creative ideas for presentation in class

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75 Unique School Presentation Ideas and Topics Plus Templates

Are you tired of seeing the same PowerPoints repeating overused and unoriginal school presentation ideas covering repeated topics in your classes?

You know what I’m talking about; we’ve all been there, and sat through yawn-worthy demonstrations, slides, or presentation videos covering everything from the solar system, someone’s favorite pet, past presidents of a country, to why E=mC squared.

From grade school to university, first graders to college students, we are obligated to create, perform, and observe academic presentations across a plethora of curriculums and classes, and not all of these public speaking opportunities fall into the category of an ‘interesting topic’.

Yet, have no fear! Here at Piktochart, we are here to help you and your classmates. From giving examples of creative and even interactive presentation ideas, providing presentation videos , and suggesting interactive activities to give your five minutes of fame the ‘wow’ factor that it deserves, this article is your guide!

Our massive collection of unique school and college presentation ideas and templates applies if you’re:

• A teacher looking to make your class more engaging and fun with student presentations.
• A student who wants to impress your teacher and the rest of the class with a thought-provoking, interesting topic.

A Curated List of Interesting Topics for School Presentations

Did you know that when it comes to presentations , the more students involved improves retention? The more you know! Yet sometimes, you need a little help to get the wheels moving in your head for your next school presentation .

The great thing about these ideas and topics is you can present them either in face-to-face classes or virtual learning sessions.

Each school presentation idea or topic below also comes with a template that you can use. Create a free Piktochart account to try our presentation maker and get access to the high-quality version of the templates. You can also check out our Piktochart for Education plan .

Want to watch this blog post in video format? The video below is for you!

The templates are further divided into the following categories covering the most popular and best presentation topics. Click the links below to skip to a specific section.

• Unique science presentation topics to cultivate curiosity in class
• Engaging culture and history presentation ideas to draw inspiration from
• Health class presentation topics to help students make healthy lifestyle decisions
• Data visualization ideas to help students present an overwhelming amount of data and information into clear, engaging visuals
• First day of school activity ideas to foster classroom camaraderie
• Communication and media topics to teach students the importance of effective communication
• Topics to help students prepare for life after school

We hope this list will inspire you and help you nail your next school presentation activity.

Unique Science Presentation Topics to Cultivate Curiosity in Class

Science is a broad field and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with too many topics to choose for your next presentation.

Cultivate curiosity in the science classroom with the following unique and creative presentation ideas and topics:

1. Can life survive in space?

2. Do plants scream when they’re in pain?

3. What are the traits of successful inventors?

4. How vaccines work

5. Massive destruction of the Koala’s habitat in Australia

6. Left brain versus right brain

7. What are great sources of calcium?

Get access to high-quality, unique school presentation templates by Piktochart for Education.

Create and collaborate in the classroom using Piktochart’s customizable and printable templates for your school reports, presentations, and infographics.

8. Recycling facts you need to know

9. Do you have what it takes to be a NASA astronaut?

10. The rise of robots and AI: Should we be afraid of them?

11. How far down does the sea go?

12. The stages of sleep

13. Will Mars be our home in 2028?

14. A quick look at laboratory safety rules

15. The first person in history to break the sound barrier

Engaging Culture and History Presentation Ideas to Draw Inspiration From

History is filled with equally inspiring and terrifying stories, and there are lessons that students can learn from the events of the past. Meanwhile, interactive presentations about culture help students learn and embrace diversity. 

16. Women in history: A conversation through time

17. The sweet story of chocolate 

18. A history lesson with a twist 

19. The history of basketball 

20. The origin of the Halloween celebration 

21. AI History 

22. What you need to know about New Zealand 

23. 1883 volcanic eruption of Krakatoa 

24. Roman structures: 2000 years of strength

25. The most famous art heists in history 

26. Elmo: The story behind a child icon 

27. 10 things you should know before you visit South Korea 

28. 8 things you didn’t know about these 8 countries 

Health Class Presentation Topics to Help Students Make Healthy Lifestyle Decisions

Want to learn how to engage students with healthcare topic ideas? Then consider using these templates for your next interactive presentation.

According to the CDC , school-based health education contributes to the development of functional health knowledge among students. It also helps them adapt and maintain health-promoting behaviors throughout their lives. 

Not only will your presentation help with keeping students engaged, but you’ll also increase class involvement with the right slides.

The following examples of health and wellness interactive presentations include fun ideas and topics that are a good start. 

29. How to look after your mental health?

30. The eradication of Polio

31. How to have a healthy lifestyle 

32. 10 handwashing facts 

33. Myths and facts about depression

34. Hacks for making fresh food last longer 

35. Ways to avoid spreading the coronavirus

36. Mask protection in 5 simple steps 

37. Everything you need to know about the flu

38. All about stress: Prevention, tips, and how to cope 

39. The importance of sleep 

40. Is milk tea bad for you?

41. How to boost happiness in 10 minutes

42. How dirty are debit and credit cards 

43. Why do you need sunscreen protection

Data Visualization Ideas to Help Students Present Overwhelming Amounts of Data in Creative Ways

Data visualization is all about using visuals to make sense of data. Students need to pull the main points from their extensive research, and present them by story telling while being mindful of their classmates’ collective attention span.

As far as student assignments go, storytelling with data is a daunting task for students and teachers alike. To keep your audience interested, consider using a non linear presentation that presents key concepts in creative ways.

Inspire your class to be master data storytellers with the following data visualization ideas:

44. Are we slowly losing the Borneo rainforest?

45. Skateboard deck design over the years

46. Food waste during the Super Bowl

47. The weight of the tallest building in the world

48. Infographic about data and statistics

49. Stats about cyberbullying

50. How whales combat climate change

First Day of School Interactive Activity Ideas to Foster Whole-class-Camaraderie

Calling all teachers! Welcome your new students and start the school year with the following back-to-school creative presentation ideas and relevant templates for first-day-of-school activities.

These interactive presentations grab the attention of your students and are remarkably easy to execute (which is the main educator’s goal after all)!

51. Meet the teacher

52. Example: all about me

53. Self-introduction

54. Tips on how to focus on schoolwork

55. Course plan and schedule

Give our class schedule maker a try to access more templates for free. You can also access our presentation-maker , poster-maker , timeline-maker , and more by simply signing up .

56. Interpreting a student’s report card (for parents)

57. Introduction of classroom rules

58. Assignment schedule

59. Daily planner

60. Course syllabus presentation

61. How to write a class presentation

Topics to Teach Students the Importance of Effective Communication

Visual media  helps students retain more of the concepts  taught in the classroom. The following media topics and infographic templates can help you showcase complex concepts in a short amount of time. 

In addition, interactive presentation activities using these templates also encourage the development of a holistic learning process in the classroom because they help focus on the  three domains of learning:  cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. 

62. Interactive presentation do’s and don’ts 

63. How to create an infographic 

Recommended reading : How to Make an Infographic in 30 Minutes

64. How to improve your internet security and privacy

65. What is design thinking?

66. What are your favorite software tools to use in the classroom? 

Presentation Topic Ideas to Help Students Prepare for Life After School

One of the things that makes teaching a rewarding career is seeing your students take the learning and knowledge you’ve instilled in them, and become successful, productive adults.

From pitching a business idea to starting your podcast, the following topics are good starting points to prepare students for the challenges after graduation (aka adulting 101):

67. How to make a resume

68. How to start a startup

69. Credit card vs. debit card

70. Pros and cons of cryptocurrency

71. How to save on travel

72. How to do a SWOT analysis

73. How to pitch a business idea

74. Habits of successful people

75. Starting your own podcast: A checklist

Find out how a high school teacher like Jamie Barkin uses Piktochart to improve learning in the classroom for her students.

Pro tip: make your presentation as interactive as possible. Students have an attention span of two to three minutes per year of age. To keep minds from wandering off, include some interactive games or activities in the lesson. For example, if you conducted a lesson on the respiratory system, you could ask them to practice breathing techniques.

Maintain eye contact with your students, and you’ll get instant feedback on how interested they are in the interactive presentation.

Make School Presentation Visuals Without the Hassle of Making Them From Scratch

School presentations, when done right, can help teachers engage their classes and improve students’ education effectively by presenting information using the right presentation topic. 

If you’re pressed for time and resources to make your school presentation visuals , choose a template from Piktochart’s template gallery . Aside from the easy customization options, you can also print and download these templates to your preferred format. 

Piktochart also professional templates to create infographics , posters , brochures , reports , and more.

Creating school-focused, engaging, and interactive presentations can be tedious at first, but with a little bit of research and Piktochart’s handy templates, you’re going to do a great job!

The future of learning is interactivity and collaboration.

Foster interactive and collaborative learning using Piktochart for Education. Share your work, get feedback, and brainstorm on the fly. With Piktochart, everyone’s on the same page. Finally.

Kyjean Tomboc is an experienced content marketer for healthcare, design, and SaaS brands. She also manages content (like a digital librarian of sorts). She lives for mountain trips, lap swimming, books, and cats.

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14 Fun & Interactive Presentation Games for Teams and Students

So you've got an audience to energize, students to engage, or a team that needs a little extra fun — playing an interactive presentation game is an easy way to do just that.

We've done the research and found the best of these games for you: we looked specifically for games that are simple to set up, fun to play, and flexible enough to be used with a variety of presentations and audiences. Most of these activities work virtually with Zoom/PowerPoint and can also be used in person.

Which of these 14 presentation games do you like best? Take a look and let us know your favorites:

1. Live Trivia Competition

A great way to ramp up the excitement and engagement is to enable a little bit of friendly competition. Trivia is an easy way to do this—plus, it can be whole-group inclusive and large-audience friendly (if you use the right tools).

Here's a great trivia game you can run with your team, students, or any large audience. It's already created for you with questions and scoring built in to make it even easier:

Here's how to play:

• Make a free account here: https://slideswith.com/  
• Click the slide deck and copy it. 
• Launch the trivia game by clicking "Start Event."
• Invite your group to join in and submit answers using their mobile devices (show the winners automatically).
• Interact and play during your presentation!

This trivia game has questions on many topics to keep your audience's attention and appeal to everyone. It only takes 10-15 minutes to play, so it's a great game for long discussions! Also, this interactive activity is free for up to ten participants and is totally customizable.

2. Sing and Swing 

To really liven up your group, encourage your listeners to play Sing and Swing. This activity is best for long presentations because it boosts energy, creates a fun, light-hearted environment, and makes people laugh a lot. 

Here's how to play: 

• Before your presentation, pick a well-known song and rewrite the chorus (replace parts of it with words and phrases from your presentation) 
• When you're ready to play, show the song on your screen. 
• Invite your audience to sing it with you!

If you have a fun group or a class of energetic students, consider adding choreography to engage your audience even more. 

3. 20 Questions

If you want a presentation game that requires your listeners to talk more than you, 20 Questions is the one to play! A classic and simple activity, this game immediately boosts engagement and gets people laughing. 

Here's how to play: Have someone put an appropriate image or word on the screen behind you (this can be an audience member you trust or a colleague or co-presenter). To make things more fun, put on a blindfold so that everyone knows you can't cheat. From there, ask 20 "yes or no" questions to guess what's displayed on the screen. Your group should respond "yes" or "no" to guide you to the correct answer. 

4. Scavenger Hunt Challenge

To get your audience out of their seats, a scavenger hunt challenge is one of the best interactive games for presentations. It'll immediately energize your audience , team, or students while giving them a fun way to learn.  

There are tons of in-person and virtual scavenger hunt ideas you can use to dive deeper into your topic or help everyone learn about one another. But if you want a ready-to-play game that you can instantly launch without having any tech skills, here's a fun one to play: 

• Use an email address and password to create a free account here: https://slideswith.com/ (a free account guarantees up to ten people can play at no charge). 
• Click the game and press "Copy and use this slide deck." 
• In the top right corner, click "Start Event."
• Ask listeners to join the game by using their mobile devices to scan the QR code. Players should continue using their mobile devices to submit answers to questions.
• Have everyone start hunting for items! 

This activity is a particularly fun game because it's a photo-hunt, show-and-tell challenge! That means your audience will not only get out of their seats to find items, but they'll also get to take pictures and share and discuss photos of what they find. This conversational element will help engage your group! 

5. Group Word Clouds

Whether you're speaking to team members, students, or conference-goers, this activity lets you ask questions and get your listeners' thoughts on specific topics. 

This game is the perfect way to start your presentation, especially if you're discussing something with a wide range of opinions or are unsure how much your listeners know about a certain subject. Group Word Clouds is also beneficial if you want to do a quick meeting pulse or know how your listeners feel going into your presentation—understanding their energy levels and mood can help you adjust (if necessary) to get maximum engagement and excitement.

To enjoy this activity, keep things simple by using a tool that already offers a ready-to-play Group Word Clouds game. Here's a popular one you can launch immediately: 

• Create a free account by entering an email and password here: https://slideswith.com/  
• Click the game and then copy it (the button to do so is right underneath the slide deck).
• Press "Start Event" in the top right corner. 
• Tell participants to play by scanning the QR code. 
• Create word clouds and have fun!

This interactive game only takes 5-10 minutes to play, so it's a fast, fun way to engage your audience and feel out the room. Players can use their mobile devices to answer questions. This activity is also free for up to 10 people and is easy to personalize.

6. The Get to Know You Game

This activity is one of the best presentation games if you have a small group that doesn't really know each other. The Get to Know You Game is a creative way to do introductions, and it's really simple.

Here's how to play the game: Before the event, ask group members to bring a favorite song or item to the presentation (you can do this by emailing them). When you're ready to play, ask each person to introduce themself, present their song or item, and explain why they picked it. For those sharing a song, have them play it on their phones before they explain why it's their favorite. 

7. Live Poll Questions 

When you have a large group, it's not easy to find ways to boost engagement—but poll questions are the solutions, especially when they're live and interactive. With this unique setup, large groups engage by answering questions and seeing their answers displayed in a fun way. 

Your job is to make sure you actually find a game that showcases responses uniquely to captivate your group. For a quick and great option, here's a popular icebreaker activity that promises to display responses using fun formats like word clouds, donut charts, live graphs, and per-player: 

• Create an account for free to access the game:  https://slideswith.com/  
• Click the slide deck and press the button to copy it. 
• Look in the top right corner of the deck and press "Start Event."
• Invite your group to play the game. They only need to use their mobile devices to scan the QR code. 
• Start polling your audience!

This activity is one of those fun presentation games everyone will want to enjoy, so invite all of your team members and students to participate. This game can accommodate up to 250 players and takes 5-10 minutes to complete. Tell your group to use their mobile devices to submit their responses. 

8. Assumptions 

This interactive game is a great way to break up your presentation to see who's paying attention and who can answer questions pertaining to your topic. 

• Ask your audience to stand up (for virtual presentations, make sure everyone's video is on). 
• Show true or false statements on the screen one by one. 
• Tell people to raise a hand if they think the statement is correct and sit down if they think it's incorrect.
• Continue until one person is left standing.
• Award the winner. 

This activity can be as short and challenging as you want. Also, if your presentation is long, you can play multiple rounds to break up your speaking time and test your audience throughout your discussion.  

9. Controversial Questions 

Want to see where your audience, students, or team lands on controversial topics? Then, energize your presentation with a fun, creative game called Controversial Questions. This activity has prompts that inspire lively debates, so it's a great way to get your group excited and chatty. 

However, to maintain a positive environment, make sure to find a tool that offers an office-friendly, classroom-friendly, and conference-friendly game. You don't want to sour the mood by creating uncomfortable division during your presentation. To make sure this game is fun and light-hearted, here's a popular one that's suitable for all audiences and ages: 

• Sign up for a free account by inputting an email address and password here:  https://slideswith.com/pricing  
• Click the game and press the button that says, "Copy and use this deck." 
• Press "Start Event" (the button is in the top right corner). 
• Have participants join the fun by asking them to scan the QR code with their mobile devices. 
• Get controversial and play! 

This interactive game for presentations asks fun (but appropriate) questions like:

• Does pineapple belong on pizza?
• Does the person flying in the middle seat get both armrests?
• Should the toilet roll go over or under? 

Players should use their mobile devices to submit answers. Up to ten people can play for free, and you can customize the game by updating the questions!

10. Word of the Day 

With this activity, you can keep your audience, team, or students engaged throughout your entire presentation. This  game requires listeners to be alert and recognize whenever you say the word of the day. 

Here's how to play: At the beginning of your presentation, tell your group the word of the day (it can also be a phrase if you'd prefer). Say that you'll weave the word into your presentation and that your audience must shout it out whenever you mention it. 

11. Mini Activity: Group Icebreaker

Whether you're doing an in-person or virtual presentation, you need to warm up your audience to get things started on a positive note. The best way to do that is with a quick icebreaker game. 

However, make sure your questions are fun, positive, and engaging. You can easily do this by finding a game that already has the best icebreaker questions included. Here's one that's ready to play (and requiring no tech skills to launch): 

• Input an email address and password to make a free account here: https://slideswith.com/  
• Click the deck and copy it (press "Copy and use this deck). 
• Click the button in the top right corner that says "Start Event."
• Invite participants to play by asking them to scan the QR code. 
• Break the ice to warm up your audience!

Your group should use their mobile devices to submit responses to poll questions. Also, this game accommodates up to 250 players, but only ten people can join for free.

12. Process of Elimination 

This activity is one of the best games for presentations because it's simple yet fun and great at helping listeners get to know each other. You can play it at the beginning of your presentation or in the middle to give your group a chance to stretch their legs. 

• Before your event, create a list of "yes or no" questions. 
• Once you're ready to play, tell your group to stand up (if you're doing a virtual presentation, make sure everyone's video is on). 
• Ask each question one by one. 
• Tell attendees to stand if their answer is "yes" and sit if their answer is "no." 

The questions can relate to your topic or be totally random. Also, if you'd prefer to thin out the number of people standing, you can take a creative twist and ask your questions by saying something like this: "Stay standing if (insert scenario)." When phrasing each question this way, the game will end with one person standing. To acknowledge the winner, you can give them a round of applause or award them a prize. 

13. Conference Opener Icebreaker 

If you're speaking at a big conference, you need an interactive game for presentations that can get everyone involved and ensure every voice is heard. To achieve these goals, you should create an icebreaker game that works for large groups . 

Using an easy, intuitive template is the best step to take. That way, you don't have to start from scratch or spend hours making your game. For a template that requires no code or tech-savviness to build on, here's the best option: 

• Sign up by making a free account here: https://slideswith.com/  
• Click on the game. On the next page, click the button to copy and use the deck. 
• Customize the template using the instructions HERE . 
• During your presentation, press "Start Event" in the top right corner. 
• Ask the group to use their mobile devices to scan the QR code and join the fun. (Also, make sure participants use their mobile devices to submit answers.) 
• Play and engage your audience!  

This template has fun, interactive features built in to keep your large audience engaged. Those features include polls, word clouds, and ratings. Just make sure you sign up for a paid plan to accommodate the large number of people in your group—the free account only works for up to ten players. 

14. Two Truths and a Lie 

This classic game is a fun, energizing way to help your listeners get to know one another. It's perfect for small in-person or virtual groups and is an ideal activity for the beginning of your presentation. 

Here's how to play: Pick any topic (for the purposes of this article, the topic will be "movies"). In no particular order, say two movies you've really watched and one you haven't watched. Ask your audience to guess which statement is the lie. The winner picks the next topic and says two truths and a lie. 

Be Memorable With Presentation Games

Oftentimes, people forget presentations within a week or even days, and that's because the discussions are boring. But you don't work hard preparing a presentation for it to be forgotten. If you want your message to stick, all you have to do is make it enjoyable without being corny.  

If you want to be remembered and actually get people engaged, you need to make your presentation fun and enjoyable, without coming off as corny or desperate to please. Ivan Dimitrijevic, 10 Secrets of Making Every Presentation Fun, Engaging, and Enjoyable

Luckily, the interactive presentation games in this article are unique and exciting—they're far from corny. So, use them for your upcoming presentations to make your messages compelling and memorable. 

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13 Interactive Presentation Ideas to Engage Students in Class

If you’re a teacher, you’ll know that there’s a lot to think about when you’re in class. It’s important to ensure that what you’re teaching the children is as educational and as interesting as possible - with the aim of engaging the students in the subject and hopefully even enabling them to enjoy learning! 

This can be a very difficult balance to strike. However, it’s made easier by these interactive presentation ideas listed in this article, which can engage even the most distracted of students!

How to display presentations

The best classroom gadget to show these presentations on is an interactive display. These are large devices that are mounted to the wall and can connect seamlessly with any video collaboration applications. You can connect interactive displays to the internet and further use them as a powerful classroom teaching tool, to help students learn in a fully interactive and efficient way. We sell interactive displays for classrooms  here at Avocor.

Interactive class presentation ideas 

Ice breakers.

Many work-related presentations start with an icebreaker, and there’s no reason why a presentation to a class of students should be any different. 

The icebreaker question will depend on the class and age of students, but could be something like the following: 

• If you could be an animal, what would it be and why? 
• What would be your dream place to go on holiday? 
• If you could have dinner with three historical characters, who would they be and why? 
• If you could make any kind of potion, what would it do? 

Incorporating video is one of the best interactive presentation ideas for students. Even if the video is about the same topic as the presentation, the fact that it’s a different type of media will interest the class. 

You can either find a suitable video on YouTube or another video software or, if you have a file saved, paste it directly into the presentation . 

Questions and answers

Questions and answers are a great way to get the whole class involved. You could invite one student to ask a hypothetical question about the topic, and another could answer. 

For example, if you’re learning about Henry VIII and his six wives , you could ask a student to ask a question about them. Their question could be “what was Henry VIII’s favourite food?” or something similar. 

When another student answers, you could ask them to explain their answer - for example, if they say “meat and bread”, they might carry on to explain that that was the main diet for royalty at the time. 

Songs are a good way to interest younger kids in a topic. You can find songs about all sorts of subjects on YouTube. For example, this seven continents song could be suitable for a Geography song. 

Many songs on YouTube have lyrics, so you could encourage your class to practice their reading as they sing along. 

Some presentations are made more interactive by external objects - and if you want to engage younger kids, bringing some props can really help the lesson to come alive. 

For example, if you’re doing a history lesson about the Ancient Egyptians , you could bring some figures of Tutankhamun, the Sphinx and the ancient pyramids for everybody to see. 

Class involvement

Asking for direct class involvement throughout the presentation is a good way to ensure that students stay engaged. For instance, if you’re doing a presentation about animals, you could ask students to make a noise every time you mention a certain animal.

You could ask them to roar each time you mention lions, or make a monkey noise each time you talk about monkeys. This is a great way to ensure that the students are paying attention! 

Transitions and animations

A simple way to ensure that your students are paying attention is to use different transitions and animations throughout your presentation. 

If you’re teaching older kids or teenagers, you might not want to have too many of these, but younger kids will love seeing every item bounce onto the screen. It’s a wonderful way to get them interested in technology in the classroom !

Quizzes are an effective way to engage students of any age. You can include these at the end of the presentation and they can include questions that you’ve covered in the session. 

If your students know that there will be a quiz at the end of the class, they may be more likely to pay attention throughout it! You could also ensure maximum engagement by telling students that there will be prizes for the winner of the quiz - such as stickers or sweets. 

Interactive games

Interactive games for class presentations are always a popular way to ensure that students stay engaged! Some examples include: 

• noughts and crosses or tic tac toe
• pictionary 
• hangman or an alternative like spaceman
• 21 questions

It’s best to make these games related to the subject. For example, the game “21 questions” involves you thinking of a character and students asking questions with a yes or no answer about what character you are. 

If you’re teaching a history class, the character could be somebody from history (such as Florence Nightingale or Queen Victoria), or if you’re instructing a science lesson, the character could be a famous scientist (like Einstein or Steven Hawking). 

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is another great way to get the class involved. You can use an interactive display to create the brainstorm diagram on. Students can take turns writing on the board, and it  can securely connect to any external devices, so any remote class members can join in. 

With an interactive display, you can also immediately share the diagram to the rest of the class once it’s finished, so they can keep it to refresh their knowledge of a topic. 

For example, if you’re teaching your class about Australia in geography , you could ask their students what they may already know about Australia. They could come up with some items like the following: 

• Sydney Opera House
• Aboriginal art
• outback 

You could then create a spider diagram with different legs depending on the topic. For this list, there could be an “animals” leg for kangaroos and koalas, an “architecture” leg for the Sydney Opera House, a “landscapes” leg for the rainforest and outback, a “culture” leg for Aboriginal art and a “food” leg for BBQ.

Make a story

Making a story about the topics covered can encourage creativity around the topic. To do this, write down a couple of opening lines to a story related to the topic that you’re teaching. 

For example, if you’re teaching students about the Ancient Roman Empire, you could start by saying “Ronald the Roman lived in the British City of Bath, where the Romans had arrived 20 years before. He spent most of his time at work, where he built houses for the rest of the Romans”. 

Then, you could invite a student to continue the story, encouraging them to stay as on-topic as possible. You could even give out a prize to the student with the best part of the story. Depending on the size of the class, you could ask every student to contribute. 

Stories also work well for English lessons. In these classes, the topic of the story doesn’t matter as much, but you could encourage students to use whatever language they’ve been learning. 

For example, if your class has been focused on adjectives, you could ask students to put as many adjectives as possible in each part of their story. 

Have a short play 

You could take your stories to the next level by creating a short play on one of your slides. This could be based on whatever topic you’re learning about, and you could select a few students to come to the front of the class and read out the lines. 

You may wish to create this personally, find a relevant play online or you could even turn a well-known story into a play!

Virtual field trip

One of the most creative interactive school presentation ideas is to take the class on a virtual field trip. This is particularly valuable for geography lessons, where you may learn about places that students might not be able to visit in person, like the Amazon rainforest or even under the sea!

You could link to Google maps, where you could use Google Earth to explore a particular area. Alternatively, there are some YouTube channels that specialise in virtual tours and field trips, such as this one which details all you need to know about rainforests .

If you have a classroom full of students and want to keep them as engaged as possible while teaching them new material, try some of these interactive games for classroom presentations and other ideas! 

By incorporating some of these interactive ideas into your presentation, you’ll have the students’ full undivided attention and ensure that they not only enjoy the class but retain the information.

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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 > Interactive PowerPoint presentations in class

Interactive PowerPoint presentations in class

03.08.2023   •  #powerpoint #tips.

Presentations can be a great way to make your lessons exciting and informative and to informative and to better communicate information to your students. Many students do not feel engaged and integrated enough with normal presentations. To increase the attention span and arouse enthusiasm, interactive elements such as quizzes, word clouds or feedback rounds can help, to significantly increase learning success.

Common problems that arise during presentations in class

Presentations are a central element of the learning process, but they often involve challenges that need to be overcome. We have highlighted four common problems that often accompany presentations in class:

1. Lack of interaction

Standard PowerPoint presentations offer limited opportunities for audience interaction and engagement. They lack features to gather feedback or answer questions in real time and respond to requests.

2. Student passivity

Students are often forced into a passive role when the focus is only on the slides and the presenter simply delivers them in a heavy-handed manner.

3. Time managementt

Creating good presentations can take a lot of time and can be a difficult task for some.

4. Information Overload

Too much information at once, without a break can overwhelm and scare away younger students in particular. It's hard to focus on what's important and grasp the key messages.

4 ideas for interactive presentations in classes

Interactive presentations demonstrably increase learning success and retention. This is also confirmed by a study of the Keele University . The results here show very clearly to what extent involving the audience increases attention as well as knowledge transfer. It was found that the grades of the participants improved by 3.7%, as well as and the failure rate was reduced by 4.4% over the whole school year. were reduced.

1. Interactive classroom engagement

Students can ask questions anonymously and provide interactive feedback. This encourages active participation in the classroom and creates an open learning environment. Teachers could respond spontaneously to questions or interesting discussion points and customize lessons.

Here are some ways to better engage students in the classroom:

• Voting on the desired teaching material : Teachers can include an interactive survey where students choose from a variety of topics they would like to learn more about in class. This allows students to help shape the lesson and contribute their interests.
• Surveys in which subject areas the students need more support : Teachers can start a survey to identify areas where students are having difficulty or need more explanation. This can help to tailor the lessons to the needs of the students.
• Anonymous questions about ambiguities in specific subject areas : For example, students can use SlideLizard to anonymously ask questions about topics they didn't fully understand. These questions can then be discussed in class to clarify misunderstandings and deepen understanding.

2. Brainstorming and unleashing creativity

Interactive slides enable teachers and students to collaboratively brainstorming sessions into the presentation, and to create a presentation. The feature allows ideas to be collected and structured on virtual pinboards. and structure them. The result is an interactive collaboration that unleashes creativity and promotes the exchange of ideas. encourages.

Here are some ideas on how to incorporate brainstorming in the classroom:

• Brainstorming for possible solutions : When addressing complex problems or challenges, teachers can ask students to brainstorm different solutions together on an interactive slide. This encourages teamwork and creative thinking.
• Collection of ideas for projects : Teachers can use an interactive slide where students can collect creative ideas for upcoming projects. These ideas can then be discussed and developed together.
• Solutions for social challenges : Students can brainstorm and discuss ideas for addressing real-world social problems such as poverty, inequality, or pollution.

3. Learning with quizzes

Interactive quizzes are a highlight of PowerPoint presentations. Teachers can check what students have already learned in a playful way and track the learning success. The students in turn experience a motivating sense of achievement when they answer the quiz questions correctly. This makes the learning process not only entertaining, but also effective.

Here are some concrete ideas for how teachers can use quizzes in a meaningful way in the classroom:

• Short knowledge tests during the presentation : Teachers can include a short quiz after each section of a presentation to ensure that students understand the key concepts before moving on to the next section.
• Preparation for exams : Teachers can create more comprehensive quizzes that cover the entire subject matter and help students prepare for upcoming exams.
• Continuous knowledge checks : Teachers can create regular, short quizzes to ensure that knowledge learned builds and deepens consistently over time.

4. Flexibility in teaching through discussions

Additional slides can also be used or set aside to be be flexible to the needs of the students. Teachers can react spontaneously to respond spontaneously to questions or interesting discussion points and individually.

Here are some ways teachers can use discussions to engage students more fully in the classroom:

• Small group discussions : Teachers can divide students into small groups and have them discuss on different slides. Each group can then present their findings or conclusions.
• Feedback and reflexion : After a presentation or lecture, teachers can ask questions on a slide that encourage students to reflect on what they have heard. These questions can then be discussed together.
• Visualize discussions as a word cloud : The students' contributions and thoughts from a discussion can be visualized on a slide as a word cloud. Frequently mentioned words are displayed larger, which draws the focus to dominant topics or trends. This provides a visual summary of the discussion and encourages analysis of the most important aspects.

Tips: Create interactive presentations

One tool that can help you create interactive presentations is SlideLizard. SlideLizard offers a wide range of interactive features, such as word clouds, polls, quizzes or feedback rounds for your teaching. You can integrate the interactive slides directly into your PowerPoint presentation and the results of polls or word clouds during the lesson are automatically visualized in real time. Learn more about interactive teaching with SlideLizard here.

Using interactive PowerPoint presentations with SlideLizard allows teachers to take teaching to a new level and overcome these problems. By combining word clouds, quizzes, interactive feedback sessions, and brainstorming sessions, SlideLizard creates an inspiring learning environment where students can actively participate in the classroom and unlock their potential. Let's use this creative and innovative approach to unleash the potential of visual connection and take teaching in schools to a new level. Learning can be so much fun!

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About the author.

Annika Fachberger

Annika is dedicated to graphics and videos. At SlideLizard she supports the design team with her creative ideas.

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The big SlideLizard presentation glossary

Valedictory speech.

A valedictory speech is given in order to say goodbye, usually at graduation. It should inspire listeners and functions as a send-off into "real life".

B2C means Business to Customer. A B2C event is hosted by a company for its customers. It's important for gaining new customers and for satisfieing regular clients.

Manuscript Speech

For a manuscript speech, the speaker has an entire manuscript to read from. The benefit is that, as every single word is scripted, no important parts will be missed. However, speeches that are fully written down often seem unnatural and may bore the audience.

Informative Presentations

An information presentation is created when no solution is currently available. Facts, data and figures or study results are presented and current processes are described.

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10 interactive presentation games for students

“Welcome to Panel Island, one of my favorite sessions of all time. Not because I get to vote nice people off, but because you get to vote nice people off.” – Mark Fordham, iMeet Central

Four experts. Three rounds. One survivor. That was the wrinkle Mark Fordham, VP of Customer Success at iMeet Central, added to his company’s recurring panel discussions .

Each panelist answers specific questions related to his or her field. Then the audience votes for their favorite responses. The panelist with the fewest votes is voted off the “island.”

Discussions continue until only one panelist remains. Poll Everywhere handles the voting. Between talks, the audience selects their favorite speaker using their mobile devices, and the results appear in an animated chart in real time.

This is just one of many ways presenters and educators use interactive presentation games to keep the audience on its toes. Here are eight more ideas for your next class, workshop, or meeting.

1. Process of elimination

This presentation game for 10 or more players helps the audience get to know each other

This game provides valuable insights into your audience members, while also giving them a chance to stretch their legs.

Here’s how it works: Have everybody in your audience stand up. You’ll then pose prompts one at a time. Attendees’ responses to those prompts will dictate whether they stand or sit.

For example, let’s say that you’re speaking at a large auditorium style classroom. Once your whole class is on their feet, you’d start by saying something like, “Sit down if this is your first time in this building.”

From there, you could keep thinning your students by saying, “Stay standing if you’ve had more than one class in this room,” and so on and so forth until only a few people – or only one person – remain on their feet. At that point, you could offer a prize or a round of applause.

Read more: When anonymous trumps public feedback in a presentation

2. Two truths and a lie

Welcome new students, or reintroduce old ones, with this presentation game

This classic icebreaker game works great with a recent Poll Everywhere addition: instruction image . Now you can present a photo alongside that person’s two truths and a lie so everyone knows exactly who they’re voting on.

Here’s how it works: create a new multiple choice activity in Poll Everywhere. Enter the participant’s name as the title, and two truths and a lie as the responses. Select the checkmarks next to the two truths to do a big reveal after voting ends.

After you create this activity, add an instruction image depicting the person you’re talking about. Be sure to check the box next to ‘Show instructions image on bar chart’ so the image is always visible.

You can see in the image above that I changed the bar chart to a column chart. I find this improves readability on the presentation screen since the text isn’t sandwiched between chart and image. Try to make your two truths and lie as short as possible. Shorter responses are always easier to read in the chart.

3. Telephone

See just how jumbled a phrase can get when it’s passed one-by-one around the room

Do you remember the game of telephone that you played as a kid? It’s just as fun as an adult.

Here’s how it works: Telephone starts by whispering a sentence into someone’s ear. Then that person repeats what you said to the person next to them. The chain continues on until the final person states aloud what they heard. It’s often something totally different from the original — with hilarious results.

You can use this in your presentation in an educational way by starting with a question that the audience wants to know (i.e. “How did Company XYZ increase their sales by 45%?”). Then, whisper the answer to the first person. Make sure to speak in a complete sentence — rather than just a few words — to make it tougher for your participants.

Despite the fact that you started the chain by whispering, “Company XYZ used content marketing to engage prospects,” you’re sure to end up with something quite ridiculous by the end.

A little advice: If you want to make this game go faster, you can do this by individual audience rows, instead of involving the whole room. It can also be fun to compare the different end results. Just know that the more people you have involved, the more twisted (and funny) the result becomes.

Read more: 20 staff meeting ideas that keep employees alert and engaged

4. Riddle me this

Wake up the audience with a brain-teaser, then reveal everyone’s responses at once

Riddles are a natural fit for Poll Everywhere word clouds . This activity transforms audience responses into a colorful, animated word cloud. Repeated words grow larger within the cloud.

Here’s how it works: create a new word cloud activity. Make the title a riddle that has a single-word answer (not a sentence or a list). Create the activity, and on the following screen locate the ‘Show results’ button. Click it so that a picture of two phones appears. Wait until everyone has responded to your riddle, then click ‘Show results’ again to reveal the finished word cloud. If the correct answer is the largest word in the cloud, that means most of the audience got it right.

By hiding the results and revealing them after everyone has voted, you prevent participants from submitting whatever seems like the most popular answer. When the results are hidden, there is a small counter in the lower left that shows you how many have responded. That way, you know when voting is finished.

5. 20 questions

Deduce a hidden image or photo by flying through 20 yes-or-no questions with the audience

Who doesn’t love a good game of 20 questions? Fortunately, it’s incredibly easy to play with your presentation audience.

Here’s how it works: display a word or picture (it could be anything from a celebrity to an animal) on the screen behind you — so that you can’t see it but the audience can. You can even ask someone to blindfold you if you don’t want to run the risk of cheating.

Now, your entire audience can see what’s on the screen, and it’s up to you to ask twenty “yes or no” questions that will help you guess exactly what’s being displayed.

Invite audience members to just yell out their answers to your questions simultaneously to create a lively game that’s sure to give your audience’s enthusiasm a boost. Double down on this by setting a 60-second timer for the questions. When time runs out, it’s time to guess.

6. Would you rather?

Learn how the audience thinks with a tricky “Would you rather?” scenario that divides the group

This presentation game is more of a conversation-starter than a traditional game. There should never be a right or wrong answer in a “Would you rather?” scenario. The winner is whoever best justifies their choice and why it’s the best one for them.

Here’s how it works: create a new multiple choice activity. Begin the title with “Would you rather…” and enter the two responses as the two scenarios. After you create this activity, locate the ‘ Visual settings ‘ button. Select it, then locate ‘ Donut chart ‘ and select that too. Doing so changes the look of your activity from a bar chart to a donut chart. Donuts are a great way to clearly visualize the audience’s preference between two choices.

To take this game a step further, start a discussion after the voting ends. Ask everyone who voted for one option to raise their hands. Then, go around the room and ask people to explain in a few words why they selected one option over the other. Save and email a copy of the donut chart afterwards as a memento.

7. Anagrams

Challenge the audience to come up with a unique solution to your anagram that on one else will guess

The crux of this presentation game is solving an anagram: a jumble of letters that can be rearranged into many different words. This is a fun mental exercise for the audience, doubly so if you’re breaking up multiple, back-to-back presentations.

Here’s how it works: create a Poll Everywhere word cloud . Select an anagram that’s at least five or six characters long, such as the one above, so that the audience has plenty of possibilities. If you want to give this a competitive edge, challenge the audience to submit words no one else will think of. These words appear as the smallest words in the cloud. If you do this, be sure to hide responses while everyone responds. Otherwise participants will copy each other’s responses.

For added fun, set the number of submissions to unlimited. Doing so rewards players for coming up with multiple unique words (thereby increasing their chances of winning) or by strategically submitting the same word multiple times to inflate its size in the cloud. You can see who submitted what on the activity’s response history page .

8. Trivia competition

Quiz the audience with multiple choice questions. A leaderboard updates live with the scores.

Nothing hooks the audience’s attention faster than putting their pride on the line. Do this with a friendly trivia competition. Trivia questions are fun. But graded trivia questions are a contest. Poll Everywhere has the perfect activity for this scenario.

Here’s how it works: create a Poll Everywhere competition . This activity is a fully customizable trivia contest. You create the questions. The audience plays for points, and a leaderboard shows everyone who is in the lead. The audience earns points for responding correctly. They also earn bonus points for responding quickly. Expect to hear gasps and cheers each time the leaderboard reveals the new point totals.

Competitions is a great interactive presentation game for energizing the audience. People can compete individually or group into teams and respond from a single phone or device. A timer adds some extra pressure and keeps the competition moving. Don’t want the added stress? Switch off the timer. Either way, when you reach the end the winner gets a fun confetti surprise.

9. Choose your own adventure

Let the audience vote to control the flow of your presentation

One of the best ways to reinforce new information is to give people the opportunity to use that information in some way. Poll Everywhere multiple choice activities are a simple, customizable way to create that opportunity for almost any topic.

Here’s how it works: Say you just finished presenting a lengthy seminar on how to sell vacuums door-to-door. Everyone in the audience has scribbled pages of notes on what to say to whom and when. But none of them has actually sold a vacuum, yet.

Create a choose-your-own-adventure style conversation using a series of multiple choice activities. Each activity is a different line from your fictional vacuum purchaser, and the audience votes on different replies. Whichever reply gets the most votes is the one that advances the conversation, for better or worse.

This style of questioning has plenty of applications besides vacuum salesmanship, but the core function should be constant: Giving the audience a simply way to reflect upon, and apply, what they just learned.

10. Fill in the blanks

A simple worksheet does double duty during presentations

Here’s how it works: Create a worksheet and print out several copies before your presentation. Each question on the worksheet should be an important line from your presentation – but there’s a word or phrase missing. Ask the audience to fill in those gaps as they listen.

This accomplishes two very important things for the audience. First, the questions on the worksheet make it obvious what the key points or takeaways are from your presentation. They know what to focus on and pay special attention to. Second, the completed worksheet doubles as a resource that summarizes what you just presented. Attendees can refer back to it later if they forget something.

You can gamify this exercise ever-so-slightly by entering everyone who completed the worksheet before the end of your presentation into a raffle. It’s up to you whether or not you announce this beforehand, or have it be a surprise at the end.

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15 Interactive Presentation Ideas to Elevate Engagement

By Krystle Wong , Aug 04, 2023

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

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

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

Click to jump ahead:

What is an interactive presentation?

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

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

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

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

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

1. Ice-breaker questions

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

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

2. Live polling

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

3. Q&A sessions

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

4. Clickable buttons

Add clickable buttons to your slides, allowing the audience to navigate to specific sections or external resources at their own pace. For example, you could include links to your social media accounts or extra reading materials in your education presentation to give further information about the topic and get your students engaged. By providing this autonomy, you empower the audience to explore areas of particular interest, creating a more personalized and engaging experience through your interactive slideshow.

5. Storytelling

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

6. Interactive charts and graphs

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

7. Animated infographics

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

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

8. Gamification

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

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

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

10. Collaborative whiteboarding

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

11. Hyperlinked text

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

12. Role-playing

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

13. Embedded videos

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

14. Audience-generated content

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

15. Slide transitions

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

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

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

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

2. Mentimeter

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

3. Google Slides

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

4. Microsoft PowerPoint

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

5. Prezentor

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

6. Opinion Stage

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

7 . Venngage

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

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

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

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

1. Overloading with interactivity

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

2. Ignoring audience relevance

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

3. Not testing interactive elements

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

4. Poor timing and pace

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

5. Lack of clear purpose

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

6. Failing to engage beyond interactivity

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

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

How do you start an interactive presentation?

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

Which type of presentation is the most interactive?

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

How can interactive presentations enhance audience engagement?

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

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

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

Can interactive presentations be used for educational purposes?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8+ Interactive Presentation Ideas for Students | 2024 Reveals | Online and Offline Solutions

Lakshmi Puthanveedu • 01 Apr 2024 • 9 min read

Here we’ll show you six interactive presentation ideas for students that will help you improve their retention and attention span!

If you look at the evolution of education and teaching methods in the last few decades, you can see how technology has played a significant part in it.

Interactive presentations are about how teachers can make their students feel involved by making learning fun and exciting. Traditional teaching methods like storytelling, examples, visual and audio aids, etc., are still indispensable, but the question is, how do you make these interactive?

Table of Contents

#1 – story telling, #2 – interactive games, #3 – quizzes, #4 – brainstorming, #5 – q&as, #6. sing a song.

• #7. Host a Short Play
• #8 – Debates and Discussions

More Tips from AhaSlides

Besides interactive presentation ideas for students , let’s check out the following:

• Ultimate Guide to Interactive Presentation
• interactive presentation software for mac
• Types of presentation software

Start in seconds.

Still need ways to present information to a class? Get free templates for your next interactive presentation. Sign up for free and take what you want from the template library!

4 Tools to Generate Interactive Presentations Ideas for Students

Here are the top 4 pieces of software you can use to make a school presentation ideas interactive:

• Interactive Presentation Software: Make your classroom interactive with free live quizzes , polls , live Q&As , and brainstorming sessions . Get real-time results and feedback from your students who only need a phone to contribute.
• Interactive Whiteboards: Create, share, and make visually appealing frameworks with students. Idea boards let you do everything that you would normally do in a live classroom.
• Interactive Video Software: Seamlessly create lessons from existing videos on the internet or scratch. Some edtech video software also lets your students respond with their videos.
• Interactive Learning Management Systems: Organise, collaborate and store your teaching materials in one place with an interactive learning management system .

💡 Need more tools? Check out 20 digital classroom tools to help you craft engaging and exceptional lessons.

6 Interactive Presentation Ideas for Students

You’ve done your research and prepared excellent learning materials for your students, went over the topics to teach in a day, over and over again to perfection. Add a little sprinkle of “interactive activities” to the recipe, and you are all in to make the classroom experience memorable and engaging for your students.

Here are six interactive activities you can try online and offline to engage your students.

One of the best ways to grab your student’s attention is to tell stories. This could be a great icebreaker activity on a Monday to beat the blues, or you can use it as a filler activity after a complex class of maths, science or history.

You might wonder, what’s so interactive about this? Here’s how you could make this exciting and interactive for your students. 

Tell Your Story

Suitable for middle and high schoolers

Divide the class into groups. Ask each team to make an online presentation on a book, a movie, or a story they know of. The story could be left on a cliffhanger, and you could ask the audience how they think the story would end.

For this activity, you could use the open-ended slides on AhaSlides where the students could write their entries and display them in real-time on the screen.

Once everyone has put in their answers, the narrating team could reveal the ending, and the person who guessed the correct answer, or came closest to the right one, would get a prize.

Irrespective of which grade you are teaching, everyone loves to play games. Merging interactive games into your lesson plan can motivate your students to pay better attention in class and engage them.

You can either link the games to the topics you teach in the class or simply have them as fillers or as an icebreaker activity.

Here are three fun games you can play virtually or in class with your students.

🎉 Icebreaker games are a fantastic way to  break the ice  and  connect people  in any setting, from classrooms and meetings to casual gatherings.”

Suitable for all ages

There’s rarely anyone who doesn’t get excited hearing about this classic game. The game can be played in pairs of two or you can divide the whole class into groups, depending on the class size and grade you are teaching.

If you are hosting a virtual class, you can play Pictionary on Zoom using its whiteboard feature. Otherwise, you can use an online Pictionary platform like Drawasaurus , which can host up to 16 participants simultaneously.

Ambassadors

Ambassadors is a great game for teaching geography lessons. The players are assigned a country each, which they would represent. They are then asked to describe the country with facts about it, the flag, the currency, the food, etc.

The audience is given a specific time limit to guess the country. Instead of simply asking them to guess the answer, you can use a live word cloud to showcase everyone’s responses. The most guessed word would be highlighted largest in the centre of the cloud, with the rest descending in size depending on how many times your players submitted them.

Show and Tell

Suitable for primary students

Teaching complex vocabulary can be pretty tricky, especially with young learners. This is a perfect game to teach them new words, what category they belong to, their meaning and their uses.

Give the students a category – for example, stationery- and ask them to pick one item that belongs to the category and share something about it. It can be either a memory, a story or something they know about that item.

💡 Take a look at 100s more fun games you can play with your students in class!

Whether you want to teach something new, give the students a surprise test to see if they remember what they’ve learned till now, or have a fun activity, quizzes are the best way to go about it.

From multiple-choice and audio questions to picture quiz rounds and matching pairs, there are many interactive quizzes you can play in class to engage your students.

Along with hard skills the students learn with practice and learning techniques, it is essential for them to have specific soft skills too. Most often, when there’s any interactive activity in the class, students think of getting the ‘ correct answer’.

This kind of restricts their thinking, but when you have brainstorming activities, there’s a free flow of ideas. They can write any statement that comes to their head, which helps to improve their interpersonal skills and also their retention span.

Brainstorming can be either based on the presentation topic, or you could have a random game of your student’s choice. Let’s look at two brainstorming activities you can play with your students.

If you are looking for a simple game with little preparation, Tick-Tock is the one. The game is played in groups and each group will be given 1 topic.

• The students of each group are seated in a circle for this activity
• Give each team a theme or a topic, say Cartoons
• Every student in the team should name one cartoon within a set time limit and continue the game for the next 2 rounds.
• You can have one topic per round and eliminate students who didn’t answer within the time limit.
• The last one standing wins
• This can be played both as a filler or can be played according to the subject you are teaching.

Bridge the Words

Teaching English can be fun and exciting if you know how to use the right tools and activities at the right time. ‘Bridge the words’ can be used to teach compound words and vocabulary to students.

The complexity of the words can be decided based on the grade you are teaching.

• The game can be played individually or in groups.
• Give your students a list of words and ask them to choose one from it
• The students then have to come up with as many compound words as possible within a particular time

If you want to play this game with young learners, you could use a “match the pair” slide on AhaSlides.

💡 Check out some more tips and tricks to host a successful brainstorming session for your students.

Irrespective of what grade or subject you teach, your students will have some questions about the material.

But most of the time, students hesitate to ask questions because they are not confident enough or they fear that others might think the questions are silly. So how can you tackle this problem? 

A live Q&A can be a fun and interactive experience for your students with the help of online interactive platforms like AhaSlides.

• Students can send in their questions anonymously or with their names, depending on their choice.
• The questions will appear from newest to oldest, and you can mark the questions that are answered.
• Your students can upvote the popular questions, and you can answer them based on priority, as well as skip the ones that are less relevant or repetitive.

🎊 Learn more: Best Q&A Apps to Engage With Your Audience | 5+ Platforms For Free in 2024

Singing is a powerful tool for crowd engagement for several reasons

Creates a Shared Experience: Singing together fosters a sense of community and togetherness. It allows everyone to participate in a shared activity, regardless of musical ability. This creates a positive and energetic atmosphere.

Boosts Mood and Energy: Singing releases endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. This can uplift the mood of the crowd and create a more positive and energetic environment.

Improves Focus and Memory: Singing requires focus and coordination, which can improve alertness and concentration in the crowd. Additionally, singing along to familiar songs can help people remember the event more vividly.

Breaks Down Barriers: Singing can be a disarming and social activity. It can help people loosen up, break down social barriers, and feel more comfortable interacting with each other.

Interactive and Fun: Singing allows for call-and-response, participation in choruses, or even group choreography. This interactive element keeps the crowd engaged and adds a layer of fun to the event.

🎉 Random Song Generator Wheel | 101+ Best Songs Ever | 2024 Reveals

#7. Host A Short Play

Check out top 7 benefits hosting a short play to improve engagement in classes!

• Boosts Creativity and Confidence: Students involved in the writing, acting, or directing of a play get to tap into their creative sides. They learn to express themselves through different mediums and gain confidence in public speaking and performance.
• Improves Collaboration and Communication: Putting on a play is a collaborative effort. Students learn to work together, communicate effectively, and solve problems as a team.
• Enhances Literary Analysis: By delving into a short play, students gain a deeper understanding of character development, plot structure, and dramatic elements. They practice critical thinking skills as they analyze the play’s message and themes.
• Makes Learning Fun and Engaging: Short plays can be a refreshing break from traditional classroom activities. They can make learning more interactive and enjoyable for students of all learning styles.
• Develops Public Speaking Skills: Even small roles in a play require students to project their voices and speak clearly in front of an audience. This practice improves their public speaking skills that can benefit them throughout their lives.
• Builds Empathy and Understanding: Stepping into the shoes of a character allows students to explore different perspectives and develop empathy for others. Short plays can touch on a variety of topics, promoting social-emotional learning.
• Memorable Learning Experience: The process of creating and performing a play can be a memorable learning experience. Students will likely retain the lessons learned and the play’s themes long after the performance.

#8 – Debates and Discussions – Focus Groups

Guided debates and discussions are an excellent way to get students engaged. They give students an organised way to explore and express thoughts on topics they might already have strong opinions about.  

They are interactive by nature, boost your students’ confidence and teach them how to accept constructive criticism and respect the viewpoints of others.

Discussion topics can be selected either based on your lesson plan, or you can have general discussions that could be an additional activity in class.

📌 140 Conversation Topics That Work In Every Situation | 2024 Reveals

Government and Citizens

Getting your students excited about general knowledge can be a daunting task. ‘Government and Citizens’ is a multi-player game best suited for an offline classroom activity.

The game is pretty simple. The whole class is given a country to represent. You can ask the students to research the country and make relevant notes for the activity.

• Divide the class into different groups
• Each group is given a category to represent – citizens, office of the Mayor, Bank etc.
• Select a problem area – say, for example, “how can we make the country more sustainable?” and ask each group to raise their opinions.
• Each group can present their opinion on the same and have cross-discussions as well.

Debate Cards

Add a little spice to the classic debate game with customised index cards. These cards can be made out of regular paper, or you can buy plain index cards that can be customised later.

This game can help students think before an argument or rebuttal and use the resources they have to the maximum benefit.

• Make index cards (just a little extra than the total number of students)
• On half of them, write “comment” and “question” on the other half
• Give one card to each student
• Choose a debate topic, and the students need to use their index cards if they want to comment on the topic or raise a question
• The students will use their cards only when they think it is necessary
• You can reward them with extra cards if they make a strong point or raise an excellent question that keeps the debate moving

💡 For interactive presentation ideas for students, let’s check out 13 online debate games you can play with students of all ages.

Lakshmi Puthanveedu

A small-town girl enthralled by culture, languages, and sunsets. Casual artist and musician looking to make memories every step of the way. Now changing the way humans live and have virtual interactions with AhaSlides.

More from AhaSlides

50 Creative Ideas to Nail Your College Presentation

We’d be willing to bet that most college students enjoy presentations about as much as they like their 7am class. Whether they’re designing them, or in the audience, there are likely a million and one things they’d rather be doing (like napping in their dorm room). In fact, 79% will say that most presentations today suck. And 35% of millennials say that they will only engage with content they feel has a great story or theme. With a reputation like that, it’s no wonder students avoid presentations at all costs. 

As a result, many will end up procrastinating, losing sleep over choosing a topic, and piecing a deck together at the last minute. According to research, 47% of presenters put in more than eight hours into designing their presentations. You do the math. Eight hours at the eleventh hour equals an all-nighter.

Luckily, that doesn’t mean the final product has to be a poorly thought-out frankendeck. 

Creative presentation ideas for college students

A lot can ride on a class presentation. It might be your last project at the end of the semester that determines the fate of your final grade, or maybe it’s a group project that counts for half of your participation in the class. Whatever the stakes are, we’re here to help you nail your next college presentation.

Pick the right topic

Before committing to your topics for presentations in college, you should consider things like what excites you, what you’re knowledgeable in and what you’d be interested in learning more about, books or movies that inspire you, world events, buzz-worthy pop culture, and what topics relate to your class course. How can you apply these things to your next class presentation?

You’re in college, so it’s very likely that your classmates will be sleeping, or staring out the window, while you’re presenting at the front of the room. To keep them engaged, make it interesting with these unique college presentation ideas.

College presentation ideas

• The evolution of a specific product— like the cell phone
• A presentation on your favorite celebrity
• A history of the most influential presidents of the United States
• How modern medicine is made
• The highest paid [BLANK] in 2021
• A how-to presentation on something you’re passionate about— like building cars
• A book that you think should be made into a movie (and why)
• Your favorite cultural recipe
• Who built the Sphinx of Egypt
• Social media now and then
• Shakespeare’s hits and misses
• Debunking a conspiracy theory
• Unexpected traditions
• Who invented the SAT, and what is it?
• The most popular travel destinations for young adults in their 20s
• What is van life anyway?
• How is education different now than it was in the ‘70s
• How to live a more sustainable life
• The evolution of humans
• The history of the Internet
• Is organic really better?
• How to get the most out of an internship
• What employers are actually looking for on your resume, and how to write one
• Everything you need to know about global warming
• The top places with the most expensive cost of living in the United States
• The rise of TikTok
• What is influencer marketing and why is it so important?
• Classic movies that should be cancelled in 2021, and why
• Is eating vegan really better for your health?
• Are aliens real?
• Everything you need to know about the Big Bang Theory
• Why streaming services are the demise of classic cable
• Marijuana then and now: the process of getting it legalized
• 15 Memorable things about [blank]
• A comprehensive timeline of feminism
• Is print— newspapers, magazines, books— dead?
• The easiest foreign language to learn on your own
• The best life hacks I learned on TikTok
• What does white privilege mean to millennials and Generation Z?
• Understanding finance for young adults 101
• Everything you need to know about life after college
• The difference between electric cars and gas cars
• What is artificial intelligence anyway?
• How thrifting can help the environment
• The evolution of presentations: from caveman to TedTalks
• Applying your degree in real life
• The origins of your favorite music genre
• Everything you need to about becoming a surgeon
• The life cycle of [blank] 
• Life without technology: where would we be without modern technology?

Make it beautiful

You have your topic, now what? Did you wait until the absolute last second to get started? Here’s the good news: no need for an all-nighter. Beautiful.ai can help you nail your college presentation in a pinch. The ease of use, and intuitive controls, help you create something brilliant in minutes, not hours. Start inspired with our inspiration gallery of pre-built templates and customize them to fit your content.

It’s important to connect with your audience on an emotional level, so make sure to pick trendy colors, modern fonts, and high-quality visual assets to compliment your presentation and evoke emotion. Engage your audience (especially your professor) with dynamic animations, or videos, to help control the narrative and direct their attention to the key takeaways. 

Pro tip: use the shareable link to share your deck out with classmates, teachers, or social media friends after class. 

Jordan Turner

Jordan is a Bay Area writer, social media manager, and content strategist.

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20 creative presentation ideas to captivate your audience

Get your team on prezi – watch this on demand video.

Michael Lee June 17, 2019

The ultimate aim of every presentation is to etch a memorable mark that lingers in the minds of your audience long after the final slide fades away. Memorable presentations should be a creative blend of captivating design, innovative elements, and engaging delivery. To ignite your presentation prowess and set your creativity on fire, we’ve handpicked a treasure trove of 20 ingenious creative presentation ideas that will transform your presentations from bland to brilliantly unforgettable:

1. Experiment with color

It’s surprising what a little color can do. The way you use and pair colors in your presentation design can grab an otherwise disinterested audience member’s attention. Just make sure you do it tastefully and carry the theme across all frames. When in doubt, you can simply choose from one of Prezi’s existing content layouts , each with an appealing color palette.

Try experimenting with a two-toned design by adding different accents to your presentation background and other visual elements. You might start with a black-and-white design, then add a bright pop of one color throughout. Contrasting color palettes (think yellow and blue, pink and mint green, etc.) can also create this eye-popping effect. Alternatively, you can use neutral shades to give off a more subdued vibe.

Another idea? Add a color filter to your images to tie them into your color theme. Learn more about presentation colors in our guide.

2. Use a striking background theme

Looking for more presentation ideas and creative ways to present? Put some thought into your background image, as it’s what your audience will be looking at during the entire presentation. If you want to use a photo, choose one that’s beautiful, sentimental, or has action and flow. Just make sure you pick an image that has enough negative space on which to place text. You can also play around with textures and patterns, such as ripples or wood, or themes that are symbolic of your message, such as a passport, billboard, rocket launch, road trip, etc.

Additionally, make sure your chosen background image isn’t distracting. You want to keep your audience’s focus on the foreground — the graphics, text, and special effects you’ve created. Prezi already has a large library of effective and high-quality backgrounds and images you can search for when designing your presentation, so no need to source them from somewhere else.

3. Put thoughts into speech bubbles

Other creative ways to present information include using speech bubbles to communicate key points to audience members. Use them to illustrate an idea or to reveal a character’s thoughts or fears in your story. Have them pop up as notes or commentary in the frame you’re presenting. Similarly, you can use speech bubbles to show milestones on a timeline. If you’re revealing poll or survey results about a product or service, for instance, place data or participant feedback in bubbles.

But, like anything in a presentation, don’t go overboard with it. While speech bubbles can be a fantastic addition, excessive use might divert your audience’s focus from the core message. So, using speech bubbles in the right places to create impact can be effective for engaging your listeners, but scattering them throughout every slide might be a little excessive and cause the opposite effect. Balance is key when using speech bubbles. 

4. Abandon the slide-by-slide style

Free your presentations from the confines of slides. As an interactive presentation tool, Prezi allows for dynamic designs to take your audience on a journey as you tell your story. Zoom in and out on key points. Navigate between topics and sections of your presentation in any order. Go vertical instead of horizontal. Make transitions between ideas look like pathways or scenes instead of simply clicking sequentially from frame to frame. All of these elements come together to make a memorable presentation.

These types of tactics will give your presentation a cinematic feel that will captivate and inspire your audience. An open canvas design also makes it easier for you to tell a story , which people tend to process and remember more easily than straight facts. Prezi’s ready-made templates and striking graphics make it simple for you to share your narrative via one of these seemingly complex designs. If you want to transform a static PowerPoint presentation into a dynamic moving story, simply upload your file and try Prezi’s PowerPoint Converter feature .

5. Tell your story with a video

Presenters have been incorporating video into their slide decks for decades. Video is one of the most creative ways to present projects. It allows you to tell your story using visuals instead of big blocks of text. Now, however, it’s time to elevate the video so it captures your audience’s attention and enhances your narrative. Embed videos that play automatically when you navigate to certain parts of your Prezi canvas.

Just be sure to use videos that aren’t distracting and that work with the rest of your presentation’s flow. They should still complement your presentation’s overall design theme and message. If you’re not producing a video yourself, you can find thematic ones from stock video sites or on YouTube. Just be aware that you might need permission to use some videos.

It’s important to select videos beforehand and place them strategically so that they hit hard in the right places. Selecting the perfect videos is like choosing gems to adorn your presentation’s crown. These videos should harmonize seamlessly with your content, elevating the story you’re weaving.

Imagine, for instance, using a time-lapse video of a bustling cityscape to represent the rapid pace of change in the business world during your presentation on industry trends. Blending your videos with the theme of your topic in this way goes beyond just catching your audience’s eye, it actually adds depth to your story while also making your message more impactful.

6. Bring your story to life with audio

Another presentation idea to minimize text and maximize audience engagement is to add sound to your presentation. Tell your story using pre-recorded audio. This creative presentation style turns the viewer experience into just that — an experience. While the audio plays, you can move around the stage and navigate to various parts of the presentation that support the narrative visually. Again, the effect is almost movie-like.

Another auditory presentation tool is music. Use music to set the tone of your talk, or inject it periodically to regain the audience’s attention. The appropriate song choice can get the entire audience into the mood of your presentation. Choose upbeat tunes to convey excitement or dramatic ones that will trigger an emotional response . Plus, if you play a catchy tune that sticks in people’s heads, that’ll help them remember your presentation that much more.

7. Add animations

Another creative way to present is by bringing an otherwise static design to life is animation. Go beyond video by borrowing from stop-motion principles for your presentation. Stop motion is a technique in which you film objects one frame at a time to simulate motion in a scene or a story. You can recreate this effect in Prezi by using zoom, fade, and pan animations to tell a moving story frame by frame.

Animations can inspire and engage your audience, but just be sure to use them sparingly and as a complement to your story or message.

7.1. Make it fun with GIFs

Adding animated GIFs to your presentation can not only make it more fun but also help catch your audience’s eye. Because they’re trendy and often reference pop culture or common emotions, GIFs can help you get your point across without having to use just words.

However, it’s crucial to exercise moderation when employing these elements. While animations and GIFs can enhance engagement, excessive use of them can become distracting. There’ll be certain presentation topics or subjects where GIFs will look misplaced, so just make sure you think carefully about whether they correlate with your message before you use them. However, GIFs are a great way to inject humor and light-heartedness right after slides filled with heavy information. When executed skillfully, animations and GIFs transform your presentation into a dynamic and interactive visual journey, leaving an enduring impression on your audience.

8. Create a timeline

The timeline is nothing new. It’s how you apply it to a presentation that can really wow an audience. Prezi’s dynamic designs let you use the timeline as the basis or focal point of the presentation and then navigate along as you tell your story or plan of action.

Zooming in on specific elements of your timeline as you discuss them adds another layer of clarity and focus. It helps make sure your audience stays on track with your story and doesn’t get lost in the details or complexities. This laid-back way of highlighting key moments or steps keeps people interested and makes it easier for them to remember what you’re talking about.

9. Use maps

Deliver a creative presentation with maps, especially if there’s a geographic or location-based topic in your content. Set a map as your background or focal point, and prompt different regions to change colors or pop out as you navigate over them. When it comes to designing maps , make sure you’re purposefully selecting colors, as the color palette you choose can change the way people respond to your data. Don’t pick colors that are too similar when you’re making comparisons, for example. Use Prezi’s zoom function to zero in on areas for more details, or pull back to reveal the larger context.

You can also go the thinking map route, which is a visual learning technique that can convey complex ideas simply and creatively. Start with a central theme, then branch out into paths or surrounding points. The eight variations of thinking maps include circle maps, bubble maps, flow maps, treemaps, and more. These can be effective interactive aids in educational presentations as well as for small businesses.

10. Do away with bulleted lists

To truly transform your presentations, consider stepping away from the conventional bullet-point lists that often lead to passive learning. Instead, harness the power of visuals to inspire active engagement from your audience. Visual content stimulates the brain’s cognitive processes, making your message more memorable. Engage your listeners by replacing bullet points with visuals .

Prezi’s open canvas design is a valuable tool in this transformation. It shifts the focus from passive delivery to interactive engagement. By using visuals, you prompt your audience to actively process and respond to your content, fostering a deeper understanding and connection with your message. This shift from traditional bullet points to a visually driven, interactive approach can significantly enhance the impact of your presentations.

11. Communicate with images

Presentation images are nothing new. However, when standing alone, photographs, paintings, and other images can have a really powerful effect. Instead of trying to talk over an image, use it as a stepping stone in your presentation, a point of reflection. Once in a while, let visuals do the talking.

Also, a study has found that people process visuals 60,000 times faster than text . So, incorporating more images will make your presentation more memorable.

However, be careful with your selection of images – make sure that they’re relevant to the topic and aren’t just filling up an empty space.

Also, If you’re using Prezi for your presentation, you can access a huge library of images that takes away the headache of finding that one perfect shot. It’s like having a cheat code for making your presentation pop. So dive into the library and pick out visuals that’ll make your presentation not just informative, but engaging.

12. Play with transitions

Using slide transitions is one of the simple yet creative ways to present a project. They create visual continuity and add movement to slides. However, choosing the right page transition for your slides is truly a form of art. You have to consider the topic, tone of voice, and your presentation design. Page transitions should match the overall design, create flawless continuity, highlight key areas in your presentation, and do all that without stealing the show. Ultimately, you want it to compliment your presentation.

If you are looking for inspiration, check out Prezi Present ‘s wide selection of templates . You can play with transitions by adding additional animated elements that will make your presentation even more dynamic.

13. Swap for an infographic

To truly stand out and make a lasting impression, consider departing from the traditional slide-based approach and exploring infographics. Infographics are powerful visual tools that condense complex information into digestible, visually appealing formats. Instead of the conventional slide-by-slide progression, imagine scrolling through your presentation, seamlessly transitioning from one section to the next. This fluid movement allows you to verbally expand on key points while displaying the core information visually.

When you’re adding infographics, aim for designs that are easy to understand but also match your brand’s vibe. You want something that looks good and fits well with the rest of your presentation, so everything feels like it’s part of the same story. This helps make your presentation both easy to follow and hard to forget.

14. Get social

Employing a unique hashtag associated with your brand can significantly amplify the impact of your presentation, extending its reach far beyond the confines of the physical venue. This hashtag acts as a vital link between your presentation and the vast world of social media. Inviting your audience to dive into the live-tweet action with a dedicated hashtag during your talk isn’t just a savvy move; it’s a dynamic double play. You expand your reach, drawing in more eager participants, while simultaneously igniting a thriving online symphony of ongoing discussions and insights.

This approach effectively transforms your presentation into an active, two-way conversation. As you speak, people can immediately share their thoughts, favorite parts, and main lessons, creating a sense of togetherness and active involvement. Furthermore, the utilization of a branded hashtag allows you to monitor and engage in these conversations, strengthening your connection with your audience and providing an avenue for addressing questions or feedback. 

Even after your presentation concludes, these online discussions continue to thrive, ensuring that your message remains fresh in the minds of your audience members long after they’ve left the physical venue. This lively and extended interaction adds an exciting twist to your presentations, transforming them from just informative sessions into lively hubs of ongoing conversation and learning.

15. Use creative props

Physical props add a memorable dimension to your talk. Props serve as powerful visual aids, helping to illustrate key points, provide tangible examples, and offer visual cues. Props can be particularly useful for educational presentations, especially if you need to demonstrate an example. Another situation where props are paramount is if you are a brand that’s launching a new product and doing a promotional presentation. 

With Prezi’s creative tools at the forefront of your presentation along with your latest product at hand- you’re bound to persuade your audience. Integrating props at the right time in connection to your current presentation can really create a connection between you and your listeners. Put yourself in your audience’s shoes, would you take in the information by just reading and listening, or would seeing and touching physical props add a layer of interest that enhances your mental absorption?

16. Utilize virtual reality (VR)

VR technology allows you to transport your audience into a different environment or scenario closely related to your presentation topic. Transforming your presentation into a new virtual world takes it far beyond the expectations of mundane slide-by-slide presentations.

With VR, you can engage your audience with a dynamic three-dimensional world where they become active explorers, engaging directly with your content. Picture this: You’re showing off architectural wonders, recreating epic historical events, or unraveling the inner workings of intricate systems. VR takes your presentations to a whole new level, letting your audience not only see and hear but also experience and genuinely feel your message. It’s like inviting them to step right into the heart of your story.

17. Use gamification

Picture turning your presentation into an exhilarating game that dares to captivate and thrill your audience. When you add a little playfulness to your presentation, your audience is going to absorb your information without it feeling like a chore. Making aspects of your talk into fun learning experiences is going to keep your audience switched on throughout the whole presentation. 

You can achieve this by incorporating various interactive elements like puzzles, questions, or interactive storytelling that turn your presentation into an immersive and educational game. Encouraging your audience to think and respond will result in active participants rather than passive observers. 

18. Employ live demonstrations

Incorporating live demonstrations into your presentation is a potent strategy for effectively conveying your message. Whether you’re showcasing a product’s functionality, conducting a captivating science experiment, or engaging your audience in a hands-on activity, live demonstrations actively involve your audience and leave an enduring mark.

Live demonstrations can transform presentations into captivating journeys where your audience doesn’t just listen but also witnesses concepts coming to life before their eyes. This physical approach creates curiosity and entices active participation, effectively transforming your message into something tangible. When people can see, touch, or take part in live demonstrations, it makes a strong connection. It brings your audience right into your content and makes sure they take the message away with them afterward. 

19. Design comic-style frames 

Using comic strips as a presentation style is great when you want to make your presentation engaging and easy to remember. It works well for topics where you want to tell a story, explain things step by step, or simplify complex information. Comic strips contain the best of both worlds, combining visuals with storytelling. This means they’re versatile for various topics, such as education, marketing, and product demos.

The clever approach of comic strips crafts an animated, captivating experience that keeps your audience glued to their seats and sparks their eagerness to participate. Not only that, but it also makes your message highly memorable.

Creating a comic strip in Prezi is straightforward. Start by planning your content and breaking it down into bite-size sections that will be arranged in sequence. Then, use Prezi’s features to design each section as a comic frame, inserting relevant visuals and images. Prezi’s text and shape tools help you add speech bubbles or captions to guide the story you’re telling. As you present, take on the role of a storyteller, guiding your audience through each frame of your comic strip presentation with captivating explanations that hold their attention.

20. Emulate the style of TED talks

The TED-style approach is a powerful method of delivering presentations that revolves around the core principles of clarity, simplicity, emotional resonance, and compelling storytelling. In this approach, speakers focus on distilling complex ideas into easily digestible narratives, using relatable language and impactful visuals to engage their audience. TED-style talks typically center on a single compelling idea , conveyed with passion and authenticity, making them concise, memorable, and inspiring for a wide range of viewers.

Learn how you can excel in storytelling and develop TED Talk presentation skills in the following video:

Staying current with creative presentation ideas

Just as technology and communication methods constantly change, so do presentation audience preferences and expectations. Keeping your creative presentation ideas fresh and aligned with contemporary trends can significantly impact your effectiveness as a presenter.

Why keeping up matters

Adapting to audience expectations.

This is the key to making a memorable impact with your presentations. In the modern world, audiences want more than the ordinary; they seek thrilling, dynamic experiences. To make this happen, you must wholeheartedly embrace cutting-edge technologies and innovative concepts to make your presentations highly engaging. So, why stick with the mundane when you can captivate your audience’s imagination and curiosity with creative presentation ideas? Break free from the conventional and explore new concepts using Prezi. 

Maintaining relevance

Staying relevant is the cornerstone of success. To connect deeply with your audience, demonstrate your strong dedication to delivering top-notch content consistently. Your presentations should stand out with innovation and creativity, signaling that you’re not merely keeping pace with the times – you’re setting the tempo. With Prezi’s toolbox, you’ll be ready to explore a range of creative presentation ideas that leave a lasting impression on your audience. 

Fueling engagement

Elevating your presentations from mere information-sharing sessions to immersive experiences can be a game-changer. By staying in the loop on fresh creative presentation ideas and cool interactive tricks, you’re all set to captivate your audience. Adding some of these new, interactive touches can help you grab and keep people’s attention way better than just repeating the same slideshows.

Where to get your inspo 

If you’re ready to improve your creative game, there are plenty of helpful blogs, webinars, and online courses about fun presentation ideas you can dive into. Prezi offers a lot of useful tips for making your presentations stand out. Think of Prezi as your toolbox, always within reach to unlock your presentation’s potential and make a lasting impression. For presentation inspiration , check out Prezi’s presentation gallery and explore our highly engaging and creative templates .

Watch this video and learn more about creative presentation ideas:

Get inspired for more presentation ideas

The world isn’t flat, and your presentations shouldn’t be, either. Step outside your comfort zone, and play around with these 20 creative ways to present. Better yet, come up with your own creative ways to present and incorporate them into one of Prezi’s dynamic content layouts. Using this presentation software’s open canvas approach, you can tell your story conversationally and spontaneously so that audience members will engage with and remember.

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Education  |  Sep 21 2019

5 Interactive Presentations Ideas that will Engage Students

Interactive presentations should always be an educator’s goal. Dry, teacher-centered lectures lose students’ interest, while interactive presentations grab and hold attention. Getting students involved improves retention, understanding, and enjoyment. And it’s remarkably easy to involve the audience with just a few easy principles (especially with the right technology at your disposal).

Start creating interactive presentations with the tips and tricks below or get more insights on modern education technology.

Students today expect the classroom to be both educational and enjoyable at the same time. Interactive presentations help engage students by having them participate in the lessons instead of passively listening to lectures. This reduces boredom and gives students a sense of responsibility to be attentive.

A Gallup Poll  of about 3,000 schools shows that around the 5 th  grade 74% of students feel they are engaged in school, but by the 10 th , 11 th , and 12 th grade those numbers fall to the 30% range. It is important for educators from K-12 and on to higher education to recognize that keeping students engaged in the classroom is important and the adoption of interactive learning environments can be a key driver.

Millennials and Generation Y students are especially accustomed to being a part of the lessons and not just a spectator. Students are encouraged to talk and offer their ideas to create a collaborative atmosphere where both teachers and students are sources of knowledge and insight. The teacher plays more of a facilitator role in moving the lesson along and encouraging students to participate in their own learning outcomes. Students offer their own input, additional information, and give examples of how they would apply the key concepts.

The learning task is the central aspect of the interactive presentations (instead of the teacher’s energy level and hold on the students’ attention spans) and the lessons evolve around it. Even though the teacher is normally, the ‘presenter’ in most cases the ‘interaction’ part comes in a variety of ways to get students participating in the lesson. Many activities, games, role-plays, quizzes, and discussions  can be integrated into the presentation flow and the lessons will take different directions from there. We will discuss later many examples of tools and techniques to encourage collaborations.

Technological Aid in Interactive Presentations

Although interactive presentations can be done without technology, it is greatly aided with the adoption of tools designed to facilitate the learning process. For example, a quiz is given in the middle of the presentation. On one side, traditionally a teacher can write the quiz before the lesson starts, print out copies for all students, pass out the quiz, and collect answers. To provide feedback for the exercise the teacher will also need to grade and start a discussion on the results before moving on to the next topic. This process is time-consuming and restrictive.

With technological aid such as an interactive digital whiteboard or a classroom quizzing application on individual devices, the students and teacher can come up with the quiz questions on the spot. This digital quiz can be administrated wirelessly to all students and within seconds, the results can be shared with all participants to discuss. This greatly increases spontaneity, variability, and class involvement.       

5 Interactive Presentations Ideas and Corresponding Technology Aids

1. Storytelling

The teacher does not have to be the only star. The glory of the presentation can go to all participants who have a story to tell. The main concepts can be discussed and students should be given time to come up with a personal example. This exercise helps students relate to the subject matter and getting to listen to other students’ examples will drive home the concepts further. The need for the teacher to plan extensive examples and be the only one talking during the presentation is reduced. Teachers can also judge by the stories shared how much the students are understanding.

Storytelling with technology: Many digital whiteboards have Cast and Throw functions that will allow students to work on their own examples on their devices and send this to the whiteboard when sharing. This allows students to quickly go up and share their stories without sending files by email, wires, or USBs.

2. Non-linear presentation

Presentations that do not follow a strict order but organically flow from topic to topic based on the audience’s feedback are a great way to engage participants. Once prepared, the presenter can flow from one topic to the next by asking questions, polling, or receiving requests at the end of each key point. This allows the audience to ‘build’ their own presentation on what they want to hear not in a rigid manner as with traditional slide-based presentations.

Non-linear presentation with technology : There are non-linear presentation applications like  Prezi which helps presenters build presentations on easy-to-customize templates. They offer a zoomable canvas (not slides) to help people share knowledge, stories and inspire audiences to act. The canvas shows relationships between points and offers a recommended flow but not a set path to follow.

3. Polls, surveys, and quizzes

One of the most recognizable and used tools in the classroom to get a fast reaction from students are polls, surveys & quizzes. For polls, simple questions that have limited answers are used to gather a consensus. This could be in the form of a raise of hands, ballots, or having students form groups. Surveys would require printed paper sheets with multiple choices, scales, or short answers to gather opinions. Quizzes are used to quickly test a student’s knowledge on what was just covered, so the class can identify weak areas and crystalize main concepts.

Polls, surveys, and quizzes can be anonymous or not. Openly requiring students to share their ideas on results such as a debate or open discussion would increase the interactives of the activity. Students can also be tasked to create questions and grade their own surveys and quizzes for an added layer of participation within the presentation.

Polls, surveys, and quizzes with technology : Many classroom management software such as  Google Classroom has built-in tools to create polls, surveys, and quizzes along with assignments, communication, and other educational features. Once submitted, the collection and grading are instantaneous. The results can be shared easily with students both individually or as a group. 

Is there a student – of any age – who does not like a good game, contest, or competition? Adding a small game into a presentation breaks up the normal lecture format and gets the audience to think critically to help their team win. There are many versions and adaptions of basic educational games . Teachers can take games such as Pictionary, Jeopardy, Casino, and Bingo then adapt them to their needs. 

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Gamifying your interactive presentation : By integrating into the presentation links to applications like  ClassCraft  or  Kahoot a teacher can quickly launch an interactive digital game. These applications help teachers tailor their own games by adding their questions, facts, and materials for individuals, small teams, or the whole class to participate.

5. Discussions and groups breakout sessions

Having the class only listen to a lecture marks the end of any interactive presentation. Adding sections where students can have an open discussion or breakout sessions can help students learn from each other, share insights, and have an opportunity to ask questions to their peers. It is also an opportunity for the teacher to take a break from talking and help small groups or students individually as the rest of the class converse.

Taking the discussion online for interactive presentations : Live discussion applications like  NowComment  allow students to markup and discuss a text in real-time which is great for peer-review activities and gather student input into one place quickly. Alternatively, Yo Tech is great for teachers to create and moderate real-time chat rooms. Students can send text-like messages, reply to other messages, and share pictures and drawings. Online chat groups are a great way for large groups of students to collaborate and interact in one place while keeping the noise level down in a classroom.

Tips for Creating Interactive Presentations

Here are some tips when creating a presentation that has interactive components:

Add in places within your lecture notes or presentation slides reminders for you to engage the audience. This could be a small image or phrase. When using digital whiteboards or other display technology you could also use a sound, empty slide, or pop-up link to prompt you to start.

Time Limits

It is great to keep going a good game or discussion in the class where everyone is really engaged. However, keep the maximum amount of time you can dedicate to these activities in mind. Have a watch or a timer on hand and keep things moving. Give enough time for students to get engaged without overdoing it. Spread out chances for students to talk and share. When it is time to move on to the next topic prepare a transition to the next part of the presentation.

Think of ways to let all students have a chance to share. You can select students randomly or have them take turns in some kind of order. Remind students that this is a learning activity and not everyone will get it right the first time. The interactive activity should be open and inclusive. Students who are introverted may be given activities that can be done without going to the front of the class or public speaking.

Benefits of Having Interactive Components in Your Presentation

• Retention:  Actively having students engage with the concepts of the presentation in different ways and hearing it from different people (besides the teacher) helps with long-term retention.
• Personalization:  Students are given the choice of where the presentation is heading and participate in their own learning outcomes.
• Fun:  Having a break from the routine, getting a chance to move around, developing teams, and sharing are all much better than sitting silently and taking notes. 
• Feedback:  Adding interactive activities into a presentation gives you instant feedback about students’ comprehension.
• Vocalization: Having students actually vocalize their ideas helps them internalize the concepts.
• Summarization: Students review and summarize their own main points while doing the activities so there is less need for repetition.

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Build Your Own Version of Interactive Presentations for Your Next Lesson

Bringing in the interactive components and increasing the engagement of your presentations will both help you – a teacher – and your students. Make presentations both educational and entertaining with Edutainment! With or without technology, consider incorporating some new ideas into your next interactive presentation.

If you liked reading this article, you might also want to explore our complete guide to technology in the classroom or gain more insights on engaging lessons with ViewSonic’s education solutions.  

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Using Collaborative Slide Decks to Promote Engagement

With a little bit of prep, teachers can set up a digital version of the popular gallery walk to foster collaboration in the classroom.

It can feel challenging to know how to transition into collaborative work in a meaningful way during instruction—a way that allows each student to share their ideas with peers, which we know is a critical skill.

There are many ways to approach this instructional goal , but perhaps the most successful strategy I’ve stumbled upon this year is that of collaborative slide deck competitions. Though they do require some prep work, the in-class experience and student learning that they yield has made them one of my favorite routines in the classroom. 

Collaborative Slide Decks

It’s common for teachers, after students do an individual exploration (example: reading a short text and marking it up for keywords or questions), to ask them to form groups and compile their thinking on poster paper, which they share with classmates through a gallery walk.

While I know this activity works great for many, this year I’ve found a different path: I ask students to create a collaborative Google Slides deck, each group taking ownership over their slide. Unlike posters that eventually pile up and get recycled, collaborative slide decks become living documents to use in the classroom.

Teacher Prep Work

To prepare for this activity, I look at the different outputs I’m hoping students will produce and pre-populate a slide deck with relevant prompts for each. 

I always include a sample slide that is fully completed (using a different text or situation); I also ensure that there are enough blank slides for each group and that the “share” settings allow everyone to both access and edit the document. 

Pre-Activity Work for Students

Giving students time to invest in their individual findings and interpretations before group work is key. 

When teaching a poem, for example, I have all students read it individually and make initial annotations. They then have tangible ideas to share with each other. It’s helpful to share the outputs you want students to be working toward, whether a specific type of annotation (example: Marisa Thompson’s TQE Method ) or guiding questions you’ve shared with the class. It’s important to ensure that students are independently heading in a shared direction.

Finally, I recommend walking students through a sample slide deck before they begin their independent work. This allows them to see what they will work on as a group and will help to make their independent work feel purposeful.

Transitioning Into the Activity

When everyone has done their independent work and you’re ready to transition into the group stage, make sure that each group knows which slide they own. I have one member from each team add their group name to the slide. 

At this point, I’ve found it important to have students close their computers and share individual findings with each other before beginning the digital activity. If you skip this stage, groups can fall into the trap of having a handful of members type up what they found individually—and you miss the important opportunity to give each student a chance to voice aloud their findings and questions. 

I have students take roles in their group: Only one or two take the role of the recorders. Others can support them in completing the slide (editors); make sure that all voices are represented on the slide (advocates); and get support from me while keeping an eye on the time (logistics). I give students 10–15 minutes to complete the slide, sharing a running clock on the screen.

For you as the teacher, this is a great time to circle the room and observe group dynamics. You can also monitor the digital slides to see each group’s progress unfold. 

Classroom Applications

This year, I’ve used collaborative slide decks in my English classes for three activities.

TQE close-reading with a new text: When reading a short story or article, I ask students to annotate with their own thoughts and questions. As a group, they then determine the most meaningful and arrive at collective epiphanies or deeper understandings, which they share on their slide.

Mini-background research: When starting a new novel, I create slides for different pieces of historical context that will help students understand the text. Students try to learn as much as they can individually, within a given time window, then work collaboratively to share and cross-check what they’ve found, presenting findings via a collaborative slide deck.

Targeted skill analysis: My students applied and discussed poetry analysis skills (e.g., connotation, shifts, analogies, etc.) by independently identifying them in a text, then collaborating to share their findings via slides while discussing different interpretations or findings and deliberating about how to come to consensus.

Post-Activity Engagement

Once the activity timer is up, I lock access to the slide deck so that students can only view it. I then have students dive into other groups’ slides. One way to do so is through a stationary gallery walk: They explore the others’ slides and make notes on what they feel is most interesting or important, then share with the class what they learned from peers’ works. 

You can also have students vote anonymously via a Google Form about which slide is most impressive to them and why, which creates space for you to collect peer affirmations focused on learning. I like to then go through each slide as a class and celebrate a specific finding or choice that students made.

Collaborative slide decks become excellent resources to support further learning—a tool to come back to later in the unit to track growth. They also help absent students to access the day’s learning. 

Sometimes it feels like collaborative learning is an either-or experience: You can lean into the collaboration or instead prioritize the learning. 

This is a false choice, I believe, and I’ve found this activity to be one of the most reliable ways to do both. It breaks up the classroom routine, gets students working with a collective purpose, and lends a helpful document to use in your classroom going forward.

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Creative Presentation Ideas for Students

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• Creative Presentation Ideas for Students – Movavi

Good PowerPoint presentation ideas for students of schools and colleges are always needed. If you are tasked with presenting a project or any similar public performance, then our list of creative presentation ideas for students and tips on how to get ready for public speaking might help you.

To learn how to create a good business presentation, follow the link below.

Proceed to the guide

Creative presentation ideas for school and college

Why use a presentation.

A presentation is delivering a speech in front of the audience. It can have different aims – teaching students to deliver the material effectively and share new information with the class. Student presentations can also be used in revision lessons. The presenter has to learn how to capture listeners’ attention in creative ways.

In order to connect and engage with the audience, students should back their class presentation ideas with interactive tools: videos, slideshows, and audio recordings. The presenter has to be sure all the information is clear, understandable, and easily remembered.

Working with presentations helps to build confidence and develop useful skills for the future career. Good presenters will engage and convince future colleagues more effectively. Students develop communication skills and the ability to present their college projects more clearly. While presenting, the student can show what he or she has learned. Moreover, presenters can expand their knowledge after the presentation while they’re looking for answers to the questions of the audience.

Plan your presentation

A presentation usually consists of three parts:

Introduction Start your speech by greeting the audience and introducing yourself. Then, outline the key points of your presentation.

Main part Here comes the body of your presentation. Speak on the topic you’ve prepared. Provide facts and examples.

Conclusion Highlight the main points of your presentation one more time. Thank the audience. Answer the questions.

Keep it short

Don’t make a college presentation longer than 20 minutes. This time is more than enough to deliver all the essential information and not to make your audience bored. If you have to make a longer presentation, keep the audience engaged. Make them ask questions, encourage group discussions, or prepare a quiz on the topic.

No one is excited to see someone read. Reading makes the presentation dull and boring. The slides may cover the main points, but you have to tell more about it without reading. Your bulleted list will help you get started with the speech. It’ll also remind you what you should talk about. Provide several examples and details that are new to the audience.

Don’t be afraid to say something that’s not written in your text. Well-rehearsed presentations look great, but it’s totally fine to spice up your speech with a bit of improvisation if you feel the need to.

Use gestures

People find it more interesting to look at moving objects than the static ones. So, using gestures while speaking is a good idea. You can walk in front of the audience. Use your hands to show gestures – it’ll make the speech more emotional. You can also smile and use your mimic. Non-verbal communication works great while presenting.

Tell a story

Telling the audience your personal stories is a great way to make them trust you. Stories make emotional connections because you share parts of your personal life. Don’t be afraid to show your emotions while presenting. You can laugh, take a pause, or show you feel sad.

Know the topic

You have to be well-prepared to the possible questions of the audience. Research the topics you talk about. It’s important not just to learn the information from the slides by heart, but to understand what you are saying. If you don’t know the topic, the audience will feel your uncertainty right away.

If anyone asks you a question, but you don’t know the answer, it’s okay to say that you don’t know. You can thank the questioner and explain that you’ll find the answer by the next class.

Make eye contact

Look at the people you’re presenting to. Make eye contact while you’re talking and moving around the class. It makes people listen more carefully. Don’t concentrate on the teacher only – this won’t get you an excellent mark. The point is to deliver the information effectively to the students.

Don’t forget about your sense of humor. It can be used as one of the methods to connect with the audience. Think of some suitable jokes to tell or find a way to add some fun to your subject. The audience will surely remember the presentation which made them smile or laugh.

Change voice tones

To captivate your audience, alternate your voice. Change the tone from high to low, and from delighted to serious. The monotone speech could sound boring, and the audience gets distracted easily. You can also use pauses to emphasize some points.

Practicing the speech is important to everyone, whether you are a high school or elementary student. It’ll make you feel more confident and help you remember the information. If you have a time limit, make sure you cover all the material in the given time.

Check the technical side

To feel more self-assured, you have to check if all the technical items work properly. Make several backups of your presentation materials. If there’s a chance for you to arrive at class early, do it. Check the computer, software for presentation, and projector.

To learn how to record a video lecture, read the guide by following the link below.

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Create stunning presentations with Movavi Academic

In order to bring creative presentation ideas for school to life, take advantage of the Movavi Academic app. Make effective presentations out of your photos and videos. Add explanatory elements to your presentation: callouts, arrows, and captions. Realize your creative project ideas with themed frames, backgrounds, stickers, and transitions. Use visuals to grab students’ attention and engage them. Liven up the presentation with background music. Save your projects in any popular formats.

Movavi Academic is a great way to realize visual presentation ideas for students and teachers alike.

Choosing a topic for a presentation from a nigh infinite variety can be daunting. We hope you have found something appropriate in our relatively short list. Whatever you are going to do, you can always rely on Movavi tools to spice up your presentation.

Frequently asked questions

What are good topics for a presentation.

In case you have freedom to choose any topic, you can consider these:

Environment – are you concerned?

Interests – talk about something no one around you knows.

Paperbacks vs. eBooks – which is better for learning?

Social media – how does it improve or jeopardize learning?

Sports – what can you gain from physical activity?

How to Make a “Good” Presentation “Great”

• Guy Kawasaki

Remember: Less is more.

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

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

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

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

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