what makes a good powerpoint presentation for students

Tips for Online Students , Tips for Students

Presentation Tips For Students – Show And Tell Like A Pro!

Updated: July 15, 2022

Published: May 4, 2020

Giving a presentation to fellow classmates can be a bit daunting, especially if you are new to oral and visual presenting. But with the right PowerPoint tips, public speaking skills, and plenty of practice, you can present like a pro at your upcoming presentation. Here, we’ve laid out the best college presentation tips for students. And once you have one successful presentation, you’ll get better each time!

The Best Presentation Tips for Students

1. arrive early and be technically prepared.

Get to the room early and make sure you leave plenty of time for technical set up and technical difficulties. Have several backup drives (including an online version if possible) so that you are prepared for anything!

2. Know More

Be educated on more than just what you are sharing. That way, you can add points, speak candidly and confidently, and be prepared to answer any audience or teacher questions.

3. Share Your Passion With Your Audience

Connect with your audience by showing that you are passionate about your topic. Do this with the right tone, eye contact, and enthusiasm in your speech.

Photo by  Austin Distel  on  Unsplash

4. pace yourself.

When student presenters are nervous, they tend to speed up their speech. This can be a problem, however, because your speed may be distracting, hard to understand, and you may run under your time.

5. Rehearse Thoroughly

Don’t just practice, rehearse your college presentation. Rehearse the entire delivery, including standing up, using gestures, and going through the slides.

6. Show Your Personality

You don’t need to be professional to the point of stiffness during your college presentation . Don’t be afraid to show your personality while presenting. It will make your presentation more interesting, and you will seem more approachable and confident.

7. Improvise

You can’t be 100% certain what will happen during your presentation. If things aren’t exactly as you expected, don’t be afraid to improvise and run off script.

8. Pump Yourself Up

Get yourself excited and full of energy before your college presentation! Your mood sets the tone for your presentation, and if you get excited right before, you will likely carry that throughout and you’ll make your audience excited about your topic as well.

9. Remember To Pause

Pausing not only only prevents filler words and helps you recollect your thoughts, it can also be a powerful indicator of importance within your presentation.

10. Create “Um” Alternatives

Try hard not to use filler words as they make you look unprofessional and uncertain. The best alternatives to “um” “like” and “so” are taking a breath or a silent pause to collect your thoughts.

11. Using Your Hands

Using your hands makes your college presentation more interesting and helps to get your points across. Point at the slide, use common hand gestures, or mimic a motion.

12. Eye Contact

Eye contact is one of the most important presentation tips for students . Many students are nervous, so they look at their notes or their feet. It is important that you show your confidence and engage your audience by making eye contact. The more presentations you give, the more eye contact will feel natural.

13. The Right Tone

The best public speakers vary their tone and pitch throughout their presentation. Try to change it up, and choose the right tone for your message.

Preparing an Effective College Presentation

1. open strong.

Grab your fellow students’ attention by starting strong with a powerful quote, intriguing scenario, or prompt for internal dialogue.

2. Start With A Mind Map

Mind mapping is literally creating a map of the contents of your college presentation. It is a visual representation and flow of your topics and can help you see the big picture, along with smaller details.

Photo by  Teemu Paananen  on  Unsplash

3. edit yourself.

Some students make the mistake of including too much information in their college presentations. Instead of putting all of the information in there, choose the most important or relevant points, and elaborate on the spot if you feel it’s necessary.

4. Tell A Story

People love stories — they capture interest in ways that figures and facts cannot. Make your presentation relatable by including a story, or presenting in a story format.

5. The Power Of Humor

Using humor in your college presentation is one of the best presentation tips for students. Laughter will relax both you and the audience, and make your presentation more interesting

PowerPoint Tips for Students

1. use key phrases.

Choose a few key phrases that remain throughout your PowerPoint presentation. These should be phrases that really illustrate your point, and items that your audience will remember afterwards.

2. Limit Number Of Slides

Having too many slides will cause you to feel you need to rush through them to finish on time. Instead, include key points on a slide and take the time to talk about them. Try to think about including one slide per one minute of speech.

3. Plan Slide Layouts

Take some time to plan out how information will be displayed on your PowerPoint. Titles should be at the top, and bullets underneath. You may want to add title slides if you are changing to a new topic.

Photo by  NeONBRAND  on  Unsplash

4. the right fonts.

Choose an easy-to-read font that isn’t stylized. Sans serif fonts tend to be easier to read when they are large. Try to stick to only two different fonts as well to keep the presentation clean.

5. Choosing Colors And Images

When it comes to colors, use contrasting ones: light on dark or dark on light. Try to choose a few main colors to use throughout the presentation. Choose quality images, and make sure to provide the source for the images.

6. Use Beautiful Visual Aids

Keep your presentation interesting and your audience awake by adding visual aids to your PowerPoint. Add captivating photos, data representations, or infographics to illustrate your information.

7. Don’t Read Straight From Your Notes

When you read straight from your notes, your tone tends to remain monotonous, you don’t leave much room for eye contact. Try looking up often, or memorizing portions of your presentation.

8. Avoid Too Much Text

PowerPoint was made for images and bullets, not for your entire speech to be written in paragraph form. Too much text can lose your adiences’ interest and understanding.

9. Try A Theme

Choosing the right theme is one of those presentation tips for students that is often overlooked. When you find the right theme, you keep your college presentation looking interesting, professional, and relevant.

10. Be Careful With Transitions And Animations

Animations and transitions can add a lot to your presentation, but don’t add to many or it will end up being distracting.

Public Speaking Tips for Students

1. choose your topic wisely.

If you are able to pick your topic, try to pick something that interests you and something that you want to learn about. Your interest will come through your speech.

2. Visit The Room Beforehand

If your presentation is being held somewhere outside of class, try to visit the location beforehand to prep your mind and calm your nerves.

3. Practice Makes Perfect

Practice, practice, practice! The only way you will feel fully confident is by practicing many times, both on your own and in front of others.

Photo by  Product School  on  Unsplash

4. talk to someone about anxiety.

If you feel anxious about your college presentation, tell someone. It could be a friend, family member, your teacher, or a counselor. They will be able to help you with some strategies that will work best for you.

5. Remind Yourself Of Your Audience

Remember, you are presenting to your peers! They all likely have to make a presentation too at some point, and so have been or will be in the same boat. Remembering that your audience is on your side will help you stay cool and collected.

6. Observe Other Speakers

Look at famous leaders, or just other students who typically do well presenting. Notice what they are doing and how you can adapt your performance in those ways.

7. Remind Yourself Of Your Message

If you can come up with a central message, or goal, of your college presentation, you can remind yourself of it throughout your speech and let it guide you.

8. Don’t Apologize

If you make a mistake, don’t apologize. It is likely that no one even noticed! If you do feel you need to point out your own mistake, simply say it and keep moving on with your presentation. No need to be embarrassed, it happens even to the best presenters!

When you smile, you appear warm and inviting as a speaker. You will also relax yourself with your own smile.

The Bottom Line

It can be nerve racking presenting as a college student, but if you use our presentation tips for students, preparing and presenting your college presentation will be a breeze!

Related Articles

Center for Teaching

Making better powerpoint presentations.

Print Version

Baddeley and Hitch’s model of working memory.

Research about student preferences for powerpoint, resources for making better powerpoint presentations, bibliography.

We have all experienced the pain of a bad PowerPoint presentation. And even though we promise ourselves never to make the same mistakes, we can still fall prey to common design pitfalls.  The good news is that your PowerPoint presentation doesn’t have to be ordinary. By keeping in mind a few guidelines, your classroom presentations can stand above the crowd!

“It is easy to dismiss design – to relegate it to mere ornament, the prettifying of places and objects to disguise their banality. But that is a serious misunderstanding of what design is and why it matters.” Daniel Pink

One framework that can be useful when making design decisions about your PowerPoint slide design is Baddeley and Hitch’s model of working memory .

As illustrated in the diagram above, the Central Executive coordinates the work of three systems by organizing the information we hear, see, and store into working memory.

The Phonological Loop deals with any auditory information. Students in a classroom are potentially listening to a variety of things: the instructor, questions from their peers, sound effects or audio from the PowerPoint presentation, and their own “inner voice.”

The Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad deals with information we see. This involves such aspects as form, color, size, space between objects, and their movement. For students this would include: the size and color of fonts, the relationship between images and text on the screen, the motion path of text animation and slide transitions, as well as any hand gestures, facial expressions, or classroom demonstrations made by the instructor.

The Episodic Buffer integrates the information across these sensory domains and communicates with long-term memory. All of these elements are being deposited into a holding tank called the “episodic buffer.” This buffer has a limited capacity and can become “overloaded” thereby, setting limits on how much information students can take in at once.

Laura Edelman and Kathleen Harring from Muhlenberg College , Allentown, Pennsylvania have developed an approach to PowerPoint design using Baddeley and Hitch’s model. During the course of their work, they conducted a survey of students at the college asking what they liked and didn’t like about their professor’s PowerPoint presentations. They discovered the following:

Characteristics students don’t like about professors’ PowerPoint slides

• Too many words on a slide
• Movement (slide transitions or word animations)
• Templates with too many colors

Characteristics students like like about professors’ PowerPoint slides

• Graphs increase understanding of content
• Bulleted lists help them organize ideas
• PowerPoint can help to structure lectures
• Verbal explanations of pictures/graphs help more than written clarifications

According to Edelman and Harring, some conclusions from the research at Muhlenberg are that students learn more when:

• material is presented in short phrases rather than full paragraphs.
• the professor talks about the information on the slide rather than having students read it on their own.
• relevant pictures are used. Irrelevant pictures decrease learning compared to PowerPoint slides with no picture
• they take notes (if the professor is not talking). But if the professor is lecturing, note-taking and listening decreased learning.
• they are given the PowerPoint slides before the class.

Advice from Edelman and Harring on leveraging the working memory with PowerPoint:

• Leverage the working memory by dividing the information between the visual and auditory modality.  Doing this reduces the likelihood of one system becoming overloaded. For instance, spoken words with pictures are better than pictures with text, as integrating an image and narration takes less cognitive effort than integrating an image and text.
• Minimize the opportunity for distraction by removing any irrelevant material such as music, sound effects, animations, and background images.
• Use simple cues to direct learners to important points or content. Using text size, bolding, italics, or placing content in a highlighted or shaded text box is all that is required to convey the significance of key ideas in your presentation.
• Don’t put every word you intend to speak on your PowerPoint slide. Instead, keep information displayed in short chunks that are easily read and comprehended.
• One of the mostly widely accessed websites about PowerPoint design is Garr Reynolds’ blog, Presentation Zen . In his blog entry:  “ What is Good PowerPoint Design? ” Reynolds explains how to keep the slide design simple, yet not simplistic, and includes a few slide examples that he has ‘made-over’ to demonstrate how to improve its readability and effectiveness. He also includes sample slides from his own presentation about PowerPoint slide design.
• Another presentation guru, David Paradi, author of “ The Visual Slide Revolution: Transforming Overloaded Text Slides into Persuasive Presentations ” maintains a video podcast series called “ Think Outside the Slide ” where he also demonstrates PowerPoint slide makeovers. Examples on this site are typically from the corporate perspective, but the process by which content decisions are made is still relevant for higher education. Paradi has also developed a five step method, called KWICK , that can be used as a simple guide when designing PowerPoint presentations.
• In the video clip below, Comedian Don McMillan talks about some of the common misuses of PowerPoint in his routine called “Life After Death by PowerPoint.”

• This article from The Chronicle of Higher Education highlights a blog moderated by Microsoft’s Doug Thomas that compiles practical PowerPoint advice gathered from presentation masters like Seth Godin , Guy Kawasaki , and Garr Reynolds .

Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story , by Jerry Weissman, Prentice Hall, 2006

Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery , by Garr Reynolds, New Riders Press, 2008

Solving the PowerPoint Predicament: using digital media for effective communication , by Tom Bunzel , Que, 2006

The Cognitive Style of Power Point , by Edward R. Tufte, Graphics Pr, 2003

The Visual Slide Revolution: Transforming Overloaded Text Slides into Persuasive Presentations , by Dave Paradi, Communications Skills Press, 2000

Why Most PowerPoint Presentations Suck: And How You Can Make Them Better , by Rick Altman, Harvest Books, 2007

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31 of the best class presentation tips for students

Katie September 20, 2022 communication , grades

By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed.

Giving class presentations is just part of the school experience. Some students dread presenting to their classmates, and others prefer class presentations to written assessments. If you’re new to this, or if you’re just looking for some ideas, I share my best class presentation tips for students in the post below. 

Class presentations often involve a visual component, and an audio and delivery component. The tips in this post are for class presentations that involve SLIDES, such as Google Slides or PowerPoint. Therefore, I break down the class presentation tips for students into the following categories:

• text and content
• Audio and delivery class presentation tips
• Bonus class presentation tips to up-level your game

Class presentation tips for VISUALS

The following tips will enhance the visual component of your school presentation. The strategies are further categorized by format, text, and images.

Class presentation tips for slide FORMAT 

The visual format of your presentation must be clear and easy to read.

1. Use a slide deck.

This class presentation tip is obvious, but I can’t leave it off the list. If you’re presenting to your fellow students, you will need some kind of visual representation of the information you’re delivering. Very rarely will you present to your class without slides. Google Slides and PowerPoint are the two primary products to make slides. 

2. Use the right number of slides.

Class presentations in high school and college will likely be 5 minutes or less. Follow your teacher’s guidelines, of course, but generally, students will use 1-2 slides per minute. (That would be 5-10 slides for a 5-minute presentation.)

3. Use an appropriate slide template and theme.

PowerPoint and Google Slides come with default slide templates (themes). Most of the default templates are suitable for class presentations, and so you should be fine choosing one of those. You can also find templates on the free version of Canva. I like slidesgo.com for free templates (it’s not sketchy – I’ve personally used it. I also like SlidesCarnival.com but you have to import the templates into Canva first, and then export them from Canva into Google Slides or PowerPoint. 

4. Use clear fonts.

Pick your font based on clarity, not creativity. Your audience should be able to read your text effortlessly and from the back of the classroom. Here are some rules:

• Avoid cursive / script fonts
• Avoid writing in all capital letters
• Avoid fonts that are entirely in italics (slanted)

5. Use a maximum of two fonts.

Stick to two fonts: one for headings and titles, and one for body text. More than two fonts make your slides hard to read.

6. Use 3-4 colors.

Stick to a basic color palette of no more than four colors. It’s fine to use images that are outside your color scheme, but besides images, avoid too many colors. Most default templates stick to four colors or less, so you’re safe if you use a pre-made template. 

7. Use high-contrast text-on-background combinations.

Your text needs to stand out from the background color. Black font on a white background or white font on a black background provides the highest contrast and best readability. This website here provides excellent information and examples about color combinations.

Class presentation tips for slide TEXT and CONTENT

8. start with a simple title slide..

Your teacher will likely require a title slide in the syllabus. Even if it’s not required, make one anyway. A title slide should be simple: the name of the presentation, your name, and a simple graphic or image. 

9. Include a roadmap slide.

A roadmap slide (I made up that term, but it works) is like a table of contents. It tells your classmates what they will learn from your presentation. Even if your presentation is only 6 slides long, a roadmap slide can be helpful. Below is an example. 

10. Include enough white space.

White space is the blank space that doesn’t contain text or images. White space is very important for readability. In the image below, you can see the impact white space has on readability. 

11. Use bullet points.

Whenever possible, use bullet points instead of complete sentences. Most slides should include no more than 5-6 bullet points. If you need to say more, continue the bullet points on another slide.

12. Leave some text off the slides.

Your slides should include minimal to moderate text that you will elaborate on during your class presentation. In other words, don’t cram the slides full of everything you want to share on the topic. The only exception to this rule is if you are not verbally presenting to the class, but are instead just sharing the slides with your classmates to view on their own.

13. Include examples.

Examples make most things clearer. When possible, include an example for all your main points. 

14. Include statistics and other quantitative information.

Use numbers in place of text when you can. Numbers and statistics can be easier for your audience to process. Example below:

• Instead of saying this: There is one-third as many Giant Pandas living in 2020 as there were in 2014.
• Say this: Giant Panda population in 2140 = 1864 | Giant Panda population in 2020 = 600 [ source ]

15. Include a summary slide

Consider adding a final summary slide to your class presentation. This is an excellent strategy because it will increase your audience’s understanding of your main points. The text on this slide should be in bullet-point format. The information on this slide might align with the information on your roadmap slide.

Class presentation tips for slide IMAGES

16. include an image or graphical element on each slide..

Every slide should have some kind of graphical element to complement the text. Some slides might even have an image and no text. (You would explain the image in your verbal presentation to the class.) Note: be sure to cite all images.

17. Use images / graphics for illustration and emphasis, not decoration .

Avoid using images for decoration. Images and graphics should do one of the following:

• Add something valuable to the text
• Illustrate the idea on the slide
• Represent the idea on the slide
• Emphasize an element of the slide (such as underlines, stars, etc.)

18. Resize and reformat images.

Resize images and graphics to fit the scale of your slide. It should be big enough to see clearly, but still allow for plenty of white space (Class Presentation Tip #10). You can remove the background of an image using a mobile app, or something like the paid version of Canva or PicMonkey. Again, be sure to cite your images.

19. Use video when appropriate.

If your presentation calls for it, include short video clips. Only use video if it adds value. 

20. Use icons for emphasis.

Use icons like stars, 3D shapes, speech bubbles, and arrows to emphasize important text. Keep these icons within your color scheme. You can find free icons within Google Slides and PowerPoint, or you can use Google Images or Canva.

21. Use graphs and charts.

Too much text is confusing. Too many images is boring. Solve this problem by using pie charts, bar graphs and other graphical ways of representing data.

Class presentation tips for SPEAKING

You might have the best slides in the class, but your presentation is not complete until you deliver it to your classmates. The following tips are for improving your audio and delivery.

22. Never read directly from the slides.

Use the slides as a reference, but don’t read word-for-word. How do you do this? First change to the next slide. Then look at it for cues. Next, speak directly to your classmates, making eye contact as your speak. It’s okay to glance back at the slide if you need to.

23. Face your audience.

Your body should always face the audience. Stand or sit either straight on, or at a 45-degree angle. Never have your body square to the presentation screen.

24. Explain the images.

When you present each slide, you should spend some time on the text and some time on the images. If your images add value (which they should), then this should be simple to do.

25. Speak slowly and clearly.

Speak slower than you naturally speak. Practice difficult words until they are smooth.

26. Use verbal transitions between topics.

When you change topics, use transition expressions such as “Next, we are going to look at …” or “Now, let’s move on to …”

27. Practice more than you want to.

Practicing your class presentation over and over improves your delivery and increases your confidence. Practice in front of the mirror, in front of others, or in front of your camera (to be watched later, of course).

Bonus class presentation tips for students: How to up-level your game 

The following bonus tips are for students looking to take their class presentations to the next level. Keep in mind that some of the ideas below are best suited for college and university students.

28. Provide a printed note-catcher.

An engaged audience is the best audience. To increase your classmates’ active focus, provide each student a printed note-catcher they can use to follow along with your presentation. PowerPoint and Google Slides both have features that enable you to print out your presentation with the slides on the left and space to take notes on the right. 

29. Ask questions and survey your classmates.

Another way to engage your audience is by asking them questions. You can build these questions into the slides themselves, or you can pause your presentation to ask questions before moving to a slide with the answers.

30. Use the Speaker Notes section .

The text on your slides should vary from the words you speak to your classmates during your presentation. Either you practice your presentation so much that you memorize it, or you use the Speaker Notes section on PowerPoint or Google Slides.

31. Open with a question, and close with an answer . 

A great class presentation tip for students is to open with a question you pose to your classmates at the beginning, and then close with the answer. You could put the question on its own opening slide and then close with another slide that re-poses the question and features the answer. 

For example, if you are presenting on Susan B. Anthony, your question could be Who was Susan B. Anthony? and the answer – which is the point of your presentation – could be Susan B. Anthony was one of America’s greatest champions for freedom and equality of women and slaves. College-level presentations would have more complex question-and-answer pairings than this example, but you get the idea.

Class presentation tips for students – summary notes

It’s important to follow your teacher’s requirements when creating your class presentation. Use these tips and strategies to maximize your grade, impression on the class, and your content delivery – but always consult your syllabus first. 

And finally, the greatest tip of all is to PRACTICE. In Tip #27 I emphasize the importance of practicing more than you want to. Watch TED talks and other notable speakers to see how smooth they speak – these presenters have practiced the same presentation hundreds of times. Practice is the key.

More resources

• How to ask for help in school: 4 tips for self-advocacy
• What to do when you’re confused in class
• 5 life skills all students need to be functional adults

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Blog > Tips for good PowerPoint Presentations

Tips for good PowerPoint Presentations

08.14.21   •  #powerpoint #tips.

If you know how to do it, it's actually not that difficult to create and give a good presentation.

That's why we have some examples of good PowerPoint presentations for you and tips that are going to make your next presentation a complete success.

1. Speak freely

One of the most important points in good presentations is to speak freely. Prepare your presentation so well that you can speak freely and rarely, if ever, need to look at your notes. The goal is to connect with your audience and get them excited about your topic. If you speak freely, this is much easier than if you just read your text out. You want your audience to feel engaged in your talk. Involve them and tell your text in a vivid way.

2. Familiarize yourself with the technology

In order to be able to speak freely, it is important to prepare the text well and to engage with the topic in detail.

However, it is at least as important to familiarize yourself with the location’s technology before your presentation and to start your PowerPoint there as well. It is annoying if technical problems suddenly occur during your presentation, as this interrupts your flow of speech and distracts the audience from the topic. Avoid this by checking everything before you start your talk and eliminate any technical problems so that you can give your presentation undisturbed.

• Don't forget the charging cable for your laptop
• Find out beforehand how you can connect your laptop to the beamer. Find out which connection the beamer has and which connection your laptop has. To be on the safe side, take an adapter with you.
• Always have backups of your presentation. Save them on a USB stick and preferably also online in a cloud.
• Take a second laptop and maybe even your own small projector for emergencies. Even if it's not the latest model and the quality is not that good: better bad quality than no presentation at all.

3. Get the attention of your audience

Especially in long presentations it is often difficult to keep the attention of your audience. It is important to make your presentation interesting and to actively involve the audience. Try to make your topic as exciting as possible and captivate your audience.

Our tip: Include interactive polls or quizzes in your presentation to involve your audience and increase their attention. With the help of SlideLizard, you can ask questions in PowerPoint and your audience can easily vote on their own smartphone. Plus, you can even get anonymous feedback at the end, so you know right away what you can improve next time.

Here we have also summarized further tips for you on how to increase audience engagement.

4. Hold eye contact

You want your audience to feel engaged in your presentation, so it is very important to hold eye contact. Avoid staring only at a part of the wall or at your paper. Speak to your audience, involve them in your presentation and make it more exciting.

But also make sure you don't always look at the same two or three people, but address everyone. If the audience is large, it is often difficult to include everyone, but still try to let your eyes wander a little between your listeners and look into every corner of the room.

5. Speaking coherently

In a good presentation it is important to avoid jumping from one topic to the next and back again shortly afterwards. Otherwise your audience will not be able to follow you after a while and their thoughts will wander. To prevent this, it is important that your presentation has a good structure and that you work through one topic after the other.

Nervousness can cause even the best to mumble or talk too fast in order to get the presentation over with as quickly as possible. Try to avoid this by taking short pauses to collect yourself, to breathe and to remind yourself to speak slowly.

6. Matching colors

An attractive design of your PowerPoint is also an important point for giving good presentations. Make sure that your slides are not too colorful. A PowerPoint in which all kinds of colors are combined with each other does not look professional, but rather suitable for a children's birthday party.

Think about a rough color palette in advance, which you can then use in your presentation. Colors such as orange or neon green do not look so good in your PowerPoint. Use colors specifically to emphasize important information.

To create good PowerPoint slides it is also essential to choose colors that help the text to read well. You should have as much contrast as possible between the font and the background. Black writing on a white background is always easy to read, while yellow writing on a white background is probably hard to read.

7. Slide design should not be too minimalistic

Even though it is often said that "less is more", you should not be too minimalistic in the design of your presentation. A presentation where your slides are blank and only black text on a white background is likely to go down just as badly as if you use too many colors.

Empty presentations are boring and don't really help to capture the attention of your audience. It also looks like you are too lazy to care about the design of your presentation and that you have not put any effort into the preparation. Your PowerPoint doesn't have to be overflowing with colors, animations and images to make it look interesting. Make it simple, but also professional.

8. Write only key points on the slides

If you want to create a good presentation, it is important to remember that your slides should never be overcrowded. Write only the most important key points on your slides and never entire sentences. Your audience should not be able to read the exact text you are speaking in your PowerPoint. This is rather annoying and leads to being bored quickly. Summarize the most important things that your audience should remember and write them down in short bullet points on your presentation. Then go into the key points in more detail in your speech and explain more about them.

9. Do not overdo it with animations

Do never use too many animations. It looks messy, confusing and definitely not professional if every text and image is displayed with a different animation. Just leave out animations at all or if you really want to use them then use them only very rarely when you want to draw attention to something specific. Make sure that if you use animations, they are consistent. If you use transitions between the individual slides, these should also always be kept consistent and simple.

10. Use images

Pictures and graphics in presentations are always a good idea to illustrate something and to add some variety. They help keep your audience's attention and make it easier to remember important information. But don't overdo it with them. Too many pictures can distract from your presentation and look messy. Make sure the graphics also fit the content and, if you have used several images on one slide, ask yourself if you really need all of them.

11. Choose a suitable font

Never combine too many fonts so that your presentation does not look messy. Use at most two: one for headings and one for text. When choosing fonts, you should also make sure that they are still legible at long distances. Script, italic and decorative fonts are very slow to read, which is why they should be avoided in presentations.

It is not so easy to choose the right font. Therefore, we have summarized for you how to find the best font for your PowerPoint presentation.

12. Do not use images as background

In a good presentation it is important to be able to read the text on the slides easily and quickly. Therefore, do not use images as slide backgrounds if there is also text on them. The picture only distracts from the text and it is difficult to read it because there is not much contrast with the background. It is also harder to see the image because the text in the foreground is distracting. The whole thing looks messy and distracting rather than informative and clear.

13. Never read out the text from your slides

Never just read the exact text from your slides. Your audience can read for themselves, so they will only get bored and in the worst case it will lead to "Death by PowerPoint". You may also give them the feeling that you think they are not able to read for themselves. In addition, you should avoid whole sentences on your slides anyway. List key points that your audience can read along. Then go into more detail and explain more about them.

14. Don't turn your back

Never turn around during your presentation to look at your projected PowerPoint. Not to read from your slides, but also not to make sure the next slide is already displayed. It looks unprofessional and only distracts your audience.

In PowerPoint's Speaker View, you can always see which slide is currently being displayed and which one is coming next. Use this to make sure the order fits. You can even take notes in PowerPoint, which are then displayed during your presentation. You can read all about notes in PowerPoint here.

15. Do not forget about the time

In a good presentation, it is important to always be aware of the given time and to stick to it. It is annoying when your presentation takes much longer than actually planned and your audience is just waiting for you to stop talking or you are not able to finish your presentation at all. It is just as awkward if your presentation is too short. You have already told everything about your topic, but you should actually talk for at least another ten minutes.

Practice your presentation often enough at home. Talk through your text and time yourself as you go. Then adjust the length so that you can keep to the time given on the day of your presentation.

16. Avoid a complicated structure

The structure of a good presentation should not be complicated. Your audience should be able to follow you easily and remember the essential information by the end. When you have finished a part, briefly summarize and repeat the main points before moving on to the next topic. Mention important information more than once to make sure it really gets across to your audience.

However, if the whole thing gets too complicated, it can be easy for your audience to disengage after a while and not take away much new information from your presentation.

17. Choose appropriate clothes

On the day of your presentation, be sure to choose appropriate clothing. Your appearance should be formal, so avoid casual clothes and stick to professional dress codes. When choosing your clothes, also make sure that they are rather unobtrusive. Your audience should focus on your presentation, not on your appearance.

18. Adapt your presentation to your audience

Think about who your audience is and adapt your presentation to them. Find out how much they already know about the topic, what they want to learn about it and why they are here in the first place. If you only talk about things your audience already knows, they will get bored pretty soon, but if you throw around a lot of technical terms when your audience has hardly dealt with the topic at all, they will also have a hard time following you. So to give a successful and good presentation, it is important to adapt it to your audience.

You can also ask a few questions at the beginning of your presentation to learn more about your audience and then adapt your presentation. With SlideLizard , you can integrate polls directly into your PowerPoint and participants can then easily answer anonymously from their smartphone.

19. Mention only the most important information

Keep it short and limit yourself to the essentials. The more facts and information you present to your audience, the less they will remember.

Also be sure to leave out information that does not fit the topic or is not relevant. You will only distract from the actual topic and lose the attention of your audience. The time your audience can concentrate and listen with attention is rather short anyway, so don't waste it by telling unimportant information.

20. Talk about your topic in an exciting way

Tell compelling and exciting stories to make your presentation really good. If you speak in a monotone voice all the time, you are likely to lose the attention of your audience. Make your narration lively and exciting. Also, be careful not to speak too quietly, but not too loudly either. People should be able to understand you well throughout the whole room. Even if it is not easy for many people, try to deliver your speech with confidence. If you are enthusiastic about the topic yourself, it is much easier to get your audience excited about it.

Related articles

About the author.

Helena Reitinger

Helena supports the SlideLizard team in marketing and design. She loves to express her creativity in texts and graphics.

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Interpersonal communication is face-to-face communication. It means that people exchange information and feelings through verbal and non-verbal messages.

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Valedictory Speech

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How-To Geek

8 tips to make the best powerpoint presentations.

Want to make your PowerPoint presentations really shine? Here's how to impress and engage your audience.

Quick Links

Table of contents, start with a goal, less is more, consider your typeface, make bullet points count, limit the use of transitions, skip text where possible, think in color, take a look from the top down, bonus: start with templates.

Slideshows are an intuitive way to share complex ideas with an audience, although they're dull and frustrating when poorly executed. Here are some tips to make your Microsoft PowerPoint presentations sing while avoiding common pitfalls.

It all starts with identifying what we're trying to achieve with the presentation. Is it informative, a showcase of data in an easy-to-understand medium? Or is it more of a pitch, something meant to persuade and convince an audience and lead them to a particular outcome?

It's here where the majority of these presentations go wrong with the inability to identify the talking points that best support our goal. Always start with a goal in mind: to entertain, to inform, or to share data in a way that's easy to understand. Use facts, figures, and images to support your conclusion while keeping structure in mind (Where are we now and where are we going?).

I've found that it's helpful to start with the ending. Once I know how to end a presentation, I know how best to get to that point. I start by identifying the takeaway---that one nugget that I want to implant before thanking everyone for their time---and I work in reverse to figure out how best to get there.

Your mileage, of course, may vary. But it's always going to be a good idea to put in the time in the beginning stages so that you aren't reworking large portions of the presentation later. And that starts with a defined goal.

A slideshow isn't supposed to include everything. It's an introduction to a topic, one that we can elaborate on with speech. Anything unnecessary is a distraction. It makes the presentation less visually appealing and less interesting, and it makes you look bad as a presenter.

This goes for text as well as images. There's nothing worse, in fact, than a series of slides where the presenter just reads them as they appear. Your audience is capable of reading, and chances are they'll be done with the slide, and browsing Reddit, long before you finish. Avoid putting the literal text on the screen, and your audience will thank you.

Related: How to Burn Your PowerPoint to DVD

Right off the bat, we're just going to come out and say that Papyrus and Comic Sans should be banned from all PowerPoint presentations, permanently. Beyond that, it's worth considering the typeface you're using and what it's saying about you, the presenter, and the presentation itself.

Consider choosing readability over aesthetics, and avoid fancy fonts that could prove to be more of a distraction than anything else. A good presentation needs two fonts: a serif and sans-serif. Use one for the headlines and one for body text, lists, and the like. Keep it simple. Veranda, Helvetica, Arial, and even Times New Roman are safe choices. Stick with the classics and it's hard to botch this one too badly.

There reaches a point where bullet points become less of a visual aid and more of a visual examination.

Bullet points should support the speaker, not overwhelm his audience. The best slides have little or no text at all, in fact. As a presenter, it's our job to talk through complex issues, but that doesn't mean that we need to highlight every talking point.

Instead, think about how you can break up large lists into three or four bullet points. Carefully consider whether you need to use more bullet points, or if you can combine multiple topics into a single point instead. And if you can't, remember that there's no one limiting the number of slides you can have in a presentation. It's always possible to break a list of 12 points down into three pages of four points each.

Animation, when used correctly, is a good idea. It breaks up slow-moving parts of a presentation and adds action to elements that require it. But it should be used judiciously.

Adding a transition that wipes left to right between every slide or that animates each bullet point in a list, for example, starts to grow taxing on those forced to endure the presentation. Viewers get bored quickly, and animations that are meant to highlight specific elements quickly become taxing.

That's not to say that you can't use animations and transitions, just that you need to pick your spots. Aim for no more than a handful of these transitions for each presentation. And use them in spots where they'll add to the demonstration, not detract from it.

Sometimes images tell a better story than text can. And as a presenter, your goal is to describe points in detail without making users do a lot of reading. In these cases, a well-designed visual, like a chart, might better convey the information you're trying to share.

The right image adds visual appeal and serves to break up longer, text-heavy sections of the presentation---but only if you're using the right images. A single high-quality image can make all the difference between a success and a dud when you're driving a specific point home.

When considering text, don't think solely in terms of bullet points and paragraphs. Tables, for example, are often unnecessary. Ask yourself whether you could present the same data in a bar or line chart instead.

Color is interesting. It evokes certain feelings and adds visual appeal to your presentation as a whole. Studies show that color also improves interest, comprehension, and retention. It should be a careful consideration, not an afterthought.

You don't have to be a graphic designer to use color well in a presentation. What I do is look for palettes I like, and then find ways to use them in the presentation. There are a number of tools for this, like Adobe Color , Coolors , and ColorHunt , just to name a few. After finding a palette you enjoy, consider how it works with the presentation you're about to give. Pastels, for example, evoke feelings of freedom and light, so they probably aren't the best choice when you're presenting quarterly earnings that missed the mark.

It's also worth mentioning that you don't need to use every color in the palette. Often, you can get by with just two or three, though you should really think through how they all work together and how readable they'll be when layered. A simple rule of thumb here is that contrast is your friend. Dark colors work well on light backgrounds, and light colors work best on dark backgrounds.

Spend some time in the Slide Sorter before you finish your presentation. By clicking the four squares at the bottom left of the presentation, you can take a look at multiple slides at once and consider how each works together. Alternatively, you can click "View" on the ribbon and select "Slide Sorter."

Are you presenting too much text at once? Move an image in. Could a series of slides benefit from a chart or summary before you move on to another point?

It's here that we have the opportunity to view the presentation from beyond the single-slide viewpoint and think in terms of how each slide fits, or if it fits at all. From this view, you can rearrange slides, add additional ones, or delete them entirely if you find that they don't advance the presentation.

The difference between a good presentation and a bad one is really all about preparation and execution. Those that respect the process and plan carefully---not only the presentation as a whole, but each slide within it---are the ones who will succeed.

This brings me to my last (half) point: When in doubt, just buy a template and use it. You can find these all over the web, though Creative Market and GraphicRiver are probably the two most popular marketplaces for this kind of thing. Not all of us are blessed with the skills needed to design and deliver an effective presentation. And while a pre-made PowerPoint template isn't going to make you a better presenter, it will ease the anxiety of creating a visually appealing slide deck.

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Blog Beginner Guides How To Make a Good Presentation [A Complete Guide]

How To Make a Good Presentation [A Complete Guide]

Written by: Krystle Wong Jul 20, 2023

A top-notch presentation possesses the power to drive action. From winning stakeholders over and conveying a powerful message to securing funding — your secret weapon lies within the realm of creating an effective presentation .  

Being an excellent presenter isn’t confined to the boardroom. Whether you’re delivering a presentation at work, pursuing an academic career, involved in a non-profit organization or even a student, nailing the presentation game is a game-changer.

In this article, I’ll cover the top qualities of compelling presentations and walk you through a step-by-step guide on how to give a good presentation. Here’s a little tip to kick things off: for a headstart, check out Venngage’s collection of free presentation templates . They are fully customizable, and the best part is you don’t need professional design skills to make them shine!

These valuable presentation tips cater to individuals from diverse professional backgrounds, encompassing business professionals, sales and marketing teams, educators, trainers, students, researchers, non-profit organizations, public speakers and presenters. 

No matter your field or role, these tips for presenting will equip you with the skills to deliver effective presentations that leave a lasting impression on any audience.

Click to jump ahead:

What are the 10 qualities of a good presentation?

Step-by-step guide on how to prepare an effective presentation, 9 effective techniques to deliver a memorable presentation, faqs on making a good presentation, how to create a presentation with venngage in 5 steps.

When it comes to giving an engaging presentation that leaves a lasting impression, it’s not just about the content — it’s also about how you deliver it. Wondering what makes a good presentation? Well, the best presentations I’ve seen consistently exhibit these 10 qualities:

1. Clear structure

No one likes to get lost in a maze of information. Organize your thoughts into a logical flow, complete with an introduction, main points and a solid conclusion. A structured presentation helps your audience follow along effortlessly, leaving them with a sense of satisfaction at the end.

Regardless of your presentation style , a quality presentation starts with a clear roadmap. Browse through Venngage’s template library and select a presentation template that aligns with your content and presentation goals. Here’s a good presentation example template with a logical layout that includes sections for the introduction, main points, supporting information and a conclusion: 

2. Engaging opening

Hook your audience right from the start with an attention-grabbing statement, a fascinating question or maybe even a captivating anecdote. Set the stage for a killer presentation!

The opening moments of your presentation hold immense power – check out these 15 ways to start a presentation to set the stage and captivate your audience.

3. Relevant content

Make sure your content aligns with their interests and needs. Your audience is there for a reason, and that’s to get valuable insights. Avoid fluff and get straight to the point, your audience will be genuinely excited.

4. Effective visual aids

Picture this: a slide with walls of text and tiny charts, yawn! Visual aids should be just that—aiding your presentation. Opt for clear and visually appealing slides, engaging images and informative charts that add value and help reinforce your message.

With Venngage, visualizing data takes no effort at all. You can import data from CSV or Google Sheets seamlessly and create stunning charts, graphs and icon stories effortlessly to showcase your data in a captivating and impactful way.

5. Clear and concise communication

Keep your language simple, and avoid jargon or complicated terms. Communicate your ideas clearly, so your audience can easily grasp and retain the information being conveyed. This can prevent confusion and enhance the overall effectiveness of the message. 

6. Engaging delivery

Spice up your presentation with a sprinkle of enthusiasm! Maintain eye contact, use expressive gestures and vary your tone of voice to keep your audience glued to the edge of their seats. A touch of charisma goes a long way!

7. Interaction and audience engagement

Turn your presentation into an interactive experience — encourage questions, foster discussions and maybe even throw in a fun activity. Engaged audiences are more likely to remember and embrace your message.

Transform your slides into an interactive presentation with Venngage’s dynamic features like pop-ups, clickable icons and animated elements. Engage your audience with interactive content that lets them explore and interact with your presentation for a truly immersive experience.

8. Effective storytelling

Who doesn’t love a good story? Weaving relevant anecdotes, case studies or even a personal story into your presentation can captivate your audience and create a lasting impact. Stories build connections and make your message memorable.

A great presentation background is also essential as it sets the tone, creates visual interest and reinforces your message. Enhance the overall aesthetics of your presentation with these 15 presentation background examples and captivate your audience’s attention.

9. Well-timed pacing

Pace your presentation thoughtfully with well-designed presentation slides, neither rushing through nor dragging it out. Respect your audience’s time and ensure you cover all the essential points without losing their interest.

10. Strong conclusion

Last impressions linger! Summarize your main points and leave your audience with a clear takeaway. End your presentation with a bang , a call to action or an inspiring thought that resonates long after the conclusion.

In-person presentations aside, acing a virtual presentation is of paramount importance in today’s digital world. Check out this guide to learn how you can adapt your in-person presentations into virtual presentations . 

Preparing an effective presentation starts with laying a strong foundation that goes beyond just creating slides and notes. One of the quickest and best ways to make a presentation would be with the help of a good presentation software . 

Otherwise, let me walk you to how to prepare for a presentation step by step and unlock the secrets of crafting a professional presentation that sets you apart.

1. Understand the audience and their needs

Before you dive into preparing your masterpiece, take a moment to get to know your target audience. Tailor your presentation to meet their needs and expectations , and you’ll have them hooked from the start!

2. Conduct thorough research on the topic

Time to hit the books (or the internet)! Don’t skimp on the research with your presentation materials — dive deep into the subject matter and gather valuable insights . The more you know, the more confident you’ll feel in delivering your presentation.

3. Organize the content with a clear structure

No one wants to stumble through a chaotic mess of information. Outline your presentation with a clear and logical flow. Start with a captivating introduction, follow up with main points that build on each other and wrap it up with a powerful conclusion that leaves a lasting impression.

Delivering an effective business presentation hinges on captivating your audience, and Venngage’s professionally designed business presentation templates are tailor-made for this purpose. With thoughtfully structured layouts, these templates enhance your message’s clarity and coherence, ensuring a memorable and engaging experience for your audience members.

Don’t want to build your presentation layout from scratch? pick from these 5 foolproof presentation layout ideas that won’t go wrong. 

4. Develop visually appealing and supportive visual aids

Spice up your presentation with eye-catching visuals! Create slides that complement your message, not overshadow it. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words, but that doesn’t mean you need to overload your slides with text.

Well-chosen designs create a cohesive and professional look, capturing your audience’s attention and enhancing the overall effectiveness of your message. Here’s a list of carefully curated PowerPoint presentation templates and great background graphics that will significantly influence the visual appeal and engagement of your presentation.

5. Practice, practice and practice

Practice makes perfect — rehearse your presentation and arrive early to your presentation to help overcome stage fright. Familiarity with your material will boost your presentation skills and help you handle curveballs with ease.

6. Seek feedback and make necessary adjustments

Don’t be afraid to ask for help and seek feedback from friends and colleagues. Constructive criticism can help you identify blind spots and fine-tune your presentation to perfection.

With Venngage’s real-time collaboration feature , receiving feedback and editing your presentation is a seamless process. Group members can access and work on the presentation simultaneously and edit content side by side in real-time. Changes will be reflected immediately to the entire team, promoting seamless teamwork.

7. Prepare for potential technical or logistical issues

Prepare for the unexpected by checking your equipment, internet connection and any other potential hiccups. If you’re worried that you’ll miss out on any important points, you could always have note cards prepared. Remember to remain focused and rehearse potential answers to anticipated questions.

8. Fine-tune and polish your presentation

As the big day approaches, give your presentation one last shine. Review your talking points, practice how to present a presentation and make any final tweaks. Deep breaths — you’re on the brink of delivering a successful presentation!

In competitive environments, persuasive presentations set individuals and organizations apart. To brush up on your presentation skills, read these guides on how to make a persuasive presentation and tips to presenting effectively . 

Whether you’re an experienced presenter or a novice, the right techniques will let your presentation skills soar to new heights!

From public speaking hacks to interactive elements and storytelling prowess, these 9 effective presentation techniques will empower you to leave a lasting impression on your audience and make your presentations unforgettable.

1. Confidence and positive body language

Positive body language instantly captivates your audience, making them believe in your message as much as you do. Strengthen your stage presence and own that stage like it’s your second home! Stand tall, shoulders back and exude confidence. 

2. Eye contact with the audience

Break down that invisible barrier and connect with your audience through their eyes. Maintaining eye contact when giving a presentation builds trust and shows that you’re present and engaged with them.

3. Effective use of hand gestures and movement

A little movement goes a long way! Emphasize key points with purposeful gestures and don’t be afraid to walk around the stage. Your energy will be contagious!

4. Utilize storytelling techniques

Weave the magic of storytelling into your presentation. Share relatable anecdotes, inspiring success stories or even personal experiences that tug at the heartstrings of your audience. Adjust your pitch, pace and volume to match the emotions and intensity of the story. Varying your speaking voice adds depth and enhances your stage presence.

5. Incorporate multimedia elements

Spice up your presentation with a dash of visual pizzazz! Use slides, images and video clips to add depth and clarity to your message. Just remember, less is more—don’t overwhelm them with information overload. 

Turn your presentations into an interactive party! Involve your audience with questions, polls or group activities. When they actively participate, they become invested in your presentation’s success. Bring your design to life with animated elements. Venngage allows you to apply animations to icons, images and text to create dynamic and engaging visual content.

6. Utilize humor strategically

Laughter is the best medicine—and a fantastic presentation enhancer! A well-placed joke or lighthearted moment can break the ice and create a warm atmosphere , making your audience more receptive to your message.

7. Practice active listening and respond to feedback

Be attentive to your audience’s reactions and feedback. If they have questions or concerns, address them with genuine interest and respect. Your responsiveness builds rapport and shows that you genuinely care about their experience.

8. Apply the 10-20-30 rule

Apply the 10-20-30 presentation rule and keep it short, sweet and impactful! Stick to ten slides, deliver your presentation within 20 minutes and use a 30-point font to ensure clarity and focus. Less is more, and your audience will thank you for it!

9. Implement the 5-5-5 rule

Simplicity is key. Limit each slide to five bullet points, with only five words per bullet point and allow each slide to remain visible for about five seconds. This rule keeps your presentation concise and prevents information overload.

Simple presentations are more engaging because they are easier to follow. Summarize your presentations and keep them simple with Venngage’s gallery of simple presentation templates and ensure that your message is delivered effectively across your audience.

1. How to start a presentation?

To kick off your presentation effectively, begin with an attention-grabbing statement or a powerful quote. Introduce yourself, establish credibility and clearly state the purpose and relevance of your presentation.

2. How to end a presentation?

For a strong conclusion, summarize your talking points and key takeaways. End with a compelling call to action or a thought-provoking question and remember to thank your audience and invite any final questions or interactions.

3. How to make a presentation interactive?

To make your presentation interactive, encourage questions and discussion throughout your talk. Utilize multimedia elements like videos or images and consider including polls, quizzes or group activities to actively involve your audience.

In need of inspiration for your next presentation? I’ve got your back! Pick from these 120+ presentation ideas, topics and examples to get started. 

Creating a stunning presentation with Venngage is a breeze with our user-friendly drag-and-drop editor and professionally designed templates for all your communication needs. 

Here’s how to make a presentation in just 5 simple steps with the help of Venngage:

Step 1: Sign up for Venngage for free using your email, Gmail or Facebook account or simply log in to access your account. 

Step 2: Pick a design from our selection of free presentation templates (they’re all created by our expert in-house designers).

Step 3: Make the template your own by customizing it to fit your content and branding. With Venngage’s intuitive drag-and-drop editor, you can easily modify text, change colors and adjust the layout to create a unique and eye-catching design.

Step 4: Elevate your presentation by incorporating captivating visuals. You can upload your images or choose from Venngage’s vast library of high-quality photos, icons and illustrations. 

Step 5: Upgrade to a premium or business account to export your presentation in PDF and print it for in-person presentations or share it digitally for free!

By following these five simple steps, you’ll have a professionally designed and visually engaging presentation ready in no time. With Venngage’s user-friendly platform, your presentation is sure to make a lasting impression. So, let your creativity flow and get ready to shine in your next presentation!

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9 PowerPoint Presentation Tips for Students

Create classroom presentations worthy of an 'A'

• Brock University

Making effective classroom presentations takes practice. When you follow a few PowerPoint presentation tips for students, you'll be up to the challenge. These presentation tips refer to PowerPoint slides (all versions) and can be applied to any type of slide presentation.

Plan Your Slide Layout

Make your slides easy to follow. Put the title at the top where your audience expects to find it. Phrases should read left to right and top to bottom. Keep important information near the top of the slide. Often the bottom portions of slides cannot be seen from the back rows because heads are in the way.

Avoid Fancy Fonts

Choose a font that is simple and easy to read, such as Arial, Times New Roman, or Verdana. You may have a really cool font on your computer, but save it for other uses. Often, fancy fonts aren't easy to read on a screen and distract more than anything.

Don't use more than two different fonts , one for headings and another for content. Keep all fonts large enough (at least 18 pt and preferably 24 pt) so that people at the back of the room can easily read the text.

Use Contrasting Colors for Text and Background

Dark text on a light background is best. This combination offers the most visibility. Sometimes, though, you may want a dark background for effect, to dazzle the crowd. In that case, make the text a light color for easy reading in a classroom presentation.

Text is often difficult to read on patterned or textured backgrounds. Keep the color scheme consistent throughout your classroom presentation.

Keep Slide Design Consistent With a Theme

When you use a design theme, choose one that won't detract from your classroom presentation. Also, keep the slide design consistent with that theme. Test it ahead of time to make sure that the text is readable and that the graphics don't get lost in the background.

Use Footnotes to Add Information

Adding footnotes to the slides in a PowerPoint presentation allows you to document the sources of information you used in your research, just as you would if you were turning in a research paper. Use footnotes to cite quotes and statistics or to add extra details related to the text on the slide.

Print Out Speaker Notes

Reading a PowerPoint presentation in front of a class can be nerve-wracking. Printing your slides with speaker notes allows you to have thumbnails, text, and written notes, if you wish, so you can read along with the slides and add pertinent information. You can also use the printed slides as handouts for the class. Alternatively, you might want to add a voiceover to the slideshow to avoid speaking in class altogether.

Run a Presentation Unattended

There might be times when you want the slideshow to run on its own in a continuous loop, such as part of a science fair presentation. Using the Browsed at Kiosk setting when setting up the presentation lets you show the presentation unattended.

Use Animations and Transition Effects Sparingly

Who doesn't love to apply animations, transitions , or GIFs to a presentation? Going overboard with these elements can be entertaining, but rarely will the audience be paying attention to the message of the presentation. The slideshow is a visual aid and not the objective of the classroom presentation.

Convert PowerPoint Shows to Google Slides

Schools often use the Google suite of productivity applications, such as Google Slides, in the classroom. If you have PowerPoint at home, you can use it to create a presentation and share it with your teacher or others using Google Slides.

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PowerPoint Tips  - Simple Rules for Better PowerPoint Presentations

Powerpoint tips  -, simple rules for better powerpoint presentations, powerpoint tips simple rules for better powerpoint presentations.

PowerPoint Tips: Simple Rules for Better PowerPoint Presentations

Lesson 17: simple rules for better powerpoint presentations.

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Simple rules for better PowerPoint presentations

Have you ever given a PowerPoint presentation and noticed that something about it just seemed a little … off? If you’re unfamiliar with basic PowerPoint design principles, it can be difficult to create a slide show that presents your information in the best light.

Poorly designed presentations can leave an audience feeling confused, bored, and even irritated. Review these tips to make your next presentation more engaging.

Don't read your presentation straight from the slides

If your audience can both read and hear, it’s a waste of time for you to simply read your slides aloud. Your audience will zone out and stop listening to what you’re saying, which means they won’t hear any extra information you include.

Instead of typing out your entire presentation, include only main ideas, keywords, and talking points in your slide show text. Engage your audience by sharing the details out loud.

Follow the 5/5/5 rule

To keep your audience from feeling overwhelmed, you should keep the text on each slide short and to the point. Some experts suggest using the 5/5/5 rule : no more than five words per line of text, five lines of text per slide, or five text-heavy slides in a row.

Don't forget your audience

Who will be watching your presentation? The same goofy effects and funny clip art that would entertain a classroom full of middle-school students might make you look unprofessional in front of business colleagues and clients.

Humor can lighten up a presentation, but if you use it inappropriately your audience might think you don’t know what you’re doing. Know your audience, and tailor your presentation to their tastes and expectations.

Choose readable colors and fonts

Your text should be easy to read and pleasant to look at. Large, simple fonts and theme colors are always your best bet. The best fonts and colors can vary depending on your presentation setting. Presenting in a large room? Make your text larger than usual so people in the back can read it. Presenting with the lights on? Dark text on a light background is your best bet for visibility.

Don't overload your presentation with animations

As anyone who’s sat through a presentation while every letter of every paragraph zoomed across the screen can tell you, being inundated with complicated animations and exciting slide transitions can become irritating.

Before including effects like this in your presentation, ask yourself: Would this moment in the presentation be equally strong without an added effect? Does it unnecessarily delay information? If the answer to either question is yes—or even maybe—leave out the effect.

Use animations sparingly to enhance your presentation

Don’t take the last tip to mean you should avoid animations and other effects entirely. When used sparingly, subtle effects and animations can add to your presentation. For example, having bullet points appear as you address them rather than before can help keep your audience’s attention.

Keep these tips in mind the next time you create a presentation—your audience will thank you. For more detailed information on creating a PowerPoint presentation, visit our Office tutorials .

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8 Tips to Power-Up Your Classroom Presentations

Last month, I attended a Back to School Night for parents, sitting through presentation after presentation by teachers, some with slides that helped make their presentation a delight to listen to, and others . . . well, that's why I'm writing this blog post.

The goal of a classroom presentation is to aid you in effectively conveying information in a way that allows students (or their parents) to remember what you said. Unfortunately, for some, the presentation becomes a crutch, and they begin to rely on the slides to tell their story, rather than to help them tell the story.

I've been creating presentations using software like PowerPoint and KeyNote for 20 years, and I've learned a lot about how to most effectively communicate. Here's what I've found.

1. Use as Many Slides as You Need

It's a common myth that better presentations use fewer slides. This is simply not the case. I once sent an education conference presentation to the organizers so they could preview it in advance of my speaking. They wrote back, concerned that my 45-minute presentation had 116 slides. I looked it over and realized they were right! I revised it and sent a presentation with 135 slides back to them. I finished my talk with 5 minutes to spare -- just enough time to take questions -- and the presentation was a huge success.

The number of slides in your presentation is irrelevant. What matters is how well your slides communicate and how much time you spend talking about each slide. Spending five minutes on five slides will almost always be more engaging to your students than spending five minutes on a single slide, even when the information is exactly the same.

In the movie Amadeus , the Emperor of Austria complains to Mozart that his music has "too many notes." Mozart responds, "There are just as many notes as are required. Neither more nor less." Use as many slides as you need to make your point. No more. No less.

2. Minimize Verbosity

Your slides are there to support what you are saying, not to say it for you. Keep your word count low, and only place one main point on a slide, plus three to five sub-points if absolutely needed. Remember tip #1 above -- don't be afraid to use more slides. They're free! Also, the language in your slides doesn't need to be in complete sentences. Pare the text to as few words as possible, using what's there only to emphasize and reinforce -- not replace -- the words coming out of your mouth.

3. Maximize Visuals

Photos, figures and icons work as visual memory triggers. They help your students remember what it is you're saying. Any time you can add a visual that helps illustrate or reinforce the points you're making in your slides, you should use it. One great way to do this on the cheap is to use public domain or creative commons photos you can find on Flickr or Google .

4. Reduce Noise

Many teachers like to add banners, headers, footers, page numbers and more noise to their slides. Unless the information needs to be on every slide for a vital reason (which is rare), you should remove it. All these redundant elements do is create distractions from the content of your slides. I find this to be especially true of page numbers. Imagine if a movie included a time code at the bottom, constantly reminding you how long you had been watching. All this does is serve to take the viewer out of the moment. Page numbers in slides really don't provide any useful information -- they just remind your students how long they've been watching.

Pursuant to tips #1 and #2, you're not going to win awards by cramming the most content on the fewest slides. Make text and visuals as large as you can. Not only does this make them easier to see and read, but larger images and text make a greater impact to aid memory. There's nothing wrong with filling an entire slide with a photo, and then placing text right on top. You may have to use a transparent background immediately behind the text so that it's clearly readable, but the overall effect is almost always more memorable than just some text beside an image.

6. Highlight What You Are Talking About

While you are presenting, your students may be momentarily distracted taking notes, thinking about what you are saying, glancing out the window, possibly even daydreaming. When they refocus on your slides, though, they need to quickly pick back up where you are, or you risk losing them again.

• Use contrast or call-outs to clearly show the area of the slide you are talking about.
• Reveal bullet points or table rows one at a time so that the last one visible is the one you are talking about.
• Use arrows, circles or other pointers to show what you are referencing in specific parts of an illustration, photo or graph.
• Animate and reveal parts of illustrations and graphs (where possible) to build your story rather than showing everything at once.
• Use bold type or different colors to highlight the keywords in any lengthy text.

7. Transition Changes

Humans suffer from an affliction called change blindness -- we have a hard time seeing changes unless there is a clear transition between the states. This is especially a problem in presentations where slides may look very much alike. Most programs include transitions that can be used between slides or on elements in the slides themselves.

My favorite transition is the cross-dissolve -- where the first slide fades down while the next slide fades up -- but different transitions can help illustrate points in your presentation. Are you talking about combustion or the fire of London? Use a flame transition. Talking about photography or Hollywood movies? Use the flashbulb transition. Even "cheesy" transitions help overcome change blindness and aid student memory at the same time.

8. Repeat Yourself Redundantly

It’s OK to repeat the same slide more than once -- especially when using images -- if you are reminding students of an earlier point. Obviously, this is not a license to be monotonous. However, if you want to tie separate ideas together, emphasize a point or splash in a little comic relief, it's perfectly fine to repeat a slide.

Bonus Tip: Make it Funny!

There's little doubt that emotional responses can aid memory. While it can be difficult to apply this power in a classroom slide presentation, humor is easy enough, and adding a bit of levity to your presentations at the right points can work to give students vital memory hooks.

Remember, the point of presentation slides is not to replace you as the teacher, but to help your students understand and remember what you are teaching. Overwhelming them with too much information can be just as harmful as underwhelming them with too little.

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A teacher’s PowerPoint presentation is one way to share content with students that’s different from lecturing or teaching from the textbook.

And if a PowerPoint is put together correctly, it can be an effective way of reinforcing certain content to students so that they’re better able to retain it. What’s more is that teachers can print and distribute the PowerPoint presentation or post it online so students can go back and access it as reference material. However, if it’s not put together correctly, a PowerPoint presentation can disengage and make students bored.

So how should teachers go about putting together an effective PowerPoint presentation? For starters, it should be simple. But just because it’s simple doesn’t mean it can’t also be fun. Here’s a look at five tips that teachers can use to spruce up their PowerPoint presentations and make them an effective teaching tool.

Highlight a take home message

A PowerPoint presentation should be basic, simple and not distracting. It should also focus on keywords and a take home message. For example, always be sure to include a summary slide of what the presentation is intending to accomplish as well as a table of contents on the different topics that will be covered in the program. The summary slide serves as the main topic and what students should learn after viewing the presentation. Then, at the end of the PowerPoint presentation, teachers should include another summary slide, going over everything that was just covered and, again, highlighting the main point. Bottom line: keep PowerPoint presentations simple, but make sure they have a purpose and make sure that the purpose is made clear.

Add pictures

We’ve already gone over how a good PowerPoint presentation should always have a focus on what it intends to accomplish and it should always contain a take home message. Teachers can reinforce this take home message with pictures, charts, symbols and other images. In fact, sometimes it’s better to have more pictures than text in a PowerPoint presentation. Images work to reinforce a main point or message. Teachers typically will just share this content with their class, so they can pull images straight from the Internet. However, for teachers who are making more public and widespread presentations, copyright law will need to be considered.

Just as how pictures can help reinforce a main point or support content, so can videos. And studies say that students enjoy watching videos and retain information from them well, especially if the video is engaging, interesting and informative. Teachers can embed videos right from YouTube or from their desktops to complement a PowerPoint presentation.

Nothing turns off a class like a poorly put together PowerPoint presentation, so teachers should always be sure to do a quick rehearsal before they present it to the class. While testing it, make sure that all the images load up on the slides, that videos load up properly and that audio works, too. Also, it’s important for teachers to make sure that there’s a way to connect their computer, or upload anything that’s storing the PowerPoint presentation, to a larger TV monitor or projector screen so the whole class doesn’t have to huddle around a computer screen to view it. Teachers should also make sure that any text can be read clearly and that the color scheme is good.

Make it fun

A PowerPoint presentation can be an innovative way of teaching. Generally speaking, it’s a more interesting and engaging way for students to learn than the typical lecture is. Teachers should embrace this method of teaching and have fun with it. Throw in some jokes, possibly some funny pictures and be sure to get creative with presentations. The more fun that teachers have in putting together a presentation, the more fun students will get out of it. And as we previously noted, the more students enjoy a lecture, presentation or activity, the more likely they are to retain the information.

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7 Tips for Boosting your Classroom Presentations

Looking to use a Powerpoint or Google Slides presentation in class? Below are some useful tips that you can use to easily share your presentation with your students and help you feel like you are getting the most out of your class time!

1.  Make sure everyone can see your presentation

If you are worried your students cannot see your presentation because of the size of the monitor in the classroom you can always:

• Share your presentation with your students before class on Canvas and let them know they can use it as a reference.
• Communicate with your students. Let them know that the monitor in the classroom is on the small side and it is okay for them to bring a device to view the presentation during class./li>
• You can always check out laptops from Media Services and place them around the room, and ask a student to progress the slides as you speak.
• Have students sit in groups and have one student volunteer to have the presentation pulled up on their screen and move forward in the presentation while you are speaking.

2. Print physical copies

If you do not care to have students bring their own devices to class, print out your presentation with a notes section next to each slide for your students to utilize. This way students can see your presentation and also have a place to write down thoughts while you are talking! Learn how to print your presentation in Powerpoint or Google Slides .

3. Utilize large text

Try to steer clear of long wordy slides. Make your text and visuals large and easy to read! This not only helps users see and understand but also helps them to remember the content more easily. Think about adding a visual with a key phrase and elaborate on the slide during your lecture.

4. Visuals can make a big difference!

Making your presentation look good with visuals such as images, photos, or icons on slides can help your learners make a visual connection to what it is you are referencing during class. You can easily find images on open-source sites such as Unsplash or  Rawpixel . You can also find free and easy-to-import Google slide and Powerpoint presentation templates on Slidesgo or Canva .

5. Try using a projector

You can request a projector from Media Services to be set up and projected on one of the classroom walls for larger viewing!

6. Think about alternative ways of presenting information

All of the Grace Dodge classrooms have multiple writable surfaces. You can write on all of the walls and tables using an Expo marker!

7. Start a Zoom session for students to join on their devices

On the computer you're using to present, open a Zoom session and share the link with your students. Students can then view the presentation on their own devices. Turning on Live Transcription provides another avenue for students to receive the information you are presenting.

References:

• Teague, Jason Cranford. “8 Tips to Power-up Your Classroom Presentations.” Edutopia , George Lucas Educational Foundation, 12 Nov. 2013, https://www.edutopia.org/blog/8-tips-classroom-presentation-jason-cranford-teague .

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21 awesome PowerPoint presentation tips for students

Do you often find yourself in a general lack of cool presentation ideas? We all have been in that situation when the deadline for our presentation is tomorrow. And we did not have any idea on how to start a presentation.

But, there is good news! Here you will read 21 awesome PowerPoint presentation tips for students. We know that as a student you are in a constant process of learning. And this is our way of helping you by shedding a light on some creative ways to present a project. Check this out!

How To Make A Good Powerpoint Presentation For College

First, you may want to understand the topic you're trying to present. Gather information and create a Word document first, then you can proceed to your PowerPoint slides. Sometimes it's easier for you to outsource creating the presentation or other students' tasks to the master thesis writing service . This way you will have more time to prepare for dissertation defense, for example, or rest before your speech.

You decide what is better for you. In case, you are sure you want to create a presentation by yourself, we prepared some practical PowerPoint presentation tips and tricks.

Take these fun presentation ideas for college students into consideration and make the best presentation!

Use a Design Template

You might think of PowerPoint presentation ideas. Or you might be tempted to make a colorful presentation. So many functionalities, you want to try and use them all. But, it is harder than it looks to catch the attention of your fellow colleagues and to maintain it.

Try using a design template that offers your presentation consistency. Do not overload your slides with lots and lots of colors, pictures, and text boxes.

Use Consistent Fonts and Colors

No one says that every slide should look the same. You can mixt bulleted points slides with ones with pictures or with both text and pictures. But choose a smooth and easy to read font and stick to it.

The same goes for colors. Do not make a salad of fonts and colors. This mixture will only overload your colleagues and teacher. And the presentation will be hard to be attentive to.

Limit the Number of Your Slides

How easy to follow will be your presentation depends on the consistency of your slides. It's true. But it also depends on the number of your slides. If you will rush through an unlimited number of slides, how much information will be retained? As a student, you may not have so much experience delivering presentations.

But try limiting your number of slides accordingly to the length of your presentation. The simple rule is one slide per minute.

Do Not Use a Lot of Text

Remember that a class presentation is support for what you will say. As a student, you work to balance the time for outdoor activities and assignments. It is information that you searched for and extracted the main points. You invested time in this task. Do not ruin it.

Try not to use more than six lines of text per slide.

Try not to use more than six words per line. More space between lines will make them easier to read. Draft some presentation topic ideas and build your slides around them.

Highlight Important Keywords

Use some tricks to highlight keywords from your lines. Of course, there are only the main ideas. Use bold to catch the attention of your colleagues. Use larger fonts to highlight some keywords.

But try to avoid using all capital letters for a word.

You are a student, just like your colleagues. Keep in mind what presentation tricks would help you remember the information easier. Remember your teachers' presentations and what impressed you. Then, use these tricks to your advantage.

Use Contrasting Colors

To increase the readability of your text, use  contrasting colors for text and background . It is easier to set a light background and use dark colors for your font.

Take into consideration the background of your slides, because the one with patterns decreases readability.

Special Effects

There are a lot of powerpoint presentation examples for students. And PowerPoint has so many functionalities. You can add special effects to your text, you can add videos in the presentation or you can add music.

There are lots and lots of effects that can glitter your class presentation. Try making your presentation easy to follow. Do not overuse special effects that only make your presentation less eye-candy. You know that it is hard to catch students' attention. Do not start by losing it.

Use Images to Highlight Ideas

You might be tempted to put text on all your slides. There is a lot of important information to send. But try using images to highlight your point of view. For example, if you make a presentation about Hinduism you can use an image with a temple, or with a deity.

If you make a presentation about dreams, a picture with the iconic Sigmund Freud will be more impressive than a slide with text.

Do Not Read from Your Slides

You have probably asked yourself how to give a good speech. The first trick is to not read the information from your slides. The presentation is made for the ones attending it, your fellow colleagues and your teacher.

You, as the presenter, describe the ideas. There are only parts of speech PowerPoints, which you largely discuss. Try to ask your colleagues some open questions. Challenge their thinking.

You will often find yourself thinking about presentation ideas for school. But what do you prefer? To read endless lines of text or to watch a graph? You remember those boring presentations you barely kept your eyes open. As a student, you have a higher possibility to attend one of these.

This might made you wonder how to make creative presentations. Try creating some amazing infographics to transmit your ideas. You can use some colorful pie charts or icons to prove your point.

Be in a constant search for creative ways to present a school project.

Do Not Turn Your Back to the Audience

You might think that you do not have presentation skills. No worry! We all know that a presentation college is important. Like we highlighted before, you should not read the text on your slides.

You should not turn the back to your audience, either. The presentation is for them, so try controlling your emotions and give the best out of you. Remember that the audience is composed of your colleagues, who are students just like you. You have nothing to be afraid of.

Use All the Tools Available

There are a lot of presentation tools for students. For example, a trick that will help you concentrate more on your audience and not on your slides is the pointer.

It is very useful to use it for highlighting the course of your chart. Like this, the attention of your audience is directed towards the presentation.

Use Stories to Prove Some Points

You must get close to your audience. It is important to use special effects to catch their attention. But to get close to them you must humanize yourself. Give your presentation college a more humane look.Use stories to give examples.

We learn better if we connect with people. And which is the best way to do the same with your audience? By telling stories you can stabilize a better connection with your audience. This technique helps to build trust.

Why so? Because you open yourself in front of your colleagues. For sure, there are students that are closer to you and got to know you. But you also share parts of yourself that are not shared other ways. You show that you also have emotions.

That you have feelings and fears. You are a human, just like them. They will empathize with you. And so, the information will be easier to retain. You are all in the same boat.

Take Pauses

You might be tempted to rush through your presentation. Because when you will reach the end, everything will be over. No eyes will be on you. Your teacher will give you feedback, and everything will be over. But stop a little bit.

Make your presentation be a beautiful experience that shapes you and your skills. You might get lost through ideas. You make your speech in your mind. Avoid those moments when you start “aaa-ing” or “umm-ing”.

The urge to fill that empty space is pretty intense. But silence is good. It urges the audience to reflect the ideas presented. This does not mean that your pauses should take minutes.

But a few seconds of silence help you to better organize your thoughts.

Vary Your Tones

A great way to highlight keywords, besides formatting your text, is your voice tone. Use all your body capacities to your advantage.

Depending on the subject you are presenting, alternate your tones. You can go from serious to funny ones. Or, from low to high tones. A great presenter knows when to alternate them in order to emphasize key ideas.

Be a Master in Your Topic

Of course, one of the parts of a presentation is the Q&A part from the end. You might be asked some questions also during the presentation. And it is normal. Because you must present a large amount of information in a limited amount of time. Which is about 10 to 15 minutes.

A realistic expectation and hope are the existence of questions. This means that your colleagues are paying attention. So, do as much research as you can.

Ask yourself questions and find answers for them. Look out for interesting facts. The more research you will do, the more comfortable with the topic you will be. You will master the presentation and the audience will trust you more and more. And for sure your teacher will be impressed.

The Rule of Three

In his famous work “Rhetoric”, Aristotle brought to our attention a very interesting fact. A fact that is valid for most people on this planet. After we learn something new, whether is something practical or not,  we remember three main things .

Use this fact to your advantage. Draft some ideas that you want your audience to remember. Build your presentation and your speech around them. Keep highlighting them during your speech and put an emphasis on them.

It is not a realistic expectation to expect the audience to retain as much information as you did. Take into consideration that 15 minutes of active listening is not enough for the retainment of so many ideas.

Prepare Your Backup

When you have a presentation to make, it is important to always have a plan B. There can always appear technical difficulties that would prevent you from continuing the presentation.

And it is also important to take into consideration that handouts do not have special effects, videos or music. So, be prepared to entertain the audience with jokes, but also to continue presenting the topic without the PowerPoint presentation. It might not have the same effect, but for sure you will be an example for the other students.

Show Your Personality

You might be tempted to fall in the trap of giving a boring, formal and void of interesting information presented. Of course, everyone understands that not all topics are appealing and interesting. And the truth is, it is easier to maintain the attention of students. But, be prepared to show your personality.

Move through the classroom while you are presenting. Prepare some exercises that prove your points and that can be done by your audience. Use the variety of your tones. Smile and embrace the moment.

Move your hands and captivate the audience with your personality. Do not be afraid. This is a moment when you learn a lot. A moment of improving your skills and developing yourself.

You gain knowledge, but you also gain experience. Use all the setup and your personality and way of being to your advantage.

You might think that mastering the topic you are going to present is enough. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it is not. Of course, it is a great plus to master your topic. But take some time aside and start rehearsing. Rehearse your body movements, your voice tones, and your body language.

Remember that a great presentation is done not only by knowledge but also by body movements. Take a moment to observe your facial expressions and your natural way of moving. Exercise and see which is the best way of presenting that suits you. And the earlier in your student life you begin learning these tricks, the more skilled you will become later.

How to Conclude a Presentation

You might have thought how to end a presentation. It might seem easier to begin a presentation than to end it. What is important is to constantly highlight the main ideas you want your audience to keep.

There are many ways to end a PowerPoint presentation. One of them will be to end it with an open question. You have presented the topic, but now what about thinking about something related to the topic? This way, they will get involved in the discussion and the feedback and questions for you will be easier to manage.

Another way would be to end with a call to action. For sure there is always something that any one of us can do to make the world better. Why not urge them to act?

Of course, maybe one of the best endings would be using a quotation, to sum up, the main ideas. This is a great way to conclude your presentation. No matter which way you will choose to end your presentation, it is important to remember something.

Your audience must have some key ideas to keep. They will surely not retain all the information. But, when presenting the conclusion, remember to highlight the most important ideas about your topic.

Adapt the ending of your presentation to your colleagues. You know them, and you know what ending is the best for your mates.

You have probably often found yourself thinking about presentation ideas for school. As a student, you may not be so experienced in this field. But, you have all your student years to develop and improve your presentation skills. This article offers you great tips on how to build your PowerPoint presentation.

And, on how to actually present it. Remember to not overload your audience with lots of special effects and different fonts. Make your presentation consistent and present your topic with personality.

Take pauses, do not talk with the slides, and use your body language and voice tones to highlight some ideas.

Extra Presentation Ideas For Students

Now that you learned how to make an excellent college presentation, you can start your project. Take your necessary time to do the research and use these creative presentation ideas to make sure that your final product is impeccable.

Alternatively, if you don't have much time to work on it, here's a tip for presentation success: don't hesitate to ask for help. College assignments can be complicated, and sometimes you can run out of time. Thankfully, there are plenty of writing companies like EduGeekClub that offer paper wiring services, the best proofreading services , and can help you create, edit, or proofread your presentation. This way, you can get a good grade without spending too much time on your college task.

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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

• Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

Never underestimate the power of great communication. It can help you land the job of your dreams, attract investors to back your idea, or elevate your stature within your organization. But while there are plenty of good speakers in the world, you can set yourself apart out by being the person who can deliver something great over and over. Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired together are more memorable); don’t underestimate the power of your voice (raise and lower it for emphasis); give your audience something extra (unexpected moments will grab their attention); rehearse (the best speakers are the best because they practice — a lot).

I was sitting across the table from a Silicon Valley CEO who had pioneered a technology that touches many of our lives — the flash memory that stores data on smartphones, digital cameras, and computers. He was a frequent guest on CNBC and had been delivering business presentations for at least 20 years before we met. And yet, the CEO wanted to sharpen his public speaking skills.

• Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of 10 books translated into 40 languages. Gallo is the author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman  (St. Martin’s Press).

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20 Great Examples of PowerPoint Presentation Design [+ Templates]

Published: January 17, 2024

When it comes to PowerPoint presentation design, there's no shortage of avenues you can take.

While all that choice — colors, formats, visuals, fonts — can feel liberating, it‘s important that you’re careful in your selection as not all design combinations add up to success.

In this blog post, I’m sharing some of my favorite PowerPoint tips and templates to help you nail your next presentation.

Table of Contents

What makes a good PowerPoint presentation?

Powerpoint design ideas, best powerpoint presentation slides, good examples of powerpoint presentation design.

In my opinion, a great PowerPoint presentation gets the point across succinctly while using a design that doesn't detract from it.

Here are some of the elements I like to keep in mind when I’m building my own.

1. Minimal Animations and Transitions

Believe it or not, animations and transitions can take away from your PowerPoint presentation. Why? Well, they distract from the content you worked so hard on.

A good PowerPoint presentation keeps the focus on your argument by keeping animations and transitions to a minimum. I suggest using them tastefully and sparingly to emphasize a point or bring attention to a certain part of an image.

2. Cohesive Color Palette

I like to refresh my memory on color theory when creating a new PowerPoint presentation.

A cohesive color palette uses complementary and analogous colors to draw the audience’s attention and help emphasize certain aspects at the right time.

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It‘s impossible for me to tell you the specific design ideas you should go after in your next PowerPoint, because, well, I don’t know what the goal of your presentation is.

Luckily, new versions of PowerPoint actually suggest ideas for you based on the content you're presenting. This can help you keep up with the latest trends in presentation design .

PowerPoint is filled with interesting boilerplate designs you can start with. To find these suggestions, open PowerPoint and click the “Design” tab in your top navigation bar. Then, on the far right side, you'll see the following choices:

This simplistic presentation example employs several different colors and font weights, but instead of coming off as disconnected, the varied colors work with one another to create contrast and call out specific concepts.

What I like: The big, bold numbers help set the reader's expectations, as they clearly signify how far along the viewer is in the list of tips.

10. “Pixar's 22 Rules to Phenomenal Storytelling,” Gavin McMahon

This presentation by Gavin McMahon features color in all the right places. While each of the background images boasts a bright, spotlight-like design, all the characters are intentionally blacked out.

What I like: This helps keep the focus on the tips, while still incorporating visuals. Not to mention, it's still easy for me to identify each character without the details. (I found you on slide eight, Nemo.)

11. “Facebook Engagement and Activity Report,” We Are Social

Here's another great example of data visualization in the wild.

What I like: Rather than displaying numbers and statistics straight up, this presentation calls upon interesting, colorful graphs, and charts to present the information in a way that just makes sense.

12. “The GaryVee Content Model,” Gary Vaynerchuk

This wouldn‘t be a true Gary Vaynerchuk presentation if it wasn’t a little loud, am I right?

What I like: Aside from the fact that I love the eye-catching, bright yellow background, Vaynerchuk does a great job of incorporating screenshots on each slide to create a visual tutorial that coincides with the tips. He also does a great job including a visual table of contents that shows your progress as you go .

13. “20 Tweetable Quotes to Inspire Marketing & Design Creative Genius,” IMPACT Branding & Design

We‘ve all seen our fair share of quote-chronicling presentations but that isn’t to say they were all done well. Often the background images are poor quality, the text is too small, or there isn't enough contrast.

Well, this professional presentation from IMPACT Branding & Design suffers from none of said challenges.

What I like: The colorful filters over each background image create just enough contrast for the quotes to stand out.

14. “The Great State of Design,” Stacy Kvernmo

This presentation offers up a lot of information in a way that doesn't feel overwhelming.

What I like: The contrasting colors create visual interest and “pop,” and the comic images (slides 6 through 12) are used to make the information seem less buttoned-up and overwhelming.

15. “Clickbait: A Guide To Writing Un-Ignorable Headlines,” Ethos3

Not going to lie, it was the title that convinced me to click through to this presentation but the awesome design kept me there once I arrived.

What I like: This simple design adheres to a consistent color pattern and leverages bullet points and varied fonts to break up the text nicely.

16. “Digital Transformation in 50 Soundbites,” Julie Dodd

This design highlights a great alternative to the “text-over-image” display we've grown used to seeing.

What I like: By leveraging a split-screen approach to each presentation slide, Julie Dodd was able to serve up a clean, legible quote without sacrificing the power of a strong visual.

17. “Fix Your Really Bad PowerPoint,” Slide Comet

When you‘re creating a PowerPoint about how everyone’s PowerPoints stink, yours had better be terrific. The one above, based on the ebook by Seth Godin, keeps it simple without boring its audience.

What I like: Its clever combinations of fonts, together with consistent color across each slide, ensure you're neither overwhelmed nor unengaged.

18. “How Google Works,” Eric Schmidt

Simple, clever doodles tell the story of Google in a fun and creative way. This presentation reads almost like a storybook, making it easy to move from one slide to the next.

What I like: This uncluttered approach provides viewers with an easy-to-understand explanation of a complicated topic.

19. “What Really Differentiates the Best Content Marketers From The Rest,” Ross Simmonds

Let‘s be honest: These graphics are hard not to love. I especially appreciate the author’s cartoonified self-portrait that closes out the presentation. Well played, Ross Simmonds.

What I like: Rather than employing the same old stock photos, this unique design serves as a refreshing way to present information that's both valuable and fun.

20. “Be A Great Product Leader,” Adam Nash

This presentation by Adam Nash immediately draws attention by putting the company's logo first — a great move if your company is well known.

What I like: He uses popular images, such as ones of Megatron and Pinocchio, to drive his points home. In the same way, you can take advantage of popular images and media to keep your audience engaged.

PowerPoint Presentation Examples for the Best Slide Presentation

Mastering a PowerPoint presentation begins with the design itself.

Get inspired by my ideas above to create a presentation that engages your audience, builds upon your point, and helps you generate leads for your brand.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in March 2013 and has been updated for comprehensiveness. This article was written by a human, but our team uses AI in our editorial process. Check out our full disclosure to learn more about how we use AI.

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