest.

This is especially important for handouts or worksheets, which are two very popular types of training resources. Your colleagues rely on these documents as a memory refresher, so it’s best to keep them to the point and memorable.

4. Break it up

When you do have a larger quantity of information to share, chunk it out into smaller chunks using headers and graphics to break up the flow. This job aid makes the most use of illustrations to guide readers through how the company’s internal processes work:

If you need some guidelines on how to summarize your content, check out our post: How to Summarize Information and Present it Visually

5. Proofread it, read it, and share it

Make sure you carefully check your presentation for spelling and grammar. Many trainers will tell you that having a typo in their presentation will end up being the only thing the participants take from it. Don’t let that be your fate.

Related: Storyline: A Starter Guide to Creating Engaging Visual Training Courses

Training material examples and templates

Venngage has created training material examples and templates to help you get started. These easy-to-use templates make training content creation a breeze. Let’s take a look.

Soft skills training material templates

Sharing large amounts of information can be a real design challenge. These soft skills templates provide great examples of how to organize and present lots of information in a one pager .

Healthcare training material examples

The ability to communicate effectively can make or break an HR department. A healthcare organization’s most valuable asset is its people, so taking care of employees is an important job. Knowing how to prepare training materials will make you more effective as a leader, a manager and a mentor.

Marketing training material templates

If you had to summarize the information contained in this matrix in a few words, what would you say? A visually engaging, intuitively designed matrix can help you organize complex, multi-factored information. At a glance, your audience will be able to find out what they need to know.

Emotional intelligence training material examples

You can use graphics and words to tell a compelling story. Training materials that provide an at-a-glance snapshot of complex topics are easier to understand and the learning is more likely to stick.

Diversity and inclusion training material templates

Organizations often develop their own ways of talking about what they do. However, what may be familiar and commonplace to you may be strange to new team members. These templates are great for supporting diversity and building a common language in your organization.

Safety training material examples

Why ask your employees to keep track of safety procedures and responsibilities when you can create training materials that are functional and informative? Checklist templates are great for summarizing safety information.

Sales training material templates

Process, process, process, am I right? Organizations need to provide their employees with training materials that clearly articulate processes and procedures. These templates will help you establish a single source of truth for organizational processes and procedures.

Customer service training material examples

When it comes to the fundamentals, you don’t have to overwhelm people with everything you know. These templates do a great job of using graphics, colors, and font sizes to present important information.

Leadership training material templates

Being a leader takes a special set of skills that don’t happen by accident. Empower the leaders in your organization by creating high-impact, relevant, and instructive training guides.

HR training material examples

The majority of Human Resources departments are responsible for the training and development of employees across departments. This is a huge lift! When the need for training is great, the need for great training materials becomes even greater. If you can communicate your message effectively the first time, you increase retention and improve employee’s chances of success.

Related :  Microlearning: A Pathway to Effective Training Retention and Behavioral Change

1. How can I develop more effective training materials?

Here are some tips to help you make more effective training materials:

• Tell some stories

Stories are a way to bring your training to life by engaging your audience’s empathetic imagination.

Telling real-world stories helps to improve audience buy-in. Not only will they be invested in it, but they’ll also remember it.

• Don’t talk down to your audience

Take the time to understand what your audience knows about the topic and meet them there. If you misjudge them, you will come across as condescending. Not a good look.

• Don’t explain things your training population doesn’t need to know

What’s the “need to know?” Don’t clutter up your training materials with stuff that doesn’t need to be there. Be intentional in your design choices to make sure what you present is relevant and necessary.

• Rules on jargon

Try not to use jargon that could be unfamiliar to some or all of your audience. If it helps, have a peer who doesn’t do the job read your materials. They can help you identify jargon or other unclear terms.

• If you feel that adding jargon is essential, you should always define it for your audience

Either way, you must be consistent in your language and use the same term to mean the same thing throughout your training materials. This helps you create a shared language.

2. How can I create engaging training materials?

While you must certainly know your audience, in most cases, a little humor wouldn’t hurt. Sometimes, it can even help. Just be realistic about how funny you can get away with and take the high road. Not a time to be off-color or controversial. A joke or two about relatable problems in your industry, perhaps?

And finally, make it relevant. Have you ever found yourself absorb a new concept easily because it’s linked to something you already know? Or have you ever studied a theory much faster after doing several exercises based on it? This applies to training materials too. Come up with scenarios or exercises relevant to your colleagues’ day-to-day activities and this can reinforce their grasp of your training, making it more engaging and memorable.

You don’t have to be a designer to create engaging, high-impact training materials for your organization. With a little help from Venngage’s training material templates and easy-to-use editor, you can become a training content creator extraordinaire in no time.

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How to Create Slides That Suit Your Superiors: 11 Tips

When you’re pitching ideas or budgets to execs in your organization, you need to deliver slides that fit those particular people just right. This checklist identifies the key considerations.

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Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images

I recently interviewed 20 of my customers, all in senior roles at Fortune 100 companies, and asked them their biggest pain point in presenting to higher-ups and even colleagues. What I heard consistently was that it can feel like Goldilocks bouncing from one option to the next, testing to figure out what’s “just right.” Does the audience want deep reports? Sparse slides? Something in between? Like … what?

Teams often come to presentation meetings with vast amounts of backup content just in case an exec wants to take a deep dive on any given point. There’s often a struggle to anticipate every direction attendees might want to go. It’s frustrating, and it’s not efficient.

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There are many ways to build slides. I’m not just talking about crafting them well versus poorly. I’m talking about all of the important decisions regarding how to organize them, how much text to use, when to lean into a chart, the best ways to use bullets and color, and whether to include an appendix with additional information. Before you make your next proposal or request of the executive team, use this list of 11 tips for your next set of slides as a guide.

Four Things You Must Have in Every Exec’s Slides

Before we drill down into the harder aspects, the ones where your executives’ tastes may vary widely, let’s quickly cover four aspects that you can consider the building blocks — the basics you should never proceed without.

Start with an executive summary. Begin the slide deck with a tight executive summary that follows a three-act structure. First, start with stating the current realities. Second, clearly state the problem or opportunity your idea addresses and its potential impact. Third, explain how your recommendation solves the problem or exploits the opportunity and the next steps you’re proposing.

Have a logical organization. The arc of the deck — the package from beginning to end — should make sense. If your audience reads only the headline of every slide, the order should be coherent and make most of the case for you. The content below each slide’s headline must support the statement made in the title. Remove everything that doesn’t support your point; as writers will tell you, you sometimes need to “kill your darlings” when you’re editing.

Begin the slide deck with a tight executive summary that follows a three-act structure.

Make it skimmable. Help your audience to quickly grasp the point without getting bogged down in details. Create a clear visual hierarchy. Guide the reader’s eye through the content: Use bold headings, bullet points, and numbered lists to break down information into digestible pieces. Highlight key takeaways or conclusions in a different color or font size to draw attention to these critical points.

Focus on concise insights. Succinct statements with clear insights are everyone’s jam. Every slide should serve a purpose and contribute directly to the decision-making process. Distill complex information. Don’t use 100 words when 20 words will nail it. If you’re having difficulty trimming, consider using company-approved AI tools to help you take out the fluff.

Five Preferences to Confirm With the Person You Want to Reach

Now we’ll delve into what your particular audience does and does not want. If you haven’t yet, start by asking the person you’re presenting to what they generally prefer. They probably know themselves well but have not been asked to articulate how they like to receive information.

Ask how dense is too dense. Some executives prefer detailed slides with comprehensive data. Others favor a more high-level approach. You’re weighing how to balance informative content with readability, ensuring that slides are not overloaded yet are sufficiently detailed to support decision-making.

Confirm the delivery format and timing. Some execs like information presented to them. Others prefer a pre-read of the material followed by a discussion. I always recommend our tool Slidedocs (I’ve written a free e-book on them), which are visual documents using both words and images. The templates help presenters organize their thoughts into a document for a pre-read or a read-along. They are designed to be skimmable and able to travel through your organization without the help of a presenter.

I’m a huge fan of pre-reads and prefer to use my time in meetings to ask questions and build alignment. If your audience didn’t review your material in advance, ask at the top of the meeting whether they would like you to present it or would prefer to read through it and then discuss it.

Find out how much data visualization they prefer. Charts, graphs, photos, and illustrations often communicate complex data more clearly than words alone. When execs can see what you’re saying, they often can better understand the impact of your idea. Does the exec want to understand exact numbers? Bar charts allow them to move their eyes across a series of specifics. Does the exec want to know the shape of a trend over time? Line charts can show the pattern. (See “Classic Charts Communicate Data Quickly.”) Some prefer charts with annotations that draw attention to what you think is the most important point. Others want to make their own conclusions from the data.

One of my clients, the CEO of a massive commercial real estate company, doesn’t want anything visualized. He prefers numbers, only in a table, and only in two colors — black and red. You might think this is archaic. But the fact that he’s clear to his teams about what he wants takes all the mystery out of how to communicate with him.

When the stakes are high, have a conceptual thinker help with diagrams and concepts. If you don’t have one on your team, and when it’s high stakes, find an internal designer to help you or hire one. You can’t afford to have the baby (your idea) thrown out with the bathwater (terrible slides).

Identify which details need spelling out. How well do the people you’re presenting to know the landscape and function of the company and products you’re talking about? For example, if your engineering team threw a slide into a deck about an issue that requires executive approval, do the execs all speak geek? Or do you need to explain the technology so that they will really understand the ask? Either eliminate internal jargon and acronyms or unpack those bits, especially if your proposal deeply involves expertise outside of the executives’ domain.

Ask whether appendices will be useful. When you’re organizing a presentation, you often troll data, read through complicated reports, and even hire external experts to figure out what’s best for the company. Do your execs want access to that supporting data? You can add a document to the end of the presentation as an appendix to show all of the data and source material. This allows the main content of the slides to remain focused and accessible while still providing comprehensive background information for those who want more.

Two Tips to Improve Your Presentation Skills

Getting materials in place is the biggest step. They will be your best tools for selling your ideas. But there are two extra areas to pay attention to as a presenter: how you handle questions and how you use every experience to improve.

Anticipate questions, and practice your answers. Before you have your meeting, gather a small team to challenge every point you make. Invite colleagues you trust to role-play as “a rapidly inquisitive exec” or “the doubting naysayer exec” so you are prepared to present your idea well. They’re gonna grill you, and practicing will help you remain unruffled when it happens.

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Ask for feedback after the presentation. Establish a feedback loop with those you presented to. Ask what worked well and how you can improve. If attendees don’t have the time, find people who have had their ideas funded and talk to them about what they did that worked. Advice and some perspective will help you nail your performance even better next time.

Empathetically understanding your audience members and how they process information, whether it’s executives or peers, sets up your ideas for success. Clarity creates efficiency. When a presentation fits just right, you’ve given your great thinking the best chance of moving through your organization and having maximum impact.

About the Author

Nancy Duarte is CEO of Duarte Inc. , a communication company in the Silicon Valley. She’s the author of six books, including DataStory: Explain Data and Inspire Action Through Story (Ideapress Publishing, 2019).

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How to Put Together an Effective Training Presentation

Master the art of crafting powerful training presentations with proven tips and techniques. Learn to engage, educate, and inspire your audience for training success!

• Professional Skills

This is a guest article from Presentation Experts

Planning and executing a training presentation isn’t a simple feat. The best training sessions require experienced trainers, support from management, and impactful instruction methods.

Having put together coaching programs on presentation skills training , the Presentation Experts in London have several years of experience running training sessions. Whether you’re organizing a public speaking seminar or another form of skills training, here are our five top tips for putting together an impressive training presentation.

Clearly Articulate Your Training Goals

Before you even begin planning the training day, you should identify your goals. You’ll likely be working with another trainer and with management from the company you’re training at. Sit down with this team and go over what’s expected from your instruction. Aim to make your goals as specific and concrete as possible, too. If you’re running a public speaking course, then one of your goals could be having each person in the course give a two-minute presentation at the end.

Without a clear direction – and without all the planners on the same page – your training will fall flat. If attendees to your session don’t understand exactly what they’re supposed to get from this session, they will be significantly less engaged.

Make Your Training Memorable

When planning your training presentation, focus on making it memorable. At the Presentation Experts, we coach our trainees on making compelling business presentations . Your training session should be no different! Nobody who attends your session will learn anything if they forget about it within a few days.

Make the course fun for trainees by changing methods throughout the session. Will anyone retain anything if you speak behind a podium with a PowerPoint for 3 hours? Of course not. Break up the session into smaller chunks, focusing on different activities and learning styles. Not everyone absorbs information in the same way, so by switching up the format of the session, you’re likely to reach more people.

Help Trainees Build Self-Esteem

During the course, you should focus on building your participants’ self-esteem. They’re here to learn new skills, which means they’ve likely identified a weakness in themselves. As a result, they may not have much confidence to start off with.

Be encouraging throughout your training session, letting the trainees know that you’re there to support their learning. Ask people to participate in the activities you have lined up, the best way to build self-esteem.

Don’t force people to do something they really don’t want to, but gentle nudges outside their comfort zone will help your attendees recognize their own potential. When their self-confidence goes up, your trainees will want to implement the skills they learned outside of the training presentation.

Use the Perfect PowerPoint

A well-made PowerPoint can make or break your presentation. For a training session, use it to enhance your instructional activities. For optimal results, create an outline of your session before touching a single slide. You want your message to be clear before designing your PowerPoint template . You should also aim to keep it simple, with few or no animations, three to five bullets per slide, and one to two graphics per slide.

For an hour long presentation, about 20 to 30 slides are best. You can adjust the number based on the duration of your training session. To make your presentation stand out even more, you can consider using a Text-to-Image AI generator to create custom visuals for your slides. Always check your PowerPoint on your own computer first, looking for technical glitches. And don’t forget to rehearse your presentation with your slides, finding the best position for yourself to address your audience.

Give Handouts

Informational handouts can be a great way to help trainees retain the skills they’ve learned. Just like with PowerPoints, though, there’s a right way and a wrong way to do handouts. Firstly, make sure handouts are appropriate for your training topic. You don’t want to distribute materials that have no value for your trainees.

You should also make your handouts look as professional as possible, by printing on high-quality paper with full color (if you have the budget). Use headings and large type that’s easy to read, along with bullet points and graphics to illustrate. Leave enough white space on your handout so it doesn’t feel overstuffed with information. Ultimately, you want your handouts to be easy to read and quick to digest.

Final Thoughts on Putting Together an Effective Training Presentation

Keep these five top tips in mind for the next instructional session you plan. Whether it’s for your own company or you’re hired as a trainer for an external organization, these tips will be relevant for you. As a presentation agency in London, the Presentation Experts have been coaching organizations on presentation skills for several years.

We always incorporate these steps into each of our sessions, aiming to provide the best training experience possible. And if you stick to these tips, you can design a compelling training presentation too.

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Public speaking: presentation survival school, public speaking -speaking under pressure, advanced presentation skills, advanced presentation skills (corporate training), presenting with impact, conquering your fear of speaking in public, powerful presentation skills, free webinar: power to wow techniques for successful presentations, optimized public speaking skills, you might also be interested in:, capm or pmp - which certification should i go for.

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