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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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Digital Matters

An Emory blog about teaching with technology

Student Presentations in Remote Learning Environments

Synchronous (Live)

Technical details, general zoom live presentation tips.

• Keep student presentations short, about 10 minutes each, plus a few minutes for questions. This allows for setup time and questions and helps keep the attention of students watching (attention spans for remote meetings are typically lower than in-person ).
• To make up for shorter presentation times, you can add a complimentary activity to the assignment, such as a reflection essay or annotated bibliography, if desired.
• Try to replicate a live in-person class as much as possible. Have all students with webcam access turn on their cameras to help them stay accountable for being present. Have anyone not presenting mute their mic.
• Set up a practice session using Zoom breakout rooms. For example, split a class of 30 students into 5 breakout groups of four students each. Students can refine their work and give feedback on the others’ presentations.
• Students can also set up their own Zoom room to practice—make sure they know they have access to do so.
• Create a rubric so that students know what is expected. With online classes, it’s especially important to have clear communication about grading, and rubrics can help clear up any ambiguity. There are several examples like this one that can be found online.
• Be willing to host a Q&A session about the assignment for any further questions (this can reduce the number of last-minute questions).
• Share the Emory-themed Zoom backgrounds with students to use during their presentation, or encourage them to find a background image that suits their presentation. See this page for how to set Zoom backgrounds.

Asynchronous (Recorded)

Canvas studio.

• Submit a Studio file upload assignment  
• Submit a Studio text entry assignment
• Upload a Studio file in the Canvas Student app on iOS
• Upload a Studio file in the Canvas Student app on Android

Setting Up a Flipgrid:

• Follow the steps on Flipgrid’s Getting Started page for educators .
• Create a Flipgrid for each individual class that would normally meet in the same place (per FERPA regulations). Within the Flipgrid, you can add multiple discussion topics/assignments.
• Add co-instructors and TAs as “CoPilots” so they can help facilitate the grid.
• When creating your Flipgrid, choose the “Student Email” type. This will only allow access using their @emory.edu email address and prevent users outside Emory from accessing it.
• Turn on Video Moderation in the Topic settings to prevent students from seeing each others’ videos until you have reviewed them.
• Each grid has a unique link or code you can use to share the grid in Canvas or email.
• Students can also access the grid on their mobile devices via the free Flipgrid apps for iOS and Android.

General Recorded Presentation Tips

• Conduct a graded peer review round for students to practice their presentation and reply to each others’ videos with feedback.
• Create an ungraded or graded activity that allows students to practice using Studio or Flipgrid before starting the main assignment.
• Set a presentation time limit of 10 minutes. If you want to add more to the assignment, include a complimentary activity such as peer review, a reflection essay, or an annotated bibliography related to the presentation.
• As with live presentations, create a rubric for the assignment and host a Q&A session to clear up any ambiguity.

Photo by  Matthias Wagner  on  Unsplash

Structuring an Effective Class Session or Presentation

The way you structure and facilitate class sessions or other presentations can have a profound impact on learning. There are evidence-based approaches to designing the learning experience from start to finish to enhance engagement, understanding, and retention of information. This resource is valuable for anyone planning a synchronous (live) learning experience in a variety of contexts, including a class session, presentation, or workshop, in-person or remote.

How do I decide what to include in a class session or presentation?

Start planning by articulating the learning outcomes . What do you want the learner to know or be able to do by the end of that session? For a course, the learning outcomes for a specific class session should fit within the overarching course learning outcomes and help to move students towards achieving those. Use the learning outcomes to make intentional decisions about what content and activities to include in your class session or presentation by assessing their alignment.

As you make these decisions about which content to prioritize for synchronous time together, consider planning for flexibility. Which content is key to cover together, and which activities are vital to your learners’ experiences? Consider structuring your session such that the most vital content happens first to both prioritize it and ensure you have enough time to devote to it. Also plan for content that can be skipped over or moved to the next session in case activities go over time or learners have many questions.

How should I structure a class session or presentation to enhance learning?

When planning a class session or presentation, you should divide the time into segments, starting with an opening and ending with a closing. The main portion between opening and closing should be broken into periods of interactive lecture and individual or group activities, depending on your learning goals.

Starting a Session

The start should be welcoming and set the tone for an interactive learning experience. You might begin by playing music from a shared playlist, asking learners how they are feeling, encouraging them to check in with one another, or posing a lighthearted icebreaker question. Creating this welcoming atmosphere helps support learners’ social-emotional learning.

It is common to share outcome(s), purpose, goals, and/or an agenda at the start of a class session or presentation. In addition, set aside intentional time to “warm up” to the topic, establish context, and connect to learners’ prior knowledge and experiences . An interactive warm up also sets the expectation that the session will be collaborative and interactive. You can engage learners at the start by capturing their attention and curiosity with a “hook”, helping them make connections to prior experiences (academic or personal), or asking them to share beliefs and expectations about a topic. Some examples include:

• What do you know about [Topic]? What do you want to know?
• What do you think is going on in this picture?
• What are your personal thoughts about [topic]?
• What experience do you have with [topic]?

Interactive Content Delivery

Lecturing (i.e., direct oral presentation of information) is efficient and can be effective when the background information is not available or accessible, the facts or problems are conflicting or confusing, or your experience as the presenter will contribute to clarification. Be sure to ask yourself if the best way to understand the content is through oral presentation, or if the content could be explored some other way (e.g., small group exercises or individual reflection). Consider how much of your time will be devoted to lecture, which may depend on how much of the information you want to share will come from the lecture versus assigned course materials (e.g., readings, videos). Is the goal of lecture to supplement the information from course materials, highlight major points, or present separate information?

When designing a lecture-based class session, or any type of presentation, aiming for interaction and engagement will support deeper comprehension and greater retention of information. “We need not abandon the lecture because of its liabilities; rather, we need to find ways to make it work better” (Silver & Perini, 2010). Once you’ve determined what content is best presented through a lecture, there are many ways to improve the lecture presentation:

• “Chunk” the content, or break it up into smaller, focused sections. Aim to speak for no more than a few minutes straight without checking in, even if just with a rhetorical question for learners to ponder as they listen.
• Intersperse active learning activities such as informal discussion, think-pair-share, minute paper, polls, or quick quiz questions ensure that learners are actively processing the information as you present it.
• Use multimedia (e.g., images, audio, video, infographics) throughout your lecture to enhance comprehension and accessibility. However, keep in mind that your multimedia should be focused and related to the course content; avoid .gifs or overly illustrative materials, as these take learners’ focus away from the content and can contribute to extraneous cognitive load.
• Clarify for learners how they should approach taking notes, information they need to commit to memory, and how you expect them to apply the content in the future.
• Allow learners to ask questions at different points within a lecture. Pause periodically to ask, “What questions do you have?” or “What’s on your mind?” After you pose a question, allow “wait time” for a response, giving time for learners to formulate ideas. We may be used to asking, “Do you have any questions?” but students may feel that they are being intrusive or not paying attention if they do have a question. Asking “What questions do you have?” normalizes the fact that students are likely to have questions when learning new content.

Individual or Group Activities

Either before or after presenting content, provide opportunities for learners to interact with the content at a deeper level through individual or group activities. Individually, learners could engage in independent work time or reflection. In small or large groups, learners could discuss the topic in more detail or engage in peer review opportunities. Other ways to encourage reflection, critical thinking, and problem solving, which could be done individually or in groups, include case studies, debates, concepts maps, or game-based instruction.

Ending a Session

At the end of a class session or presentation, be sure to save time to tie everything together and assess learning. It is very common to run out of time and rush to conclude, but end-of-class reflection supports retaining information and helps to clarify what comes next. At the end of a session, you might summarize, or ask learners to summarize, key takeaways, especially in conjunction with revisiting the learning outcomes. Other options include asking learners to submit a written reflection on what they’ve learned, how they might apply what they’ve learned and/or what questions they still have or which concepts were unclear.

Lastly, if teaching a course, you can wrap up by previewing what’s to come, connecting the material to assignments or other work to be completed, or asking questions you want learners to think about before meeting again. You can also provide context on the homework assigned for next class, such as guiding questions for a reading or viewing, or leave time to answer student questions about an upcoming assignment.

How can I make sure my class session or presentation is accessible?

Overall, following the principles of Universal Design for Learning promotes flexibility and adaptation of the learning environment so that all learners can succeed and achieve the intended outcomes. As you consider the guidelines and session structure above, consider how you can provide multiple means of engagement, representation, and action and expression.

Regardless of the structure of your class session or presentation, we highly recommend you use slides or another visual means to communicate information and directions as you progress through the session. Even if your session involves minimal to no “content,” slides, or at least a written agenda, help to keep learners on track with what is being asked of them. If you use slides, decide how and when to make them available.  The CTRL accessibility guide provides more detailed guidance for how to ensure slides and documents used in a session are accessible

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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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The Ultimate Presentation Skills Guide for High School Students

Nobody is born an excellent presenter. Even the most captivating speakers had sleepless nights before their first presentation. It's no secret that a stunning presentation can be a game-changer, especially for high school students who need to impress their teachers and secure good grades. Moreover, excellent presentation skills are essential for every career path, making it equally crucial to master this art while in school. In this comprehensive guide, we aim to provide high school students with some practical and out-of-the-box presentation hacks to work smarter, not harder.

Break The Ice:

In a nerve-racking situation like a public speaking event, the best way to begin is by breaking the ice. A little humor, a fun fact, or even a brief storytelling session can help to connect with the audience and make them more interested in what you have to say. This approach will also help to calm your nerves and pave the way for a smoother presentation.

Know Your Audience:

Before you start crafting your presentation, you need to know who will be on the receiving end. Understanding the needs, expectations, and preferences of your target audience can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your presentation. Make sure to tailor your content, tone, and delivery style to meet your audience’s needs. If you are presenting to your classmates, keep the language fun and engaging. A presentation for your teacher or a panel of judges might necessitate a more formal tone.

Plan Your Talking Points:

After researching your target audience, the next step is planning your talking points. Having a clear roadmap can guide you throughout your presentation. Aim for three to five main points to ensure your content remains digestible and easy to follow. Remember, less is more!

Utilize Visuals:

Research shows that people remember 80% of what they see compared to only 20% of what they read. Therefore, incorporating relevant visuals into your presentation can dramatically increase your audience's engagement and retention. Consider using images, infographics, diagrams, or even short videos to make your presentation more appealing.

Practice, Practice, Practice:

One of the key productivity tricks to nail your presentation is practice. The more you rehearse, the smoother your delivery will be. Also, practicing helps you to remain calm, avoid awkward pauses, and be better prepared to handle any unexpected questions.

Use Technology:

In today's digital age, technology offers a plethora of tools to spice up your presentation. Platforms like Canva, Google Slides, and PowerPoint allow you to create aesthetically pleasing presentations with a few simple clicks. You can find thousands of pre-designed templates to suit your presentation style and topic. Additionally, using a platform like Zoom for your presentation can enhance your delivery with features like 'share screen', 'annotation', and 'virtual background'.

Remember, mastering public speaking and presentation skills is a journey. Don't expect perfection on your first trials. Keep honing your skills, embrace your mistakes and learn from them. As the renowned American motivational speaker Les Brown once said, ' You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great. '

Fore more resources to keep up with your high school education, explore our website .

References for Further Reading:

• How To Speak So That People Want To Listen
• Tips for Presenting Your Design Work
• Christine Marrelli - Zoom November 24, 2020
• 9 Steps to a Great Presentation

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Home / Increase student learning by more than 400% with these 9 visual presentation tips

Increase student learning by more than 400% with these 9 visual presentation tips

Few teachers truly understand the power visual design plays in the learning process.

Those who do, though, tend to have more engaged students and see better academic performance across the class. Why?

For one, well over half of the world’s population are visual learners, meaning they take in information faster and more effectively via graphs, charts and images.

What’s more, quality visual presentations can enhance understanding by more than 400% , and actually help students absorb the material better than a strictly verbal lecture.

In one particular study, people could remember the content of 2500 pictures with over 90 percent accuracy 3 days later — and that’s after looking at them for only 10 seconds! Perhaps even more interesting, a year later participants in the same study could recall those images with 63% accuracy.

Without a visual aid, students only remembered 10% of a lecture 3 days later!

When studying these facts, it’s clear that accompanying your teaching with some sort of visual support is a great way to help students absorb content more easily. 

But how, exactly, should you use visuals? What type of visual presentation is right for your audience? What colors, format, and layouts should you use in your presentation? 

This article outlines 9 best practices for creating attractive, attention-grabbing presentations that will get your students invested in learning, and eager to get involved.

Let’s begin!

Tip #1: Ensure that your presentation reflects your core message

Tip #2: always consider the age of your audience in both presentation design and length.

• Tip #3: Both content and design should be simple and complementary

Tip #4: Don’t be afraid to switch it up!

Tip #5: choose your colors wisely, tip #6: use graphics to simplify your message.

• Tip #7: Always make it interactive!
• Tip #8: Make sure your presentation reflects your environment

Tip #9: Don’t be afraid of feedback!

• Recap. It’s time to get visual!

When first designing your presentation, start by thinking about your core message or subject. Is it historical? Artistic? Natural? Elements such as color, shapes, images or illustrations can go a long way in enhancing your material, piquing the interest of your students and providing better understanding. 

For example, a PowerPoint template like the one below creates a very historic or geographical tone, and would be a great choice for a project about famous explorers or cartographers:

While something like this one below is a better choice for a more scientific presentation — think Albert Einstein, NASA or Marie Curie, perhaps?

Don’t worry, there are a huge range of templates available for all fields of study . So applying a themed presentation that’s in-line with your core message can be an impactful and easy way to present your information visually — way more so than just using plain slides with colors and text. 

Of course, the design theme matters — but don’t forget to think about the age of your students, either. 

For example, if you opt for a design that has a more elementary feel, high school students might find your presentation to be too basic, and may lose interest more quickly. And if you choose a design that’s too advanced or too serious, younger children may become disinterested, confused or distracted. 

Striking the right balance is key!

Age also comes into play when considering the length of your presentation. 

According to NASA , presentations to grades K-2 should be around 20 minutes maximum, while 3rd-5th graders can hang on for about 30-45 minutes. 

Presentations can be longer for grades 6th and above, but for all of the aforementioned, it’s good practice to take a 10-20 minute break after the first 20 minutes of the presentation to answer questions or to get the students moving — which we’ll discuss in tip #7!

You can also follow Guy Kawasaki’s universal 10-20-30 rule , and apply it to presentations for students of any age:

• There should be a maximum of 10 slides
• The presentation should last no longer than 20 minutes (this is about the time eyes begin to glaze over! Be sure to leave time for questions and discussion). Try to stick to the information you planned to share, and avoid rambling!
• Font size should be a minimum of 30pt (your students will read faster than you talk, so less information on the slides means that there is less chance of the audience being distracted).

Tip #3: Both content and design should be simple and complementary 

In presentations used for teaching purposes, the visuals or design of your presentation should only be used to enhance your content , it shouldn’t overpower it. 

When choosing a template for your presentation, then, it’s important to choose one that allows your information to be the star, whilst also keeping everything neatly organized and easy to understand. 

It’s a delicate balance, for sure:

• If a template doesn’t leave you enough room for the information you need to present, or you feel it overwhelms that information, try toning down the design a bit 
• On the other hand, presenting too much information on one slide can be overwhelming to your audience and cause them to lose interest in the visual
• Try to avoid over-saturating your slides with text . If you have a lot of information to include on a slide, try breaking it down into bullet points or shorter sentences.

If you aren’t experienced in designing slide presentations, you can study slide makeovers to get a better feel of the perfect balance of word and visual. Here are a few hard and fast rules, though, to get you started:

• Stick to one image per slide 
• If you’re including a quote, put it on its own slide
• Take the rule of thirds into consideration 
• Try not to use generic stock photos on all your slides, you’ll want to vary your design (which we’ll talk about in the tip below!).

Not all slides in your presentation should be completely uniform. While the theme and color scheme should stay consistent, it’s important to use a variety of slide layouts to maintain your student’s interest. 

For example, don’t have your entire presentation be 20 slides with images on the left and text bullets on the right. Incorporate slides that have graphs, charts, quotes, or even just large text or images on them will do the trick. 

If you’re using Powerpoint or Google Slides, switching things up is super easy as they rather conveniently offer a few different slide layouts within the same template . 

As you’re looking over your content, take a moment for each point to think about which layout will help to convey your information in the best way possible. Does one of your points have a lot of data? Consider a pie chart. Does one of your slides contain reference to a famous individual? Include a photo!

Slide after slide of the same layout quickly becomes repetitive, so shake things up and always keep your audience on their toes.

Color plays a bigger role in your presentation than just ‘decoration’. In fact, color has a huge impact on the emotional response your presentation provokes. 

Studies show that the color palette you use will have the same semiotic meaning to most people — even students! Therefore, it’s important to consider the general feeling or vibe you want your presentation to give off before choosing a color scheme.

You’ll also want to consider the psychology of your color choices , too, as well as how best to pair certain tones. 

An attractive color combination keeps eyes interested. When you compliment your lectures with well-chosen color, your students’ minds will be less likely to wander — and that’s the key to being a great teacher.

Color can also be used as a tool to visualize information, and can be particularly helpful in:

• Creating contrast: If you need a particular point to really stand out, consider choosing a bold color for it that grabs attention 
• Grouping elements : If you need to make a correlation or relationship between two points super obvious in your presentation, color can help you visually pair them 
• Encoding quantity : Color encoding, also called color mapping , is a method that represents numbers or text as colors. Color encoding schemes are useful to help perceive the absolute or relative size of numbers.

Thanks to the internet, it’s never been easier to find the perfect image for our classroom presentations. 

Graphics are a great way to capture and keep the attention of your students , and also help to explain ideas in a more interesting and engaging way. So, once you’ve outlined the key points of your presentation, always go back through it and pick out any opportunities where you might be able to present information visually. 

No matter what the subject, there will always be a funny GIF or eye-catching photo that can help to teach your class in a funny or entertaining way. Icons, clipart, and videos are also great tools to help you simplify complex information. Again, you’ll want to follow some best practices . 

There are several great free sites where you can search and download royalty free stock images and illustrations. My favorites that I use regularly in SlidesCarnival are Unsplash and Undraw .

These sites have varying rules when it comes to listing credit to the photographer or illustrator, so be sure to look those over before using any image in your presentations. 

Tip #7: Always make it interactive! 

One of the best things you can do to ensure your students don’t lose interest in your material is to get them involved! 

Making your presentation interactive, and asking for some audience engagement, is a fun way to keep your students guessing, and — ultimately —  will help them to retain what they’re learning. 

There are several ways to include interactive elements in your presentation, such as:

• Play games : encourage students to get up and move around a bit to regain some energy and focus in the middle of a longer presentation 
• Take a poll: use interactive software to offer students the chance to interact with your presentation in real-time 
• Insert pop quizzes and offer rewards for the winners 
• Ask open-ended questions to create some conversation 
• Ask for real-life stories from your students that apply to your lesson
• Present problems in your presentation and ask your audience to solve them (it’s proven to help them build self-confidence and encourage risk-taking!)
• And even more ideas

And remember: as the teacher, you can always help to answer questions, guide the students in a particular direction, or give clues and hints in any of the above activities. 

As we discussed in Tips #5 and #6, you can also highlight these different activity slides with your chosen design. In order to make them really stand out and grab your students’ attention, try a bold color change to the slide background color, or even add in eye-catching icons, graphics or illustrations. 

However you choose to do it, the key is to always use visuals to guide your students to wherever they need to be! 

And if none of the above is working for your class, you could always try refocusing their attention with a blank slide . 

Sure, it may sound pretty counterintuitive to what we’ve been discussing today — but one empty slide in a presentation filled with color and content is sure to grab the attention of your class in no time! Just remember to make the most of the opportunity, and remind your class of what they’ve learnt so far and what’s still to come. 

Tip #8: Make sure your presentation reflects your environment  

The environment we create is a reflection of our state of mind. Think about how you feel in a spa vs. how you might feel at a rock concert — the environment of those two different places are purposely set up to support a certain mood or focus — relaxation vs. energy and fun. 

You can apply this same principle to your presentations, and use it to create lessons that cleverly consider and incorporate the environment of your classroom into the way you teach. 

No one knows your classroom better than you. 

Understanding your room’s size, shape, and lighting will help you create the most appropriate and cohesive design for your students. 

For example, if your classroom is naturally very dark, perhaps throw out the blacks and browns and consider a lighter background that will draw-in focus. Or if your classroom is very colorful and busy, consider going with a more simplistic background that will complement the environment instead of competing with it. 

And if your classroom is quite large, perhaps you need to go with larger font and graphics to ensure that everyone can see your presentation clearly; or if it’s on the smaller size, maybe you might want to use more intricate photos to really draw focus on what you’re presenting. 

The key is to always consider your surroundings and design your presentation, accordingly. 

What’s more, it’s also best practice to take into account the student audience’s accessibility. 

For example, visually impaired students may not be able to fully access a presentation that’s filled with animation, graphics and bright colors. To account for this, it’s always a good idea to have alternate resources ready, such as a visually simplified handout, for example. 

Just as many of us learn from seeing, many of us also learn from doing . 

Once you’ve delivered a visual presentation for your students, ask them for suggestions on how to improve or change future lesson material . 

This will not only help to give you new ideas for future presentations, but it will also encourage your students to take ownership of what happens in the classroom, which will keep them more invested in what you present next time. Who knows, they may even perk up and pay attention to see if you’ve implemented their suggestions!

It’s time to get visual!

So, let’s do a quick recap! There are 9 essential things you can do to help students engage with, enjoy and absorb new teachings:

• Ensure that the design of your presentation complements your message or topic
• Take age into consideration for both the look and length of your presentation
• Don’t make content compete with design — deliver material first, style second!
• Always use a variety of layouts in your slides, but use a consistent theme and color scheme throughout 
• Learn about color psychology and apply its teachings to your presentations
• Use graphics that actually help you tell your story in an interesting way, not just as a visual distraction 
• Make presentations interactive, and get your audience involved as much as possible
• Consider what environment you’ll be giving your presentation in, and use it to help your presentation stand out 
• Get feedback after each presentation, and continue to improve using your student’s suggestions. 

Some scholars believe that in the future, students who have fully developed visual thinking will have a positive advantage in our new ‘high-tech’ workplaces. Today’s jobs draw heavily upon information visualization technologies and techniques, in business, technology, art and science. 

Exercising these skills during school will help them become more naturally applicable in the future, which is why it’s so important to always consider visual aids when designing presentations for your classes. 

That said, it is of course important to not prioritize any ‘type of learner’ over others, or to focus solely on one learning approach. However, it is always helpful to think about how you can implement visual learning broadly across all subjects, including those that are not typically ‘visual’ like math and science. 

In the end, education is about balance — and that’s the key to creating the best classroom presentations you can. So don’t be afraid of color, but don’t forget that information is always the priority!

Looking for more presentation inspiration?

At SlidesCarnival, you can find the best  Google Slides and PowerPoint templates  that are completely free to download, edit, and customize. Browse the collection to discover great design ideas that are sure to make your presentation stand out.

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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

• Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

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

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

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

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How To Make a Good Presentation [A Complete Guide]

By Krystle Wong , Jul 20, 2023

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

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

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

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

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

Click to jump ahead:

What are the 10 qualities of a good presentation?

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

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

1. Clear structure

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

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

2. Engaging opening

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

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

3. Relevant content

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

4. Effective visual aids

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

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

5. Clear and concise communication

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

6. Engaging delivery

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

7. Interaction and audience engagement

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

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

8. Effective storytelling

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

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

9. Well-timed pacing

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

10. Strong conclusion

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

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

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

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

1. Understand the audience and their needs

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

2. Conduct thorough research on the topic

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

3. Organize the content with a clear structure

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

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

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

4. Develop visually appealing and supportive visual aids

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

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

5. Practice, practice and practice

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

6. Seek feedback and make necessary adjustments

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

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

7. Prepare for potential technical or logistical issues

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

8. Fine-tune and polish your presentation

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

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

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

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

1. Confidence and positive body language

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

2. Eye contact with the audience

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

3. Effective use of hand gestures and movement

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

4. Utilize storytelling techniques

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

5. Incorporate multimedia elements

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

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

6. Utilize humor strategically

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

7. Practice active listening and respond to feedback

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

8. Apply the 10-20-30 rule

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

9. Implement the 5-5-5 rule

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

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

1. How to start a presentation?

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

2. How to end a presentation?

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

3. How to make a presentation interactive?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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What Are Effective Presentation Skills (and How to Improve Them)

Presentation skills are essential for your personal and professional life. Learn about effective presentations and how to boost your presenting techniques.

At least seven out of 10 Americans agree that presentation skills are essential for a successful career [ 1 ]. Although it might be tempting to think that these are skills reserved for people interested in public speaking roles, they're critical in a diverse range of jobs. For example, you might need to brief your supervisor on research results.

Presentation skills are also essential in other scenarios, including working with a team and explaining your thought process, walking clients through project ideas and timelines, and highlighting your strengths and achievements to your manager during performance reviews.

Whatever the scenario, you have very little time to capture your audience’s attention and get your point across when presenting information—about three seconds, according to research [ 2 ]. Effective presentation skills help you get your point across and connect with the people you’re communicating with, which is why nearly every employer requires them.

Understanding what presentation skills are is only half the battle. Honing your presenting techniques is essential for mastering presentations of all kinds and in all settings.

What are presentation skills?

Presentation skills are the abilities and qualities necessary for creating and delivering a compelling presentation that effectively communicates information and ideas. They encompass what you say, how you structure it, and the materials you include to support what you say, such as slides, videos, or images.

You'll make presentations at various times in your life. Examples include:

Making speeches at a wedding, conference, or another event

Making a toast at a dinner or event

Explaining projects to a team 

Delivering results and findings to management teams

Teaching people specific methods or information

Proposing a vote at community group meetings

Pitching a new idea or business to potential partners or investors

Why are presentation skills important? 

Delivering effective presentations is critical in your professional and personal life. You’ll need to hone your presentation skills in various areas, such as when giving a speech, convincing your partner to make a substantial purchase, and talking to friends and family about an important situation.

No matter if you’re using them in a personal or professional setting, these are the skills that make it easier and more effective to convey your ideas, convince or persuade others, and experience success. A few of the benefits that often accompany improving your presentation skills include:

Enriched written and verbal communication skills

Enhanced confidence and self-image

Boosted critical thinking and problem-solving capabilities

Better motivational techniques

Increased leadership skills

Expanded time management, negotiation, and creativity

The better your presenting techniques, the more engaging your presentations will be. You could also have greater opportunities to make positive impacts in business and other areas of your life.

Effective presentation skills

Imagine yourself in the audience at a TED Talk or sitting with your coworkers at a big meeting held by your employer. What would you be looking for in how they deliver their message? What would make you feel engaged?

These are a few questions to ask yourself as you review this list of some of the most effective presentation skills.

Verbal communication

How you use language and deliver messages play essential roles in how your audience will receive your presentation. Speak clearly and confidently, projecting your voice enough to ensure everyone can hear. Think before you speak, pausing when necessary and tailoring the way you talk to resonate with your particular audience.

Body language

Body language combines various critical elements, including posture, gestures, eye contact, expressions, and position in front of the audience. Body language is one of the elements that can instantly transform a presentation that would otherwise be dull into one that's dynamic and interesting.

Voice projection

The ability to project your voice improves your presentation by allowing your audience to hear what you're saying. It also increases your confidence to help settle any lingering nerves while also making your message more engaging. To project your voice, stand comfortably with your shoulders back. Take deep breaths to power your speaking voice and ensure you enunciate every syllable you speak.

How you present yourself plays a role in your body language and ability to project your voice. It also sets the tone for the presentation. Avoid slouching or looking overly tense. Instead, remain open, upright, and adaptable while taking the formality of the occasion into account.

Storytelling

Incorporating storytelling into a presentation is an effective strategy used by many powerful public speakers. It has the power to bring your subject to life and pique the audience’s curiosity. Don’t be afraid to tell a personal story, slowly building up suspense or adding a dramatic moment. And, of course, be sure to end with a positive takeaway to drive your point home.

Active listening

Active listening is a valuable skill all on its own. When you understand and thoughtfully respond to what you hear—whether it's in a conversation or during a presentation—you’ll likely deepen your personal relationships and actively engage audiences during a presentation. As part of your presentation skill set, it helps catch and maintain the audience’s attention, helping them remain focused while minimizing passive response, ensuring the message is delivered correctly, and encouraging a call to action.

Stage presence

During a presentation, projecting confidence can help keep your audience engaged. Stage presence can help you connect with your audience and encourage them to want to watch you. To improve your presence, try amping up your normal demeanor by infusing it with a bit of enthusiasm. Project confidence and keep your information interesting.

Watch your audience as you’re presenting. If you’re holding their attention, it likely means you’re connecting well with them.

Self-awareness

Monitoring your own emotions and reactions will allow you to react well in various situations. It helps you remain personable throughout your presentation and handle feedback well. Self-awareness can help soothe nervousness during presentations, allowing you to perform more effectively.

Writing skills

Writing is a form of presentation. Sharp writing skills can help you master your presentation’s outline to ensure you stay on message and remain clear about your objectives from the beginning until the end. It’s also helpful to have strong writing abilities for creating compelling slides and other visual aids.

Understanding an audience

When you understand your audience's needs and interests, you can design your presentation around them. In turn, you'll deliver maximum value to them and enhance your ability to make your message easy to understand.

Learn more about presentation skills from industry experts at SAP:

How to improve presentation skills

There’s an art to public speaking. Just like any other type of art, this is one that requires practice. Improving your presentation skills will help reduce miscommunications, enhance your time management capabilities, and boost your leadership skills. Here are some ways you can improve these skills:

Work on self-confidence.

When you’re confident, you naturally speak more clearly and with more authority. Taking the time to prepare your presentation with a strong opening and compelling visual aids can help you feel more confident. Other ways to improve your self-confidence include practicing positive self-talk, surrounding yourself with positive people, and avoiding comparing yourself (or your presentation) to others.

Develop strategies for overcoming fear.

Many people are nervous or fearful before giving a presentation. A bad memory of a past performance or insufficient self-confidence can contribute to fear and anxiety. Having a few go-to strategies like deep breathing, practicing your presentation, and grounding can help you transform that fear into extra energy to put into your stage presence.

Learn grounding techniques.

Grounding is any type of technique that helps you steer your focus away from distressing thoughts and keeps you connected with your present self. To ground yourself, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and imagine you’re a large, mature tree with roots extending deep into the earth—like the tree, you can become unshakable.

Learn how to use presentation tools.

Visual aids and other technical support can transform an otherwise good presentation into a wow-worthy one. A few popular presentation tools include:

Canva: Provides easy-to-design templates you can customize

Powtoon: Animation software that makes video creation fast and easy

PowerPoint: Microsoft's iconic program popular for dynamic marketing and sales presentations

Practice breathing techniques.

Breathing techniques can help quell anxiety, making it easier to shake off pre-presentation jitters and nerves. It also helps relax your muscles and get more oxygen to your brain.  For some pre-presentation calmness, you can take deep breaths, slowly inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth.

While presenting, breathe in through your mouth with the back of your tongue relaxed so your audience doesn't hear a gasping sound. Speak on your exhalation, maintaining a smooth voice.

Gain experience.

The more you practice, the better you’ll become. The more you doanything, the more comfortable you’ll feel engaging in that activity. Presentations are no different. Repeatedly practicing your own presentation also offers the opportunity to get feedback from other people and tweak your style and content as needed.

Tips to help you ace your presentation

Your presentation isn’t about you; it’s about the material you’re presenting. Sometimes, reminding yourself of this ahead of taking center stage can help take you out of your head, allowing you to connect effectively with your audience. The following are some of the many actions you can take on the day of your presentation.

Arrive early.

Since you may have a bit of presentation-related anxiety, it’s important to avoid adding travel stress. Give yourself an abundance of time to arrive at your destination, and take into account heavy traffic and other unforeseen events. By arriving early, you also give yourself time to meet with any on-site technicians, test your equipment, and connect with people ahead of the presentation.

Become familiar with the layout of the room.

Arriving early also gives you time to assess the room and figure out where you want to stand. Experiment with the acoustics to determine how loudly you need to project your voice, and test your equipment to make sure everything connects and appears properly with the available setup. This is an excellent opportunity to work out any last-minute concerns and move around to familiarize yourself with the setting for improved stage presence.

Listen to presenters ahead of you.

When you watch others present, you'll get a feel for the room's acoustics and lighting. You can also listen for any data that’s relevant to your presentation and revisit it during your presentation—this can make the presentation more interactive and engaging.

Use note cards.

Writing yourself a script could provide you with more comfort. To prevent sounding too robotic or disengaged, only include talking points in your note cards in case you get off track. Using note cards can help keep your presentation organized while sounding more authentic to your audience.

Learn to deliver clear and confident presentations with Dynamic Public Speaking from the University of Washington. Build confidence, develop new delivery techniques, and practice strategies for crafting compelling presentations for different purposes, occasions, and audiences.

Article sources

Forbes. “ New Survey: 70% Say Presentation Skills are Critical for Career Success , https://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2014/09/25/new-survey-70-percent-say-presentation-skills-critical-for-career-success/?sh=619f3ff78890.” Accessed December 7, 2022.

Beautiful.ai. “ 15 Presentation and Public Speaking Stats You Need to Know , https://www.beautiful.ai/blog/15-presentation-and-public-speaking-stats-you-need-to-know. Accessed December 7, 2022.

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5 Tips to Help You Prepare for an Education Conference Presentation

As you gather your ideas, adhering to a focused approach will help you give an engaging talk to your professional peers.

When I have the time and resources, conferences are some of my favorite professional opportunities that I attend—and also ones where I present! The process of creating a conference proposal takes time and sometimes a lot of thought to ensure that your presentation will land with your audience. However, when you’re accepted to present at a conference, how do you prepare for the presentation itself? This is a question that I get asked a lot, and although preparation may vary from person to person, it’s always a good idea to have some guidelines to ensure that your presentation goes well.

Regardless of whether it’s a small or larger conference, preparing your presentation requires planning and organization to deliver a successful and engaging session. I personally like to start planning out my conference presentations about two months in advance of when I’m going to present. This gives me enough time to research, plan, and prepare what I’m going to say and how I’m going to say it. However, some people might plan six or more months in advance, and others prepare the night before. In any case, here are five effective tips to help you.

1. Tailor Your Presentation to Your Audience

This is a crucial step that all presenters should take. Speaking to educators is different from speaking to school leadership, and speaking to school leadership is different from speaking to a group of students. Regardless of whom you are speaking to, understanding the audience attending the conference and designing your presentation to their interests and needs can help you get your message across. Consider the level of knowledge they might have on the topic that you’ll be presenting, and adjust your content and language accordingly. 

More advanced-level sessions can most likely skip some of the entry-level vocabulary and concepts and get straight into more complex topics (for example, a session I give called “Digital Storytelling in the STEM Classroom” is geared toward STEM educators who already utilize books and media in their classrooms but want to learn more about how to integrate technology into that). Also, if you can, address specific concerns and challenges in the field that you are presenting on—it will make your presentation more relevant and impactful.

2. Define Your Key Message

Your key message is the main theme of your presentation, something you’d like for your audience to get out of attending your session. Having a key message is important because it anchors the audience to the core of what you want to say and also ties in your presentation, resources, and potential Q&A to this message. A key message provides the focus of your content and enables your audience to remember the purpose of the presentation.

This can be a theme, a quote, or anything in between. As a suggestion, your key message should be evident in your presentation title and/or abstract. As you build your presentation, keep the key message as a focus of your presentation so that your points come across with clarity.

3. Create a Well-Structured Presentation

Even if you have amazing content that you’d like to share, if your presentation isn’t well-structured, your message could be lost. Organize your content to create a smooth flow of information. A typical structure includes an introduction, an outline of your main points, supporting evidence/action, and a conclusion. Here are some additional considerations:

Keep the text on your presentations large, but not too large. My general rule is that I don’t use anything smaller than 16-point type whenever I’m presenting—anything smaller than that could be too small for viewers to see.

Be mindful of color contrasts. Things like having yellow text on a bright pink or bright blue background can be too confusing for your audience to see, and too much color on a screen is distracting and can make it hard for your audience to follow along with your presentation. It’s best to stick with simple, yet eye-catching, templates that emphasize your key points and message.

Use visuals to enhance understanding and keep the audience interested. Slides, graphs, and videos go a long way to create an engaging presentation. Additionally, avoid too much information or large amounts of text on the slides—it can be overwhelming to the audience and distract from your presenting skills.

If the platform you’re presenting on has accessibility features (such as live captions), use them. People appreciate the ability to have multiple ways to engage in a presentation. There are also some platforms (like Microsoft PowerPoint Live) that allow your attendees to follow along at their own pace and even translate your presentation into different languages as you’re speaking.

4. Practice, Practice, Practice!

Practice absolutely makes perfect when it comes to conference presentations and public speaking. Practice your presentation several times before the conference to become comfortable with your material and delivery. If you’ve got a trusted person to practice in front of, do that—I usually practice in front of my wife and a small group of friends. 

Rehearse and time yourself; pay attention to your pacing and ensure that you stay within the allocated time frame. Rehearsing also helps you identify areas that need improvement, such as clarifying explanations, eliminating filler words, or omitting unnecessary details. 

Additionally, there are new technology tools that can help you practice your presentation if you’re practicing by yourself or if you’d like to get feedback from people that you are presenting to. Two of my favorites are Speaker Coach (in PowerPoint) and DirectPoll .

5. Think About Ways to Make the Presentation Interactive

An interactive presentation is more likely to leave a lasting impact on your audience, so whenever possible, create opportunities for your audience to engage and participate. 

Consider incorporating techniques like asking open-ended questions, conducting polls, or facilitating discussions and breakout groups. In my sessions, I utilize the answer functions in Mentimeter to create word clouds in the beginning and end of my sessions, as well as the polling features in that platform. Activities encourage engaged participation and help maintain the audience’s attention.

Most of all, once it’s time to present, have fun! Presenting in front of audiences is no easy feat, and it is absolutely something to be proud of. Conferences aren’t just all about the preparation and the practice—they’re also about creating engaging presentations and having fun with your audience and peers. Be sure to make time to connect with your audience before or after your presentation and answer any questions they may have.

46 Powerful Opening Lines for a Class Presentation

Hrideep barot.

• Public Speaking

Class presentations can be extremely stressful. The way you open your presentation will determine the way the rest of your presentation goes and how it is accepted by the audience. To make things easier for you, here is a list of powerful opening lines for a Class Presentation.

Before we get into the opening lines, here are some pointers to ensure your presentation has a good structure that will keep the audience engaged.

How to structure a good presentation

State the relevance and purpose to the audience, identify a core message, divide your presentation into three parts, use a simple and clear structure, use engaging and relevant slides, practice and rehearse your delivery, q & a session.

Determine the purpose of your presentation. What do you want your audience to learn or take away from it? Consider the knowledge level, interests, and expectations of your audience. This will help you tailor your content appropriately. Explain why the information is important or relevant to your audience

Identify a single central message that you would like to communicate to your audience. Then build your presentation around that core message. Select a clear and focused topic that aligns with the objectives of the assignment or class.

A presentation can be divided into three parts: an introduction detailing the purpose and structure of the talk; a body covering the main points; and a conclusion summarizing and highlighting the significance of your talk.

A good presentation structure means analyzing the core message of your presentation. Decide on a key message you want to impart to the audience, and then craft an engaging way of delivering it.

Design engaging and suitable slides that support your message and help your audience understand your presentation. Use rhetorical questions, anecdotes, or interactive elements to keep the audience engaged. Incorporate relevant visuals or multimedia to illustrate critical points. Ensure they are clear and legible, and add value to your presentation.

Practice your presentation beforehand to ensure that you can deliver it confidently and effectively.

Invite questions from the audience. Be prepared to respond thoughtfully.

Cite your sources if applicable. This adds credibility to your presentation. In fact, provide any recommended readings or resources for further exploration.

You can divide your presentation in the following manner-

Introduction:.

• Hook : Start with an attention-grabbing statement, question, or anecdote related to your topic.
• Presentation Statement : Clearly state the main purpose or argument of your presentation.
• Preview : Provide an overview of what you’ll be covering in the presentation.
• Each main point should be a separate section or slide.
• Present one key idea per slide or section.
• Provide evidence, examples, and supporting details for each point.
• Use visuals like images, graphs, or charts to enhance understanding.

Conclusion:

• Summary : Summarize the main points.
• Restate Thesis : Remind the audience of your main argument.
• Closing Statement : Provide a clear and impactful closing statement.

Structuring a class presentation effectively involves careful planning and organization. By following these steps, you can create a well-structured class presentation that effectively delivers your message and engages your audience.

Here are some additional tips for structuring your class presentation:

• Keep it simple: Don’t try to cram too much information into your presentation. Focus on the most important points you want to communicate.
• Use a variety of presentation techniques : This could include storytelling, humor, and interactive activities.
• Be clear and concise : Avoid using jargon and technical language that your audience may not understand.
• End powerfully: Leave your audience with a memorable thought or call to action.

By following these tips, you can create a class presentation that is informative, engaging, and memorable.

A powerful opening sets the tone for your class presentation and grabs your audience’s attention. Moving ahead to the main part of the article, here is a list of things you can incorporate to make your opening lines for a class presentation rather memorable.

Opening Lines for a class presentation

Ask a rhetorical question, use a startling statistic or fact, quote someone, make a provocative statement, interactive opening, visual description, make historical reference.

This is a great way to grab the audience’s attention and get them thinking about your topic. For example: “Have you ever wondered how the internet works?” or “What are the ethical implications of artificial intelligence?”

1. “Have you ever wondered why [topic] affects each and every one of us?”

2. “What if I told you that [startling fact or statistic]?”

Stories are a great way to connect with your audience and make your presentation more memorable. For example, you could tell a story about a personal experience related to your topic, or a story that illustrates a key point you want to make.

3. “Let me take you back to [a specific moment in time related to your topic].”

4. “I’d like to share a personal story that illustrates the importance of [topic].

This is a great way to grab the audience’s attention and make them want to learn more. For example: “Did you know that 90% of all data has been created in the past two years?” or “One in three people will experience depression at some point in their lives.”

5. “Did you know that [shocking statistic]?”

6. “It might surprise you to learn that [eye-opening fact].”

This is a great way to add credibility to your presentation. For example: “According to Albert Einstein, ‘Imagination is more important than knowledge.'” or “A recent study by Harvard University found that people who meditate regularly are more likely to be happy and successful.”

7. “As [famous figure] once said, ‘ [relevant quote].'”

8. “As Neil Armstrong once said, “That’s one small step for a man, a giant leap for mankind.” I believe space exploration is essential for the development of mankind.”

This is a great way to get the audience’s attention and make them think about your topic in a new way. For example: “The future of work is remote.” or “Artificial intelligence will revolutionize every industry.”

9. “Today, I’m here to challenge how we think about [topic].”

10. “Let’s consider a perspective on [topic] that might be different from what you’ve heard before.”

Other than these, there are certainly other ways of opening your presentation such as:

This is a great way to engage the audience from the beginning of the presentation. This will help keep the audience hooked and trigger their thought process too.

11. “I’d like to begin with a quick exercise. Raise your hand if [question-related to your topic].”

A visual description will help the audience to draw things from their imagination and will keep them engrossed in what you have to say after.

12. “Close your eyes for a moment and imagine [vivid scene related to your topic].”

Humor can never go wrong if you know the audience you are dealing with. A good laugh will always make your presentation go a lot smoother and easier.

13. “They say that [humorous twist on your topic]. But today, we’ll uncover the real story.”

Pick up a historical fact or reference that is quite common or that you can prove happened. This helps engage your audience and they would want to know how is that reference relevant in the context of your topic.

14. “In [specific time period], [relevant historical event] changed the course of [topic].”

Stating something and immediately countering your own statement will confuse the audience into listening to you more keenly. Which is why it serves the purpose of having your audience’s attention.

15. “While most people think [common misconception], the reality is quite different.”

Remember to choose an opening that aligns with your topic and style, and be sure to transition smoothly from your opening into the main content of your presentation. Additionally, practice your opening to ensure you deliver it confidently and engagingly.

Now, let’s look at some examples of opening lines for specific topics of class presentation

Opening lines for specific topics of a class presentation

Climate change, globalization and its effects, mental health awareness, artificial intelligence, gender equality, entrepreneurship, space exploration, cybersecurity, diversity and inclusion, the benefits of reading, the dangers of smoking.

• The challenges of poverty

The importance of recycling

16. “The world is on fire. Or at least it feels that way. The Amazon rainforest is burning, the Arctic is melting, and the Great Barrier Reef is dying. But we can still make a difference.”

17. “Imagine a world where our coastal cities are submerged, and our weather patterns become increasingly erratic.”

18. “In the next few minutes, we’ll confront a reality that demands our immediate attention: the accelerating crisis of climate change.”

19. “Today, our actions in one corner of the globe can have ripple effects thousands of miles away. The world truly is a web of interconnectedness.”

20. “As we discuss globalization, let’s remember that it’s not just about economics. It’s about cultures converging, traditions evolving, and societies adapting.”

21. “We all have mental health. Just like we have physical health. But why is it that we’re so afraid to talk about it? Why is it that we treat mental illness as a taboo topic?”

22. “Close your eyes and think about a time when you or someone you know faced a mental health challenge. It’s more common than you might think.”

23. “Mental health is just as important as physical health, but it is often overlooked.”

24. “One in five adults in the United States experiences mental illness each year.”

25. “Mental health problems can impact anyone, regardless of age, race, or socioeconomic status.”

26. “Imagine a world where machines can think and learn like humans. A world where robots can do our jobs, and self-driving cars can take us anywhere we want to go. This is the world of artificial intelligence.”

27. “From self-driving cars to virtual personal assistants, the rise of artificial intelligence is reshaping the way we live and work.”

28. “Today, we stand on the precipice of an era where machines can not only think but learn and adapt.”

29. “It’s time to talk about gender equality. It’s time to talk about the fact that women still earn less than men, that they are underrepresented in leadership positions, and that they face discrimination and harassment on a daily basis.”

30. “What do Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk have in common? They’re all entrepreneurs who started with nothing and built billion-dollar companies. But what does it take to be a successful entrepreneur?”

31. “The cosmos, with its vastness and mysteries, has beckoned explorers and dreamers for centuries. Today, we’re on the cusp of new frontiers.”

32. “As we look up at the night sky, it’s important to remember that each star represents a potential world, waiting to be discovered.”

33. “In an era where our lives are increasingly intertwined with technology, the battleground for our security has shifted to the digital realm.”

34. “Picture this: a breach in cybersecurity can lead to consequences as real and impactful as a physical break-in.”

35. “Diversity isn’t just about ticking boxes on a checklist. It’s about recognizing the richness that comes from embracing different perspectives and experiences.”

36. “In this room, we each bring a unique story and perspective. Together, we have the power to shape a more inclusive world.”

37. “Diversity and inclusion lead to innovation and creativity.”

38. “Reading can improve your vocabulary, grammar, and writing skills.”

39. “Reading can help you to learn about different cultures and perspectives.”

40. “Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.”

41. “Smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, and other serious health problems.”

42. “Secondhand smoke is just as dangerous as smoking itself.”

 The challenges of poverty

43. “Poverty is a complex problem that affects millions of people around the world.”

44. “Poverty can lead to hunger, homelessness, and lack of access to education and healthcare.”

45. “We all have a role to play in fighting poverty.”

46. “Did you know that it takes 700 years for a plastic bag to decompose?”

These opening lines can be used as inspiration to create your own powerful opening line for your class presentation. Make sure it sets the tone for the rest of your presentation.

These opening lines are designed to capture attention and provide a strong foundation for your presentation on these specific topics. Remember to follow through with compelling content and a strong conclusion to leave a lasting impression on your audience.

List of other resources for you

As a college student, presentations carry a lot of weight, so How to Give a Presentation in Class as a College Student

As talked about, organizing your presentation is essential, hence Presentation Structures: Everything You Need To Organize Your Talk

Sometimes, you can have a lot of content and not know what to remove, 14 Techniques To Ensure Audience Engagement Through Long Presentations

Doing things at the last minute is not okay, unless and until you know how to get it done effectively. Help! I Have A Presentation Tomorrow & I Am Not Prepared

Sometimes you would not have someone around to practice your presentation, and for that Have A Presentation Coming Up. Here’s How You Can Practice It By Yourself

I hope this is helpful. When choosing an opening line for your presentation, be sure to consider your audience and what you want to achieve with your presentation. You can always try to get in touch with a professional to get advice on your presentation structure and how you present it. For this, check out our personalized coaching services !

Enroll in our transformative 1:1 Coaching Program

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Home Blog Education Presentation Skills 101: A Guide to Presentation Success

Presentation Skills 101: A Guide to Presentation Success

Getting the perfect presentation design is just a step toward a successful presentation. For the experienced user, building presentation skills is the answer to elevating the power of your message and showing expertise on any subject. Still, one can ask: is it the same set of skills, or are they dependable on the type of presentation?

In this article, we will introduce the different types of presentations accompanied by the skillset required to master them. The purpose, as always, is to retain the audience’s interest for a long-lasting and convincing message.

Table of Contents

The Importance of Presentation Skills

Persuasive presentations, instructional presentations, informative presentations, inspirational presentations, basic presentation skills, what are the main difficulties when giving a presentation, recommendations to improve your presentation skills, closing statement.

Effective communication is the answer to reaching business and academic goals. The scenarios in which we can be required to deliver a presentation are as diverse as one can imagine. Still, some core concepts apply to all presentations.

 We define presentation skills as a compendium of soft skills that directly affect your presentation performance and contribute to creating a great presentation. These are not qualities acquired by birth but skills you ought to train and master to delve into professional environments.

You may ask: is it really that evident when a presenter is not prepared? Here are some common signs people can experience during presentations:

• Evasive body language: Not making eye contact with the audience, arms closed tightly to the body, hands in pockets all the time.
• Lack of interest in the presenter’s voice: dull tone, not putting an effort to articulate the topics.
• Doubting when asked to answer a question
• Irksome mood

The list can go on about common presenter mistakes , and most certainly, it will affect the performance of any presented data if the lack of interest by the presenter is blatantly obvious.  Another element to consider is anxiety, and according to research by the National Institute of Mental Health, 73% of the population in the USA is affected by glossophobia , which is the fear of public speaking, judgment, or negative evaluation by other people.

Therefore, presentation skills training is essential for any business professional who wants to achieve effective communication . It will remove the anxiety from presentation performance and help users effectively deliver their message and connect with the audience.

Archetypes of presentations

Persuasive presentations aim to convince the audience – often in short periods – to acquire a product or service, adhere to a cause, or invest in a company. For business entrepreneurs or politicians, persuasive presentations are their tool for the trade.

Unless you aim to be perceived as an imposter, a proper persuasive presentation has the elements of facts, empathy, and logic, balanced under a well-crafted narrative. The central pillar of these presentations is to identify the single factor that gathered your audience: it could be a market need, a social cause, or a revolutionary concept for today’s society. It has to be something with enough power to gather critiques – both good and bad.

That single factor has to be backed up by facts. Research that builds your hypothesis on how to solve that problem. A deep understanding of the target audience’s needs , concerns, and social position regarding the solution your means can offer. When those elements are in place, building a pitch becomes an easy task. 

Graphics can help you introduce information in a compelling format, lowering the need for lengthy presentations. Good presentation skills for persuasive presentations go by the hand of filtering relevant data and creating the visual cues that resonate with what your audience demands.

One powerful example of a persuasive presentation is the technique known as the elevator pitch . You must introduce your idea or product convincingly to the audience in a timeframe between 30 seconds and less than 2 minutes. You have to expose:

• What do you do 
• What’s the problem to solve
• Why is your solution different from others 
• Why should the audience care about your expertise

For that very purpose, using engaging graphics with contrasting colors elevates the potential power of your message. It speaks professionalism, care for details, and out-of-the-box thinking. Knowing how to end a presentation is also critical, as your CTAs should be placed with care.

Therefore, let’s resume the requirements of persuasive presentations in terms of good presentation skills:

• Identifying problems and needs
• Elaborating “the hook” (the element that grabs the audience’s attention)
• Knowing how to “tie” your audience (introducing a piece of information related to the hook that causes an emotional impact)
• Broad knowledge of body language and hand gestures to quickly convey your message
• Being prepared to argue a defense of your point of view
• Handling rejection
• Having a proactive attitude to convert opportunities into new projects
• Using humor, surprise, or personal anecdotes as elements to sympathize with the audience
• Having confidence
• Be able to summarize facts and information in visually appealing ways

You can learn more about persuasive presentation techniques by clicking here .

In the case of instructional presentations, we ought to differentiate two distinctive types:

• Lecture Presentations : Presentations being held at universities or any other educative institution. Those presentations cover, topic by topic, and the contents of a syllabus and are created by the team of teachers in charge of the course.
• Training Presentations : These presentations take place during in-company training sessions and usually comprise a good amount of content that is resumed into easy-to-take solutions. They are aimed to coach employees over certain topics relevant to their work performance. The 70-20-10 Model is frequently used to address these training situations.

Lecture presentations appeal to the gradual introduction of complex concepts, following a structure set in the course’s syllabus. These presentations often have a similar aesthetic as a group of professors or researchers created to share their knowledge about a topic. Personal experience does tell that course presentations often rely on factual data, adequately documented, and on the theoretical side.

An example of a presentation that lies under this concept is a Syllabus Presentation, used by the teaching team to introduce the subject to new students, evaluation methods, concepts to be learned, and expectations to pass the course.

On the other hand, training presentations are slide decks designed to meet an organization’s specific needs in the formal education of their personnel. Commonly known as “continuous education,” plenty of companies invest resources in coaching their employees to achieve higher performance results. These presentations have the trademark of being concise since their idea is to introduce the concepts that shall be applied in practice sessions. 

Ideally, the training presentations are introduced with little text and easy-to-recognize visual cues. Since the idea is to summarize as much as possible, these are visually appealing for the audience. They must be dynamic enough to allow the presenter to convey the message.

Those key takeaways remind employees when they revisit their learning resources and allow them to ruminate on questions that fellow workers raise. 

To sum up this point, building presentation skills for instructional presentations requires:

• Ability to put complex concepts into simpler words
• Patience and a constant learning mindset
• Voice training to deliver lengthy speeches without being too dense
• Ability to summarize points and note the key takeaways
• Empathizing with the audience to understand their challenges in the learning process

The informative presentations take place in business situations, such as when to present project reports from different departments to the management. Another potential usage of these presentations is in SCRUM or other Agile methodologies, when a sprint is completed, to discuss the advance of the project with the Product Owner.

As they are presentations heavily dependent on data insights, it’s common to see the usage of infographics and charts to express usually dense data in simpler terms and easy to remember. 

Informative presentations don’t just fall into the business category. Ph.D. Dissertation and Thesis presentations are topics that belong to the informative presentations category as they condense countless research hours into manageable reports for the academic jury. 

Since these informational presentations can be perceived as lengthy and data-filled, it is important to learn the following professional presentation skills:

• Attention to detail
• Be able to explain complex information in simpler terms
• Creative thinking
• Powerful diction
• Working on pauses and transitions
• Pacing the presentation, so not too much information is divulged per slide

The leading inspirational platform, TEDx, comes to mind when talking about inspirational presentations. This presentation format has the peculiarity of maximizing the engagement with the audience to divulge a message, and due to that, it has specific requirements any presenter must meet.

This presentation format usually involves a speaker on a stage, either sitting or better standing, in which the presenter engages with the audience with a storytelling format about a life experience, a job done that provided a remarkable improvement for society, etc.

Empathizing with the audience is the key ingredient for these inspirational presentations. Still, creativity is what shapes the outcome of your performance as people are constantly looking for different experiences – not the same recipe rephrased with personal touches. The human factor is what matters here, way above data and research. What has your experience to offer to others? How can it motivate another human being to pursue a similar path or discover their true calling?

To achieve success in terms of communication skills presentation, these inspirational presentations have the following requirements:

• Focus on the audience (engage, consider their interests, and make them a part of your story)
• Putting ego aside
• Creative communication skills
• Storytelling skills
• Body language knowledge to apply the correct gestures to accompany your story
• Voice training
• Using powerful words

After discussing the different kinds of presentations we can come across at any stage of our lives, a group of presentation skills is standard in any type of presentation. See below what makes a good presentation and which skills you must count on to succeed as a presenter.

Punctuality

Punctuality is a crucial aspect of giving an effective presentation. Nothing says more about respect for your audience and the organization you represent than delivering the presentation on time . Arriving last minute puts pressure on the tech team behind audiovisuals, as they don’t have enough preparation to test microphones, stage lights, and projector settings, which can lead to a less powerful presentation Even when discussing presentations hosted in small rooms for a reduced audience, testing the equipment becomes essential for an effective presentation.

A solution for this is to arrive at least 30 minutes early. Ideally, one hour is a sweet spot since the AV crew has time to check the gear and requirements for your presentation. Another benefit of this, for example, in inspirational presentations, is measuring the previous presenter’s impact on the audience. This gives insights about how to resonate with the public, and their interest, and how to accommodate your presentation for maximum impact.

Body Language

Our bodies can make emotions transparent for others, even when we are unaware of such a fact. Proper training for body language skills reduces performance anxiety, giving the audience a sense of expertise about the presented topic. 

Give your presentation and the audience the respect they deserve by watching over these potential mistakes:

• Turning your back to the audience for extended periods : It’s okay to do so when introducing an important piece of information or explaining a graph, but it is considered rude to give your back to the audience constantly.
• Fidgeting : We are all nervous in the presence of strangers, even more, if we are the center of attention for that moment. Instead of playing with your hair or making weird hand gestures, take a deep breath to center yourself before the presentation and remember that everything you could do to prepare is already done. Trust your instincts and give your best.
• Intense eye contact : Have you watched a video where the presenter stared at the camera the entire time? That’s the feeling you transmit to spectators through intense eye contact. It’s a practice often used by politicians to persuade.
• Swearing : This is a no-brainer. Even when you see influencers swearing on camera or in podcasts or live presentations, it is considered an informal and lousy practice for business and academic situations. If you have a habit to break when it comes to this point, find the humor in these situations and replace your swear words with funny alternatives (if the presentation allows for it). 

Voice Tone plays a crucial role in delivering effective presentations and knowing how to give a good presentation. Your voice is a powerful tool for exposing your ideas and feelings . Your voice can articulate the message you are telling, briefing the audience if you feel excited about what you are sharing or, in contrast, if you feel the presentation is a burden you ought to complete.

Remember, passion is a primary ingredient in convincing people. Therefore, transmitting such passion with a vibrant voice may help gather potential business partners’ interest.  

But what if you feel sick prior to the presentation? If, by chance, your throat is sore minutes before setting foot on the stage, try this: when introducing yourself, mention that you are feeling a bit under the weather. This resonates with the audience to pay more attention to your efforts. In case you don’t feel comfortable about that, ask the organizers for a cup of tea, as it will settle your throat and relax your nerves.

Tech Skills

Believe it or not, people still feel challenged by technology these days. Maybe that’s the reason why presentation giants like Tony Robbins opt not to use PowerPoint presentations . The reality is that there are plenty of elements involved in a presentation that can go wrong from the tech side:

• A PDF not opening
• Saving your presentation in a too-recent PowerPoint version
• A computer not booting up
• Mac laptops and their never-ending compatibility nightmare
• Not knowing how to change between slides
• Not knowing how to use a laser pointer
• Internet not working
• Audio not working

We can come up with a pretty long list of potential tech pitfalls, and yet more than half of them fall in presenters not being knowledgeable about technology.

If computers aren’t your thing, let the organization know about this beforehand. There is always a crew member available to help presenters switch between slides or configure the presentation for streaming. This takes the pressure off your shoulders, allowing you to concentrate on the content to present. Remember, even Bill Gates can get a BSOD during a presentation .

Presentations, while valuable for conveying information and ideas, can be daunting for many individuals. Here are some common difficulties people encounter when giving presentations:

Public Speaking Anxiety

Glossophobia, the fear of public speaking, affects a significant portion of the population. This anxiety can lead to nervousness, trembling, and forgetfulness during a presentation.

Lack of Confidence

Many presenters struggle with self-doubt, fearing that they may not be knowledgeable or skilled enough to engage their audience effectively.

Content Organization

Organizing information in a coherent and engaging manner can be challenging. Presenters often grapple with how to structure their content to make it easily digestible for the audience. Artificial Intelligence can help us significantly reduce the content arrangement time when you work with tools like our AI Presentation Maker (made for presenters by experts in presentation design). 

Audience Engagement

Keeping the audience’s attention and interest throughout the presentation can be difficult. Distractions, disengaged attendees, or lack of interaction can pose challenges.

Technical Issues

Technology glitches, such as malfunctioning equipment, incompatible file formats, or poor internet connectivity, can disrupt presentations and increase stress.

Time Management

Striking the right balance between providing enough information and staying within time limits is a common challenge. Going over or under the allotted time can affect the effectiveness of the presentation.

Handling Questions and Challenges

Responding to unexpected questions, criticism, or challenges from the audience can be difficult, especially when presenters are unprepared or lack confidence in their subject matter.

Visual Aids and Technology

Creating and effectively using visual aids like slides or multimedia can be a struggle for some presenters. Technical competence is essential in this aspect.

Language and Articulation

Poor language skills or unclear articulation can hinder effective communication. Presenters may worry about stumbling over words or failing to convey their message clearly.

Maintaining appropriate and confident body language can be challenging. Avoiding nervous habits, maintaining eye contact, and using gestures effectively requires practice.

Overcoming Impersonal Delivery

In virtual presentations, maintaining a personal connection with the audience can be difficult. The absence of face-to-face interaction can make it challenging to engage and read the audience.

Cultural and Diversity Awareness

Presenting to diverse audiences requires sensitivity to cultural differences and varying levels of familiarity with the topic.

In this section, we gathered some tips on how to improve presentation skills that can certainly make an impact if applied to your presentation skills. We believe these skills can be cultivated to transform into habits for your work routine.

Tip #1: Build a narrative

One memorable way to guarantee presentation success is by writing a story of all the points you desire to cover. This statement is based on the logic behind storytelling and its power to connect with people .

Don’t waste time memorizing slides or reading your presentation to the audience. It feels unnatural, and any question that diverts from the topic in discussion certainly puts you in jeopardy or, worse, exposes you as a fraud in the eyes of the audience. And before you ask, it is really evident when a presenter has a memorized speech. 

Build and rehearse the presentation as if telling a story to a group of interested people. Lower the language barrier by avoiding complex terms that maybe even you aren’t fully aware of their meaning. Consider the ramifications of that story, what it could lead to, and which are the opportunities to explore. Then, visualize yourself giving the presentation in a natural way.

Applying this technique makes the presentation feel like second nature to you. It broadens the spectrum in which you can show expertise over a topic or even build the basis for new interesting points of view about the project.

Tip #2: Don’t talk for more than 3 minutes per slide

It is a common practice of presenters to bombard the audience with facts and information whilst retaining the same slide on the screen. Why can this happen? It could be because the presenter condensed the talk into very few slides and preferred to talk. The reality is that your spectators won’t retain the information you are giving unless you give visual cues to help that process. 

Opt to prepare more slides and pace your speech to match the topics shown on each slide. Don’t spend more than 3 minutes per slide unless you have to introduce a complex piece of data. Use visual cues to direct the spectators about what you talk about, and summarize the principal concepts discussed at the end of each section.

Tip #3: Practice meditation daily

Anxiety is the number one enemy of professional presenters. It slowly builds without you being aware of your doubts and can hinder your performance in multiple ways: making you feel paralyzed, fidgeting, making you forget language skills or concepts, affecting your health, etc.

Meditation is an ancient practice taken from Buddhist teachings that train your mind to be here in the present. We often see the concepts of meditation and mindfulness as synonyms, whereas you should be aware that meditation is a practice that sets the blocks to reach a state of mindfulness. For presenters, being in the here and now is essential to retain focus, but meditation techniques also teach us to control our breathing and be in touch with our body signals when stress builds up. 

The customary practice of meditation has an impact on imagination and creativity but also helps to build patience – a skill much needed for connecting with your audience in instructional presentations.

Having the proper set of presentation skills can be quite subjective. It goes beyond presentation tips and deepens into how flexible we can be in our ability to communicate ideas.

Different presentations and different audiences shape the outcome of our efforts. Therefore, having a basic understanding of how to connect, raise awareness, and empathize with people can be key ingredients for your career as a presenter. A word of advice: success doesn’t happen overnight. It takes dedication and patience to build communication skills . Don’t condition your work to believe you will be ready “someday”; it’s best to practice and experience failure as part of the learning process.

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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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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. 

ViewSonic Originals

Free interactive teaching materials

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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Learning Solutions For the Future

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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• Getting Started
• Cool Things You Can Do
• Pear Deck Vocabulary
• Technical & Legal Questions
• Pear Deck Knowledge Base

Preview and Edit the Student View

Do you ever feel uncertain about what your students are seeing on their screens? BE NOT UNSURE! In this article you'll learn how to:

Edit the Student View

Preview the student view, try it out before class, see the student view during a presentation session.

When you present a Pear Deck, students see the following:

• The main body of the slide in its entirety.
• The interactive response, if you added one.
• Open Google Slides or PowerPoint Online. Use the editing tools to add a question, prompt, graph, image, etc. to the main body of the slide. Students will see everything you put on it. Please note that slide animations and videos will only work if you install the Power-up extension.*
• To make a custom interactive slide , open the Pear Deck for Google Slides Add-on or the Pear Deck for PowerPoint Online Add-in menu . Go to the Ask Students a Question section and click on the type of response you want students to have (you can also add pre-made interactive slides from the Template Library). Depending on what you choose, you may be prompted to customize options, such as Draggable icons or Multiple Choice responses. 

The interactive response type becomes visible in the Pear Deck bar at the bottom of the slide.

4. To change the response type, open the slide again. Then, go back to the Ask Students a Question and select a different question type. To change the response options on a Multiple Choice, Draggable, or Website Slide, click on the same question type again and modify the options.

When you present a Pear Deck Session, students see all of the slides in your Deck on their screens. There is a difference in the way Non-Interactive and Interactive Slides look.

There's no limit to the number of Sessions you can present with Pear Deck. You can even join your Sessions as a student to get the full preview of what students will see.

• Then, go to joinpd.com in a separate tab and join your own Session. You can even turn on Student-Paced mode on the Projector View to navigate through all of the slides independently on the Student View.

During a presentation Session, you automatically see your slides and the Pear Deck interactive bar on the Projector View. But you can also review what students are seeing on the Student View. Just click on the Slide Navigator (between the arrow buttons) to open the Slide Drawer. The thumbnails show you exactly how the slides appear on the Student View.

Once you start presenting, try adding a New Prompt from the Navigation Bar to add a new Interactive Slide to the discussion!

For questions, please email [email protected].

Article contributors: Erin M., Michal E.L.

• Flexible Teaching
• Guide to Course Delivery
• How can I manage student presentations?

This section provides an overview on delivering and managing your student presentations using pedagogical best practices with technologies supported by the Division of Information Technology (DOIT) and the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL).

Planning, curating, and delivering presentations gives students an opportunity to connect authentically with both the course content and their peers. Student presentations can be successfully facilitated in all modalities, including live sessions or pre-recorded for asynchronous viewing.

Selecting the right tool

This table presents the features of the technologies that can be used for live and recorded student presentations:

Using Blackboard Collaborate

Blackboard Collaborate is appropriate for live student presentations online. Students can share their screen and a video of themselves speaking, and attendees can view and hear, and ask questions. 

Make sure basic requirements are met. The presenter and attendees need stable, high-speed internet connections, quiet environments, and headphones for best results.

Keep time zones in mind when scheduling synchronous sessions. Time zones where attendees and presenters are located should be considered for live attendance and participation. Send out a quick survey or poll to your students as soon as possible to get a better sense of their individual circumstances related to participating in a live, synchronous class session.

Include your presentation guidelines in your course syllabus so that students know what to expect and how to prepare before their presentation. Consider including this NIU Effective Presentations Skills Tutorial  resource in your syllabus to help your students plan their presentation. 

Some additional recommendations for a smooth presentation experience include:

• Set up a practice Collaborate session and have students attempt screen sharing before their scheduled presentation date.
• Make sure students have an assigned order in which they will be presenting or testing to minimize changeover time.
• Have students submit any PowerPoint slides or visual aids to you before their presentation session to streamline any potential technical issues.
• Ensure students’ time zones are similar enough to work and present together effectively if presenting in a group.
• Collaborate Session Best Practices
• Sharing Presentation Content in a Blackboard Collaborate Session

Using Microsoft Teams

Similarly to Blackboard Collaborate, Microsoft Teams can be use for live and recorded presentations. While recordings from Blackboard Collaborate sessions automatically appear and students can access from within the Blackboard Collaborate session tool in their Blackboard Course, recordings from Microsoft Teams are found within Microsoft Stream.

The same principles for successful sessions mentioned above using Collaborate apply to Teams.

• Getting Started with Microsoft Teams
• Welcome to Microsoft Teams Video

Using Kaltura

Students can record their presentation and post it online for asynchronous viewing using Kaltura . You can provide guidelines for the presentation just as you would for “in-class” or “synchronous” presentations, including length, requirements for accompanying visuals, etc. 

• Students can pre-record presentations using Kaltura or Collaborate. All recordings can then be linked to or embedded in Blackboard. For more information, check out How will I provide course materials? .
• Students could also pre-record presentations in any other way that works for them (e.g., cell phone or webcam on a tripod) and then post their recorded video in their Blackboard course.
• Express Capture Using Kaltura
• Submitting Kaltura Videos to Blackboard (for students)

Using VoiceThread

The VoiceThread tool in Blackboard allows for text, audio, and video commenting on uploaded multimedia. Students create a multimedia presentation on VoiceThread (for example, recording audio or video comments on uploaded slides) for their peers to comment and leave constructive feedback. If students are producing creative work for their presentation, VoiceThread can also be a way for students to comment on their own presentation explaining their creative choices to you and to their peers. 

• Using VoiceThread in Blackboard
• Using VoiceThread to Build Student Engagement
• How to Humanize Your Online Class with VoiceThread (free ebook by Michelle Pacansky-Brock)
• Teaching with VoiceThread in the Hindi Classroom (Duke University)

Next Topic: How can I give feedback and grade student work?

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815-753-0595

[email protected].

Flexible Teaching guides were developed by Duke Learning Innovation  and adapted for NIU by the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. They are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

• How will I hold class meetings?
• How will I provide course materials?
• How can I give feedback and grades?
• What assessment tools are available?
• How can I encourage academic integrity?
• What course communication tools are available?
• How can I create my course site?
• Which Blackboard course view is best for my course?
• How can I organize group and team work?
• What multimedia tools are available?
• How can I increase student engagement?

Hybrid Course Delivery

Are you planning to deliver a hybrid course? Learn more tips for designing and delivering a hybrid class.

Guide to Hybrid Course Delivery

Didn’t find what you were looking for? Need more information? Contact the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL) with your feedback and questions about this resource.

Workshops & Support

CITL staff are available to answer your questions about Flexible Teaching. Give us a call or text 815-753-0595 or email [email protected] for assistance. You can also schedule an appointment with one of our staff.

View CITL upcoming events to view available upcoming workshops offered or to register.

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How to Structure your Presentation, with Examples

August 3, 2018 - Dom Barnard

For many people the thought of delivering a presentation is a daunting task and brings about a  great deal of nerves . However, if you take some time to understand how effective presentations are structured and then apply this structure to your own presentation, you’ll appear much more confident and relaxed.

Here is our complete guide for structuring your presentation, with examples at the end of the article to demonstrate these points.

Why is structuring a presentation so important?

If you’ve ever sat through a great presentation, you’ll have left feeling either inspired or informed on a given topic. This isn’t because the speaker was the most knowledgeable or motivating person in the world. Instead, it’s because they know how to structure presentations – they have crafted their message in a logical and simple way that has allowed the audience can keep up with them and take away key messages.

Research has supported this, with studies showing that audiences retain structured information  40% more accurately  than unstructured information.

In fact, not only is structuring a presentation important for the benefit of the audience’s understanding, it’s also important for you as the speaker. A good structure helps you remain calm, stay on topic, and avoid any awkward silences.

What will affect your presentation structure?

Generally speaking, there is a natural flow that any decent presentation will follow which we will go into shortly. However, you should be aware that all presentation structures will be different in their own unique way and this will be due to a number of factors, including:

• Whether you need to deliver any demonstrations
• How  knowledgeable the audience  already is on the given subject
• How much interaction you want from the audience
• Any time constraints there are for your talk
• What setting you are in
• Your ability to use any kinds of visual assistance

Before choosing the presentation’s structure answer these questions first:

• What is your presentation’s aim?
• Who are the audience?
• What are the main points your audience should remember afterwards?

When reading the points below, think critically about what things may cause your presentation structure to be slightly different. You can add in certain elements and add more focus to certain moments if that works better for your speech.

What is the typical presentation structure?

This is the usual flow of a presentation, which covers all the vital sections and is a good starting point for yours. It allows your audience to easily follow along and sets out a solid structure you can add your content to.

1. Greet the audience and introduce yourself

Before you start delivering your talk, introduce yourself to the audience and clarify who you are and your relevant expertise. This does not need to be long or incredibly detailed, but will help build an immediate relationship between you and the audience. It gives you the chance to briefly clarify your expertise and why you are worth listening to. This will help establish your ethos so the audience will trust you more and think you’re credible.

Read our tips on  How to Start a Presentation Effectively

2. Introduction

In the introduction you need to explain the subject and purpose of your presentation whilst gaining the audience’s interest and confidence. It’s sometimes helpful to think of your introduction as funnel-shaped to help filter down your topic:

• Introduce your general topic
• Explain your topic area
• State the issues/challenges in this area you will be exploring
• State your presentation’s purpose – this is the basis of your presentation so ensure that you provide a statement explaining how the topic will be treated, for example, “I will argue that…” or maybe you will “compare”, “analyse”, “evaluate”, “describe” etc.
• Provide a statement of what you’re hoping the outcome of the presentation will be, for example, “I’m hoping this will be provide you with…”
• Show a preview of the organisation of your presentation

In this section also explain:

• The length of the talk.
• Signal whether you want audience interaction – some presenters prefer the audience to ask questions throughout whereas others allocate a specific section for this.
• If it applies, inform the audience whether to take notes or whether you will be providing handouts.

The way you structure your introduction can depend on the amount of time you have been given to present: a  sales pitch  may consist of a quick presentation so you may begin with your conclusion and then provide the evidence. Conversely, a speaker presenting their idea for change in the world would be better suited to start with the evidence and then conclude what this means for the audience.

Keep in mind that the main aim of the introduction is to grab the audience’s attention and connect with them.

3. The main body of your talk

The main body of your talk needs to meet the promises you made in the introduction. Depending on the nature of your presentation, clearly segment the different topics you will be discussing, and then work your way through them one at a time – it’s important for everything to be organised logically for the audience to fully understand. There are many different ways to organise your main points, such as, by priority, theme, chronologically etc.

• Main points should be addressed one by one with supporting evidence and examples.
• Before moving on to the next point you should provide a mini-summary.
• Links should be clearly stated between ideas and you must make it clear when you’re moving onto the next point.
• Allow time for people to take relevant notes and stick to the topics you have prepared beforehand rather than straying too far off topic.

When planning your presentation write a list of main points you want to make and ask yourself “What I am telling the audience? What should they understand from this?” refining your answers this way will help you produce clear messages.

4. Conclusion

In presentations the conclusion is frequently underdeveloped and lacks purpose which is a shame as it’s the best place to reinforce your messages. Typically, your presentation has a specific goal – that could be to convert a number of the audience members into customers, lead to a certain number of enquiries to make people knowledgeable on specific key points, or to motivate them towards a shared goal.

Regardless of what that goal is, be sure to summarise your main points and their implications. This clarifies the overall purpose of your talk and reinforces your reason for being there.

Follow these steps:

• Signal that it’s nearly the end of your presentation, for example, “As we wrap up/as we wind down the talk…”
• Restate the topic and purpose of your presentation – “In this speech I wanted to compare…”
• Summarise the main points, including their implications and conclusions
• Indicate what is next/a call to action/a thought-provoking takeaway
• Move on to the last section

5. Thank the audience and invite questions

Conclude your talk by thanking the audience for their time and invite them to  ask any questions  they may have. As mentioned earlier, personal circumstances will affect the structure of your presentation.

Many presenters prefer to make the Q&A session the key part of their talk and try to speed through the main body of the presentation. This is totally fine, but it is still best to focus on delivering some sort of initial presentation to set the tone and topics for discussion in the Q&A.

Other common presentation structures

The above was a description of a basic presentation, here are some more specific presentation layouts:

Demonstration

Use the demonstration structure when you have something useful to show. This is usually used when you want to show how a product works. Steve Jobs frequently used this technique in his presentations.

• Explain why the product is valuable.
• Describe why the product is necessary.
• Explain what problems it can solve for the audience.
• Demonstrate the product  to support what you’ve been saying.
• Make suggestions of other things it can do to make the audience curious.

Problem-solution

This structure is particularly useful in persuading the audience.

• Briefly frame the issue.
• Go into the issue in detail showing why it ‘s such a problem. Use logos and pathos for this – the logical and emotional appeals.
• Provide the solution and explain why this would also help the audience.
• Call to action – something you want the audience to do which is straightforward and pertinent to the solution.

Storytelling

As well as incorporating  stories in your presentation , you can organise your whole presentation as a story. There are lots of different type of story structures you can use – a popular choice is the monomyth – the hero’s journey. In a monomyth, a hero goes on a difficult journey or takes on a challenge – they move from the familiar into the unknown. After facing obstacles and ultimately succeeding the hero returns home, transformed and with newfound wisdom.

Storytelling for Business Success  webinar , where well-know storyteller Javier Bernad shares strategies for crafting compelling narratives.

Another popular choice for using a story to structure your presentation is in media ras (in the middle of thing). In this type of story you launch right into the action by providing a snippet/teaser of what’s happening and then you start explaining the events that led to that event. This is engaging because you’re starting your story at the most exciting part which will make the audience curious – they’ll want to know how you got there.

• Great storytelling: Examples from Alibaba Founder, Jack Ma

Remaining method

The remaining method structure is good for situations where you’re presenting your perspective on a controversial topic which has split people’s opinions.

• Go into the issue in detail showing why it’s such a problem – use logos and pathos.
• Rebut your opponents’ solutions  – explain why their solutions could be useful because the audience will see this as fair and will therefore think you’re trustworthy, and then explain why you think these solutions are not valid.
• After you’ve presented all the alternatives provide your solution, the remaining solution. This is very persuasive because it looks like the winning idea, especially with the audience believing that you’re fair and trustworthy.

Transitions

When delivering presentations it’s important for your words and ideas to flow so your audience can understand how everything links together and why it’s all relevant. This can be done  using speech transitions  which are words and phrases that allow you to smoothly move from one point to another so that your speech flows and your presentation is unified.

Transitions can be one word, a phrase or a full sentence – there are many different forms, here are some examples:

Moving from the introduction to the first point

Signify to the audience that you will now begin discussing the first main point:

• Now that you’re aware of the overview, let’s begin with…
• First, let’s begin with…
• I will first cover…
• My first point covers…
• To get started, let’s look at…

Shifting between similar points

Move from one point to a similar one:

• In the same way…
• Likewise…
• Equally…
• This is similar to…
• Similarly…

Internal summaries

Internal summarising consists of summarising before moving on to the next point. You must inform the audience:

• What part of the presentation you covered – “In the first part of this speech we’ve covered…”
• What the key points were – “Precisely how…”
• How this links in with the overall presentation – “So that’s the context…”
• What you’re moving on to – “Now I’d like to move on to the second part of presentation which looks at…”

Physical movement

You can move your body and your standing location when you transition to another point. The audience find it easier to follow your presentation and movement will increase their interest.

A common technique for incorporating movement into your presentation is to:

• Start your introduction by standing in the centre of the stage.
• For your first point you stand on the left side of the stage.
• You discuss your second point from the centre again.
• You stand on the right side of the stage for your third point.
• The conclusion occurs in the centre.

Key slides for your presentation

Slides are a useful tool for most presentations: they can greatly assist in the delivery of your message and help the audience follow along with what you are saying. Key slides include:

• An intro slide outlining your ideas
• A  summary slide  with core points to remember
• High quality image slides to supplement what you are saying

There are some presenters who choose not to use slides at all, though this is more of a rarity. Slides can be a powerful tool if used properly, but the problem is that many fail to do just that. Here are some golden rules to follow when using slides in a presentation:

• Don’t over fill them  – your slides are there to assist your speech, rather than be the focal point. They should have as little information as possible, to avoid distracting people from your talk.
• A picture says a thousand words  – instead of filling a slide with text, instead, focus on one or two images or diagrams to help support and explain the point you are discussing at that time.
• Make them readable  – depending on the size of your audience, some may not be able to see small text or images, so make everything large enough to fill the space.
• Don’t rush through slides  – give the audience enough time to digest each slide.

Guy Kawasaki, an entrepreneur and author, suggests that slideshows should follow a  10-20-30 rule :

• There should be a maximum of 10 slides – people rarely remember more than one concept afterwards so there’s no point overwhelming them with unnecessary information.
• The presentation should last no longer than 20 minutes as this will leave time for questions and discussion.
• The font size should be a minimum of 30pt because the audience reads faster than you talk so less information on the slides means that there is less chance of the audience being distracted.

Here are some additional resources for slide design:

• 7 design tips for effective, beautiful PowerPoint presentations
• 11 design tips for beautiful presentations
• 10 tips on how to make slides that communicate your idea

Group Presentations

Group presentations are structured in the same way as presentations with one speaker but usually require more rehearsal and practices.  Clean transitioning between speakers  is very important in producing a presentation that flows well. One way of doing this consists of:

• Briefly recap on what you covered in your section: “So that was a brief introduction on what health anxiety is and how it can affect somebody”
• Introduce the next speaker in the team and explain what they will discuss: “Now Elnaz will talk about the prevalence of health anxiety.”
• Then end by looking at the next speaker, gesturing towards them and saying their name: “Elnaz”.
• The next speaker should acknowledge this with a quick: “Thank you Joe.”

From this example you can see how the different sections of the presentations link which makes it easier for the audience to follow and remain engaged.

Example of great presentation structure and delivery

Having examples of great presentations will help inspire your own structures, here are a few such examples, each unique and inspiring in their own way.

How Google Works – by Eric Schmidt

This presentation by ex-Google CEO  Eric Schmidt  demonstrates some of the most important lessons he and his team have learnt with regards to working with some of the most talented individuals they hired. The simplistic yet cohesive style of all of the slides is something to be appreciated. They are relatively straightforward, yet add power and clarity to the narrative of the presentation.

Start with why – by Simon Sinek

Since being released in 2009, this presentation has been viewed almost four million times all around the world. The message itself is very powerful, however, it’s not an idea that hasn’t been heard before. What makes this presentation so powerful is the simple message he is getting across, and the straightforward and understandable manner in which he delivers it. Also note that he doesn’t use any slides, just a whiteboard where he creates a simple diagram of his opinion.

The Wisdom of a Third Grade Dropout – by Rick Rigsby

Here’s an example of a presentation given by a relatively unknown individual looking to inspire the next generation of graduates. Rick’s presentation is unique in many ways compared to the two above. Notably, he uses no visual prompts and includes a great deal of humour.

However, what is similar is the structure he uses. He first introduces his message that the wisest man he knew was a third-grade dropout. He then proceeds to deliver his main body of argument, and in the end, concludes with his message. This powerful speech keeps the viewer engaged throughout, through a mixture of heart-warming sentiment, powerful life advice and engaging humour.

As you can see from the examples above, and as it has been expressed throughout, a great presentation structure means analysing the core message of your presentation. Decide on a key message you want to impart the audience with, and then craft an engaging way of delivering it.

By preparing a solid structure, and  practising your talk  beforehand, you can walk into the presentation with confidence and deliver a meaningful message to an interested audience.

It’s important for a presentation to be well-structured so it can have the most impact on your audience. An unstructured presentation can be difficult to follow and even frustrating to listen to. The heart of your speech are your main points supported by evidence and your transitions should assist the movement between points and clarify how everything is linked.

Research suggests that the audience remember the first and last things you say so your introduction and conclusion are vital for reinforcing your points. Essentially, ensure you spend the time structuring your presentation and addressing all of the sections.

Designing Effective Poster Presentations

• Resources & Preparation
• Instructional Plan
• Related Resources

Students design informational posters, focusing on a current research project. The unit includes an exploration of the genre, a review of informational writing components, and details on effective poster design. Students first analyze a variety of poster examples and list their characteristics, before reviewing the requirements for their own posters. Students then plan their poster design and, after rough drafts are completed, share them in groups and with the whole class for peer feedback. After revisions are made, students share their presentations with the class for additional feedback, and then make final revisions to their posters. Finally, students present their posters in class or at a school-wide research fair.

Featured Resources

Compare & Contrast Map : With this online tool, students map out their ideas for a compare and contrast essay using their choice of a whole-to-whole, similarities-to-differences, or point-to-point format. Finished work can be printed. Persuasion Map : Use this online tool to map out and print your persuasive argument. Included are spaces to map out your thesis, three reasons, and supporting details. ReadWriteThink Notetaker : Using this online tool, students can organize, revise, and plan their writing, as well as take notes as they read and research.

From Theory to Practice

Poster sessions are a great way to ask students to share their knowledge about a topic. Because of their focus on presentation materials that go beyond simple text on a page, poster sessions require sophisticated multimodal literacy skills. The NCTE Beliefs about the Teaching of Writing explain, "Writers need to be able to think about the physical design of text, about the appropriateness and thematic content of visual images, about the integration of sound with a reading experience, and about the medium that is most appropriate for a particular message, purpose, and audience." Poster sessions focus on all of these multimodal skills, as they ask students to design presentation materials and accompanying presentations that blend text, images, sound, and space. Further, because of the close and obvious relationship between presenter and audience, poster sessions foreground the importance of audience, purpose, and voice for students. As a result, poster sessions encourage students to synthesize their research and then adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language to fit the needs of a particular audience. Further Reading

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
• 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
• 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
• 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
• 7. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
• 11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
• 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
• 60-Second Poster Evaluation Chart
• 60-Second Poster Evaluation Notes
• Southern Flounder Exhibit (notetaker example)
• Poster Session Rubric
• Compare and Contrast Chart Graphic Organizer
• Persuasion Map Planning Sheet

Preparation

• This lesson is designed to explore poster design, following a class research project. For additional resources on teaching research and inquiry, see the Websites listed in the Resources section.
• This project works especially well for collaborative projects, where classes view each other’s work over the course of two class sessions.
• Choose a location for your poster session with plenty of open space to allow viewers to flow through the presentations. If the classroom is not large enough, the cafeteria or school library are good choices. Depending upon your school, you may also be able to use space in the hallway outside the classroom.
• Arrange for tables and any additional materials that are available at your school. For example, you may have easels that can be borrowed from the art classroom.
• If bulletin boards or wall space is possible for displaying posters, arrange for thumb tacks, staplers, and tape.
• Print copies of the 60-Second Poster Evaluation , 60-Second Poster Evaluation Chart , 60-Second Poster Evaluation Notes (optional) , and Poster Session Rubric .
• As relevant for the different projects that students will complete, make copies of the Persuasion Map Planning Sheet and Compare and Contrast Chart Graphic Organizer .
• If computers are not available in the classroom, make copies of sample posters from one or more of the following sites: ALA Poster Sessions , Images of Physical Posters , and NCSU Example Posters . Students will analyze the posters in small groups. Allow at least three posters per group.
• Review the Poster Presentations Websites listed in the Resources section, and determine which are appropriate for your class. These guidelines can be used as additional resources or read and reviewed in the class, depending upon the level of support students need.
• Test the Persuasion Map , Compare & Contrast Map , and ReadWriteThink Notetaker on your computers to familiarize yourself with the tools and ensure that you have the Flash plug-in installed. You can download the plug-in from the technical support page.

Student Objectives

Students will

• review informational writing components.
• determine the criteria for effective poster presentations.
• explore the ways that purpose and audience influence a message.
• design posters that share their ideas and research.

Session One

• Explain that the class will be completing a unit on designing posters that present their findings from a recent inquiry/research project.
• Ask students to share any experiences that they have with poster presentations (e.g., science fairs, job fairs).
• Share the definition of a poster session from the Colorado State University Writing Guide, and invite students to compare their experiences with the information in the definition.
• Display and discuss the information on the purposes for poster presentations and the possible audiences for these presentations .
• ALA Poster Sessions
• Images of Physical Posters
• NCSU Example Posters
• Ask students to jot down general characteristics that they see in the posters. Allow approximately 20 minutes for groups to explore the examples and list their observations.
• If students need more structure or guidance as they explore the posters, you can pass out the 60-Second Poster Evaluation and have them use the questions to shape their observations.
• Gather the class and ask them to share the characteristics that they have noted. Record their observations on the board or on chart paper.
• Be sure that students include observations on both text and graphic design elements in their comments. If necessary, ask questions to encourage wider analysis of both text and graphics.
• After students have had sufficient time to review the posters and list the characteristics, gather the class and ask each group to share the poster they analyzed and point out the characteristics that they noticed.
• Working with the information students have shared, group like observations to create a class list of characteristics of effective posters.
• Compare the characteristics to the requirements on the Poster Session Rubric , asking students to indicate how the posters they examined would be graded with the rubrics.
• Identify the purpose of the posters, connecting to a recent research project that students have already completed.
• Provide details on the event (e.g., a class session, a school-wide history fair).
• Explain who the audiences for the posters will be.
• Describe the physical space and the resources that will be available during the poster session.
• Discuss how the Poster Session Rubric will be used to assess the session.
• Based on this information, ask students to talk about the specific audience and purpose for their posters, reinforcing the information on the purposes for poster presentations and the possible audiences for these presentations , shared earlier in the session.
• Encourage students to think about the specific purpose for their posters and what the audiences will look for on their posters. For homework, ask students to freewrite on their plans for the posters by thinking about who will look at the posters, what they will be looking for, what information is most important to include, and so forth.

Session Two

• Arrange students in groups, and ask them to share information from their homework with one another.
• Ask group members to provide supportive feedback, pointing to pertinent information from the previous session’s discussion of the characteristics of effective presentations and the two rubrics.
• After students have had time to share their ideas (about 10 to 15 minutes), gather the class, and answer any questions that have come up at this point.
• Share the Writing Strategies for Poster Sessions from the Colorado State University Writing Guide. Be sure to drill down and discuss the information for each of the four bullet points in the Guide. If students have already written a paper on their inquiry, be sure to emphasize the ideas in the "Working From a Drafted Paper" section.
• Connect the Writing Strategies information to the Poster Session Rubric .
• Cover the details in the What to Include section of from the Colorado State University Writing Guide as well. Stress the importance of choosing content that communicates the important information without providing more text than the audience will be able to read during the poster session. Save the details on Graphics for the next session.
• Briefly overview the three graphic organizers that students can use to begin structuring the information for their poster session: Persuasion Map , Compare & Contrast Map , and ReadWriteThink Notetaker . Explain what the organizer is used for and which topics it will best fit. For instance, the Persuasion Map can be used if the presenter is trying to argue a specific point about a topic. Use example topics from the class to make the overview more concrete.
• If desired, share the Notetaker Example , based on the Award-winning Southern Flounder Exhibit Temperature-Dependent Sex Determination from the NCSU Example Posters site, to discuss how to use outlining as an organization tool for poster design.
• During the remainder of the class, students can begin work structuring their ideas and planning their posters, according to the information covered in the Writing Strategies for Poster Sessions Web pages.
• In mini-lesson fashion, demonstrate each of the three online graphic organizers, gathering only the students who are most likely to use each online interactive for each presentation.
• For homework, ask students to have completed a graphic organizer for their topics and to sketch a rough outline or design of the information they will include in their poster presentation.

Session Three

• Arrange students in small groups, and ask them to share their graphic organizers and plans with one another. Have students use the Poster Session Rubric to guide their responses.
• Gather the class and answer any questions that students have about the project.
• Review the details on the Poster Session Rubric that apply specifically to the design and graphics used on the posters.
• Share the Graphics section and the Layout section from the Colorado State University Writing Guide. Be sure to drill down and discuss the information for each of the bullet points.
• Return to the Poster Session Rubric and characteristics of effective posters from the first session, and ask students to discuss how the information about the Colorado State University Writing Guide aligns with the information.
• Allow any time remaining in the session for students to work on their presentations.
• Use The Transport Problem from the Colorado State University Writing Guide to review the resources that will be available during the poster session and to discuss how to carry drafts to school.
• For homework, ask students to complete a rough version of their poster presentation to share for feedback during the next session. Allow several days for students to work at home. Add in-class work sessions as desired.

Session Four

• Arrange the class into 4 or 5 small groups. Ask students to set up their drafts for the class to view, keeping each group together in a specified section of the room.
• Give students 5 to 10 minutes to set up their drafts and make any changes.
• Pass out copies of the 60-Second Poster Evaluation Chart and ask students to write their name and the name of their presentation on the sheet. Have them place the chart face down on a table or desk near their drafts.
• Each group will move to the first poster in the next group’s collection, moving clockwise around the room. Students will skip their own collection of posters.
• The group will review the poster, using the 60-Second Poster Evaluation printout to guide their discussions.
• If desired, students can use the 60-Second Poster Evaluation Notes to take notes as they examine the posters.
• After groups have spent 60 seconds evaluating the poster, ask them to turn over the 60-Second Poster Evaluation Chart and add their comments.
• After adding details to the Chart , groups should turn the sheet face down, so that their comments do not influence the next group that reviews the poster.
• All members are to contribute to this process. Comments should be original, not copies of the comments of other groups nor “ditto” marks.
• After each poster is finished, students move to the next poster, rotating through the classroom until every poster has been evaluated by 3 or 4 of the groups.
• At the end of this process, students should arrive back at their own group of posters.
• When the 60-second review is complete, have students return to their posters and read the comments the groups have left them.
• Ask students to take a few minutes to look for similar comments and think about changes that they can make to improve their posters.
• After students have had time to read the feedback and gather their thoughts, ask groups to reassemble. Have group members share the feedback and their plans for revision with one another. Encourage students to make supportive comments and concrete feedback.
• Have group members use the Poster Session Rubric to guide suggestions that they make to others in the group.
• For homework, ask students to create polished versions of their posters to share during the practice presentations.
• If students will complete supplemental handouts (the ideal situation), complete Session Five and ask students to bring a draft of their handout to the session. Otherwise, move on to Session Six.

Session Five (Optional)

If students should include a presentation handout with their poster presentation, review the information from the Prepare Supplemental Handouts from the Colorado State University Writing Guide. Allow time for students to share their handouts in small groups and provide peer feedback. Because handouts should be only one page and easily read, students should have time to review their work and begin revisions during the session. Provide mini-lessons as necessary on any writing techniques that students need help with.

Session Six

• Again, arrange the class into 4 or 5 small groups. Ask students to set up their posters for the class to view, keeping each group together in a specified section of the room.
• Working within their small groups, have students each give a practice presentation for other group members.
• Ask students observing the presentations to keep notes on notebook paper, using the Poster Session Rubric and 60-Second Poster Evaluation to guide their comments.
• To ensure that everyone has a chance to practice, you can set a time or announce when students need to switch to another presentation. If a student has not finished a presentation when time is called, indicate that the student needs to shorten the presentation.
• Once everyone has presented, ask groups share feedback with one another. Emphasize the importance of providing supportive comments and concrete suggestions.
• With 5 to 10 minutes left in the session, gather the class and answer any questions students have.
• For homework, ask students to make any final changes to their poster presentations.
• Remind them of the resources that will be available for the official poster presentations that will take place during the next session.
• Review information from The Transport Problem from the Colorado State University Writing Guide if students need additional tips.

Session Seven

• Before students arrive, make any changes necessary to set up the space for the poster presentations.
• Give students several minutes at the beginning of the session to set up their displays and complete finishing touches.
• Explain the procedure for visiting the displays: students move from area to area in groups of two or three so no display is ever overcrowded.
• During the fair sessions, circulate through the presentations yourself, using the Poster Session Rubric to assess student work.
• After students have had a chance to visit all of the presentations, gather the class together and invite students to share their reactions to the presentations.
• Three poster presentation topics I want to know more about
• The most surprising presentation
• The presentation that had the biggest impact on you
• In their homework responses, ask students not only to share the titles of the poster presentations that match the superlatives but also to explain why they chose the presentations that they did.
• At the beginning of the next class session, collect the homework responses.
• Ask students to discuss how fair use and copyright restrictions apply to the artwork that they use in their posters. The Ball State University: Copyright for Students and The Library Media Center and Citing Sources are useful resources to share with the class as you explore the issue.
• Analyze historical posters with the ReadWriteThink lessons Argument, Persuasion, or Propaganda? Analyzing World War II Posters .
• By the People, For the People: Posters from the WPA
• World War II Poster Collection
• Produce for Victory: Posters on the American Home Front (1941-45)
• World War II Posters
• Turn of the Century Posters
• Circus and Magic Posters

Student Assessment / Reflections

Check graphic organizers, outlines, drawings, and designs as students work for completion and effort. Assess students’ final drafts using the Poster Session Rubric and the criteria for effective effective posters that students created during the first session of the lesson. Keep anecdotal notes on students’ participation during the final poster session, and provide any feedback as you respond to the superlatives that students submit after the project.

• Professional Library
• Student Interactives
• Lesson Plans

With full recognition that writing is an increasingly multifaceted activity, we offer several principles that should guide effective teaching practice.

The Persuasion Map is an interactive graphic organizer that enables students to map out their arguments for a persuasive essay or debate.

Useful for a wide variety of reading and writing activities, this outlining tool allows students to organize up to five levels of information.

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• Kindergarten K

How to Create an Effective Lesson Plan Presentation

Regardless of the subject or content you’re teaching, having a lesson plan in place prepares you for class by offering detailed guidelines for the session. The lesson plan doesn’t have to be lengthy or complex—it just needs to include elements about what you’re teaching, the method of presenting this material, and what objective and goals you wish your students to achieve as part of the curriculum.

Why Lesson Plans Are Important

It’s crucial for teachers to prepare their lessons in advance and implement the best teaching approaches. Attending a session without a lesson plan can be counterproductive for both students and teachers. Without the right preparation beforehand, classes can end up being unproductive or confusing.

Below are a few reasons why you should consider lesson planning:

Lesson Planning is Handy for Classroom Management

Developing the lesson plan from the learning objectives provides flexibility in adapting to different teaching methods and classroom management techniques. For instance, hybrid or online classes require a different delivery approach from the traditional classes, which means making modifications to any existing plans. With the right foresight and plan in place, classes can stay on topic and effective. Such circumstances underscore how crucial lesson plans are in ensuring that the class runs smoothly, regardless of the learning environment.  

Lesson Planning Creates Student Success

Various studies have shown that students benefit immensely from and appreciate well-structured lessons. Thus, success is more likely when students engage and show interest in the material being taught. Using a curriculum guide, teachers can develop valuable lesson plans based on specific objectives and goals (what’s intended for students to learn). 

​​Lesson Planning Is Central to Teacher Success

Teachers’ success is, to some extent, pegged on students’ success. Besides that, the documents you develop as part of the lesson planning process are often part of your assessment by school administrators. What’s more, as you advance your teaching career, your lesson plans serve as a repository for your expanding body of knowledge. Thus, the significance of lesson planning cannot be overlooked when it comes to advancing your career as an educator.

Lesson Planning is Vital in Student Assessment

Lastly, lesson plans turn the learning sessions into clear objectives for students and a way to gauge their understanding of the subject matter. One notable benefit of the lesson plan is tailoring the assessment to a particular objective while considering students’ specific needs. You can use common assessment methods such as quizzes, tests, and homework assignments.

How to Write a Lesson Plan

Lesson plans include different sections that clarify questions students might have about the subject on hand. What are the lesson objectives? What subjects will be covered during the session? How long will the course take?

• Introduction – As the lesson commences, it’s good to have a concise yet vivid introduction about what the lesson will cover. The ideal practice is to create a memorable title for every lesson to create a general understanding of the learning material students will be interacting with.
• **Lesson Objectives –**This section is critical as it allows the students to ascertain each lesson. When it comes to objectives, it is crucial to consider the acquired skills you expect the students to gain by the end of the session. Each objective should be measurable and actionable; meaning after every session, students should be able to apply what they’ve learned.
• Learning Activities – This should be a detailed account of how each activity will lead the class to achieve its predetermined goals. To create valuable activities, consider how each learning activity fits each objective, and the requirements students need.
• Practice – Practices are primarily intended to assess students’ comprehension of the material and aid in memorizing what they have learned in class. Therefore, it is crucial to include this in the lesson plan so that assessments can always be done at the appropriate time.

Today, lesson planning has been made less time-consuming and easier, thanks to smart whiteboards for the classroom . A digital whiteboard like the Vibe Board Pro provides unmatched performance that shows you know your craft and are way ahead of the pack.

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How Smart Whiteboards Simplify Lesson Plan Creation and Presentation

Not only does using a smart whiteboard make learning accessible , it’s also a great way of enhancing and enriching your lesson plans with interactive activities for the class. Smart whiteboards function as a touch screen for all; during class sessions, you and your students can use it as a digital whiteboard to create a space where students’ engagement, knowledge, and teamwork are appreciated.

While the smart whiteboard aids in making your lesson more engaging, interactive, and educational, you as the teacher can still customize your teachings to what you want them to be. This helps in foiling any hitches in your lesson presentation and makes switching from one topic to another seamless.

Below are more specific ways how smart whiteboards make your lesson plan presentation better:

Take Advantage of Built-in Templates

Once you invest in a smart whiteboard, make sure to take advantage of the wide variety of built-in lesson planning templates. You can use these templates to improve lesson plans while leveraging the technology associated with smart whiteboards. Even better, these templates can be easily customized for every lesson plan and cover different subject matters, allowing you to create new lesson plans without always starting from scratch quickly. How cool is that?

Organize and Present Lesson Plans Better

Smart whiteboards combine the power of the traditional whiteboard and a TV/projector into one hub, allowing you to write on the board while concurrently projecting it to the classroom. This allows you to conduct lesson plan presentations on a larger scale while also letting students see what’s going on.

For instance, if you’re presenting on an extensive topic involving multiple subtopics, a smart whiteboard will help you walk students through each subtopic with ease. Begin with the presentation divided into primary or main sections, highlight key definitions, and add infographics and videos to ensure that every student understands the tiniest detail.

Additionally, you can get students involved in the lesson plan presentation by asking questions, polling them on key points, or allowing them to follow along on their tablets or laptops.

Record Lesson Plan Presentations

Another benefit of using smart whiteboards in the classroom is that a lesson plan presentation can be recorded and accessed long after the session is over. This allows your students to access the material on their own time.

Final Words: Creating a Lesson Plan Presentation

Lesson plan presentation offers students the first interaction with the material they will learn. Take your time, appreciate the process, and create an attractive and comprehensive lesson plan that will encourage your students to have deep and thoughtful learning experiences. Even better, all of this can be made easier with smart whiteboard technology. Leave the spiral notebooks and sticky notes at home. A smart whiteboard is all you need.

What is the presentation stage in lesson planning?

Presentation is usually the core of the lesson plan. During this stage, theteacher introduces the topic and the key subject matter the students need to master. Presenting with smart whiteboards is exceedingly easy and less time-consuming.

What are the 5 steps in lesson planning?

The five steps are:

• Objective: A learning concept or objective is introduced.
• Warm-up: Revise the previous lesson
• Presentation: Present the material using suitable tools and techniques.
• Practice: Students try to apply what they have learned.
• Assessment: Evaluate whether the objectives were achieved

How does lesson planning help teachers?

Planning lessons in advance allows teachers to arrive at class each day prepared to introduce new concepts and facilitate engaging discussions rather than improvising as they go. In other words, without a lesson plan, teachers may be left scrambling, making students lose interest in the material to be learned.

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NLU Day Events on Campus

Use NLU Day as an opportunity to attend student presentations or complete service projects.

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P.A.C.E. Poster Session

Students of the Path to Academics, Community and Employment Program (P.A.C.E.) invite you to join them from 11am to 12pm (5th floor, 18 S Michigan Ave.) as they present posters about their recent accomplishments. This is also a great opportunity to learn about the incredible work the PACE Program does throughout the year and resources they provide for our students. P.A.C.E is NLU’s three-year, post-secondary certificate program designed to meet the transitional needs for young adults with multiple intellectual, learning and developmental disabilities.

Black Scholars Education Excellence Narrative (BSEEN) Luncheon

Make connections with current students while helping them to practice their networking skills. Noon to 1 pm in the Den on the 6th Floor of the 122 S. Michigan Ave building.

Service Project: Paint the 6th Floor Hallway

Join alumni and current students to paint a hallway on the 6th Floor of the 122 S Michigan Ave building. 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Wear appropriate clothing. All equipment and supplies provided.

Service Project: Assemble Literacy Kits

Join alumni and current students to assemble literacy kits distributed by NLU students who help pre-school students prepare to enter kindergarten ready to learn. 3:00 to 4:00 pm.

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• Student Research
• Student Research Symposium
• April 19, 2024 Student Research Symposium Program

ECAP (Graduate Student Research)

Face to face 9:45 – 11:00 am ct: poster session .

Title of presentation : Increasing Vocal Interactions with Peers   Presenter :  Madeline Harper Advisor :  Marwa Abdelkader   Abstract :

Within an initial intake with a 3-year-old boy diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, clinicians observed that the client will avoid interacting with peers by looking down and not speaking. Following pairing with the client, clinicians observed that he would have complex conversations with them but would still not interact with peers. To generalize his complex conversational skills to peers, clinicians implemented a protocol that had him stay with a peer until he interacts vocally with them. During this time, clinicians provided statements to encourage him to initiate a vocal interaction. As the client began to demonstrate progress, clinicians systematically decreased the target latency in which it takes for him to initiate a social interaction. The development of this skill aimed to strengthen his social repertoire by increasing the quality of his social interactions with others. Clinicians observed a rapid and significant decrease in the latency in which it took the client to interact with others upon implementation of this program. In addition, caregivers also reported that the skill has generalized to school and external settings.

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Title of presentation : Teaching a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder how to Appropriately Respond to Bullying   Presenter :  Kimberley Guiler  Advisors :  Martha Anderson and Corrie Wilkins   Abstract :

A ten-year old client diagnosed with Autism Specturm Disorder began exhibiting an increase in spontaneous social interactions with peers following mastery of programs that targeted complex conversational skills. Due to the client’s increase in peer interactions and enrollment in a general education classroom, caregivers disclosed concerns regarding his ability to identify and respond to inappropriate statements (bullying) emitted by peers at school. The purpose of this program is to equip the client with the complex social skills needed to appropriately respond to inappropriate statements emitted by peers. 

Title of presentation : Assessing Stimulus Control of a Mouthing Behavior Intervention Plan   Presenter :  Caitlyn Rankin Advisor :  Dakota Januchowski   Abstract :

My client currently engages in teeth grinding, also known as bruxism. Teeth grinding is a socially significant behavior to target because it can lead to damage of the teeth, bones, and gums (Lang, et al., 2009). During sessions, clinicians utilize a behavior intervention plan that utilizes a SD and an oral stimulating toy. However, the clinical team witnessed that the stimulus control may lie in just the SD rather then the SD and oral stimulating toy together. 

Title of presentation : Saftey Starts with Communication: Teaching a Child with Autism to Relay Emergency Messages   Presenter :  Bailey Knaggs Advisor :  Sydney McInnis   Abstract :

Children with autism face several unique challenges daily, many of which can impact their safety as well as others in critical situations. As a result, it is crucial to teach strategies to aid children with autism in communicating emergency messages to others. This poster presentation aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of specific strategies for teaching a child with autism to relay emergency messages correctly and confidently. The data presented will be representative of a child with autism who receives services here at FSU- Panama City, Early Childhood Autism Program (ECAP). It will additionally showcase visual supports of graphed results and progress throughout the program that is currently in acquisition. The purpose of this program is to strengthen the client's attending and safety skills by having them relay emergency messages effectively. This program aims to not only target their expressive communication but also contribute to their overall safety in novel situations. This program consists of an intraverbal objective as well as a natural situation objective. Upon mastery of this program, the client will be able to communicate relevant information regarding an emergency situation effectively and to the correct people with 100% independence.   Along with the initial purpose listed above, this poster aims to highlight future implications to promote generalization into the client's daily routines. This poster seeks to raise awareness of the importance of teaching a child with autism the skills to relay emergency messages in their natural environment to promote safety in day-to-day life. 

Jones, Russell T., Alan E. Kazdin, And Janell I. Haney (1981). “Social validation and training of emergency fire safety skills for potential injury prevention and life saving.” Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis 14.3,  249–260.

Title of presentation : Decreasing Self Injurious Behaviors in a Child with Autism   Presenter :  Sidney Wade Advisor :  Sydney McInnis   Abstract :  Clinicians have observed an increase in the client’s behaviors including aggression, whining, aggression towards objects, and self-injurious behaviors throughout session. A previous Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) that targeted aggression and self-injurious behavior was implemented to reduce behaviors through Contingency Based Denial Tolerance. This approach was chosen based on the results of a Functional Analysis (FA) on whining and aggression that led clinicians to believe Sawyer’s behaviors were maintained by denied or perceived denied access to items and demands. The intervention was successful when items were denied, however maladaptive behaviors were occurring more frequently outside of these contingencies.  Recently, the clinical team conducted a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) on the client’s self-injurious behaviors, which indicated that this behavior was antecedently maintained by demand and consequently maintained by attention given through the previous BIP. Clinicians have also observed behaviors occurring throughout session when clinicians’ attention was diverted. With a new understanding of the client’s behaviors, the clinical team elected to implement a new BIP that targets differential reinforcement with aggression, whining, aggression towards objects, and self-injurious behaviors. Due to the nature of self-injurious behaviors, it is susceptible to socially mediated reinforcers (Vollmer et al., 1993.) Clinicians have elected to remove the current differential reinforcement of incompatible (DRI) response and target differential reinforcement of other behaviors (DRO). Attention was withheld while the client is engaging in self-injurious behaviors and attention is provided contingent on the absence of these behaviors (Vollmer et al., 1993.) Attention will be given immediately when aggression towards objects occurs to shape responding to hitting objects rather than himself. 

Title of presentation : Determining the Most Effective Procedures for Skill Acquisition  Presenter :  Kirstyn Yountz Advisor :  Kolton Sellers

Blake has been working toward acquisition of Tacting Caregivers and Clinicians for an extended period of time aiming to increase his expressive skill set; however, clinicians observed that Blake demonstrated rapid progress with mastery of programs that were taught receptively. The clinical team made minimal changes to Blake’s Tacting Pictures program, but a significant change to his progress was observed. The clinical team discontinued the Tacting Caregivers and Clinicians program and implemented a Receptive Identification of Clinicians program.  The goal of this program was to promote his visual attending and listening skills while incorporating additional ASL communication. In accordance with Grow et al. (2013), receptive language is used with everyday interactions between people, and children with developmental disabilities require a carefully contrived environment to increase their listener responding skills. Teaching receptive labeling without distractors has been shown to be more reliable and efficient than using a distracter stimulus alone (Grow et al., 2011). 

References:  Grow, L. L., Carr, J. E., Kodak, T. M., Jostad, C. M., & Kisamore, A. N. (2011). A comparison of methods for teaching receptive labeling to children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 44, 475–498. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.2011.44-475  Grow, L. & LeBlanc, L. (2013). Teaching receptive language skills. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 6, 56–75. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf03391791 

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Navigating hard conversations: Students learn life skills at Rooted in Resilience workshop April 8

Students learned about steadfastness and joyfulness at the Rooted in Resilience workshop April 8.

Leanne Gifford, director of the Center for Student Thriving, and Sophia Payne, associate director of the Center for Student Thriving, gave a presentation called “Handling Hard Conversations.”

Payne began by discussing James 4:1-3 and how steadfastness is the most important character trait for a student. The passage also discusses how one views hardships and has the opportunity to be joyful even in the midst of hardships.

“When we’re looking through that lens and seeing something like a hard conversation, it’s less overwhelming knowing that there is a purpose behind it,” Payne said.

Gifford continued the presentation by addressing that to understand what a hard conversation looks like, it is essential to recognize what a conversation is, what defines a hard conversation and what tools are needed to handle those types of conversations well.

“Anybody who has been married, has a strong relationship with their family, even parents or siblings, knows that there are times where hard conversations come up,” Gifford said. “If you don’t have the tools, your relationships will not thrive.”

Gifford and Payne also clarified that what must be present during a hard conversation includes disclosing perspectives and opinions, maintaining eye contact, body language and tone of voice.

“There are so many ways we can misinterpret that digital and virtual communication,”   Gifford said. “When we’re missing the tone of voice, body language and eye contact, there are times where we are going to miss each other, as well as make assumptions on what is being said through that message.”

Gifford explained that a hard c onversation is defined by individuals with opposing opinions, emotions running high and potential impact on relationships.

As the hosts were providing tools for the students to use to handle hard conversations, attendees filled out handout papers that encouraged them to reflect on when they had a hard conversation, how it was handled, how they would do it differently and what preparations they would make for future hard conversations.

Upon reflecting on their past conversations and thinking of what they may do differently, Payne said hard conversations are a part of life, but they can also be handled with care. The emotions that arise when in a hard conversation involve anxiety, fear, frustration, anger, worry and doubt.

“Even pride comes into play when you have been wronged,” Payne said. “But Ephesians 4:25-32 is a good place to go when you are considering an approach with grace and love, as well as sustain the fact that there is truth here.”

Payne discussed that when someone walks into a conversation with a prideful attitude or a focus on justice, it will bring destruction, not satisfaction.

“We can’t always avoid broken relationships; that’s the unfortunate part about life,” Payne said. “But we can connect with intentionality.”

Payne also said that speaking in an unwholesome manner behind a person’s back is not what Christ wants.

“Matthew 18:15-20 also gives us a structure for adjusting sinful behavior when within the context of the local church,” said Payne. “However, we do think that these principles constitute a good structure for handling hard conversations in any setting.”

Amaro-Millán is a news reporter for the Liberty Champion

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UR Nursing Researchers Present, Earn Prizes at ENRS

  By Gianluca D'Elia   Monday, April 15, 2024

Faculty, staff, and doctoral students from the University of Rochester School of Nursing presented their latest research and earned regional recognition at the annual Eastern Nursing Research Society Scientific Sessions. 

Heather Wensley '11N (MS) '24N (DNP) , a nurse practitioner on Golisano Children's Hospital's Adolescent Medicine team, earned first place in the DNP student poster category for a presentation of her recent scholarly project, "A Clinic-Based Parent-Peer Support Program for Parents of Transgender and Gender-Diverse Youth Date." 

Two UR Nursing cancer researchers discussed their recent work in podium presentations. Zhihong (Sandy) Zhang, MS, RN , presented "Understanding the Trajectories of Pain in Older Adults with Advanced Incurable Cancer During Cancer Treatment Through the Perspective of Resilience," the subject of her recent PhD dissertation. Assistant Professor   Lauren Ghazal, PhD, FNP-BC , shared her expertise on financial toxicity among children, adolescents, and young adults with cancer, and its impact on this population's health outcomes.

Students and faculty also presented the following research at poster and podium presentations throughout the conference:

• Erin Vernetti, MS, RN : "Using the Health Stigma Discrimination Framework for Stigma in the Context of Rape: A Middle-Range Theory Analysis and Evaluation"
• Yuri Choi, MSN, RN : "Parental Influence on Physical Activity in Adolescent Survivors of Cancer"
• Assistant Professor Caitlin Dreisbach, PhD, RN  and Goergen Institute for Data Science undergraduate student  Carol Li : "Understanding Contraception Prescription Patterns in the  All of Us  Research Program"

Ghazal was elected to the ENRS Nominating Committee, and fellow Assistant Professor  Dillon Dzikowicz, PhD, RN, PCCN , was elected to the Awards Committee. 

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Friday, April 19th, 2024

Hayden Hall Room 358 - Senior Research Conference Poster Session (1:00-3:00 PM) 

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Bestiality references allegedly made during presentation at Renmark High School

Warning for readers: This article contains graphic language.

The South Australian Department for Education is investigating a presentation delivered to year 9 girls in a regional high school that allegedly referenced bestiality as being accepted by the LGBTQIA+ community.

Female students said teachers at Renmark High School told them to leave their lessons and attend a presentation in a separate classroom.

Students who attended the presentation on March 22 say two staff from the Headspace centre in the neighbouring town of Berri introduced a "third-party" presenter who facilitated an hour-long presentation focused on relationships.

Parents said they were not notified about the presentation, nor was it consented to.

Students said they were left unsupervised for the duration of the presentation.

Student Courtney White, 14, said she felt confused and blindsided by the presentation.

"We had a teacher that told us to grab a chair and sit in front of the board, and then the Headspace people came in and then [the teacher] left, so then we're sitting in front of a board alone with no teachers, just the Headspace people," she said.

"The first slide of the PowerPoint on the board was 'You can see queerly now' and 'No point hiding.'"

Girls felt 'really uncomfortable'

Fourteen-year-old Emelia Wundenberg said the presenter was graphic when referencing their own sexual preferences and spoke in sexually explicit terms about growing up and being confused about whether they idolised people of the same gender or wanted to be intimate with them.

Students say they were then given an explanation of the initialism LGBTQIA+, with each word and its meaning displayed on the screen.

"There was a slide for what the 'plus' means, and they just started randomly saying words that no-one knew, like bestiality," Emelia said.

"It was on the board when they were showing what the 'plus' meant."

The students said bestiality was then explained in detail and the presenter seemed to imply it was something practised by people who identified as LGBTQIA+.

"They said [the queer community] just accepts all of it, even though … isn't it illegal?" Emelia said.

As the talk went on multiple girls, including Courtney, began to feel uncomfortable and asked to leave the classroom to "go to the bathroom".

"We're all just sitting there like, 'What the hell? What are we doing here? Why are we learning about animals having sex with humans?'" she said.

"It was really disgusting, it was really uncomfortable."

Emelia said many of those who asked to leave the classroom did not return.

When the ABC sought comment from the presenter a response was sent on the person's behalf asking that reporters refrained from reaching out or naming them in its coverage.

'Normal procedure' not followed

Letters seen by the ABC that were sent to parents on behalf of Renmark High School principal Mat Evans stated that the presentation was meant to discuss "respectful relationships".

The letter acknowledged that the school's "normal procedure for notifying parents ahead of specific presentations was not followed".

Mr Evans said the third-party presenter had "been suspended from department schools while the department undertakes an investigation".

"We are undertaking an internal review to ensure that processes around such notifications and procedures with regard to third parties attending at our school are always met," he said.

The ABC contacted the Department for Education, which provided a similar statement and said the presentation was being investigated.

SA education department chief executive Martin Westwell said the presentation was "unacceptable" and "shouldn't have happened".

Speaking with ABC Radio Adelaide on Thursday, Professor Westwell said conversations about sexual health, societal norms, stereotypes and sexuality were normal parts of the Australian curriculum, but the presentation at Renmark High School was not.

"The core idea that students should understand sexuality and other sexualities is, I think, really important — but the way [the presenter] went about it was unacceptable," he said.

"The school has clearly made some mistakes.

"There should have been a teacher in the room when that occurred, but there wasn't and the principal has apologised for that.

"They hadn't reviewed the content.

"There was a few things that went wrong and it ended up with this inappropriate language and a few things being discussed in that session that were just not appropriate."

Support being provided to students

Headspace's national head of clinical leadership Nicola Palfrey said the organisation was aware of concerns raised by members of the Renmark community.

"We take all feedback very seriously and are reviewing how we can support and guide Headspace centres … to ensure presentations they facilitate or deliver are aligned with evidence and best practice and are safe and appropriate for young people," she said.

FocusOne Health Board chair Ian Gartley said the "focus at Headspace Berri, operated under licence by FocusOne Health, is on the mental health and wellbeing of young people".

"We are aware of concerns raised by local members of the Renmark community following a presentation delivered by a lived experience speaker that Headspace Berri facilitated at Renmark High School," he said.

"Our priority right now is ensuring that any young people and their families who may be experiencing distress receive the support they need."

All parties involved in the alleged incident declined to provide the presentation to the ABC.

Following the presentation, a follow-up letter seen by the ABC was sent to parents offering counselling services from the education department, which had arranged a social worker to attend the school to help support affected students.

Parents express shock and outrage

Parents of students who attended the presentation said it was a poor representation of the queer community and had raised many concerns about the school's protocols for third-party presentations.

"Who vetted this material? Who made sure it was safe for 14- and 15-year-old girls? Some of them are still 13," Emelia's mother Kristy Fyfe said.

"It has done a huge disservice to the [queer] community."

Following the presentation, Courtney's mother Nicki Gaylard removed her three children from Renmark High School. 

"My kids are in limbo," she said.

"They're not in an education department at this point.

"I'm not putting them anywhere until I know this won't happen again.

"Under no circumstances should a child in that school ever feel trapped and unsafe without someone with their certificate, meaning a teacher."

The ABC has spoken to five other parents whose children attended the presentation.

They substantiated the two girls' claims.

LGBTQIA+ educators condemn 'slur'

Sexuality educators and LGBTQIA+ inclusion advocates Mel Brush and Eleonora Bertsa-Fuchs conduct consent and queer inclusion training for schools, parents and workplaces via their social enterprise Let's Talk About X.

Both are secondary teachers and Mx Bertsa-Fuchs said queer education was important but should be delivered in a safe and appropriate setting.

"The teachers are the people that these young people have a relationship with, that they are familiar with, that they're comfortable with," Mx Bertsa-Fuchs said.

"When you're in a vulnerable situation, like a respectful relationships workshop or seminar, there should be someone in the room that you are familiar with."

Mx Brush said the alleged use of the word bestiality in the presentation was damaging to the queer community.

"It's pretty shocking to think about that term being thrown around like that, especially given how loaded it is, and for a historical context of the way that it's been used as a slur and to discriminate against LGBT+ people," Mx Brush said.

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