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How to give a good presentation that captivates any audience
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What are the main difficulties when giving presentations?
How to create an effective presentation, after that, how do i give a memorable presentation, how to connect with the audience when presenting.
If youâve ever heard someone give a powerful presentation, you probably remember how it made you feel. Much like a composer, a good speaker knows precisely when each note should strike to captivate their audienceâs attention and leave them with a lasting impression.
No one becomes a great public speaker or presenter without practice. And almost everyone can recall a time one of their presentations went badly â thatâs a painful part of the learning process.
Whether youâre working within a small creative team or a large organization, public speaking and presentation skills are vital to communicating your ideas. Knowing how to present your vision can help you pitch concepts to clients, present ideas to your team, and develop the confidence to participate in team meetings.
If you have an upcoming presentation on the horizon and feel nervous, thatâs normal. Around 15-30% of the general population experience a fear of public speaking . And, unfortunately, social anxiety is on the rise, with a 12% increase in adults over the last 20 years .
Learning how to give a good presentation can dismantle your fears and break down these barriers, ensuring youâre ready to confidently share your point of view.
Itâs the week before your presentation, and youâre already feeling nervous . Maybe thereâll be an important mentor in the room you need to impress, or youâre looking for an opportunity to show your boss your value. Regardless of your countless past presentations, you still feel nervous.
Sharing your vision and ideas with any sized group is intimidating. Youâre likely worrying about how youâll perform as a presenter and whether the audience will be interested in what you offer. But nerves arenât inherently negative â you can actually use this feeling to fuel your preparation.
Itâs helpful to identify where your worries are coming from and address your fears. Here are some common concerns when preparing for an upcoming presentation:
Fear of public speaking: When you share your ideas in front of a group, youâre placing yourself in a vulnerable position to be critiqued on your knowledge and communication skills . Maybe you feel confident in your content, but when you think about standing in front of an audience, you feel anxious and your mind goes blank.
Itâs also not uncommon to have physical symptoms when presenting . Some people experience nausea and dizziness as the brain releases adrenaline to cope with the potentially stressful situation . Remember to take deep breaths to recenter yourself and be patient, even if you make a mistake.
Losing the audienceâs attention: As a presenter, your main focus is to keep your audience engaged. They should feel like theyâre learning valuable information or following a story that will improve them in life or business.
Highlight the most exciting pieces of knowledge and ensure you emphasize those points in your presentation. If you feel passionate about your content, itâs more likely that your audience will experience this excitement for themselves and become invested in what you have to say.
Not knowing what content to place on presentation slides: Overloading presentation slides is a fast way to lose your audienceâs attention. Your slides should contain only the main talking points and limited text to ensure your audience focuses on what you have to say rather than becoming distracted by the content on your slides.
Discomfort incorporating nonverbal communication: Itâs natural to feel stiff and frozen when youâre nervous. But maintaining effective body language helps your audience stay focused on you as you speak and encourages you to relax.
If you struggle to incorporate body language into your presentations, try starting small by making hand gestures toward your slides. If youâre working with a large audience, use different parts of the stage to ensure everyone feels included.
Each presenter has their own personal brand and style. Some may use humor to break the ice, while others might appeal to the audienceâs emotional side through inspiring storytelling.
Watching online presentations, such as TED talks, is an excellent way to expose yourself to various presentation styles and develop your own. While observing others, you can note how they carry themselves on stage and learn new ways to keep your audience engaged.
Once youâve addressed whatâs causing your fears, itâs time to prepare for a great presentation. Use your past experience as inspiration and aim to outshine your former self by learning from your mistakes and employing new techniques. Here are five presentation tips to help you create a strong presentation and wow your audience:
1. Keep it simple
Simple means something different to everyone.
Before creating your presentation, take note of your intended audience and their knowledge level of your subject. Youâll want your content to be easy for your intended audience to follow.
Say youâre giving a presentation on improving your companyâs operational structure. Entry-level workers will likely need a more straightforward overview of the content than C-suite leaders, who have significantly more experience.
Ask yourself what you want your audience to take away from your presentation and emphasize those important points. Doing this ensures they remember the most vital information rather than less important supporting ideas. Try organizing these concepts into bullet points so viewers can quickly identify critical takeaways.
2. Create a compelling structure
Put yourself in your audience memberâs shoes and determine the most compelling way to organize your information. Your presentation should be articulate , cohesive, and logical, and you must be sure to include all necessary supporting evidence to strengthen your main points.
If you give away all of your answers too quickly, your audience could lose interest. And if there isnât enough supporting information, they could hit a roadblock of confusion. Try developing a compelling story that leads your audience through your thought processes so they can experience the ups and downs alongside you.
By structuring your presentation to lead up to a final conclusion, youâre more likely to keep listenersâ attention. Once youâve reached that conclusion, you can offer a Q&A period to put any of their questions or concerns to rest.
3. Use visual aids
Appealing to various learning styles is a great way to keep everyone on the same page and ensure they absorb your content. Visual aids are necessary for visual learners and make it easier for people to picture your ideas.
Aim to incorporate a mixture of photos, videos, and props to engage your audience and convey your key points. For instance, if youâre giving a presentation on anthropology subject matter, you could show your audience an artifact to help them understand how exciting a discovery must have been.
If your presentation is long, including a video for your audience to watch is an excellent way to give yourself a break and create new jumping-off points for your speech.
4. Be aware of design techniques and trends
Thanks to cutting-edge technology and tools, you have numerous platforms at your disposal to create a good presentation. But keep in mind that although color, images, and graphics liven things up, they can cause distraction when misused.
Here are a few standard pointers for incorporating visuals on your slides:
- Donât place blocks of small text on a single slide
- Use a minimalistic background instead of a busy one
- Ensure text stands out against the background color
- Only use high-resolution photos
- Maintain a consistent font style and size throughout the presentation
- Donât overuse transitions and effects
5. Try the 10-20-30 rule
Guy Kawasaki, a prominent venture capitalist and one of the original marketing specialists for Apple, said that the best slideshow presentations are less than 10 slides , last at most 20 minutes, and use a font size of 30. Following this strategy can help you condense your information, eliminate unnecessary ideas, and maintain your audienceâs focus more efficiently.
Once youâre confident in creating a memorable presentation, itâs time to learn how to give one. Here are some valuable tips for keeping your audience invested during your talk:
Tip #1: Tell stories
Sharing an anecdote from your life can improve your credibility and increase your relatability. And when an audience relates to you, theyâre more likely to feel connected to who you are as a person and encouraged to give you their full attention, as they would want others to do the same.
Gill Hicks utilized this strategy well when she shared her powerful story, â I survived a terrorist attack. Hereâs what I learned .â In her harrowing tale, Hicks highlights the importance of compassion, unconditional love , and helping those in need.
If you feel uncomfortable sharing personal stories, thatâs okay. You can use examples from famous individuals or create a fictional account to demonstrate your ideas.
Tip #2: Make eye contact with the audience
Maintaining eye contact is less intimidating than it sounds. In fact, you donât have to look your audience members directly in their eyes â you can focus on their foreheads or noses if thatâs easier.
Try making eye contact with as many people as possible for 3â5 seconds each. This timing ensures you donât look away too quickly, making the audience member feel unimportant, or linger too long, making them feel uncomfortable.
If youâre presenting to a large group, direct your focus to each part of the room to ensure no section of the audience feels ignored.
Tip #3: Work on your stage presence
Although your tone and words are the most impactful part of your presentation, recall that body language keeps your audience engaged. Use these tips to master a professional stage presence:
- Speak with open arms and avoid crossing them
- Keep a reasonable pace and try not to stand still
- Use hand gestures to highlight important information
Tip #4: Start strong
Like watching a movie trailer, the first seconds of your talk are critical for capturing your audienceâs attention. How you start your speech sets the tone for the rest of your presentation and tells your audience whether or not they should pay attention. Here are some ways to start your presentation to leave a lasting impression:
- Use a quote from a well-known and likable influential person
- Ask a rhetorical question to create intrigue
- Start with an anecdote to add context to your talk
- Spark your audienceâs curiosity by involving them in an interactive problem-solving puzzle or riddle
Tip #5: Show your passion
Donât be afraid of being too enthusiastic. Everyone appreciates a speaker whoâs genuinely excited about their field of expertise.
In â Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance ,â Angela Lee Duckworth discusses the importance of passion in research and delivery. She delivers her presentation excitedly to show the audience how excitement piques interest.
Tip #6: Plan your delivery
How you decide to deliver your speech will shape your presentation. Will you be preparing a PowerPoint presentation and using a teleprompter? Or are you working within the constraints of the digital world and presenting over Zoom?
The best presentations are conducted by speakers who know their stuff and memorize their content. However, if you find this challenging, try creating notes to use as a safety net in case you lose track.
If youâre presenting online, you can keep notes beside your computer for each slide, highlighting your key points. This ensures you include all the necessary information and follow a logical order.
Tip #7: Practice
Practice doesnât make perfect â it makes progress. Thereâs no way of preparing for unforeseen circumstances, but thorough practice means youâve done everything you can to succeed.
Rehearse your speech in front of a mirror or to a trusted friend or family member. Take any feedback and use it as an opportunity to fine-tune your speech. But remember: who you practice your presentation in front of may differ from your intended audience. Consider their opinions through the lens of them occupying this different position.
Tip #8: Read the room
Whether youâre a keynote speaker at an event or presenting to a small group of clients, knowing how to read the room is vital for keeping your audience happy. Stay flexible and be willing to move on from topics quickly if your listeners are uninterested or displeased with a particular part of your speech.
Tip #9: Breathe
Try taking deep breaths before your presentation to calm your nerves. If you feel rushed, youâre more likely to feel nervous and stumble on your words.
The most important thing to consider when presenting is your audienceâs feelings. When you approach your next presentation calmly, youâll put your audience at ease and encourage them to feel comfortable in your presence.
Tip #10: Provide a call-to-action
When you end your presentation, your audience should feel compelled to take a specific action, whether thatâs changing their habits or contacting you for your services.
If youâre presenting to clients, create a handout with key points and contact information so they can get in touch. You should provide your LinkedIn information, email address, and phone number so they have a variety of ways to reach you.
Thereâs no one-size-fits-all template for an effective presentation, as your unique audience and subject matter play a role in shaping your speech. As a general rule, though, you should aim to connect with your audience through passion and excitement. Use strong eye contact and body language. Capture their interest through storytelling and their trust through relatability.
Learning how to give a good presentation can feel overwhelming â but remember, practice makes progress. Rehearse your presentation for someone you trust, collect their feedback , and revise. Practicing your presentation skills is helpful for any job, and every challenge is a chance to grow.
Understand Yourself Better:
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Elizabeth Perry, ACC
Elizabeth Perry is a Coach Community Manager at BetterUp. She uses strategic engagement strategies to cultivate a learning community across a global network of Coaches through in-person and virtual experiences, technology-enabled platforms, and strategic coaching industry partnerships. With over 3 years of coaching experience and a certification in transformative leadership and life coaching from Sofia University, Elizabeth leverages transpersonal psychology expertise to help coaches and clients gain awareness of their behavioral and thought patterns, discover their purpose and passions, and elevate their potential. She is a lifelong student of psychology, personal growth, and human potential as well as an ICF-certified ACC transpersonal life and leadership Coach.
How to write a speech that your audience remembers
6 presentation skills and how to improve them, 3 stand-out professional bio examples to inspire your own, tell a story they can't ignore these 10 tips will teach you how, how to make a presentation interactive and exciting, your guide to what storytelling is and how to be a good storyteller, reading the room gives you an edge â no matter who you're talking to, 18 effective strategies to improve your communication skills, writing an elevator pitch about yourself: a how-to plus tips, how to disagree at work without being obnoxious, the importance of good speech: 5 tips to be more articulate, the 11 tips that will improve your public speaking skills, 30 presentation feedback examples, fear of public speaking overcome it with these 7 tips, how to not be nervous for a presentation â 13 tips that work (really), 8 clever hooks for presentations (with tips), stay connected with betterup, get our newsletter, event invites, plus product insights and research..
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How to Make Effective Impactful Presentations (Tips & Tools)
Learn how to make a good presentation great - step-by-step with examples. Learn the principles, guidelines & qualities needed to prepare captivating slides.
Dominika Krukowska
12 minute read
Short answer
Short answer: how to make a good presentation.
Start with a surprising statement, a bold promise, or a mystery
Provide context with a bit of background information
Structure your presentation within a story framework
Make every word count, and use as few as possible
Use visuals only to support your presentation text
Use interactive design to make your audience active participants
End by telling your audience what they can do with what they’ve learned
Boring presentations are instantly forgotten. How’s yours?
Lifeless presentations can spell doom for your message, leaving your audience disengaged and your goals unreached.
The price of a mediocre presentation is steep; missed opportunities, unimpressed prospects, and a bad rep.
In a world where everyone has grown to expect a good story, a boring presentation will be instantly forgotten. Like a drop in the ocean.
But not all is lost.
This post will teach you how presentation pros create compelling narratives and leverage the latest tech tools to command attention, drive a powerful message, and get shared like gossip.
Let’s get started!
How to prepare a presentation?
The successful presenter understands the value of small details and thorough preparation like the seasoned chef knows the importance of quality ingredients and careful technique for serving a 5 star dish
But where do you start?
Step-by-step guide for preparing a presentation:
1. Define your objective
Every presentation needs a clear goal. Are you looking to persuade, educate, or motivate? Perhaps you aim to showcase a product, or share insights about a recent project.
Defining your objective early on will guide your content creation process, helping you to focus your message and structure your presentation effectively. Think of your objective as the North Star guiding your presentation journey.
2. Analyze your audience
Next up, who are you talking to? Your audience should shape your presentation as much as your objective does. Understanding their needs, interests, and background will enable you to tailor your message to resonate with them.
Are they experts in your field, or are they novices looking for an introduction? What questions might they have? The more you know about your audience, the more compelling your presentation will be.
3. Research your topic
Once you've defined your objective and analyzed your audience, it's time to delve deep into your topic. Comprehensive research lays the groundwork for a robust, credible presentation.
Don't just scratch the surface – explore different perspectives, recent developments, and key statistics. This will not only enhance your understanding but also equip you with a wealth of information to answer any questions your audience might have.
4. Choose the right delivery format
Finally, consider the best format to deliver your message.
The right format can make all the difference in how your message is received, so choose wisely!
PowerPoint presentations are classic and easy to work with. But PowerPoint and Google slides are not so versatile in terms of their content experience. They're static, packed with information, and all look alike.
Our own presentation maker offers interactive, personalized, and multimedia content experience.
Data from our research of over 100K presentation sessions shows that audiences engage with Storydoc presentations 103% better than PowerPoint.
How to create an effective presentation?
There’s part art and part science in creating high-engagement high-impact presentations.
An effective presentation is the painstaking result of well-organized content, visuals that support and elevate your message, simplifying complex information, and personalizing wherever possible.
I wrote this post to teach you how to do all these, and a few things more.
Ready to learn? Let's dive in!
How to organize your presentation content?
Crafting a compelling presentation is like writing a page-turner.
You need to captivate your audience, maintain their interest, and guide them effortlessly through your narrative.
But how do you transform a heap of information into a well-structured presentation you can’t stop reading? There’s a structure you can follow.
3-step process for organizing a magnetic presentation:
1. Prioritize content
Your presentation should immediately capture interest and demonstrate relevance before moving on to establish understanding .
A) Build interest:
Begin with a strong hook that grabs your audience's attention. This could be an intriguing statistic, a powerful image , or an engaging question. It should stir curiosity and make your audience eager to hear more.
B) Establish relevance:
Once you have their attention it's time to establish why your presentation matters to your audience.
Address your audience's main concerns. Make sure your content directly speaks to these pain points, and address them in order of importance.
2. Build anticipation
A great presentation is like getting a new car – it builds anticipation, takes you on a thrilling ride, and ends with you wanting to share the experience with all your friends.
Start with a compelling problem your audience relates to and follow up with a promise of an amazing way they can solve it. This problem-solution dynamic creates a suspense that keeps your audience glued to your presentation.
3. Use a story framework
Finally, use a story framework to give your presentation structure and flow.
Begin with a big idea that underpins your presentation. Then delve into the problem, showcasing why it needs attention. Present your solution, painting a vision of a better future for your audience.
Weave in concrete examples of how your solution changes lives.
Tell the story of WHO you helped, WHAT the situation was before and after your solution, WHERE and WHEN it happened, WHY it worked and HOW it made them feel.
If you’re writing a business presentation you should follow this with an execution plan that outlines how the solution will be implemented.
Finally, close with clear next steps, guiding your audience on what they should do after the presentation to bring meaningful change into their lives.
Our recommended story framework:
How to design your presentation?
A good presentation is more than just making it look pretty ; it's about communicating your message effectively and creating a lasting impression.
Good presentation design grabs attention, and leads it to where it’s needed most. It takes your hand and leads you through the easiest and most pleasant path to understanding.
Good presentation design supports your message rather than steals the spotlight. Good design is narrated design.
What is narrated design (Scrollytelling)?
Scrollytelling, where "scroll" meets "storytelling", is an interactive content experience that guides readers through a narrative journey with a simple scroll. It connects text, images, videos, and animations into integrated “scenes” where content is both shown and narrated.
Scrollytelling breaks complex content into digestible chunks and gives the reader control over pace. It has been scientifically shown to enhance engagement, understandability and memorability.
Scrollytelling came up as a central thing when Itai Amoza, our Founder and CEO was building the foundations for Storydoc.
He partnered with one of the world’s leading visualization scientists , prof. Steven Franconeri , to help him bring to Storydoc the means to reduce the complexity, friction, and information overload so characteristic of business presentations.
Scrollytelling is part of the solutions that came up, which led to specialized storytelling slides like our narrator slide (in the example below).
An example of Storydoc scrollytelling:
How to design presentation visuals to support your story
Presentation visuals can be unsung heroes or sloppy distractions.
Visuals can bring your message to life, make complex concepts easy to understand, and engage your audience in ways that words alone cannot. Or… they can sit there looking all pretty and distract you from what’s really going on.
4 elements of great presentation visuals:
Support your message: Your visuals should support your text, highlight your main message, and align with your objective. They should reinforce your points and help your audience understand your message.
Represent your audience: The best visuals are relatable. They should resonate with your target audience and reflect their world of associations. Use images and graphics that your audience can identify with – this can enhance their engagement and make your presentation more memorable. Equally important is using clean images - an effective way to do this is by using tools that allow you to remove your image backgrounds . By eliminating distractions and focusing on your subject, you create images that are more impactful and, therefore, can potentially increase audience engagement.
Introduce your product, outcomes, and clients: Wherever possible, use visuals to demonstrate your product, illustrate outcomes, and represent your clients. This can remove doubt and misunderstanding by letting your audience see (and make obvious) what words sometimes struggle to describe.
Follow your branding guidelines: Your presentation is an extension of your brand, so your visuals should conform to your branding guidelines. Consistent use of colors, fonts, and styles not only enhances brand recognition but also creates a cohesive, professional look.
Here’s an example of a well-designed presentation:
How to communicate complex information?
Did you ever have to read a presentation where you felt like you're lost in a maze of jargon, data, and complex concepts?
Are you giving others this same experience?
Communicating complex information is a common challenge in presentations. But there are ways you can simplify your presentation and reengage your audience.
Here’s how you can get complex information across:
1. Use interactive content
Interactive content is your best friend when it comes to simplifying complex information and getting deeply engaged with your content.
It gets the readers more involved in your presentation by letting them play an active part; like choosing the content route they wish to take and controlling the pace.
It keeps your presentation textually lean - giving readers the choice to expand more details on demand (in tabs, live graphs, sliders, accordions, and calculators).
Beyond that, live graphs can illustrate trends, animations can demonstrate processes, and videos can bring concepts to life.
Calculators, questionnaires, and chatbots provide personalized and specific answers to readers as part of your presentation, without them having to get in touch with you or your team.
Elavating your presentations from static to interactive has been tied to increasing the number of people who read your presentation in full by 41% !
Making interactive used to be hard, but now you can just use Storydoc. Go make your first interactive presentation. It’s easy as pie.
2. Show don’t tell
A picture is worth a thousand words. Because no one will read a presentation with a thousand words, do everyone a favor and use images.
Images can be super effective at communicating complex information and save you a lot of needless text.
In fact, visual representation of data and concepts can often convey what words cannot. Use diagrams, infographics, and images to illustrate your points and simplify the complex.
The goal is to create a visual narrative that complements your verbal one.
3. Narrate your content
Storytelling is another powerful tool for communicating complex concepts.
Whether it's through text to speech AI, video bubbles, or a scrollytelling narrator slide, narrating your content can help guide your audience through the complexity.
By giving your information a narrative structure, you can make it more digestible, engaging, and memorable.
According to Sales Hacker’s data, people remember up to 10% of numbers and 25% of images they see. When you center your presentation around a story, this rises to 60-70% .
4. Use examples and allegories
Examples and allegories help unravel the complexity of ideas.
They scaffold your message with concepts we already know and understand, and can easily imagine in our mind. This makes them less new and intimidating and more familiar.
Critically, the real secret lies in selecting examples that are not just familiar but also deeply relevant—those are the ones that will truly ring with your listeners.
If you tailor the allegory to your audience's world, it is guaranteed to lead to an “aha” moment.
5. Open a line of communication
Finally, invite dialogue. This could be through a chatbot or an option to book a meeting for further discussion. This not only helps clarify any confusion but also encourages engagement and deepens understanding.
For example, finishing your presentation with an interactive calendar to book a meeting instead of a generic “Thank you” slide has proven to boost conversion rate by 27% !
How to personalize your presentation?
Imagine attending a party where the host doesn't remember your name or anything about you. Not a great experience, right? The same holds true for presentations.
In a sea of generic content, personalization can be a lifeline that connects you to your audience on a deeper level. It’s also the single most important predictor of success, getting 68% more people to read your presentation in full .
But how do you add that personal touch?
1. Address reader by name
Just as you wouldn't start a conversation without a greeting, don't start your presentation without acknowledging your audience.
Using your audience's name can make your presentation feel like a personal conversation rather than a generic monologue. It's a simple yet powerful way to engage your audience from the get-go.
2. Use their company logo
Including your audience's company logo in your presentation can make them feel seen and valued. It shows that you've taken the time to tailor your presentation to them, enhancing its relevance and appeal.
Plus, it's a subtle way to reinforce that your message is specifically designed to address their needs and challenges.
3. Add a personal message (video or text)
A personal message can go a long way in building a connection with your audience.
It could be a video message from you, expressing your enthusiasm for the opportunity to present to them, or a text message highlighting why the presentation matters to them.
This personal touch can make your audience feel special and more invested in your presentation.
4. Personalize your Call-to-Action
Finally, cap off your presentation with a call to action that speaks directly to your audience.
Swap out the generic 'Contact us' with something that gets to the heart of their needs, something like, 'Let's roll up our sleeves and tackle your [specific issue] at [their company].'
By tailoring your call to action, you show your audience you've truly got their back, that you're not just here to talk, but to make a real, positive impact on their world.
Here’s an example of a personalized slide:
How to measure the effectiveness of your presentation
Imagine if you could peek into your audience's mind, understand what resonated, what fell flat, and what drove them to action?
Presentation analytics is essential in order to guide you on how to fine-tune it for maximum impact.
But how do you get your hands on presentation analytics?
Any presentation you create with Storydoc comes with an out-of-the-box analytics suite , ready to track and provide insights.
We give you 100% visibility into how people engage with your presentations and send you real-time engagement alerts.
Here’s a video explaining how you can track performance with our analytics panel:
4 critical presentation engagement metrics to keep track of
1. Reading time
Storydoc gives you the precise time prospects spend reading your presentation so you can quickly figure out what's hitting the target and what's not.
Are they soaking up every word or just quickly skimming through? This can help you shape your content to hit the bullseye.
NOTE: Keep in mind that reading time alone might not show you a full picture. A better way is to use a smart engagement score that brings together different metrics like time spent and depth of reading. You can get this kind of total score in Storydoc.
2. Reading completion
Another basic metric we track is how many people read your content from start to finish.
This metric is a strong sign of the prospect’s interest and your content quality. It shows you if they're finding the information relevant, but also worth sticking with till the end.
3. Next step conversion rate
This one tracks how many people take the next step after they check out your presentation. This could be filling out a form, setting up a meeting, or downloading more files.
For business presentations, measuring this can show how well your presentation is pushing people further down the sales funnel.
At the top of your analytics dashboard, you can find a tab that shows you how many people clicked on your CTA divided by presentation, date, and location. If you scroll down to the list of readers, next to each person you can also see whether they clicked on the CTA or not.
Here's what it looks like:
4. Number of shares
This metric is particularly important for B2B sales teams . As more people are getting involved in buying decisions, this measure helps you see if and when your content is being passed around inside your prospect’s company.
On the analytics dashboard, under each presentation version, you can find detailed information on how many people read it. So, the higher the number, the more your presentation has been shared internally.
We'll notify you when your presentation has been shared, and who opened it, so you can time your follow-up perfectly to your buyer’s readiness to advance further.
Here's where you can find this information:
Best tool for making an effective presentation
In the realm of presentation tools, classics like Google Slides and PowerPoint offer simplicity and ease, while Canva and Pitch add a dash of design flair and collaboration.
If you're seeking to elevate your presentations to new heights you’ll need to do better than simple PowerPoints or flashy Canvas. Next-gen AI presentation tools like Storydoc are your game-changer.
They break free from the static concept of slides and offer the creation of interactive, immersive content experiences that sweep us along like a good story.
Grab a template - create your best presentation to date
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14 effective presentation tips to impress your audience
Get your team on prezi – watch this on demand video.
Anete Ezera July 15, 2022
An effective presentation can communicate key ideas and opinions, save time, and contribute to your overall success as a business, but good presentation skills donât come naturally to everyone. In this blog post, youâll find 14 effective presentation tips you can implement in your next presentation to make it a success.Â
Whether youâre preparing for an important presentation at work or school, or youâre looking for ways to generally improve your presentation skills, youâll find these presentation tips useful. Weâve gathered a list to help you impress your audience from the get-go. Youâll find tips for creating and presenting your slides, talking in front of an audience, and other effective presentation techniques to help you stand out.Â
Most common presentation mistakes
Before we list our top effective presentation tips, letâs explore the most common presentation mistakes. If youâve made one or more mistakes in this list, youâre not alone. Most people have made at least one mistake. However, whatâs important is to be aware of these errors and try avoiding them next time.
#1 A poor start
One of the most common mistakes people make is undermining the importance of the first few minutes or seconds of their presentation.Â
Letâs say youâve practiced your key talking points meticulously and gone over your slides a million times, but when youâre in the spotlight and need to say your first line, do you know exactly what to say to wow the audience?Â
The start of your presentation is crucial. Not only because how you start sets the tone for the rest of your presentation, but also because people generally require around 8 seconds to decide whether they find the subject interesting enough to keep listening. Starting your presentation with a captivating intro is even more important than you think. To ensure you start off right, read our guide on how to start your presentation .Â
#2 Lack of preparation
Yes, even though itâs clear that you should prepare before giving a presentation, itâs still a common mistake amongst presenters. Preparing content and talking points is an obvious start, but there are other steps that you might be overlooking.
Before you even join a meeting or walk into a room where youâre going to present, consider the technical requirements and get familiar with the equipment. If youâre presenting online, make sure to test-run your presentation and the visual aids youâre going to use. The last thing you want is a broken video link, poor audio, or a weak connection when youâre presenting.Â
Also, consider the questions your audience might want to ask you about the topic. Think about how youâd answer those questions, or do even further research to really impress the audience with your answers.Â
Explore other ways to prepare for a presentation to feel even more confident when presenting.
#3 Losing track of time
Itâs great to feel passionate about your topic. However, youâll have to consider your audienceâs level of interest and knowledge. Some details might seem fascinating to you, and youâd like to talk about them for hours, but for your audience, too much information will drain their energy and lose their attention.Â
Therefore, make sure to keep track of time. Also, consider your audienceâs interests. A concise presentation is always better than a long one with a ton of information. Plus, youâll have a higher chance of keeping your audienceâs attention throughout the presentation.Â
Effective presentation tips
Now that weâve looked at some of the most common presentation mistakes â letâs dive into effective presentation tips thatâll help you excel in future presentations.Â
#1 Tell a story
Stories connect, inspire, and empower people. Telling a story can entice action, help understand an idea, and make people feel connected to the storyteller. Itâs also one of the most effective presentation tips. A study by organizational psychologist Peg Neuhauser found that a well-told story is easier to remember than facts, which makes it a highly effective learning technique.Â
With that in mind, telling a story when youâre presenting can engage your audience and make it a more memorable experience. You can either share a personal story or a historical event, just make sure to have a clear connection between the story and the topic youâre presenting.Â
#2 Work on your body language
Body language can make a huge difference in how your presentation is perceived. Itâs one of the presentation tips you definitely shouldnât overlook.Â
Body language says a lot about a personâs confidence level, emotions, state of mind, and even credibility. For the audience, itâs a way to understand what the person is saying and how interested they are in the topic.Â
Therefore, work on your body language to better convey the message youâre trying to communicate. Practice in front of a mirror before your presentation and be conscious of your hand gestures and facial expressions.Â
#3 Understand your audience
Before crafting your presentation, you must know who youâre speaking to. Understanding the interests, demographics, professional background, and other valuable information of your audience is crucial in making your speech successful.Â
If youâre speaking at an event, contact the organizers to get more information about other speakers and the audience. If youâre presenting at work, you may already know your audience fairly well. Use this information to your advantage and create content you know theyâll resonate with.
#4 Use high-quality visuals
Whatâs one of the most effective presentation techniques? Use of visuals. They play a crucial role in your presentation. However, only high-quality visuals will make a good impression and effectively communicate your message. Use high-quality visuals like images, videos, graphs, maps, and others to really land your point.Â
Using visuals is a great way to convey your ideas as theyâre easier to process than text. If youâre not sure where to find great visuals, check out our blog post on presentation visuals for five free resources.
P.S. the Prezi library holds a variety of images, videos, GIFs, stickers, and other visuals, including different charts and maps to spice up your presentation. Itâs all available in your dashboard .
#5 Use data visualizations
Do you want to showcase statistics or other datasets in your presentation? Use data visualizations to make your data stand out and impress your audience.Â
Thereâs nothing more boring than a bunch of data presented in a flat way. If you want to tell a story with your data, use interactive infographics or slides enriched with eye-catching visuals. Showcasing data will make your ideas appear more trustworthy and credible.Â
Prezi Design offers a range of templates to choose from. You can start creating data visualizations from scratch or choose a template and edit the data there.Â
#6 Make it engaging with interactive elements
Itâs not easy to deliver an engaging presentation. People can easily get distracted or try to multitask, especially in the virtual environment. Sometimes, itâs difficult to focus on the speaker and the written text. Other times, the content just isnât impressive enough to hold the audienceâs attention. But it doesnât have to be this way.
You can make your presentation more engaging for everyone by including interactive content like graphs and charts. With interactive data visualizations, youâll make the data discovery process more engaging and exciting for your audience.Â
Your audience will be able to hover over data points and click on certain icons or datasets to discover information on their own. Interactive visualizations will make the presentation more memorable and impressive.Â
As you can see in the example below, you can discover different data by engaging with the infographic.Â
#7 Stay consistent with fonts and color styles
You want your presentation to look visually appealing and highlight essential information. To make that happen, stay consistent with font styles and color schemes throughout your presentation.Â
Use one or two fonts max to make the text easy to read and understand. Also, use a carefully selected color scheme thatâs not too distracting. If youâre using Prezi Design, you can easily copy and paste styles by right-clicking on your data visualizations and selecting âcopy styles.â This makes it easier to stay consistent and saves time when picking matching colors.Â
#8 Structure your presentation properly
Before creating your presentation, think about its structure. Whatâs the main idea you want to convey? Use that as your starting point, and only include information that adds value to the narrative.Â
Plan out the first topics carefully to properly introduce your argument. Add the essential information in the middle part of your presentation. Lastly, close your presentation with a summary of the main points and leave your audience with an afterthought. Also, plan when youâre taking questions and for how long.Â
For more insight, watch this tutorial on how to structure your presentation:
#9 Practice your public speaking skills
Public speaking may not be your forte, but you can get better with practice. Donât decline a great opportunity to share your ideas with a larger audience just because you feel nervous speaking in front of a group of people.Â
One of the best ways to improve your public speaking skills is to practice in front of your family or friends â people you feel comfortable with. Also, focus on the topic youâre presenting and get excited about the idea you want to convey. This way youâll appear more confident and feel less nervous about public speaking.Â
Explore other public speaking tips from Jessica Chen, the founder, and CEO of Soulcast Media:Â
#10 Show your slides next to you on-screen
If youâre presenting on Zoom or in a virtual meeting , think twice before you share your screen. The days of hiding behind slides are over. People want to see and connect with other people, not sit through another run-of-the-mill screen share. To do that, use Prezi Video to showcase all your content right next to you in your video feed.Â
As a result, your presentation will look more engaging than a traditional virtual presentation . Also, your audience will have the chance to read your body language and follow along with what youâre saying even better.Â
If you already have your slides prepared, donât worry â you can easily integrate them into Prezi.Â
See Prezi Video in action and check out our video templates to get started.
#11 Calm down before presenting
Being in front of an audience can feel nerve-racking. However, there are ways to calm down before presenting that will make you feel more centered and confident. The last thing you want is all your hard work to go to waste just because of stress.Â
Try breathing exercises or a five-minute guided meditation before presenting. The trick is to remove all distractions and focus on the present moment so youâre not overthinking right before starting your presentation. Also, be fully prepared and know exactly what to say and when which will help you feel more collected. If you want to discover other ways to feel and look more confident, read how not to be nervous before a presentation .Â
#12 Use transitions and animationsÂ
Add movement to your slides with transitions and animations. Youâll make your presentation more visually appealing and engaging. However, be careful not to overwhelm your audience with your choice of transitions and animations.Â
Choose a transition that matches your presentation visually and use it throughout your presentation. Consider what animations will be relevant to your audience and select a few to add to your slides. Donât overdo it. Keep the focus on the message youâre trying to convey, and use animations to only support that message.Â
#13 Be enthusiasticÂ
When youâre in a room with a positive and enthusiastic person, you canât help but feel uplifted as well. High-energy people have this effect on others. Most importantly, a lot of people tend to mimic peopleâs behavior and mirror their energy when they feel a connection or relate to them. Thatâs called the chameleon effect .Â
When youâre presenting, you want your audience to feel curious about what youâre presenting. You may also want to leave your audience feeling uplifted, interested to know more, or inspired. To have that effect on others, try to convey those emotions when presenting. Practice your speech, slow down your narration at times, or take a pause after youâve delivered a statement, and use different presentation techniques to present your project and really drive your points home.Â
#14 End your presentation in a memorable way
The first few minutes of your presentation are crucial for captivating your audienceâs attention. However, donât underestimate the importance of ending your presentation as powerfully as you started it.Â
The way you end your presentation will play a crucial part in how your audience will remember it. You want to make a memorable impression by closing your presentation with a summarizing statement, a rhetorical question, a call to action, or another impactful way. Discover 10 ways you can end your presentation in our guide. Â
There are a lot of factors to consider when creating and delivering a presentation. You want your slides to look professional and visually appealing while conveying your main points. You also want to look and sound confident even if youâre nervous about public speaking. Whatever your concerns may be, remember that preparation is essential. Practice and dedication are the keys to giving a successful presentation . Make sure to follow these effective presentation tips to excel in your future presentations. If youâre interested in creating a captivating presentation with Prezi, contact us to learn more or try it for free .Â
Elevating presentations with Prezi AI
Embrace the innovation of Prezi to bring your presentations to life. With its unique platform, Prezi AI offers more than just visually appealing templates; it provides an immersive narrative experience, engaging your audience with a story-driven approach. By integrating Prezi AI , our platformâs capabilities are further enhanced, offering intelligent design suggestions and optimizing content layouts to ensure your presentations are not only beautiful but impactful. This integration is a perfect example of effective presentation techniques in action, using technology to create a more engaging presentation.
Interactive elements: transforming passive listening into active engagement
Prezi revolutionizes the way information is presented by incorporating interactive elements that invite audience participation. With Prezi AI, these features become even more accessible, suggesting ways to make your presentation more engaging through clickable areas, zoomable images, and dynamic visualizations. This level of interaction encourages exploration, making your message more memorable and transforming a standard presentation into an effective presentation.
Adding a personal touch in digital presentation with video
Prezi Video stands out by seamlessly integrating your content alongside your video feed, bridging the gap between traditional presentations and personal engagement. This feature is crucial for those looking to follow presentation tips that emphasize the importance of connecting with your audience on a more personal level. Prezi AI enhances this experience, ensuring your content is displayed in the most effective way possible, making your virtual presentations feel as though youâre directly conversing with your audience.
Mastering presentation artistry with Prezi
The journey to becoming a skilled presenter involves continuously refining your approach and embracing tools that elevate your ability to communicate effectively. Prezi, enriched with Prezi AI, is one such tool that transforms ordinary presentations into captivating experiences. By leveraging these advanced features, you can deliver presentations that are successful, memorable, and truly unforgettable, embodying the essence of tips for presentation mastery.
Whether youâre an experienced speaker or preparing for your first presentation, Prezi equips you with the tools to succeed. Engage your audience, tell compelling stories, and deliver your message with confidence and creativity. Following effective presentation tips and exploring how Prezi AI can transform your next presentation is a step towards mastering the art of impactful communication. Delve into the features and begin your journey to presentation mastery today.
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How to make a great presentation
Stressed about an upcoming presentation? These talks are full of helpful tips on how to get up in front of an audience and make a lasting impression.
The secret structure of great talks
The beauty of data visualization
TED's secret to great public speaking
How to speak so that people want to listen
How great leaders inspire action
How to Give a Great Presentation (+ Expert Tips)
Published: November 14, 2023
In your career as a business professional, thereâs a good chance youâll be asked to give a presentation, be it in the office or at an event.
So weâve spoken to experts across several industries who shared some presentation tips that can help you overcome the fear of public speaking, which affects 75% of the general population .
In this piece, youâll also learn the elements of a great presentation and the breakdown of a real-life TED talk that encompasses most of the tips provided by experts.
Table of Contents
What makes a presentation great?
Presentation tips to follow, presentation tips in action.
A great presentation is one that starts off in a compelling manner that grabs the audienceâs attention from the start.
It maintains a clear and structured narrative throughout, seamlessly transitioning between key points while incorporating engaging visuals to reinforce each idea.
In the end, a great presentation leaves a lasting impact that inspires and empowers the audience and encourages them to take action, both in their personal lives and in their surroundings.
Here are five elements of a great presentation.
"All the advice I gave in the presentation was peppered with personal anecdotes and examples, which made it more meaningful and memorable. I ended up having the top-rated talk at the conference based on audience feedback.â
Dotyâs not the only person who thinks stories are a great vehicle to deliver the message of your presentation. Cody Candee , the founder and CEO of Bounce shares the same sentiment: sharing stories = connecting with your audience.
âMany presenters make their data the focal point of their presentation, but this approach fails to take into account how people connect information to their own experiences or how the human brain creates relational memories.â
Candee continues: âTalking about your own personal experiences, employing mild self-deprecating humor, and adding observational tales can create the connection between the data you are dispensing and the parts of your audienceâs brains that take in and store information."
"Adding storytelling to your presentation helps you move away from sterile data distribution and toward the human element that makes your data meaningful.â
"However, as soon as the audience figures out that youâre reading the text, it reads ahead of you because it can read faster than you can speak. The result is that you and the audience are out of sync.â
Kawasaki goes as far as saying that many presenters use small fonts because they havenât memorized their presentations well enough. His solution? Use a font no smaller than 30 points.
âI guarantee it will make your presentations better because it requires you to find the most salient points and to know how to explain them well,â Kawasaki writes.
Note: Using a font size of 30 and above in your slides is also beneficial for audience members who have visual impairments.
9. Show your passion.
Have you noticed that itâs quite easy to spot when someone is actually excited about the topic theyâre presenting â as opposed to someone who doesnât care?
Thatâs because passion canât be faked.
You can spend months getting the outline, words, and delivery right for your speech, but if you arenât fascinated by what youâre presenting, the audience will catch on. You canât expect people to be enthusiastic about your presentation when you arenât excited yourself.
Showing genuine passion for your topic fosters a sense of intimacy between you and your audience. Your listeners will catch the âexcitement bugâ from you and become interested in what you have to say.
Pro tip: Before you give a presentation, take awesome time to remind yourself why the topic is so fascinating to begin with. When you know why, youâll be able to pass on that energy to your listeners.
10. Develop stage presence.
The first time I had to give a speech, I was eight years old, and the speech was directed to my elementary schoolmates. My heart was beating so fast, and my hands were shaking.
When the time came, I stood in front of the crowd, stared at some tree in the distance, and reeled off the entire speech without moving a muscle.
My stage presence was zero. Nothing.
If youâre reading this, chances are, youâre not in elementary school, and youâre about to give a serious presentation. While standing stiff as a board with your arms stuck to the sides of your body wonât cut it, you donât need to do too much either.
In his piece, Chris Anderson, TED Talksâ curator, wrote, âGetting the words, story, and substance right is a much bigger determinant of success or failure than how you stand or whether youâre visibly nervous. And when it comes to stage presence, a little coaching can go a long way.â
According to Chris, the biggest mistake people make with their stage presence is moving their bodies too much.
"People do this naturally when theyâre nervous, but itâs distracting and makes the speaker seem weak. Simply getting a person to keep his or her lower body motionless can dramatically improve stage presence.â
Pro tip: If walking around the stage comes naturally to you, you can do that. If not, itâs best to stand still (not stiffly) and rely on hand gestures for emphasis.
11. Engage with the audience.
Earlier, I mentioned that you can start off your presentation by asking your audience questions. Well, the engagement shouldnât stop there; it should continue throughout the entire presentation, however long it is.
There are many ways to engage with your audience. The most common method is to ask questions they can easily answer. How many of you have experienced this? Can you raise your hand if youâre familiar with this situation?
You can ask direct questions to your audience members to explain a point. Or you can use a person from the audience (whose name you should know) to illustrate a situation or an idea.
12. Practice, practice, practice.
Reading your entire presentation from a slide deck is a recipe for disaster. Slide decks (and other visual aids) are meant to be complementary, which means youâll have to memorize the bulk of your speech.
âThe only way to give a relaxed talk that sounds like it isn't rehearsed is to rehearse it a lot,â says Dr. James Whitehead, the CEO of My Green Window .
âWhen you can relax a little and rely on muscle memory to do most of the talk for you, you will be able to enjoy the experience and build a more positive relationship with the audience through your body language and clear pronunciation.â
Dr. Whitehead is right. Practice makes perfect. After writing out your presentation speech, youâll need to practice continually until you know the speech inside out.
There are several ways to practice your speech, including:
- In front of the mirror (itâs cliche, but it works).
- Doing mock presentations to your friends and family.
- Rehearsing your presentation with your colleagues.
Pro tip: Choose a quiet place to memorize your speech so you can concentrate. If youâre rehearsing in front of others (friends, family, colleagues, etc.), ask for honest feedback. Youâll know where to improve. You can also time your presentation so youâll know how long itâll take you to deliver it.
Bevyâs talk encompasses all the elements of a great presentation, starting with her opening line, âI am a late bloomer.â
This is a strong start because itâs hard to imagine that Bevy Smith, a prominent TV personality and business professional, didnât achieve success early in life.
Throughout her presentation, Bevy shared personal anecdotes with the central idea that you can be whatever you want to be, no matter how old you are.
She spoke confidently about how, as a 38-year-old fashion advertising executive, she quit her job when she realized that she was unhappy with her life. She segued into telling uplifting stories about her 94-year-old mother, Lolly, whoâd always known what she wanted and who she was at heart.
During the presentation, Bevy peppered her speech with funny quips, like calling Jay-Z a Brooklyn poet and talking about how âBlack donât crackâ in the segment about the literal beauty of aging. So, while she didnât directly ask interrogative questions, Bevy still interacted with the crowd through humor.
For her closing statement, Bevy challenged the common maxim, âBe your most authentic self,â by asking thought-provoking questions like: âWhat if you donât really know who you are because youâve suppressed your inner self?â, âWho am I at my core?â and âHow am I perceived â and how would I like to be perceived?â
This is the train of thought thatâll linger in the minds of the audience after Bevyâs long left the stage. Thatâs her call-to-action.
Throughout the entire presentation, Bevy used no slides. She didnât move around a lot on the stage, either. Instead, she relied on the power of her voice, her gesticulations, and the substance of her speech to make the necessary impact.
And it worked superbly.
Give a Powerful and Impactful Presentation
Giving a great presentation is a daunting task, but it isn't exactly rocket science.
Quite a lot of people experience presentation jitters, but you can drastically reduce your chances of delivering a bad presentation by following the tips outlined above.
While every audience is different, a general rule is that knowing your topic in and out and practicing your speech well ahead of time will give you the confidence you need to give a great presentation.
Donât forget to enlist the help of your friends, family, and colleagues; they can look over your slides, help you predict audience questions, and give you pointers on where to improve.
Don't forget to share this post!
Related articles.
Science-Backed Tips for Mastering Public Speaking, According to 5 Mental Health Professionals
How to Give a Killer Presentation, According to a Former Diplomat
How to Become a Better Public Speaker: The Unlikely Exercise That Helped Unlock My Potential
How to Memorize a Speech Using Visualization Techniques [Infographic]
10 Things to Stop Doing in Your Next Public Speaking Opportunity
The Science of a Great TED Talk: What Makes a Speech Go Viral
A Helpful Guide of Public Speaking Tips [Infographic]
The Uneasy Speaker's Guide to Confident Public Speaking
Top 10 Tips For Panelists
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How can you make a good presentation even more effective?
This page draws on published advice from expert presenters around the world, which will help to take your presentations from merely ‘good’ to ‘great’.
By bringing together advice from a wide range of people, the aim is to cover a whole range of areas.
Whether you are an experienced presenter, or just starting out, there should be ideas here to help you to improve.
1. Show your Passion and Connect with your Audience
It’s hard to be relaxed and be yourself when you’re nervous.
But time and again, the great presenters say that the most important thing is to connect with your audience, and the best way to do that is to let your passion for the subject shine through.
Be honest with the audience about what is important to you and why it matters.
Be enthusiastic and honest, and the audience will respond.
2. Focus on your Audience’s Needs
Your presentation needs to be built around what your audience is going to get out of the presentation.
As you prepare the presentation, you always need to bear in mind what the audience needs and wants to know, not what you can tell them.
While you’re giving the presentation, you also need to remain focused on your audience’s response, and react to that.
You need to make it easy for your audience to understand and respond.
3. Keep it Simple: Concentrate on your Core Message
When planning your presentation, you should always keep in mind the question:
What is the key message (or three key points) for my audience to take away?
You should be able to communicate that key message very briefly.
Some experts recommend a 30-second ‘elevator summary’, others that you can write it on the back of a business card, or say it in no more than 15 words.
Whichever rule you choose, the important thing is to keep your core message focused and brief.
And if what you are planning to say doesn’t contribute to that core message, don’t say it.
4. Smile and Make Eye Contact with your Audience
This sounds very easy, but a surprisingly large number of presenters fail to do it.
If you smile and make eye contact, you are building rapport , which helps the audience to connect with you and your subject. It also helps you to feel less nervous, because you are talking to individuals, not to a great mass of unknown people.
To help you with this, make sure that you don’t turn down all the lights so that only the slide screen is visible. Your audience needs to see you as well as your slides.
5. Start Strongly
The beginning of your presentation is crucial. You need to grab your audience’s attention and hold it.
They will give you a few minutes’ grace in which to entertain them, before they start to switch off if you’re dull. So don’t waste that on explaining who you are. Start by entertaining them.
Try a story (see tip 7 below), or an attention-grabbing (but useful) image on a slide.
6. Remember the 10-20-30 Rule for Slideshows
This is a tip from Guy Kawasaki of Apple. He suggests that slideshows should:
- Contain no more than 10 slides;
- Last no more than 20 minutes; and
- Use a font size of no less than 30 point.
This last is particularly important as it stops you trying to put too much information on any one slide. This whole approach avoids the dreaded ‘Death by PowerPoint’.
As a general rule, slides should be the sideshow to you, the presenter. A good set of slides should be no use without the presenter, and they should definitely contain less, rather than more, information, expressed simply.
If you need to provide more information, create a bespoke handout and give it out after your presentation.
7. Tell Stories
Human beings are programmed to respond to stories.
Stories help us to pay attention, and also to remember things. If you can use stories in your presentation, your audience is more likely to engage and to remember your points afterwards. It is a good idea to start with a story, but there is a wider point too: you need your presentation to act like a story.
Think about what story you are trying to tell your audience, and create your presentation to tell it.
Finding The Story Behind Your Presentation
To effectively tell a story, focus on using at least one of the two most basic storytelling mechanics in your presentation:
Focusing On Characters â People have stories; things, data, and objects do not. So ask yourself “who” is directly involved in your topic that you can use as the focal point of your story.
For example, instead of talking about cars (your company’s products), you could focus on specific characters like:
- The drivers the car is intended for â people looking for speed and adventure
- The engineers who went out of their way to design the most cost-effective car imaginable
A Changing Dynamic â A story needs something to change along the way. So ask yourself “What is not as it should be?” and answer with what you are going to do about it (or what you did about it).
For exampleâŠ
- Did hazardous road conditions inspire you to build a rugged, all-terrain jeep that any family could afford?
- Did a complicated and confusing food labelling system lead you to establish a colour-coded nutritional index so that anybody could easily understand it?
8. Use your Voice Effectively
The spoken word is actually a pretty inefficient means of communication, because it uses only one of your audience’s five senses. That’s why presenters tend to use visual aids, too. But you can help to make the spoken word better by using your voice effectively.
Varying the speed at which you talk, and emphasising changes in pitch and tone all help to make your voice more interesting and hold your audience’s attention.
For more about this, see our page on Effective Speaking .
9. Use your Body Too
It has been estimated that more than three quarters of communication is non-verbal.
That means that as well as your tone of voice, your body language is crucial to getting your message across. Make sure that you are giving the right messages: body language to avoid includes crossed arms, hands held behind your back or in your pockets, and pacing the stage.
Make your gestures open and confident, and move naturally around the stage, and among the audience too, if possible.
10. Relax, Breathe and Enjoy
If you find presenting difficult, it can be hard to be calm and relaxed about doing it.
One option is to start by concentrating on your breathing. Slow it down, and make sure that you’re breathing fully. Make sure that you continue to pause for breath occasionally during your presentation too.
For more ideas, see our page on Coping with Presentation Nerves .
If you can bring yourself to relax, you will almost certainly present better. If you can actually start to enjoy yourself, your audience will respond to that, and engage better. Your presentations will improve exponentially, and so will your confidence. It’s well worth a try.
Improve your Presentation Skills
Follow our guide to boost your presentation skills learning about preparation, delivery, questions and all other aspects of giving effective presentations.
Start with: What is a Presentation?
Continue to: How to Give a Speech Self Presentation
See also: Five Ways You Can Do Visual Marketing on a Budget Can Presentation Science Improve Your Presentation? Typography â Itâs All About the Message in Your Slides
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Blog Marketing How To Start a Presentation: 15 Ways to Set the Stage
How To Start a Presentation: 15 Ways to Set the Stage
Written by: Krystle Wong Jul 25, 2023
The opening moments of your presentation hold immense power â it’s your opportunity to make a lasting impression and captivate your audience.
A strong presentation start acts as a beacon, cutting through the noise and instantly capturing the attention of your listeners. With so much content vying for their focus, a captivating opening ensures that your message stands out and resonates with your audience.
Whether you’re a startup business owner pitching a brilliant idea, a seasoned presenter delivering a persuasive talk or an expert sharing your experience, the start of your presentation can make all the difference. But don’t fret â I’ve got you covered with 15 electrifying ways to kickstart your presentation.
The presentation introduction examples in this article cover everything from self-introduction to how to start a group presentation, building anticipation that leaves the audience eager to delve into the depths of your topic.
Click to jump ahead:
How to start a presentation introduction
15 ways to start a presentation and captivate your audience, common mistakes to avoid in the opening of a presentation, faqs on how to start a presentation, captivate the audience from the get-go.
Presentations can be scary, I know. But even if stage fright hits, you can always fall back on a simple strategy.
Just take a deep breath, introduce yourself and briefly explain the topic of your presentation.
To grab attention at the start, try this opening line: Hello everyone. I am so glad you could join me today. I’m very excited about today’s topic. I’m [Your Name] and I’ll be talking about [Presentation Topic]. Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by [Challenge related to your topic]. Many of us might have faced challenges with [Challenge related to your topic]. Today, we’ll explore some strategies that’ll help us [Solution that you’re presenting].
Regardless of your mode of presentation , crafting an engaging introduction sets the stage for a memorable presentation.
Let’s dive into some key tips for how to start a presentation speech to help you nail the art of starting with a bang:
Understand your audience
The key to an engaging introduction is to know your audience inside out and give your audience what they want. Tailor your opening to resonate with their specific interests, needs and expectations. Consider what will captivate them and how you can make your presentation relevant to their lives or work.
Use a compelling hook
Grab the audience’s attention from the get-go with a compelling hook. Whether it’s a thought-provoking question, a surprising fact or a gripping story, a powerful opening will immediately pique their curiosity and keep them invested in what you have to say.
State your purpose
Be crystal clear about your subject matter and the purpose of your presentation. In just a few sentences, communicate the main objectives and the value your audience will gain from listening to you. Let them know upfront what to expect and they’ll be more likely to stay engaged throughout.
Introduce yourself and your team
Give a self introduction about who you are such as your job title to establish credibility and rapport with the audience.
Some creative ways to introduce yourself in a presentation would be by sharing a brief and engaging personal story that connects to your topic or the theme of your presentation. This approach instantly makes you relatable and captures the audience’s attention.
Now, letâs talk about â how to introduce team members in a presentation. Before introducing each team member, briefly explain their role or contribution to the project or presentation. This gives the audience an understanding of their relevance and expertise.
Group presentations are also a breeze with the help of Venngage. Our in-editor collaboration tools allow you to edit presentations side by side in real-time. That way, you can seamlessly hare your design with the team for input and make sure everyone is on track.
Maintain enthusiasm
Enthusiasm is contagious! Keep the energy levels up throughout your introduction, conveying a positive and upbeat tone. A vibrant and welcoming atmosphere sets the stage for an exciting presentation and keeps the audience eager to hear more.
Before you think about how to present a topic, think about how to design impactful slides that can leave a lasting impression on the audience. Here are 120+ presentation ideas , design tips, and examples to help you create an awesome slide deck for your next presentation.
Captivating your audience from the get-go is the key to a successful presentation. Whether you’re a seasoned speaker or a novice taking the stage for the first time, the opening of your presentation sets the tone for the entire talk.
So, let’s get ready to dive into the 15 most creative ways to start a presentation. I promise you these presentation introduction ideas will captivate your audience, leaving them hanging on your every word.
Grab-attention immediately
Ask a thought-provoking question.
Get the audience’s wheels turning by throwing them a thought-provoking question right out of the gate. Make them ponder, wonder and engage their critical thinking muscles from the very start.
Share a surprising statistic or fact
Brace yourself for some wide eyes and dropped jaws! Open your presentation with a jaw-dropping statistic or a mind-blowing fact that’s directly related to your topic. Nothing captures attention like a good ol’ dose of shock and awe.
State a bold statement or challenge
Ready to shake things up? Kick off with a bold and daring statement that sets the stage for your presentation’s epic journey. Boldness has a way of making ears perk up and eyes widen in anticipation!
Engage with a poll or interactive activity
Turn the audience from passive listeners to active participants by kicking off with a fun poll or interactive activity. Get them on their feet, or rather â their fingertips, right from the start!
Venngageâs user-friendly drag-and-drop editor allows you to easily transform your slides into an interactive presentation . Create clickable buttons or navigation elements within your presentation to guide your audience to different sections or external resources.
Enhance engagement by incorporating videos or audio clips directly into your presentation. Venngage supports video and audio embedding, which can add depth to your content.
Begin with an opening phrase that captures attention
Use opening phrases that can help you create a strong connection with your audience and make them eager to hear more about what you have to say. Remember to be confident, enthusiastic and authentic in your delivery to maximize the impact of your presentation.
Here are some effective presentation starting words and phrases that can help you grab your audience’s attention and set the stage for a captivating presentation:
- “Imagine…”
- “Picture this…”
- “Did you know that…”
- “Have you ever wondered…”
- “In this presentation, we’ll explore…”
- “Let’s dive right in and discover…”
- “I’m excited to share with you…”
- “I have a confession to make…”
- “I want to start by telling you a story…”
- “Before we begin, let’s consider…”
- “Have you ever faced the challenge of…”
- “We all know that…”
- “This is a topic close to my heart because…”
- “Over the next [minutes/hours], we’ll cover…”
- “I invite you to journey with me through…”
Build connection and credibility
Begin with a personal connection .
Share a real-life experience or a special connection to the topic at hand. This simple act of opening up creates an instant bond with the audience, turning them into your biggest cheerleaders.
Having the team share their personal experiences is also a good group presentation introduction approach. Team members can share their own stories that are related to the topic to create an emotional connection with your audience.
Tell a relevant story
Start your presentation with a riveting story that hooks your audience and relates to your main message. Stories have a magical way of captivating hearts and minds. Organize your slides in a clear and sequential manner and use visuals that complement your narrative and evoke emotions to engage the audience.
With Venngage, you have access to a vast library of high-quality and captivating stock photography, offering thousands of options to enrich your presentations. The best part? It’s entirely free! Elevate your visual storytelling with stunning images that complement your content, captivate your audience and add a professional touch to your presentation.
Use a powerful quote
Sometimes, all you need is some wise words to work wonders. Begin with a powerful quote from a legendary figure that perfectly fits your presentation’s theme â a dose of inspiration sets the stage for an epic journey.
Build anticipation
Provide a brief outline.
Hereâs a good introduction for presentation example if youâre giving a speech at a conference. For longer presentations or conferences with multiple speakers especially, providing an outline helps the audience stay focused on the key takeaways. That way, you can better manage your time and ensure that you cover all the key points without rushing or running out of time.
Pose a problem and offer a solution
A great idea on how to start a business presentation is to start by presenting a problem and offering a well-thought-out solution. By addressing their pain points and showcasing your solution, you’ll capture their interest and set the stage for a compelling and successful presentation.
Back up your solution with data, research, or case studies that demonstrate its effectiveness. This can also be a good reporting introduction example that adds credibility to your proposal.
Preparing a pitch deck can be a daunting task but fret not. This guide on the 30+ best pitch deck tips and examples has everything you need to bring on new business partners and win new client contracts. Alternatively, you can also get started by customizing one of our professional pitch deck templates for free.
Incite curiosity in the audience
Utilize visuals or props.
Capture your audience’s gaze by whipping out captivating visuals or props that add an exciting touch to your subject. A well-placed prop or a stunning visual can make your presentation pop like a fireworks show!
That said, you maybe wondering â how can I make my presentation more attractive. A well-designed presentation background instantly captures the audience’s attention and creates a positive first impression. Here are 15 presentation background examples to keep the audience awake to help you get inspired.
Use humor or wit
Sprinkle some humor and wit to spice things up. Cracking a clever joke or throwing in a witty remark can break the ice and create a positively charged atmosphere. If youâre cracking your head on how to start a group presentation, humor is a great way to start a presentation speech.
Get your team members involved in the fun to create a collaborative and enjoyable experience for everyone. Laughter is the perfect way to break the ice and set a positive tone for your presentation!
Invoke emotion
Get those heartstrings tugging! Start with a heartfelt story or example that stirs up emotions and connects with your audience on a personal level. Emotion is the secret sauce to a memorable presentation.
Aside from getting creative with your introduction, a well-crafted and creative presentation can boost your confidence as a presenter. Browse our catalog of creative presentation templates and get started right away!
Use a dramatic pause
A great group presentation example is to start with a powerful moment of silence, like a magician about to reveal their greatest trick. After introducing your team, allow a brief moment of silence. Hold the pause for a few seconds, making it feel deliberate and purposeful. This builds anticipation and curiosity among the audience.
Pique their interest
Share a fun fact or anecdote.
Time for a little fun and games! Kick-off with a lighthearted or fascinating fact that’ll make the audience go, “Wow, really? Tell me more!” A sprinkle of amusement sets the stage for an entertaining ride.
While an introduction for a presentation sets the tone for your speech, a good slide complements your spoken words, helping the audience better understand and remember your message. Check out these 12 best presentation software for 2023 that can aid your next presentation.
The opening moments of a presentation can make or break your entire talk. It’s your chance to grab your audience’s attention, set the tone, and lay the foundation for a successful presentation. However, there are some common pitfalls that speakers often fall into when starting their presentations.
Starting with Apologies
It might be tempting to start with a preemptive apology, especially if you’re feeling nervous or unsure about your presentation. However, beginning with unnecessary apologies or self-deprecating remarks sets a negative tone right from the start. Instead of exuding confidence and credibility, you’re unintentionally undermining yourself and your message.
Reading from Slides
One of the most common blunders in the opening of a PowerPoint presentation is reading directly from your slides or script. While it’s crucial to have a well-structured outline, reciting word-for-word can lead to disengagement and boredom among your audience. Maintain eye contact and connect with your listeners as you speak. Your slides should complement your words, not replace them.
Overwhelming with Information
In the excitement to impress, some presenters bombard their audience with too much information right at the beginning.
Instead of overloading the audience with a sea of data, statistics or technical details that can quickly lead to confusion and disinterest, visualize your data with the help of Venngage. Choose an infographic template that best suits the type of data you want to visualize. Venngage offers a variety of pre-designed templates for charts, graphs, infographics and more.
Ignoring the Audience
It’s easy to get caught up in the content and forget about the people in front of you. Don’t overlook the importance of acknowledging the audience and building a connection with them. Greet them warmly, make eye contact and maintain body language to show genuine interest in their presence. Engage the audience early on by asking a show of hands question or encourage audience participation.
Lack of Clarity
Your audience should know exactly what to expect from your presentation. Starting with a vague or unclear opening leaves them guessing about the purpose and direction of your talk. Clearly communicate the topic and objectives of your presentation right from the beginning. This sets the stage for a focused and coherent message that resonates with your audience.
Simplicity makes it easier for the audience to understand and retain the information presented. Check out our gallery of simple presentation templates to keep your opening concise and relevant.
Skipping the Hook
The opening of your presentation is the perfect opportunity to hook your audience’s attention and keep them engaged. However, some presenters overlook this crucial aspect and dive straight into the content without any intrigue. Craft an attention-grabbing hook that sparks curiosity, poses a thought-provoking question or shares an interesting fact. A compelling opening is like the key that unlocks your audience’s receptivity to the rest of your presentation.
Now that youâve got the gist of how to introduce a presentation, further brush up your speech with these tips on how to make a persuasive presentation and how to improve your presentation skills to create an engaging presentation .
How can I overcome nervousness at the beginning of a presentation?
To overcome nervousness at the beginning of a presentation, take deep breaths, practice beforehand, and focus on connecting with your audience rather than worrying about yourself.
How long should the opening of a presentation be?
The opening of a presentation should typically be brief, lasting around 1 to 3 minutes, to grab the audience’s attention and set the tone for the rest of the talk.
Should I memorize my presentation’s opening lines?
While it’s helpful to know your opening lines, it’s better to understand the key points and flow naturally to maintain authenticity and flexibility during the presentation.
Should I use slides during the opening of my presentation?
Using slides sparingly during the opening can enhance the message, but avoid overwhelming the audience with too much information early on.
How do I transition smoothly from the opening to the main content of my presentation?
Transition smoothly from the opening to the main content by providing a clear and concise outline of what’s to come, signaling the shift and maintaining a logical flow between topics.
Just as a captivating opening draws your audience in, creating a well-crafted presentation closing has the power to leave a lasting impression. Wrap up in style with these 10 ways to end a presentation .
Presenting virtually? Check out these tips on how to ace your next online presentation .
Captivating your audience from the very beginning is crucial for a successful presentation. The first few moments of your talk can set the tone and determine whether your audience remains engaged throughout or loses interest.
Start with a compelling opening that grabs their attention. You can use a thought-provoking question, a surprising statistic or a powerful quote to pique their curiosity. Alternatively, storytelling can be a potent tool to draw them into your narrative. It’s essential to establish a personal connection early on, whether by sharing a relatable experience or expressing empathy towards their needs and interests.
Lastly, be mindful of your body language and vocal delivery. A confident and engaging speaker can captivate an audience, so make eye contact, use appropriate gestures and vary your tone to convey passion and sincerity.
In conclusion, captivating your audience from the very beginning requires thoughtful preparation, engaging content and a confident delivery. With Venngage’s customizable templates, you can adapt your presentation to suit the preferences and interests of your specific audience, ensuring maximum engagement. Go on and get started today!
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25 Great Presentation Examples Your Audience Will Love
Written by: Chloe West
If you're starting a presentation from scratch, you know that being met with a blank, empty slide can feel a bit intimidating, especially if you're meeting a deadline, overwhelmed with ideas, or not very design-savvy.
This begs the question: How and where do you even start?
One of the easiest places to start is with an idea of the look and feel you want your presentation design to have, along with a complementary layout. Once you have that, all you need to do is fill out the design with your copy and images, and voila, you're done.
To help guide you in this choice, we've put together 25 awesome presentation examples, ranging from business presentations to product presentations and a wide range of use cases in between. Plus, we'll also share ready-to-use templates to move your presentation from blank to almost done!
If youâre short on time, use Visme AI Designer to help you save time and boost your creativity. With just a simple text prompt to our AI Designer Chatbot, choose a style, and voila, your unique design is ready in under two minutes!
Presentation Example #1: Colorful Slides
Draw your audience and keep them engaged with bright, colorful slides in your presentation. This portfolio presentation showcases a designerâs collaboration with Nike. And itâs a great example of how fun and playfulness can not only look good but also draw the reader's attention to key areas youâd like them to focus on.
As great as adding colors can be, there is a right and wrong way of creating colorful presentations tastefully. In fact, itâs suggested that presentations be designed with 2-3 color schemes that are consistent and complimentary from start to finish.Â
This is an example of a presentation with well-balanced colors. Tones of blue as the main color, with complementary colors of white and soft neon yellows, are all used in and around the illustrations present.
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Presentation Example #2: Embedded Video
If you arenât physically present to give your presentation, you can still put on a show by creating a video presentation.
Adding embedding or using videos in your presentation breaks the monotony of scrolling through a sequence of static slides.
It stops the reader in their tracks to share a demonstration, product details, or essential facts that might be easily summarized in a few lines or are better visualized.
But embedding a single video within your presentation isnât the only option; you can get creative and use videos as background images instead of regular static images.
Check out this explainer video presentation example. Itâs short yet effective and filled with vivid videos, text, and animation.
Visme allows you to easily upload your own videos or import them from YouTube, Vimeo, and other platforms
Or tap into our extensive library of royalty-free stock videos and assets so youâre sure to find the perfect videos for your presentation.
For more check this quick guide on How to Embed a YouTube Video in Powerpoint & More .
Presentation Example #3: Interactivity
Not all presentations or slideshows will be or need to be presented.
If your presentation is sent to a client or stakeholder to review on their own, or is used for a self-paced training session, interactive presentations can enhance the experience.
By adding interactivity to your presentation, you give reader autonomy and ensure that they donât get bored reading on their own but can find and maintain their pace until the end.
Visme allows you to easily incorporate interactivity with coding. You can add a clickable table of contents, hotspots, add links to objects and more.
Consider this informative presentation example: Her last slide includes an RSVP button for people to learn more about the service she teased within her presentation.
This is the perfect lead generation and call-to-action for increasing your customer or membership base.
When you design your presentation with Visme, you can link text and other elements to your website. You can even create and embed a lead generating form in your presentation.
Presentation Example #4: Metaphors
If you can appeal to your audience with a metaphor from pop culture or another well-known reference, youâre sure to keep their attention.
Thatâs why we love this presentation example that uses superhero comparisons to talk about storytelling.
This storyline is catchy, and it gets the audience intrigued as to what comparison theyâre going to make next. Plus, who doesnât want to be compared to a superhero?
During your next presentation, see if there are any popular references that you can make easy comparisons to in your topic. But donât try too hard to fit a comparison in, or your audience will be confused.
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Presentation Example #5: Animation
Who doesnât love a good animated presentation?Â
Animation is not only fun but memorable. Some of the best animated presentation software out there offers dozens of features to amp up your presentation design.Â
However, like all things, too much of a good thing can be bad. Just because animation is great doesnât mean you need to add it to all your slides. Sometimes, simply adding a slight animation makes for the perfect slide.
And thatâs exactly where this presentation example comes in.
While itâs not much, having each expertâs quote pop up after the rest of the information is already on the slide gives the presentation a slightly more fun air than if the entire slide content was static.
Visme has a wide range of animation features that require no coding or design skills. You can add slide transitions, animate objects or images or animated characters to highlight sections of your page
Presentation Example #6: Device Mockups
If you're a UX designer or planning to launch a new product, website, or software that's best displayed on a phone or computer, include a mock-up and screenshot in your presentation.
After all, a standalone screen grab with no formatting is a recipe for boring content, whereas a mockup of a laptop gives the reader a realistic point of view and visual experience.
This good presentation example represents exactly how well a mockup can make your content and overall presentation look professional.
When it comes to mock-ups, Visme has got you covered. Readily access professionally designed mockup presentation templates already inside or you can use the mockup generator to instantly design your own. It goes beyond device mockups and allows you to create branding, product, social media and print mockups.
Presentation Example #7: Visual Hierarchy
When we say visual hierarchy , we mean that the elements need to be organized in order of importance.
In this specific example weâre focused more on the presentation text rather than design.
Pay attention to how the header text and body content differ.
The headers on each of the above slides is in a large, all caps font while the body copy is much smaller and in sentence case. This creates a visual hierarchy that makes it obvious which font is the header, and therefore the most important part of the slide content.
Presentation Example #8: Icons
A common mistake most people make when designing their presentations is solely using words. By only using text in your presentation, youâre bound to lose your readers' or viewers' interest.
But maybe you donât want to add all the bells and whistles that come with an elaborate design. Thatâs fine, but a simple alternative is to use icons.
Beautiful icons give your presentation a professional look and feel, help to illustrate your point and guide the viewersâ eyes to key points.
This is an example of a good presentation that uses icons to emphasize each of the slide points.
Access thousands of high-quality icons, shapes and graphics!
- Vector icons to spice up any Visme design or document
- Free to use , and great for print or web.
- Customize colors to fit your design needs.
Not only is this much more creative than boring bulleted slides on PowerPoint, itâs an incredibly easy thing to do on a presentation maker like Visme. Simply search for an icon relevant to your point and search through hundreds of options.
Presentation Example #9: Monochromatic Slides
A monochromatic color scheme consists of tints and shades of a single color and can be extremely visually appealing when done well.
This presentation example includes multiple bright colors in the overall presentation, but theyâve utilized one at a time to create monochromatic slides.
In other types of design, like an infographic or social media graphic, youâd stick to a single monochromatic color scheme.
But this example does a great job of utilizing monochromatic harmonies in a presentation while still keeping it engaging by focusing on more than one color the entire time.
Presentation Example #10: Use Images as a Background
The use of images as backgrounds within your presentation can elevate your presentationâs design.
With high-quality images, you can complement your storytelling and actively take your audience on a visual journey that keeps their eyes focused on important details that would have otherwise been missed by simply using text alone in your presentation.
This Nike pitch deck is an effective presentation example of how visuals can evoke emotion, keep the reader engaged and properly portray the message of your overall presentation.
Looking for the perfect image for your presentations can be frustrating. Instead of picking an image out of desperation, you can create one from your inspiration with Visme's AI Image Generator .
Enter a detailed prompt, choose from a range of styles, and in a matter of seconds, you will have a royalty-free AI-generated image ready to be added to your presentation.
And if you already have your stock of images you'd like to upload but they need a bit of editing, use the AI Touch Up Tools to resize, reshape, unblur, remove backgrounds and more, until you're completely satisfied with the results.
Presentation Example #11: Consistency
When putting together a presentation, you want it to be obvious that your slides are cohesive and meant to go together in the slideshow. This means you should be utilizing the same color scheme, fonts and overall theme throughout your presentation.
This presentation created with Visme is a great example of consistency throughout the slides.
Each of these slides follows the same design even though the content on each one differs.
Use the Brand Wizard to help maintain your presentation's visual and brand consistency. This AI-powered tool will help to create a brand kit you can easily access while you're designing.
Insert your URL in the Brand Wizard and watch it grab your assets (company logo, fonts, and colors) and add them to your brand kit. It'll also suggest templates within the Visme library that automatically match your brand.
Presentation Example #12: Fancy Fonts
If youâre a luxury or creative brand that wants to translate your style or showcase your work and add some personality to your text in your presentations, then you should incorporate fancy fonts.
When youâre using fancy fonts, they should be used sparingly, especially in a large font capacity, like a header. You donât want to place too much text in a fancy font or it gets to be too hard to read, giving both youâas the presenterâand your audience a headache.
Hereâs a perfect and practical example of how to incorporate fancy fonts into your presentation:
Using this fancy script font in their presentation gives their slides a more playful air and allows them to further connect with their audience.
Presentation Example #13: Flat Design
Another creative presentation idea you can use would be adding flat designs.
These are usually two-dimensional graphics with bright colors and a minimalist look and feel. Since they're so versatile, flat designs can be used across different industries.
Take a look at this LinkedIn presentation example. The visuals on each slide are characters illustrated in flat design. Utilizing this style can be a great way to create beautiful slides that your audience canât get enough of.
Be sure that your illustrations are relevant to your slide content so they donât seem out of place. Just because something looks pretty doesnât necessarily mean it makes sense in your presentation.
Presentation Example #14: Slide Progress
Most people tend to forget about the table of contents when youâre presenting. Letting your audience know how far along your presentation they are can be a great way to keep them engaged and following along.
This can be especially useful when youâre doing a training session or a lengthy webinar presentation.
Look at this presentation example, which includes a slide progression countdown to let the audience know how many points are left to be covered.
Presentation Example #15: Data Visualization
When youâre sharing complex or detailed data in your presentations, itâs always best to use data visualization .
By adding charts, graphs and other data widgets, you make your data more digestible for your audience and effortlessly highlight key points without losing their interest.
This presentation example does a great job of using data visualization to present stats and information in a fun and approachable way.
Visme has over 40 customizable charts, graphs, maps and data widgets for you to choose from. You can also import data manually from a spreadsheet, Google Sheets, or apps like Google Analytics into your charts.
Maybe youâd like to start using data visualization, but youâre not sure which one might be the best for your data. We have a detailed guide on 33 Data Visualization Types and how to choose the one that works best for you and your industry.
Presentation Example #16: Minimalistic Slides
You donât have to stuff tons of information into each one of your presentation slides.
Sometimes less is more.
You can place only the most important words and visuals on a slide and let your voice do the rest. Or you can just add more slides for each of your points.
This presentation example uses minimalistic slides that only focus on a single point at a time.
You donât have to have a ton of design elements on a slide for it to be visually appealing. This presentation includes just the basics and it still looks well designed and teaches something to its audience.
Presentation Example #17: Graphics
Another great way to create a minimalistic and visually appealing presentation is by placing equal emphasis on text and graphics.
We love the way this next presentation example utilized graphics in each one of their slides.
This presentation covers 25 need-to-know marketing stats, and while the data isnât placed into charts and graphs, theyâve still come up with a way to add visuals.
This is a great way to incorporate graphics into their slides.
Theyâve put a large emphasis on the text, especially since thatâs the only white on the slide with the rest monochromatic, but theyâre still adding visuals to further emphasize the content.
Presentation Example #18: Lowercase Text
Not every heading has to be in title format and not every sentence has to be in sentence case.
In fact, this presentation provides a great example of how visual hierarchy can still be achieved while utilizing all lowercase letters.
Use larger fonts for headers and smaller fonts for your body, and you can also take advantage of this unique typography design in your presentation.
Just remember that visual hierarchy is still important. The lowercase text works in this presentation because theyâve made it so obvious which text needs to be read first.
Presentation Example #19: Transition
Your transition matters. Notice how I didnât pluralize the word âtransition.â This is because you should only be using a single kind of transition per presentation.
You donât want to overwhelm your audience or make your presentation look overly busy. Take note of how seamless this presentation exampleâs slide transition is.
Customize this presentation template and make it your own!
- Add your own text, images, colors and more
- Add interactive buttons and animations
- Customize anything to fit your design and content needs
Not only does the slide transition in the same direction each time, but all of the design elements also glide in the same direction creating a beautiful and visually appealing transition.
Presentation Example #20: Focus on Text
While everyone loves adding stylish graphics, photos or icons, only some presentations need to be built that way. Some presentations can mainly focus on the text while only having a few or no slides with graphics or images.
This presentation example uses only text on each slide. However, it uses two contrasting colors to highlight the speaker's main points and guide the viewer's eyes. This makes it creative without having to add a ton of visuals.
This presentation uses different colors and different sizes to emphasize the more important pieces of text, making it creative without having to add a ton of visuals.
Presentation Example #21: Focus on Graphics
On the opposite end of the spectrum, you can also have a presentation that puts a huge focus on visuals.
While this presentation still includes text to help tell the full story, no one in the audience is going to be looking at the text. Check out the graphics in this presentation example.
These illustrations are visually immersive and draw the audience in. Creating a focus on graphics in your presentation gives your viewers something fun to look at while you speak about the content.
Presentation Example #22: Photography
Another great way to include visuals in your presentation is using photography.
There are many different ways to include images in your presentation , but this Adidas presentation example does a great job of using them as background images.
Each slide has a photo in the background and a color overlay on top so the text can still be seen easily.
Figure out how you could include photos in your next presentation.
You can hire a photographer to do a curated photo session for your brand, or you can check out the millions of stock photos available in Vismeâs photo library.
Presentation Example #23: Section Headers
Each time you move onto another main point in your presentation, itâs a good idea to break it up with a new section header.
We love how this presentation example utilized section headers to make them jump out at the audience. Thereâs no doubt that weâre moving onto another main point in this slideshow.
Blow your text up like this next time youâre making a transition to the next section of your presentation. Itâll be sure to grab your audienceâs attention.
Presentation Example #24: Pop of Color
Another design style that you might love is having a pop of color that really stands out from the rest of the design. Itâs a great way to emphasize certain parts of your slides and create a focal point for your audience.
This sales budget presentation template works because it uses a black-and-white color scheme and a pop of bright color to attract the viewer's eyes to the most important parts of each slide.
Your eyes are immediately drawn to the words in blue, and itâs used strategically because of that. Try this out in your next presentation to highlight the most important words or parts of your slide.
Presentation Example #25: Strong Start
Want to keep your audience awake and engaged for your presentation? Start off with a killer first slide.
Take this presentationâs introduction slide for example. It's a great way of making people sit up a little straighter and causing ears to perk up.
Asking a powerful question or making a strongâmaybe even controversialâopening statement is a great way to create a strong start to your presentation and really draw your audience in. This can be a great hook when presenting a sponsorship deck or a presentation proposal, because it helps to differentiates you from others.
Startling your audience can actually be a good way to pique their curiosity and keep them engaged.
Not sure what your bold question or statement should be?
Use the AI Writer to help brainstorm some fun suggestions. Enter a prompt explaining what you want to create. The AI writer can also edit, proofread, and summarize sections of your presentation. So, you polish your work before the big presentation.
Get Inspired With These Presentation Examples
Now that youâve surfed through these great presentation examples, hopefully, youâve got some inspiration to create your next slideshow.
Choose one of these examples and make it your own with Visme's presentation software . Its intuitive design makes creating professional presentations easy for anyone with little to no design experience.
And if you need a presentation ready and done like yesterday, use Visme's AI presentation maker to do the heavy lifting. All you need to do is describe your presentation's goal and look and feel, choose your designs, and voila, you'll get your presentation ready in seconds.
But Visme isn't only for presentations; you can create proposals, reports, sales and marketing material, and so much more. Try Visme for free and see how Visme can help elevate your content creation workflow and projects.
Create beautiful presentations faster with Visme.
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About the Author
Chloe West is the content marketing manager at Visme. Her experience in digital marketing includes everything from social media, blogging, email marketing to graphic design, strategy creation and implementation, and more. During her spare time, she enjoys exploring her home city of Charleston with her son.
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- Presentations
30 PowerPoint Presentation Tips to Make Good PPT Slides in 2024 (+ 6 Expert Tips)
- Bahasa Indonesia
Here are 30 quick PowerPoint presentation tips to help you improve your presentations.Â
Plus, get PowerPoint tips on changing your slide design to make your content shine. We've even called on six presentation experts for their best tips.
How to Make a Good PowerPoint Presentation (Watch & Learn)
This screencast is a speed round of my very favorite PowerPoint tricks. It's a great resource to learn how to make a presentable PowerPoint. I'll walk you through ten of my favorite PowerPoint tips and tricks to create a better presentation.
Keep reading for an illustrated version of these good PPT tips (and more) that you can use to improve your PowerPoint presentations. You'll see 30 of our favorite PowerPoint presentation tips and tricks, including techniques to update slide master PowerPoint 2024 designs.
Jump to content in this section:
- How Do You Give a Memorable PPT Presentation?
- Practice Makes Perfect
- Adapt Your Presentation to the Audience
- Use a Custom Font
- Use Contrast
- Avoid Too Many Animations
- Use the Rule of Three
- Use a Custom PPT Theme Design
- Make Use of Charts and Graphs
- Use the Built-in Slide Layouts
- Align Text Consistently
- Make Your Exports User-Friendly
- Try a Different Color Scheme
- Edit Slide Masters for Consistency
- Use the Alignment Feature
- Use Stock Assets
- Reduce Your Content
- Rethink Your Slide Order
- Use PowerPoint Animations
- Invite Collaborators
- Add Supporting Video Clips
- Use Infographic Templates
- Use Impactful Closing Techniques
- Include Data in the Appendix
- Alternate Between Solid Color and White Slides
- Present Information With Maps
- Keep the Design Best Practices in Mind
- Set a Time Limit
- Test Your Content Everywhere
30 Tips: How to Make Good PowerPoint Presentation Designs Fast in 2024
A few tried and true tips can help you speed up your PowerPoint presentation design. Check out 30 of my favorite PowerPoint tips to do just that. Each of these give you PowerPoint slideshow help to create good PowerPoint slides:
1. How Do You Give a Memorable PPT Presentation?
If you're learning the top PowerPoint presentation tips and tricks, you're probably asking yourself: how do I give a presentation that won't be forgotten?
We all want to be remembered. The best PowerPoint slideshow help to make a mark on the audience. There are tried-and-true ways to do just that, and expert Neil Tomlinson shares expertise on being remembered:
Get your main point into the presentation as early as possible (this avoids any risk of audience fatigue or attention span waning), then substantiate your point with facts, figures etc and then reiterate your point at the end in a âSummaryâ.
2. Practice Makes Perfect
Also, donât forget to practice your presentation. Go through your slide deck a few times to make sure you know it like the back of your hand when the big day arrives. Doing so helps you feel more confident. It'll reduce any anxiety and nervousness you might feel as the presentation day approaches.
What's the best way to rehears for a good PowerPoint? Here's one of the top PowerPoint presentation tips from expert presenter Sandra Zimmer :
Once slides are ready, practice one slide at a time aloud until you feel like you know it and like the flow of speech. Be willing to change anything that does not feel in flow. At the end of learning all your slides, practice the whole talk.
If you want even more great PowerPoint presentation tips and tricks, check out the following post:
3. Adapt Your Presentation to the Audience
Let's say that you're a seasoned presenter with a pretty standard set of presentation topics. Maybe you're an expert in your field, and you're asked to give a PPT presentation frequently on similar topics.
That's the value of being an expert. You might have a standard spiel that you give your audiences, and your content won't totally change from one presentation to another. That's why it helps to make only slight tweaks to adapt your presentation to each audience.
Leading presentation expert Suzannah Baum offered up this advice:
Different audiences will have different needs and different challenges, which requires me to re-sequence the slides, or create new ones. I tend to do a lot of research on my audiences â via surveys, interviews, and conversations with the hiring manager â to help me better understand what information would be most relevant to them.
How do you adapt to your audience? Here are a few more tips:
- Learn about them. If you're asked to speak, talk to the curator of the presentation to learn more about the audience and their background.
- Ask about them! With contact details, send out a survey or a response link to ask for feedback and preparation info. Ask leading questions like "what do you want to learn?"
- Consider the environment. If you're presenting via Zoom, your style will differ from presenting in person. The key is to acknowledge the difference and adapt to your environment.
Learn everything you can about your audience. Learning how to make a presentable PowerPoint is all about thinking of the recipient, not the presenter!
4. Use a Custom Font
A PowerPoint presentation tip that'll make your slideshow more interesting and more engaging is to use a custom font.
Fonts set the tone for your presentation. So, when you use a premium font, youâre opting for a high-quality font while also adding a personal or creative touch.Â
When choosing a font, remember that you want everyone to read your text easily.Â
5. Use Contrast
One PowerPoint trick is to use contrast to make some of your text stand out or make it easier to read.
If youâre putting text over an image on our PowerPoint slide, you may need to use a white box with black text in it to make your text easier to read. You can also use contrasting colors to highlight important text.
6. Avoid Too Many Animations
Another PowerPoint tip is to avoid having too many animations or transitions.
When you've got too many animations, it can be distracting to the audience. Itâs not only distracting, but it's unprofessional.
Itâs best to stick to one or two animations throughout your presentation. Also, if you've got any animations in your presentation, make sure to test them to see if they work before presenting.
7. Add Audio
Include audio on a slide on PowerPoint to increase audience engagement. Audio can be anything from fun sound effects to interview clips. You can even add an audio clip of your voice.
Audio gives you a break from speaking while also engaging the audience. Envato Elements has hundreds of premium audio clips if you want to add some.
8. Use the Rule of Three
One PowerPoint tip and trick is to follow the rules of PowerPoint.
One of those rules is the rule of three. It's where you start by dividing your presentation into thirds. Everything should come in thirds, so if you use bullet points, you should only have three. If you use icons, you should only have three.
When things come in threes, it's easier to remember them. For more information, read this informative article:
9. Use a Custom PPT Theme Design
Above all, consistently use custom PowerPoint themes. Microsoft has built-in themes that you can use for free, sure. But the premium themes that are on Envato Elements  are a major step-up from PowerPoint's built-in themes.Â
When you subscribe to Envato Elements, you'll have access to unlimited downloads of all the PowerPoint themes. Right now, Envato Elements has almost 4,000 PowerPoint themes and that number is always growing. You'll learn tips for a good PowerPoint presentation by using the best templates.
10. Make Use of Charts and Graphs
Illustrate your data with the use of charts and graphs. Not only will you be able to make your presentation more visually appealing, but you'll also help your audience remember the information better.
Many PowerPoint templates already include chart and graph elements. Easily customize them to make your data and stats more interesting and easier to understand.
Want to learn more about how to use data? Turn to expert Adrienne J ohnston , a presentation professional:
When it comes to visualizing data in presentations, we have to remember that our audience does not need all the fine details of the data - they need the main takeaway and we need to make sure that's evident to them when looking at the slide.
11. Use the Built-in Slide Layouts
Inside of PowerPoint themes, you'll find layouts , which are custom slide designs.
Most themes include a selection of content layouts that you can use as a starting point for your own slide designs. You can leverage slide master PowerPoint 2024 designs with the help of layouts.
Layouts are like a starting point for your PowerPoint presentation slides. They contain combinations of placeholders for text boxes, images, and more.
Instead of clicking and drawing individual objects onto the slide, use one of these layouts to start your slide off. It's one of the top PowerPoint presentation tips and tricks to save time.
12. Align Text Consistently
When you're working with text on your slide, it helps to ensure that it aligns consistently. Keeping your text aligned in the same orientation really makes a slide look clean.Â
In the example below, I've basically got three text boxes:
- list of bulleted points
Notice that all this text is aligned left.Â
Aligning text was the " aha " moment that I learned when I started studying slide design. It's one of those steps that makes a slide look much neater and professional, so keep it in mind when designing.
13. Make Your Exports User-Friendly
No matter how great your PowerPoint presentation slides look, you need to think about how your user will use the presentation file.Â
Any of these are likely scenarios if you're regularly sending presentations to other users:
- The viewer may not have PowerPoint installed on their computer.
- The recipient may be using a version of PowerPoint that renders the presentation differently.
- Maybe you don't want the user to be able to make any edits or see your notes in the presentation file.
In this case, my favorite tip is to export the presentation as a PDF. To do that, go to File > Export > Create PDF , and then save your presentation as a PDF.
This is sure to help most of your users see the presentation just the way you intended.
14. Try a Different Color Scheme
Many PowerPoint themes have more than one color scheme that you can apply to your presentation. On the Design tab, click on the drop-down next to Themes to try out a different color scheme.
Typically, these will restyle your entire presentation. Premium themes that you might get from Envato Elements, for example, may have many versions inside the original presentation zip file.
15. Edit Slide Masters for Consistency
The slide master controls the design for your PowerPoint slide. Instead of making the same change to each slide, apply a change to a slide master. It'll affect all the PowerPoint presentation slides that use the same master.
It's ideal to apply a logo to the slide master itself, for example. This keeps the logo the same size and in the same position on each slide.
To do that, go to View > Slide Master. On the right side, you're likely to see a variety of slide masters that control designs for many slides. Drop the elements that you want to remain consistent onto one of the slide masters.
16. Use the Alignment Feature
PowerPoint presentation slides look better when the objects on them are in line with one another. There's a certain visual rhythm that occurs when objects line up in the center or along certain boundary lines.
When you start dragging objects on your slide, you'll see guiding lines that pop up. These are very intuitive, and you'll likely notice that they help you line up your objects. You might seem them pop up when you've got a box that's equidistant between two other objects on the slide, for example.
This is one of the best tricks for improving the look of your PowerPoint slide. Spend some time making sure that your key elements line up cohesively.
17. Use Stock Assets
Earlier, I mentioned using Envato Elements to grab PowerPoint themes. But there's more that comes with an Envato Elements subscription for presentations.
That includes a wide variety of stock photos, graphics,  and custom designed fonts  that you can use in your presentation. Instead of reusing the same stock photo or clip art, Envato Elements has everything you need to supplement a presentation.Â
Again, Envato Elements is the perfect subscription if you build presentations. It's a one-stop-shop that you can use to fill content.
18. Reduce Your Content
There's nothing that makes an audience tune out faster than being overloaded with slide content. Sometimes we try to make so many points that the audience misses all of them due to information overload.
Less is truly more. When you cut the weaker points of your presentation, the audience's attention will follow your key points accordingly.
It seems like cheating, but one of the best steps that you can take for your slide is to simply reduce the number of items that are on it. Convert some of your typed points to things you'll speak verbally.
19. Rethink Your Slide Order
Sometimes, I find that my presentations are out of order. I might spend too much time explaining my decision before I get to the conclusion.
In these cases, I like to use Slide Sorter View to re-sequence the slides in my presentation. To access this view, go to View > Slide Sorter on PowerPoint's ribbon.
From Slide Sorter view, you've got a top-down view of all the slides in your presentation deck. It sometimes becomes obvious that the slides can be reordered into a better sequence from this view.
20. Use PowerPoint AnimationsÂ
One of my favorite PowerPoint presentation tips is to complement your major points with a bit of animation. Using animation can bring a key point onto your slide with style!
Check out ten of the best PowerPoint tips for how to use animation from expert Sven Lenaerts below:
21. Invite Collaborators
Building a presentation often benefits from a second set of eyes. That's why it helps so much to invite a collaborator to work with you side-by-side in Microsoft PowerPoint.
Pushing your presentation up to OneDrive and inviting collaborators is easy. Thanks to the cloud-based approach, more than one user can edit a slide deck in real time. Learn how to do that in the tutorial below:
22. Add Supporting Video Clips
Building impactful presentations is all about adding other perspectives and angles to the content. One of my favorite ways to do that is to add a video clip. Maybe that's a production that you built on your own or found on sites like YouTube.
Either way, learn how to add and auto play a video clip in the quick tip below:
23. Use Infographic Templates
More presentations than ever will feature visuals that tell stories with data. But it's easy for an audience become overwhelmed with data.Â
That's where infographics come into play. Learn to use them in PowerPoint in the tutorial below:
24. Use Impactful Closing Techniques
I've sat through many presentations in my life. I can only remember a few that really stick out, thanks to techniques that highlighted key points. You need PowerPoint tips and tricks that help leave your audience with an impact.
To do just that, make sure you use some of the techniques highlighted in the article below:
To do that, just drag and drop the thumbnails into the order you want. When you return to Normal view, the PowerPoint presentation slides will be in the resequenced order you set here.
25. Include Data in the Appendix
Many PowerPoint presentations include data in the form of charts and graphs. That means that you'll condense specifics into a few easy-to-follow charts.
But what if your audience wants more of the backing details? Maybe they want to validate and review the detail for themselves. In that case, a  set of appendix slides with extra data is sure to help.
Appendix slides are included at the end of a presentation deck for backup purposes. You might not present them, but your audience is certain to appreciate that you included them. That helps your presentation continue to be useful even after you leave the room.
Here's a great tip from: pro presenter Graeme Thomas of Johnny F Designs:
If (my clients) are sending the deck straight to clients however, I would then put all the information on the slides but will often use more slides so that they aren't too cluttered. In cases where there is a lot of content, like financial statements, I would use appendix slides.
Including an appendix helps your audience understand data without overwhelming them with that data. Follow these tips so that you get the best of both worlds.
26. Alternate Between Solid Color and White Slides
Alternating between solid color and slides with a white background can produce an interesting visual effect and engage your audience. You can use the solid-colored slides to signify a new section in your presentation.
Not to mention, solid-colored slides are the perfect way to re-enforce your brand colors and build your brand recognition.
27. Present Information With Maps
If youâre trying to make a case for a global expansion or need to report on how other branches are performing, consider using a map to help your audience visualize the data.
There's no shortage of quality PowerPoint templates with maps built in so be sure to take advantage of them.
28. Keep the Design Best Practices in Mind
The design of your presentation matters just as much as the content of your presentation. Thatâs why you need to devote an equal amount of time to making sure the design of your presentation is on point as you do to the actual content.
Familiarize yourself with best design practices and keep them in mind as you go about customizing your template.
29. Set a Time Limit
How many slides is the right number for you? Well, it all depends on the time limit you set for your presentation.
Believe it or not, setting a time limit is helpful to create good PowerPoint slides. If you want to learn how to make a presentable PowerPoint, it's a must to lock in the time limit and ensure that your slides support that timeframe.Â
Expert presenter Stephanie Ottavan offers one of our top tips for a good PowerPoint presentation based on time limits:
A presenter is usually limited to a specific time frame and you want to adhere to that as closely as you can. If you have animations and transitions in your deck, these take added time so make sure to rehearse in âshow modeâ of PowerPoint or Keynote and time yourself.
Believe it or not, setting a time frame is one of the most important part of creating a PPT presentation. It helps you influence how many good PowerPoint slides you should design.
30. Test Your Content Everywhere
PowerPoint in 2024 could take place anywhere. Maybe you present, online, in-person, or beam it to mobile devices. It's important to remember that the content will appear differently on each device.
PowerPoint Online is a different medium than many other apps. Make sure that your presentation design appears the same by testing it with the help of this tutorial. It shows you how your PPT presentation appears even in a browser:
Discover Great Premium PowerPoint Templates With Google Slides (For 2024)
Creating a great presentation starts with a great template. And a great PowerPoint slide design use the best presentation practices, for example:
- Use high-quality photos and graphics to help tell the story.
- Keep text to a minimum.
- Stick to one idea per slide.
Designing a great template doesnât mean you've got to start from scratch, though. Take a look at some of the best PowerPoint templates we've got on Envato Elements.
1. Neo PowerPoint Template
The Neo PowerPoint template features a modern and bold design and includes five color variations to get you started. Along with this, you'll also get 10 master slides and 30 individual slides for all your presentation needs.
2. Vexana PowerPoint Template
The Vexana template is a great choice for brands that need a touch of elegance. This template works with PowerPoint and Google Slides and comes with a grand total of 150 slides. It also has five color variations and includes infographic elements and photo placeholders.
3. Sprint PowerPoint Template
The Sprint PowerPoint template features a professional and modern design. The template is easy to customize. You'll find 20 masters in the standard 4:3 size, allowing you to choose the best layout for your information.
4. Travelicious PowerPoint Template
For any presentation that deals with the topic of travel, check out the Travelicious template. This template is compatible with both PowerPoint and Google Slides. It includes three premade color variations as well as 30 unique slides.
 As you can see from the examples above, there's no shortage of beautiful and professional PowerPoint slide designs on Envato Elements . Whatâs more, Envato Elements allows you to download as many PowerPoint templates as you want. Plus, get thousands of other design assets such as fonts, photos, and iconsâall for one low monthly price.
Want to see even more great PowerPoint template examples? Be sure to check out our related roundup:
Need Help? Grab Our Making Great Presentations eBook (Free)
We've got the perfect complement to this tutorial. You can find more information in our eBook on making great presentations . Download this PDF eBook now for FREE with your subscription to the Tuts+ Business Newsletter.Â
It'll help you master the presentation process from initial creative ideas through to writing, design, and delivering with impact.
PowerPoint Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Now that youâve read about PowerPoint tips and tricks, if you want to learn more about PowerPoint, here are some FAQs:
1. What Is a Placeholder?
Placeholders in your slide on PowerPoint help you easily add text or images to your slide without changing your design.
In a template, sometimes the placeholders have prompts such as âClick to insert a pictureâ or âClick to add text.â These prompts let you know what kind of placeholder it is. To learn more about placeholders, read this article:Â
2. How Can I Automatically Play a Video?
A PowerPoint tip is to insert an automatically played video in your presentation. When you've got a video that'll play automatically, it saves you the trouble of starting your video manually.
Videos can illustrate topics or specific points. They're also a great way to keep your audience engaged. If you want to learn how to play a video automatically, read this tutorial:
3. How Can I Add a Map to my Slide?
Another PowerPoint trick is to add a map to your slide. If you're discussing a specific location, then a map can help your audience visualize the location you're presenting. To learn how to add a map to your PowerPoint slide, read this tutorial:
4. How Do I Add a GIF to My Presentation?
Adding a GIF to your slide on PowerPoint is one way you can grab your audience's attention. To add a GIF to your slide, youâll need to download a GIF.
Once you download it, upload it into PowerPoint and use it on your slide. For more information about how to add a GIF to your slide on PowerPoint, read this article:
5. Can I Recover My Unsaved Presentation?
Another PowerPoint trick is to learn how to recover unsaved PowerPoint files so that you can be prepared in case of an emergency. If you want to learn more, read this tutorial:
Learn More About How to Make Presentable PowerPoints
These quick PowerPoint Presentation tips are some of my favorite ways to rapidly improve a presentation. Keeping them in mind while you build a presentation can help you build a deck that you'll be confident about presenting.
Check out these tutorials to keep learning more about PowerPoint. These tutorials will give you more ideas for fixing up your PowerPoint presentation slides efficiently:
Find More Templates
Didn't see a template you like? Here are some more:
Use These PPT Presentation Tips on Your Next Presentation
Now that you've studied some of our best PowerPoint tips, it's time to put them to use. Download one of our top-notch PowerPoint themes from Envato Elements to get started. These PowerPoint presentation tips and tricks give you confidence to make you a skilled presenter.
Editorial Note : This post was first published in February of 2019. Our staff updates this post regularly â adding new, exciting PowerPoint tips and templates (with special help from Brenda Barron , Andrew Childress and Sarah Joy ).
Presentation Skills: The Essential Abilities You Need to Deliver Engaging and Impactful Presentations
Delivering a powerful presentation isnât just about having great content. Itâs about how effectively you communicate your ideas, engage your audience, and leave a lasting impact.
Mastering presentation skills is key to succeeding in business meetings, sales pitches, conferences, or any other scenario where you need to deliver information clearly and confidently. Hereâs a breakdown of the essential presentation skills that will help you elevate your performance.
1. Effective Communication: The Core of Every Successful Presentation
Clear and concise communication is the foundation of any presentation. Your ability to express ideas in a way thatâs easily understood and remembered is what differentiates a good presenter from a great one.
Simplifying complex ideas and presenting them in a structured, logical flow.
How to Develop it:
Practice speaking clearly and at a moderate pace. Use straightforward language and avoid jargon unless your audience is familiar with it.
2. Storytelling: Engage and Captivate Your Audience
Humans are wired to respond to stories. Incorporating storytelling into your presentations helps you connect with your audience on an emotional level, making your message more relatable and memorable.
Crafting a compelling narrative that aligns with your presentationâs goals.
When structuring your presentation, think about how you can weave real-life examples, anecdotes, or success stories into your content to make it more engaging.
3. Audience Engagement: Keeping Their Attention from Start to Finish
Even the best content wonât matter if your audience loses interest. Strong presentation skills include the ability to keep your audience engaged throughout your talk.
Using techniques like asking questions, incorporating interactive elements, and responding to audience feedback.
During your presentation, periodically check in with your audience. Use polls, ask questions, or invite them to share their thoughts, keeping the session dynamic and interactive.
4. Body Language: Conveying Confidence and Authority
Non-verbal communication plays a crucial role in how your message is received. Your posture, gestures, and facial expressions can either enhance or detract from your message.
Using open body language, maintaining eye contact, and leveraging gestures to emphasize key points.
Practice presenting in front of a mirror or record yourself. Pay attention to your posture, hand movements, and facial expressions. Aim for a confident stance with controlled, purposeful gestures.
5. Adaptability: Adjusting on the Fly
Even the most carefully planned presentations can run into unexpected issues. Being adaptable allows you to handle disruptions, audience questions, or technical glitches with composure.
Thinking on your feet and modifying your approach based on audience reactions or unforeseen circumstances.
Prepare backup plans for potential issues and practice scenarios where things go off-script. Stay flexible and be ready to shift your focus if necessary.
6. Visual Design: Enhancing Your Message with Compelling Visuals
Visual aids, when used correctly, can significantly enhance your presentation. Good presentation skills include designing slides and other visuals that are clear, appealing, and support your message.
Creating slides that highlight key points without overwhelming your audience.
Use tools like Canva or PowerPoint to design clean, minimalist slides. Stick to key visuals and avoid cluttering your presentation with too much text or overly complex graphics.
7. Time Management: Staying On Track and Respecting Your Audienceâs Time
Effective time management ensures that you cover all your content without running over or rushing through important points.
Pacing your presentation to fit within the allotted time while delivering all key information.
Rehearse with a timer to refine your pacing. Plan buffer time for questions or discussions, and be prepared to adjust your delivery based on real-time conditions.
8. Handling Questions and Feedback: Navigating Interactions with Ease
Q&A sessions or spontaneous audience questions are common in most presentations. Handling these interactions gracefully is a critical skill.
Listening carefully, responding clearly, and managing difficult or unexpected questions professionally.
Prepare for likely questions in advance. Practice maintaining your composure when addressing challenging or unexpected queries, and always keep your responses respectful and concise.
Mastering these presentation skills takes practice, but they are essential for anyone looking to deliver impactful presentations consistently. Whether youâre presenting to a small group of colleagues or addressing a large audience, honing these skills will help you communicate your ideas effectively, engage your listeners, and leave a lasting positive impression.
Table of contents
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How to Start a Presentation | 13 Golden Presentation Openers to Wow Audience in 2024
Lawrence Haywood âą 09 September, 2024 âą 17 min read
What are the perfect presentation openers? Did you know this? Knowing how to start a presentation is knowing how to present .
No matter how brief, the first moments of your presentation are a huge deal. They have a massive impact not only on what follows but also on whether or not your audience follows along with you.
Sure, it's tricky, it's nerve-wracking, and it's crucial to nail down. But , with these 13 ways to start a presentation and appealing presentation starting words, you can captivate any audience from your very first sentence.
The slide that is used to introduce a topic and set the tone for the presentation is called the | Title Slide |
What is the role of the audience in an oral presentation? | Receive and feedback |
Table of Contents
- Ask a Question
- Introduce as a Person
- Tell a Story
- Give a Fact
- Be Super Visual
- Use a Quote
- Make 'em Laugh
- Share expectations
- Poll your audience
- Live polls live thoughts
- Two Truths and A Lie
- Flying challenges
- Super competitive Quiz Games
Frequently Asked Questions
More tips with ahaslides.
- How to write a presentation
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1. Ask a Question
So, how to start a speech presentation? Let me ask you this : how many times have you opened a presentation with a question?
Furthermore, have you ever wondered why an immediate question might be a great way to start a presentation?
Well, let me answer that one. Questions are interactive , and interactive presentation is what audiences bored to death of one-way monologues crave the most.
Robert Kennedy III , the international keynote speaker, lists four types of questions to use right at the beginning of your presentation:
1. | ? |
2. (To be shown alongside something else) | |
3. | ? - |
4. | - |
While these questions might be engaging, they're not really questions, are they? You don't ask them in the hope that your audience will stand up, one-by-one, and actually answer them.
There's only one thing better than a rhetorical question like this: a question that your audience truly answers , live, right in the moment.
There's a free tool for that...
AhaSlides lets you start your presentation with a question slide, then gather actual answers and opinions from your audience (via their phones) in real-time. These questions can be word clouds , open-ended questions , rating scales , live quizzes , and so much more.
Not only does opening in this way get your audience immediately paying attention in starting a presentation, it also covers some of the other tips mentioned in this article. Including ...
- Getting factual - Your audience's responses are the facts.
- Making it visual - Their responses are presented in a graph, scale or word cloud.
- Being super relatable - The audience is fully involved in your presentation, both from the outside and the inside.
Create an Active Audience.
Click below to make a fully interactive presentation for free on AhaSlides.
Kich off the right way
2. Introduce Yourself as a Person, not a Presenter
How to start a presentation about yourself? What things to include in an about me presentation? Some great, all-encompassing advice on how to introduce yourself in a presentation comes from Conor Neill , serial entrepreneur and president of Vistage Spain.
He likens starting a presentation to meeting someone new at a bar. He's not talking about quaffing 5 pints beforehand to establish Dutch courage; more like introducing yourself in a way that feels friendly, natural and most of all, personal .
- Introduce team member
- How to introduce yourself
Imagine this : You're in a bar where someone piqued your interest. After a few furtive glances, you build up the courage and approach them with this:
Hi, Iâm Gary, Iâve been an economic biologist for 40 years and I want to talk to you about the microeconomics of ants . - Your introduction slide about yourself ! And you're going home alone tonight.
No matter how attractive your topic is, no one wants to hear the far-too-commonly-used ' name, title, topic' procession, as it offers nothing personal to latch onto.
Imagine this : You're in the same bar a week later, and someone else has piqued your interest. Let's try this again, you think, and tonight you go with this:
Oh hey, Iâm Gary, I think we know someone in common... - You , establishing a connection .
This time, you've decided to treat your listener as a friend to be made rather than as a passive audience. You've introduced yourself in a personal way that has made a connection and has opened the door to intrigue.
When it comes to introduction ideas for presentation, we recommend checking out the full 'How to start a presentation' speech by Conor Neill below. Sure, itâs from 2012, and he makes some dust-coated references to Blackberries, but his advice is timeless and incredibly helpful. Itâs a fun watch; heâs entertaining, and he knows what heâs talking about.
3. Tell a Story - How to Start a Speech Off
How to start an introduction for a presentation? If you did watch the full video above, you'd know that Conor Neill's absolute favourite tip for starting a presentation is this: telling a story .
Think about how this magical sentence makes you feel:
Once upon a time...
For pretty much every child that hears these 4 words, this is an instant attention grabber . Even as a man in his 30s, this opener still makes me wonder what might follow.
Just on the off-chance that the audience for your presentation isn't a room of 4-year-olds, don't worry - there are grown-up versions of 'once upon a time' .
And they all involve people. Just like these:
- "The other day, I met someone who completely changed my thinking..."
- "There's a person at my company who once told me...."
- "I'll never forget this customer we had 2 years ago..."
Remember this đ Good stories are about people ; they're not about things. They're not about products or companies or revenue; they're about the lives, the achievements, the struggles and the sacrifices of the people behind the things.
Aside from conjuring an immediate surge of interest by humanising your topic, there are several other benefits to starting a presentation with a story:
- Stories make YOU more relatable - Just like in tip #2 , stories can make you, the presenter, seem more personal. Your experiences with others speak far louder to audiences than stale introductions of your topic.
- They give you a central theme - Though stories are a great way to start a presentation, they also help to keep the entire thing cohesive. Calling back to your initial story at later points in your presentation not only helps to solidify your information in the real world but it also keeps the audience engaged through the narrative.
- They're jargon busters - Ever heard a children's story that starts with ' once upon a time, Prince Charming drilled down on the actionability principle inherent in agile methodology '? A good, natural story has inherent simplicity that any audience can understand.
đĄ Going virtual with your presentation? Check out seven tips on how to make it seamless !
4. Get Factual
There are more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand on earth.
Did your mind just explode with questions, thoughts and theories? That's how to start a presentation, as the best way for the powerpoint Presentation Introduction!
Using a fact as an opener to a presentation is an instant attention grabber.
Naturally, the more shocking the fact is, the more your audience is drawn to it. While it's tempting to go for pure shock factor, facts need to have some mutual connection with the topic of your presentation. They need to offer an easy segue into the body of your material.
Here's an example I recently used at an online event ran from Singapore đ "In the U.S alone, around 1 billion trees' worth of paper are thrown away yearly."
The speech I was giving was about our software, AhaSlides, which provides ways to make presentations and quizzes interactive without using stacks of paper.
Though that's not the biggest selling point of AhaSlides, it was super easy for me to connect that shocking statistic and what our software offers. From there, segueing into the bulk of the topic was a breeze.
A quote gives the audience something tangible , memorable and understandable to chew on, all while you proceed into a presentation that will likely be a series of more abstract ideas.
5. Make it Visual - How to Introduce a Topic in a Presentation
There's a reason I chose the GIF above: it's a mix between a fact and an engaging visual .
While facts grab attention through words, visuals achieve the same thing by appealing to a different part of the brain. A more easily stimulated part of the brain.
Facts and visuals usually go hand-in-hand regarding how to start a presentation. Check out these facts about visuals:
- Using images endears you to the 65% of people who are visual learners. ( Lucidpress )
- Image-based content gets 94% more views than text-based content ( QuickSprout )
- Presentations with visuals are 43% more persuasive ( Venngage )
It's the last stat here that has the most significant implications for you.
Think about this đ I could spend all day telling you, through voice and text, about the impact of plastic on our oceans. You may not listen, but the chances are that you will be more convinced by a single image:
That's because images, art in particular, are way better at connecting to your emotions than I am. And connecting to emotions, whether through introductions, stories, facts, quotes or images, gives a presentation its persuasive power .
On a more practical level, visuals also help make potentially complex data super clear. While it's not a great idea to start a presentation with a graph that risks overwhelming the audience with data, visual presentation material like this can certainly be your best friend later on.
6. Use a Solitary Quote - How to Start off a Presentation Speech
Like a fact, a single quote might be the best way to start a presentation as it can add a vast deal of credibility to your point.
Unlike a fact, however, it's the source of the quote that often carries a lot of the gravitas.
The thing is, literally anything anyone says can be considered a quote. Stick some quotation marks around it and...
...you've got yourself a quote. Lawrence Haywood - 2021
Starting a presentation with a quote is pretty great. What you want is a quote that starts a presentation with a bang. To do that, it has to check these boxes:
- Thought-provoking : Something that gets the audience's brains working the second they hear it.
- Punchy : Something 1 or 2 sentences long and short sentences.
- Self-explanatory : Something that requires no further input from you to aid understanding.
- Relevant : Something that helps you segue into your topic.
For mega-engagement, I've found it's sometimes a good idea to go with a controversial quote .
I'm not talking about something completely heinous that gets you thrown out of the conference, just something that doesn't encourage a unilateral 'nod and move on' response from your audience. The best opening words for presentations might come from controversial opinions.
Check this example đ "When I was young, I thought that money was the most important thing in life. Now that I am old, I know that it is" - Oscar Wilde.
This certainly isn't a quote that elicits total agreement. Its controversial nature offers immediate attention, a great talking point and even a way to encourage audience participation via a 'how much do you agree?' question ( like in tip #1 ).
7. Make it Humorous - How to make a Boring Presentation Funny?
One more thing a quote can offer you is the chance to get people laughing .
How many times have you, yourself, been an unwilling audience member in your 7th presentation of the day, needing some reason to smile as the presenter plunges you head-first into the 42 problems of stopgap solution bring ?
Humour takes your presentation one step closer to a show and one step further from a funeral procession.
Aside from being a great stimulator, a bit of comedy can also give you these benefits:
- To melt the tension - For you, primarily. Kicking off your presentation with a laugh or even a chuckle can do wonders for your confidence.
- To form a bond with the audience - The very nature of humour is that it's personal. It's not business. It's not data. It's human, and it's endearing.
- To make it memorable - Laughter has been proven to increase short-term memory. If you want your audience to remember your key takeaways: make 'em laugh.
Not a comedian? Not a problem. Check out these tips on how to start a presentation with humour đ
- Use a funny quote - You don't have to be funny if you quote someone who is.
- Don't crowbar it - If you're finding it difficult to think of a funny way to start your presentation, just leave it. Forced humour is the absolute worst.
- Flip the script - I mentioned in tip #1 to keep introductions away from the over-flogged 'name, title, topic' formula, but the 'name, title, pun' formula can funnily break the mould. Check out below what I mean...
My name is (name) , I am a (title) and (pun) .
And here it is in action:
My name is Chris, I'm an astronomer and lately my whole career has been looking up. You, getting off on the right foot
8. Share expectations - Best Way to Open a Speech
People have different expectations and background knowledge when they attend your presentations. Knowing their objectives can provide a value that you can use to adjust your presenting style. Adapting to peopleâs needs and meeting the expectations of everyone can result in a successful presentation for all involved.
You can do this by holding a small Q&A session on AhaSlides . When you start your presentation, invite attendees to post the questions they are most curious about. You can use the Q and A slide pictured below.
Some questions that I am happy to be asked:
9. Poll your audience - Different Way to Present a Presentation
This is another easy way to boost the excitement levels and creativity of everyone in the room! As the host, split the audience into pairs or trios, give them a topic and then ask teams to make a list of possible responses. Then have each team submit their answers as fast as possible to a Word Cloud or Open-Ended question panel on AhaSlides . The results will show up live in your slide show!
The topic of the game does not need to be the topic of the presentation. It can be about anything fun but provokes a lighthearted debate and energises everyone.
Some good topics for a presentation are:
- Three ways to name a group of animals (Eg: a cupboard of pandas, etc.)
- Best characters in the TV show Riverdale
- Five alternative ways to use a pen
Get free templates to wow your audience with a great introduction in your next presentation. Sign up for free and take what you want from the template library!
10. Live polls, Live thoughts
If youâre worried that the above games have too much âtypingâ, then an icebreaker with a live poll will capture everyoneâs attention but take much less effort. The questions can be funny and silly, industry-related, and debate-prompting, and are designed to get your audience networking.
Another idea is to start with easy-going, essential questions and move on to trickier ones. In this way, you lead the audience toward the topic of your presentation and thereafter, you can build up your presentation based on these questions.
Donât forget to organise the game on an online platform like AhaSlides . By doing this, responses can be displayed live on the screen; everyone can see how many people think like them!
đ Tips: Use the idea board to organise your options better!
11. Two Truths and A Lie - Another Way of 'Get to know Me Presentation'
Spin more fun to your session! This is a classic icebreaker game with a straightforward rule. You have to share three facts, only two of which are true, and the audience must guess which one is the lie. The statements can be about you or the audience; however, if attendees have never met before, you should give out prompts about yourself.
Collect as many sets of statements as possible, then create an online multiple-choice poll for each one. On D-Day, present them and let everyone vote on the lie. Tip: Remember to hide the correct answer till the end!
You can get ideas for this game here .
Or, check out the 'real' Get to Know me Games
12. Flying challenges
Icebreakers mostly center around you â the presenter â handing out questions and requests to the audience, so why not mix it up and have them take turns challenging each other? This game is a physical task that gets people moving. Itâs a beautiful way to rock the whole room and get people interacting.
Give out paper and pens to the audience and ask them to think of challenges for the others before crumpling them into balls. Then, count down from three and throw them into the air! Ask people to grab the one nearest them and invite them to read the challenges.
Everyone loves winning, so you canât imagine how challenging this can be! The audience will be even more motivated if you put up a prize for the most exciting questions!
13. Super competitive quiz games
How to make a presentation fun? Nothing can beat games at hyping people up. Knowing this, you should have your audience jump straight into a fun quiz at the beginning of your presentation. Wait and see how energised and hyped up they become!
The best thing: This is not limited only to entertaining or easy-going presentations, but also more âseriousâ formal and scientific ones. With several topic-focused questions, attendees can get a clearer insight into what ideas you are about to bring them while becoming more familiar with you.
If you are successful, the preconception that a presentation must be painstakingly nerve-wracking disappears almost immediately. All that is left is pure excitement and a crowd eager for more information.
Need more interactive presentation ideas ? AhaSlides got you covered!
Why is it Important to Start a Presentation Effectively?
Starting a presentation effectively is crucial because it sets the tone for the entire presentation and can capture the audience's attention and interest. If you fail to engage your audience at the beginning, they may quickly lose interest, be bored and tune out, making it difficult to get the message across effectively.
Unique ways to start a presentation?
A few ways to make it unique include Telling a Story, Starting with a Surprising Statistic, Using a Prop, Beginning with a Quote or Starting with a Provocative Question!
Three keys to a Successful Presentation
Engaging Opener, Inspiring Stories with a Clear Call to Action
Starting lines of presentation?
Good morning/afternoon everyone, welcome to my presentation Let me start by saying a few words about myself. As you can see, our main topic for today is...... This talk is designed to ...
When a quotation is used in a presentation you shouldâŠ
Cite every source clearly, during speaking, in handouts to participants and also on the slides.
Bonus Download! Free Presentation Template
Make it interactive
Lawrence Haywood
Former ESL teacher and quiz master converted to the wild slide. Now a content creator, traveller, musician and big time slider preaching the good word of interactivity.
Tips to Engage with Polls & Trivia
More from AhaSlides
Do You Have What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation?
by Michael Foley
Summary .  Â
Great presentations are all about how well you engage your audience. Here are three ways to do that:
- Be balanced: Strike the right balance between structure and improvisation during your presentation. Rather than preparing your content in a narrative form, take the time to segment it by topic. Leave room to respond to your audienceâs immediate needs, even if that means going off script for a while.
- Be generous: You goal should be to offer your audience something of value. Let this principle guide the content you choose to present.
- Be human: Rehearse to familiarize yourself with your content, but do not memorize it. If you go blank for a moment, donât apologize and act flustered, just pause, take a breath, collect your thoughts and continue on. Your audience wants you to be relatable.
Have you ever seen a really great presentation? Honestly, theyâre pretty rare.
Partner Center
5 tips to turn your presentation from good to great
Modern communication channels are filled with noise, making it harder than ever to get your message across.
Presentations are a powerful way to combat this, capturing the attention of your audience and communicating your messages effectively. The backbone of a great public performance is planning, preparation and practice. Whether itâs a speech in front of hundreds or a presentation to a client, understanding your own content and following these three Pâs can make all the difference.
Read our five tips below to ensure you deliver an engaging and effective presentation every time.
Keep it simple
The purpose of your presentation should be clear from the beginning. Your introduction should cover your key points. This is where content competes with presentation for the audienceâs attention, so itâs crucial to get your introduction right. Start with a personal anecdote, relevant quote or use a tone of voice that is upbeat and builds rapport. Thereâs nothing more mind-numbing than a monotone!
A simple structure will also help the audience understand your key messages. After a concise introduction, introduce your key points and provide an example or research that supports each one. Your conclusion should remind the audience about these points in a simple and punchy way. Throughout your speech, use plain English to engage your audience and prevent them from âchecking outâ.
Allow for visualsÂ
When preparing your speech, remember to make it visually engaging. A psychological study from the University of Iowa revealed the use of visual aids, such as hand movement, body language and slides, significantly improves an audienceâs ability to remember information . Their study of 100 students concluded that auditory recall is weaker than visual recall. Human beings have several senses, so remember not to get stuck only on verbal content when preparing your presentation. Your notes on screen should be visual signposts to help clarify the overall message. Including your entire speech on slides will only overwhelm and distract the audience.
Also, remember you are a visual for the audience and bad body language can make a presentation change from powerful to pitiful. Make eye contact, smile and stand up straight. These small changes will show the audience your confidence.
Consider colour
Colour psychology is an important part of presentations. The colours you choose for your presentation slides can directly influence the mood of your audience. Blue and purple are great choices for building relationships and engaging the audience, while yellow can make them feel positive and hopeful. Remember to keep colours consistent with your brand identity for a professional feel.
Interact and engage
When presenting, you have the opportunity to communicate on several levels. Prepare your presentation to include pauses and interactions. This will refocus the audienceâs attention and provide a conversational element. People are generally more invested in a conversational setting, so incorporate audience engagement into your presentation to maintain engagement.
The 10-20-30 rule
Holding attention is difficult. Another trick to keeping your audience interested and engaged is the 10-20-30 rule. Created by professional public speaker, Guy Kawasaki, the rule has three simple steps:
- Only use 10 slides. According to Mr Kawasaki , âa normal human being cannot comprehend more than ten concepts in a meetingâ.
- Stick to 20 minutes. Research conducted by biologist John Medina suggests the brain begins to lose focus after 9 minutes and 59 seconds .
- Make your font no smaller than 30 points. This will ensure the relevant information is kept to key points on screen and the audience isnât distracted by lots of information.
Incorporate these simple steps into your next presentation to make sure itâs a winner.
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Steps to Plan Your Presentation
Delivering an effective oral presentation is an essential skill for sharing your research findings with an audience. Tailoring your presentation to your audience, preparing for technical issues, and engaging your listeners with clear, concise content are crucial for the success of your research project. This guide provides comprehensive advice on how to prepare, what to include, and common pitfalls to avoid, ensuring your presentation is impactful and memorable.
For further assistance, contact the Office of Undergraduate Research for individual consultations.
What You Need To Know
Purpose
The purpose of an oral presentation is to share your research with an audience, typically through PowerPoint or Prezi. It is typically a synopsis of your research. If you've conducted a study, you will probably address the following topics:
- Background research on your topic (with citations to past studies)
- The rationale for your study (how does your study address a gap in the literature?)
- Hypotheses/research questions
- Methodology
- Results (graphs are more interesting than tables or words)
- Conclusions (for example, the implications or applications of your research, limitations, future research directions, a concise summary of your main findings, concluding thoughts)
- References and Acknowledgements (such as grant support, a faculty advisor if he/she is not an author on the presentation, assistance from others who are not listed as authors)
If your scholarship is in a different form (e.g., a film analysis, a presentation of a creative work), the structure will likely be a little different, but in all cases, it should be clear to the audience what the main goals of your research are, why it's important to do this work, and what you found in your research.
Preparation
- First, make sure you know how much time you have; it is common for oral presentations at conferences to exceed the time limit. Prepare a presentation that is a little shorter than the allotted time to allow for questions and other comments.
- Think about your audience: Will they understand technical terms, jargon, and acronyms? Will they be mostly undergraduates or professors in the field? You should tailor your presentation to your expected audience.
- Think carefully about your central message. What do you want the audience to know by the end of your presentation? Most people will only remember a few take-home points from your carefully constructed presentation (if that!). There's no point in getting bogged down in minutia that the audience can't really process anyway.
- The most important parts are the beginning (to draw the audience in) and the ending (to wrap up, to inspire). Put some thought into how to make these parts of your presentation have impact.
- Think about your speaking style; can you speak loudly and clearly? Can you modulate your voice appropriately, or do you tend to sound monotone when you give presentations? Consider working on your public speaking skills if it's needed; consider joining Legacy Owls Toastmasters Club for this purpose and check out Toastmasters International public speaking tips .
Plan for the Unexpected
- Will the conference provide computers or do you bring your own laptop?
- Will there be internet available?
- How reliable is the internet?
- Will there be speakers or a way to use audio (if necessary)?
- Back up your presentation in at least two places (e.g., flash drive, Dropbox, email it to yourself).
- When you prepare a presentation on a Mac and then use a PC (or vice versa), be aware that sometimes things look different.
- Bring a printed copy in case the technology fails, or have a tablet/laptop with you.
- Find the room early, and check out the technology so youâre familiar with it.
What to Avoid
It is usually not required that you use visuals for your presentation, but a PowerPoint or Prezi can often help the audience follow along with your research.
If you use PowerPoint or Prezi:
- Avoid the temptation to put too much text on your slides; the audience can get bored or overwhelmed and might not be able to clearly see all the words if you've used a small font (less than 20-pt is considered "small").
- Avoid font types that are hard to read or look unprofessional.
- Avoid putting words on a busy powerpoint background that makes the words hard to read.
- Avoid using font color that doesn't contrast with the background (in other words, your audience can't read gray text on a black background).
- Avoid tables and graphs that have too much information - you can recreate those tables and graphs with just the most important information instead.
Also, consider your verbal and physical presentation:
- Avoid reading your slides to the audience.
- Avoid reading from prepared notes; the audience will maintain interest better if you can speak extemporaneously directly to them. It's also hard to make eye contact with the audience if you are reading.
- Avoid distracting behaviors or verbal tics (âum,â âlike,â âuhâ).
- Dress appropriately for the occasion.
- Consider your body language (e.g., arms crossed can come across as you not wanting to be there).
Ways to Stand Out
- Embrace a "Presentation Zen" style: simple (not simplistic), clean, and powerful.
- Have interesting, high-resolution images on your slides.
- You could connect your research to recent events (perhaps asking the audience to summarize the recent event).
- You could ask specific questions throughout the presentation.
- You could poll the audience on a topic relevant to your presentation (perhaps even using a free resource such as Socrative or Poll Everywhere ).
- You could insert a powerful quote into your presentation (perhaps at the beginning or end).
- You can show a short video to illustrate something important about your topic.
- The point is not to be gimmicky; the point is to keep your audience interested and engaged (especially when the audience has been listening to oral presentations all day and might be tired). Be aware, though, that different disciplines have different conventions regarding what is and is not appropriate for an oral presentation; be sure to ask your research advisor for advice first.
- Showing enthusiasm for their work
- Being energetic
- Using emphasis on certain words
- Using hand gestures to keep the audience engaged
Handling Audience Questions
- Be sure to leave some time at the end.
- If a questioner is soft-spoken, repeat the question so everyone hears.
- Avoid long, meandering answers.
- Donât make something up if you donât know an answer. Offer to look it up and get back to the person, and be open to someone in the audience knowing the answer.
- Give positive reinforcement to questioners (smiling, nodding, âthatâs a good questionâ).
- If someone is attacking you or otherwise being rude, remember that this usually comes from someone who wants to show off or appear smart in front of everyone The other audience members will recognize the rudeness and be on your side! Stay calm, answer as best you can, and acknowledge it when he/she makes a good point (smiling and nodding can disarm an attacker).
- People will often talk to you right afterwards; try to avoid running out right after your presentation if you can help it.
- Audience members may email for a copy of your presentation or to ask further questions; be sure to follow up with them.
Conclusions
If you have been accepted to present your research at a conference, congratulations! This is a great honor, and you should be proud of this accomplishment. If you would like an individual consultation with someone from the Office of Undergraduate Research about your presentation, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] .
Other online resources to check out include:
- Presentation Tips (Prepare, Design, Deliver)
- 18 Tips for Killer Presentations
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Transforming your onboarding presentation: key strategies for engagement.
Understanding The Importance Of Onboarding Presentations
Assessing current onboarding practices, designing an engaging onboarding presentation, implementing innovative techniques, measuring success and continuous improvement.
Make a memorable first impression on new hires by making your onboarding presentation exciting instead of dull. A corporate summary, core values, and expectations should all be included in the onboarding presentation to ensure that it is as effective as possible.
Statistics about your company's growth and performance can be powerful communication tools. Integrating these data points lends credibility to your presentation and illustrates just how great your company is. Icebreaker activities and interactive elements further enhance engagement, making the onboarding experience exceptional , educational, and enjoyable.
An effective onboarding presentation is crucial for making powerful first impressions, setting the stage for active engagement, and aligning new hires with the company's core values and objectives.
The Significance Of First Impressions
The new hire's initial perception of your company's work culture, values, and expectations will be shaped by your onboarding presentation. When you provide an engaging and well-organized presentation, you exude professionalism and a friendly vibe.
An effective onboarding presentation may ease new hires' anxieties and create a healthy work environment from the very beginning.
Setting The Tone For Employee Engagement
For new hires to feel more connected to the firm, it is important to make sure they fully grasp the mission, values, and code of conduct.
A presentation that helps people understand their jobs within the organization includes a summary of the organization and detailed descriptions of each department.
Highlighting opportunities for growth and development encourages new hires to fully commit to their roles and contributes to higher productivity and job satisfaction.
Aligning With Company Values And Objectives
Recruits must align with the objectives and core values of your business to perform consistently and behave ethically. An employee onboarding presentation should emphasize the organization's core principles, work culture, and policies and procedures.
It is important to go over the company's mission, ethical standards, and diversity programs with new hires to make sure everyone knows what the group is aiming for. By guaranteeing that workers behave in a manner that reflects the company's beliefs and goals, this alignment not only fosters unity but also increases the organization's overall integrity.
Photo by Nappy on Pexels
To ensure your onboarding presentation evolves from mundane to memorable, evaluating your current practices is essential. Focus on pinpointing common pitfalls, gathering valuable feedback from new hires, and analyzing metrics like retention rates and satisfaction surveys.
Identifying Common Onboarding Pitfalls
Many onboarding programs can feel too broad or overly detailed. New hires often experience information overload in their first week, which can be overwhelming. Ensure your new hire presentation remains clear, focused, and engaging to avoid this issue.
Another pitfall can be the lack of a centralized learning hub, which is crucial for smooth onboarding. Remote employees especially need easy access to training materials and company information. Assess the comprehensiveness of the orientation process and whether it meets the specific needs of different departments.
Gathering Feedback From New Hires
Both during and after the onboarding process, issues that need improvement can be found through formal and informal questionnaires.
Encourage new hires to share their experiences during the first week and ask questions about clarity, engagement, and support. This feedback can help refine your onboarding presentation and processes. Creating an open line of communication helps new hires feel valued and listened to, which can foster a positive company culture.
Analyze Retention Rates And Employee Satisfaction
One common indicator of more serious problems is a high turnover rate with the onboarding process in the first year. Check if the onboarding initiatives match the job requirements established at the time of recruiting.
Check whether satisfaction surveys highlight recurring themes about the onboarding experience. Look specifically at the satisfaction levels of remote employees compared to on-site staff to identify if specific improvements are needed for different groups.
Use this data to guide your adjustments. Implementing changes based on this analysis can significantly enhance the onboarding experience.
Drive Engagement with Great Onboarding Experiences for New Hires
To create an engaging onboarding presentation, consider crafting a compelling narrative, using visual aids effectively, and incorporating interactive elements. These steps will help your new hires feel welcome and informed , fostering integration into your company culture and mission.
Crafting A Compelling Narrative
Use storytelling to illustrate the organizational structure and team dynamics. Consider creating a roadmap that includes future goals and projects. This not only educates new hires but also inspires them to envision their growth within the company.
Use real-life examples to make abstract policies relatable. Highlight a typical day or share success stories of current employees. This approach will ensure trainees understand policies and guidelines in a meaningful context.
Using Visual Aids Effectively
Infographics, instructional videos, and graphs are examples of visual aids that improve comprehension and memory. To arrange your content rationally, start with a PowerPoint presentation or other comparable software. Focus on the important themes and bolster them with images to avoid clutter.
Include branding compone nts like the company's logos and colors. This gives new hires a seamless experience while also reiterating your brand identity. To help them acclimatize to their new surroundings, use maps to give them a visual tour of the workplace.
Incorporating Interactive Elements For Engagement
Stimulate involvement through Q&A sessions or conversational group sessions. To get input in real-time, use digital tools such as live polls and questionnaires.
Incorporate interactive training modules that require active participation. This can include simulations or role-playing scenarios that mirror real job tasks. Interactive infographics and clickable maps can make navigating company policies and guidelines more engaging.
Enhancing your onboarding presentation can significantly improve employee engagement and retention.
Gamifying The Onboarding Process
Using gamification techniques in your onboarding presentation can transform mundane tasks into interactive and enjoyable experiences. For instance, quizzes on the companyâs dress code and hierarchy can enhance their knowledge while making learning fun.
Icebreaker activities and team-building games promote early bonding among new hires and their colleagues. Utilizing trackable QR codes, easily scanned with a QR code scanner provides instant access to resources, making the onboarding experience seamless and engaging.
Personalizing The Presentation For Different Job Roles
Highlight information pertinent to specific roles, such as department-specific resources and professional responsibilities. Market the company culture, including the team collaboration program and the internal chain of command to help new hires slot into their roles confidently.
Include personalized sections that detail role-specific expectations and employee benefits, ensuring each team member understands their compensation and how they fit into the company hierarchy. This personalized approach can greatly improve the transitioning phase for new hires.
Integrating Technology For Seamless Onboarding Experience
Leveraging modern technology improves the onboarding experience by providing a more interactive and engaging platform. Using software for virtual onboarding sessions can help remote hires feel connected. Creating a central learning hub where new hires can access resources and collaborate with team members can significantly speed up their integration.
Making use of a QR code generator facilitates self-paced learning, minimizes confusion, and improves access to onboarding resources. Including interactive components like online tests and instant feedback gives new hires a better understanding of their responsibilities and what the organization expects of them.
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels
To transform your onboarding presentation from mundane to memorable, measuring success through key metrics, regular feedback, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement is crucial.
Tracking Key Metrics For Onboarding Success
Key metrics to consider include time-to-productivity, which measures the speed at which a new hire becomes productive.
Monitoring employee retention rates helps you understand if new hires are sticking around, while employee satisfaction surveys provide insights into their experience.
Organizations can also use an employee scorecard to track individual performance, identifying areas for improvement.
Conducting Regular Feedback Surveys
Regularly conducted surveys, focusing on job satisfaction and employee well-being , provide valuable data. These surveys should be specific, asking about different stages of onboarding and the support provided.
Feedback should be logged and analyzed for trends. For instance, collected data's SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) can spotlight areas requiring attention. This continuous feedback loop improves engagement and supports the organization in introducing necessary adjustments for better onboarding experiences.
Creating A Culture Of Continuous Learning And Improvement
Increasing the number of new personnel who actively participate in ongoing training sessions and development programs boosts output and effectiveness. Engagement and relevancy are guaranteed by routinely updating training materials in response to employee input.
Furthermore, encouraging an atmosphere that values open communication and regular feedback encourages development and growth, which raises staff retention and customer satisfaction levels.
You can significantly boost employee retention and satisfaction with some swift changes to your onboarding presentation. Make a boring procedure exciting and memorable by emphasizing engaging tactics and continuous improvement initiatives.
About Author:
This article is written by a marketing team member at HR Cloud. HR Cloud is a leading provider of proven HR solutions, including recruiting, onboarding, employee communications & engagement, and rewards & recognition. Our user-friendly software increases employee productivity, delivers time and cost savings, and minimizes compliance risk.
Frequently Asked Questions
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The 10 best fonts for presentations
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Even if you know your subject, giving a presentation in front of a bunch of strangers can often be nerve-wracking. So it helps to have a series of eye-catching slides to keep you on track and engage your audience. And key to that is picking the best fonts for presentations, which need to tick a number of boxes (you can't just pick any old free font available).
We've found a selection of fonts great for presentations. Most of these are standard system fonts in PowerPoint and many are included in the Windows or Mac operating systems, which means they're licenced for your own personal use. However, if you want to use them as web fonts on a website, or in client work, you will need to license them, so we've included download links too.
What makes a good presentation font?
First, they need to be clear and legible, even at a distance. Secondly, they need to be attractive and eye-catching. Thirdly, they need to convey a polished and appropriate tone for the context of your presentation. And fourthly, they should be widely available, or at least easy to embed, to avoid formatting issues.
In short, whether you're crafting a business pitch, an academic lecture, or a creative showcase, choosing the best font for presentations can make all the difference. In this article, we'll explore 10 great options.
01. Helvetica
System font in Powerpoint?: Yes
Preinstalled on Windows? No
Preinstalled on macOS: Yes
Download Helvetica from MyFonts
Helvetica might not be the most exciting choice of fonts. But this classic sans-serif, which is named after the Latin word for âSwitzerland', is nothing if not reliable. Its clean, neutral and versatile nature means conveys an instant sense of professionalism, without drawing unnecessary attention to itself. And that makes it an excellent choice for presentations of all kinds
There's a reason why Helvetica remains hugely popular, 67 years on from its creation: its letterforms are well balanced are balanced between top and bottom, making them highly legible, even at smaller sizes or when projected. Moreover, its wide range of weights and styles allows for flexibility in creating visual hierarchies within your slides.
So whether you're presenting financial data, marketing strategies, or creative concepts, Helvetica will help you share your words in a way that your audience will find easy to read. And isn't that the most important thing?
In short, if you're looking for a modern, straightforward, and universally appealing typeface for your presentations, Helvetica is a worthy contender.
System font in Powerpoint?: No
Preinstalled on macOS: No
Download Futura from MyFonts
Want to give a bold, dynamic edge to your presentation? Then the geometric sans-serif Futura is a good choice. Its clean lines and perfect circles are based on simple shapes, giving it a distinctive and memorable appearance, and strong visual impact. This makes it an especially good option for headlines and key points you want to emphasise.
At the same time, Futura's clarity and legibility at various sizes will ensure that your message comes across effectively, whether you're presenting on a large projector screen or remotely through your audience's laptops.
In short, when you want to convey themes such as disruption, transformation and a contemporary outlook, in fields such as technology, architecture and design, Futura can help your presentation stand out, while still being very legible and accessible.
03. Garamond
Download Garamond from MyFonts
Does your presentation call for a touch of elegance and tradition? Then you'll probably want to go for a serif, and Garamond is an excellent option.
With its roots in 16th-century typography, this font will instantly give a sense of sophistication and timelessness to your slides. At the same time, this iconic typeface remains highly legible, especially in its more recent digital adaptations. Its refined serifs and varied stroke weights create a pleasant rhythm that's easy on the eyes, making it work for both headlines and body text.
For these reasons, Garamond will work particularly well for academic talks, presentations on literary topics, or any content that benefits from a more formal tone. In other words, if you want to convey authority and knowledge while maintaining readability, it's a great option.
04. Montserrat
Download Montserrat from Google Fonts
Is your presentation topic one that's innovative, pioneering, or even game-changing? Then you'll want a font to match, and Montserrat could fit the bill.
Inspired by old posters and signs in Buenos Aires, this eye-catching geometric sans-serif offers a combination of clean, modern letterforms and varied weights. Its crisp edges and open counters contribute to excellent legibility, while its geometric roots give it a contemporary feel. This makes it a great choice for presentations in creative industries, startups, or any other context where a fresh, dynamic tone is required.
Montserrat boasts an extensive family, including various weights and styles, allowing for a creative to typography hierarchies within your slides. So if you want your presentation to feel current and energetic while maintaining clarity and professionalism, it's well worth giving a try.
05. Palatino
Download Palatino from MyFonts
If you're aiming for a balance between reassuring tradition and exciting forward-thinking in your presentation, you'll be looking for a font that sits somewhere between traditional and modern design. In which case we recommend Palatino.
This versatile book serif combines the readability of classic Roman typefaces with subtle calligraphic touches. And that makes it well positioned for presentations that require a professional, scholarly tone without appearing overly formal.
Palatino's defined letterforms ensure clarity even at smaller sizes, making it suitable for both headlines and body copy. It works well on screens, and maintains its elegance and readability when projected. And all this makes it a worthy option for presentations in fields like law, academia or the arts.
06. Calibri
Preinstalled on Windows? Yes
Download Calibri from MyFonts
One of the biggest stresses surrounding presentations is the idea that things will go wrong technically, especially if you're using unfamiliar equipment. So if safety is your priority then good news: Calibri isn't just the default font for Microsoft PowerPoint, it's an excellent design choice as well.
This sans-serif has a warm, soft and friendly tone without sacrificing professionalism and legibility, thanks to its slightly rounded edges and open letterforms. It's also a font that adapts easily to different themes and colour schemes. And this means it work well in both corporate and creative presentations.
Perhaps most significantly, Calibri's widespread availability across systems means you're less likely to encounter formatting issues when sharing your presentation. So if you're seeking a safe, versatile and universally compatible font that still looks current, Calibri is the one we'd recommend.
Download Roboto from Google Fonts
Do you value legibility above all else? Then you can't go wrong with Roboto. Developed by Google, Roboto, this neo-grotesque sans-serif is perfect for designing clear, legible text on screens that need to be readable from a distance, or at small sizes.
Roboto was developed by Google as the system font for Android, and its modern, professional appearance makes it suitable for a wide range of topics and industries. Moreover, its extensive family includes condensed and slab serif versions, which gives you a lot of flexibility in creating visual hierarchies and emphasis within your slides.
In short, Roboto is an excellent choice for presentations that need to look contemporary and function flawlessly.
Download Avenir from MyFonts
If you want to appear warm and friendly, but also cutting-edge, Avenir (meaning "future" in French) is a good font to consider. This geometric sans-serif is similar to Monserrat in that it combines modernist style with humanist touches, and its superb legibility across various sizes makes it versatile for both headlines and body copy.
As such, Avenir would works particularly well for presentations in fields such as technology, healthcare or education. When you want your slides to appear contemporary and polished, yet accessible and inviting, Avenir does a good job of squaring that particular circle.
09. Baskerville
Download Baskerville from FontSquirrel
Here's another great choice for excluding elegance and authority. Baskerville is a transitional serif typeface with refined forms and high contrast between thick and thin strokes. This all adds up to a dignified, sophisticated appearance, making it a good choice for conveying trustworthiness and expertise.
Baskerville clear, open letterforms ensure good readability on screens, particularly for longer text passages, and this font would works exceptionally well for academic or literary presentations, along with businesses looking to project a sense of heritage and quality.
In other words, if you want your audience to perceive your content as thoughtful, well-researched, and credible, Baskerville can help set the right tone.
10. Georgia
Download Georgia from MyFonts
Will your talk be viewed remotely? Then try Georgia; a serif designed specifically for on-screen readability, making it great for digital presentations. Its larger x-height and open letterforms ensure clarity even at smaller sizes, covering you if your slides are being viewed on a smaller laptop or tablet.
These letterforms are sturdy enough to render well on various screen resolutions while still providing the traditional, trustworthy feel associated with serif fonts. This makes Georgia when you require a more formal tone while remaining highly legible on a variety of screens. For talks in fields such as journalism, publishing or any other content-heavy topic, it's a good balance between classic style and readability.
Need more fonts for work? See our pick of the best professional fonts .
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Speaker 1: This episode contains abbreviated language with dubious meaning. It's for instructional purposes only. Don't repeat at work. Today I want to share with you three tips that help me make more effective PowerPoint slides and deliver better presentations. So if you go to a lot of internal company meetings and you need to present at some of them, so either to your team or your management, or you're a consultant that needs to pitch a product or service to another company, these tips can help you. They actually stem from my own mistakes, and these are the tips that I personally use to improve my presentations. Number one, simplicity is not the enemy of detail. In fact, as stated by Da Vinci, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Slides are there to help deliver your message. They aren't there for you to remember your text. They're for your audience, not for you. This was a big problem area for me when I created slides. When I went to a meeting, I took with me one thing, my slides. They were my cue points. They were also my handouts. It was like a three-in-one deal, except that it was only a good deal for me, but not for my audience. I used to add one bullet point after another because I didn't want to forget something. What happened was I ended up with crowded, intimidating slides, slides that no one could or wanted to read. Not only were they distracting, because who can read and listen at the same time, but I started to lose people's attention. They started to think about their dinner and fitness plans, something you probably don't want to encourage while you're presenting. One complicated slide takes the same amount of time to present as three simple slides. It's a question of pacing your communication. It's about giving them the right amount of information in the order they need to understand it. The difference is the complicated slide confuses and distracts the viewers, whereas with the simple ones, they're likely to stay on and get your message. Now, when I attend an important meeting, I take with me three things. I have my cue cards, which help me remember my points. I have my slides, which help my audience remember the most important points, and I have the detailed handouts that help them get more detail if they want. If you're not sure whether your slides are simple enough or not, here's a test you can do. If you gave your PowerPoint to your neighbor and you asked them, go to the meeting and press next, next, next on the slides, will it make sense to your audience? If yes, that's not a PowerPoint presentation. Those are your handouts. Your slides shouldn't make sense without you. Number two, the use of acronyms. Do they help or hurt? If you're in a finance meeting and you say, let's take a look at the BS you've been working on, probably people will understand you mean balance sheet and you're not trying to be offensive, but it's not always clear. When I was working in a team on an Oracle project, setting up a group finance consolidation system, we had to create the backbone structure, which is called the metadata of the system. Now, one task was to set up different hierarchies for our company structure, and all of them had code names like no spaces, short words, sometimes numbers. One request we got was to set up separate structures for our European and American companies. The code to use was ANAL Europe, ANAL America, ANL standing for analysis. So some words just shouldn't be shorted. You can either entirely replace them or use the full word. So going back to your use of acronyms in a meeting, you want to make sure that you don't unintentionally offend someone and you don't exclude anyone because they don't understand what it means. So make sure you emphasize what these are in the handouts and also on the slide if you're using them in there. Number three, branding. Are you getting excessive with your branding? The companies I worked for always had their logo on every single slide. When I started to work on my own, that's what I did. I put my logo on every single slide prominently featured on top. I believe that was the professional thing to do. But when I started to make simpler slides, that logo was so distracting. It looked bigger than ever. Before I didn't even notice it so much because the slide was so full. But when it started to get empty, I started to question the placement of any image or object on that slide. And I asked, does it bring any added value? Well, it didn't. It was distracting. I don't need my logo on every single page. It's enough to put it in the first and the last pages. And if you're concerned about piracy, you can use a light watermark in the footer and make it small. That's what I do now. Think about the slides you use for your internal meetings. Do you have the logo on every single slide? Does it bring any added value? So these were my three tips that helped me make better PowerPoint slides and more effective presentations. I hope you found them helpful. I'm curious to hear what you think. Also, what do you most struggle with when you make PowerPoint presentations? Let me know in the comments below. Thank you for watching. See you in the next video.
Elton John praises Trump's 'hilarious' nickname for Kim Jong Un: 'Good on you, Donald'
by JACKSON WALKER | The National Desk
WASHINGTON (TND) â Legendary singer Elton John on Sunday told Variety former President Donald Trumpâs previous use of his popular song âRocket Manâ was âhilarious.â
Trump during his presidency referred to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as "Rocket Man." The leader at the time was amassing and testing an arsenal of missiles.
Trump used the barb frequently, even while addressing the U.N.
âRocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime,â he said in 2017 before the UN General Assembly. âThe United States is ready, willing and able [to respond], but hopefully this will not be necessary.â
John explained Monday he was amused by the use of âRocket Man.â
I laughed, I thought it was brilliant,â he said. âI just thought âgood on you, Donald, Iâm the Rocket Man.ââ
âDonaldâs always been a fan of mine, and heâs been to my concerts many, many times,â John continued. âIâve always been friendly toward him, and I thank him for his support. Yeah, when he did that, I just thought it was hilarious.â
President Joe Biden in 2022 awarded John the National Humanities Medal after hosting him for a performance at the White House.
âSeamus Heaney once wrote, and I quote, âOnce in a lifetime, the longed-for tidal wave of justice can rise up, and hope and history rhyme,'" Biden said at the time. "Throughout his incredible career, Sir Elton John has been that tidal wave, a tidal wave to help people rise up and make hope and history rhyme.â
Trump had asked John to perform at his 2017 inauguration, but the singer declined, saying he didnât think it was appropriate given his British roots.
Follow Jackson Walker on X at @_jlwalker_ for the latest trending national news. Have a news tip? Send it to [email protected].
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How To Make a Good Presentation [A Complete Guide]
How to Make a "Good" Presentation "Great"
What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation
How to Give a Good Presentation: 10 Tips
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An effective presentation can communicate key ideas and opinions, save time, and contribute to your overall success as a business, but good presentation skills don't come naturally to everyone. In this blog post, you'll find 14 effective presentation tips you can implement in your next presentation to make it a success.
How to Give a Killer Presentation
How to make a great presentation
Pro tip: Choose a quiet place to memorize your speech so you can concentrate. If you're rehearsing in front of others (friends, family, colleagues, etc.), ask for honest feedback. You'll know where to improve. You can also time your presentation so you'll know how long it'll take you to deliver it. 13.
Top Tips for Effective Presentations | SkillsYouNeed
Section 1, Pause, Section 2, Pause, Repeat. Rehearse what you're planning to say during your presentation by using a written outline, index cards, printed out versions of your presentation slides or whatever works for you. Practicing the spoken part of your Visme presentation is easy when you use the presentation notes feature.
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Presentation Example #22: Photography. Another great way to include visuals in your presentation is using photography. There are many different ways to include images in your presentation, but this Adidas presentation example does a great job of using them as background images.
Get your main point into the presentation as early as possible (this avoids any risk of audience fatigue or attention span waning), then substantiate your point with facts, figures etc and then reiterate your point at the end in a 'Summary'. 2. Practice Makes Perfect. Also, don't forget to practice your presentation.
Good presentation skills include designing slides and other visuals that are clear, appealing, and support your message. Key Skill: Creating slides that highlight key points without overwhelming your audience. How to Develop it: Use tools like Canva or PowerPoint to design clean, minimalist slides. Stick to key visuals and avoid cluttering your ...
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6. Use a Solitary Quote - How to Start off a Presentation Speech. Like a fact, a single quote might be the best way to start a presentation as it can add a vast deal of credibility to your point. Unlike a fact, however, it's the source of the quote that often carries a lot of the gravitas.
Building other related skills such as communication, public speaking and logical thinking skills are great ways to become a better presenter. Here are 10 simple ways to become a great presenter: 1. Know your topic well. It's important to be knowledgeable about your presentation topic so you will come across as confident.
Complimenting Presentation Skills. Tips for Appreciating a Presentation. #1 Be Genuine in Your Appreciation. #2 Be Specific in Your Compliments. #3 Employ Encouraging Body Language. #4 Post-Presentation Follow-Up. #5 Constructive Feedback. Sample Conversation: Appreciating a Presentation in English. In Conclusion.
Summary. Great presentations are all about how well you engage your audience. Here are three ways to do that: Be balanced: Strike the right balance between structure and improvisation during your ...
Your notes on screen should be visual signposts to help clarify the overall message. Including your entire speech on slides will only overwhelm and distract the audience. Also, remember you are a visual for the audience and bad body language can make a presentation change from powerful to pitiful. Make eye contact, smile and stand up straight.
If your scholarship is in a different form (e.g., a film analysis, a presentation of a creative work), the structure will likely be a little different, but in all cases, it should be clear to the audience what the main goals of your research are, why it's important to do this work, and what you found in your research.
Enhancing your onboarding presentation can significantly improve employee engagement and retention. Gamifying The Onboarding Process. Using gamification techniques in your onboarding presentation can transform mundane tasks into interactive and enjoyable experiences. For instance, quizzes on the company's dress code and hierarchy can enhance ...
Baskerville clear, open letterforms ensure good readability on screens, particularly for longer text passages, and this font would works exceptionally well for academic or literary presentations ...
Speaker 1: This episode contains abbreviated language with dubious meaning. It's for instructional purposes only. Don't repeat at work. Today I want to share with you three tips that help me make more effective PowerPoint slides and deliver better presentations.
Elton John performs during his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022, in New Orleans (AP Photo/Derick Hingle, File) and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, and then-U.S. President Donald Trump prepare to shake hands at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone, South Korea on June 30, 2019 (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
Editor's Note: CNN's 5 Things newsletter is your one-stop shop for the latest headlines and fascinating stories to start and end your busy day. Sign up here. đ Welcome to 5 Things PM ...