presentation activities for college students

50 Creative Ideas to Nail Your College Presentation

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

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

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

Creative presentation ideas for college students

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

Pick the right topic

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

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

College presentation ideas

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

Make it beautiful

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

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

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

Jordan Turner

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

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35 Fun Activities for College Students (interactive, team building, games) 

As a recent graduate, I know first hand how hard it can be to get a classroom of college students engaged in an activity. In my time in college, I’ve had my fair share of fun activities, but also activities that did not go over well in a college classroom.

Getting a classroom full of college students to participate in an activity can be a real challenge. Fortunately, there are some activities that students find fun and will engage in.

In this post, I share 35 fun activities for college students, that will actually get them participating. These interactive classroom activities involve games, team building exercises and interactive assignments.

35 Fun Activities for College Students

1. shark tank.

Shark Tank is a great interactive team building game for college students. This is a great way for students to show off their leadership skills, presentation skills and creativity.

Similar to the Shark Tank TV show, students in small groups will come up with a product, a pitch and a presentation. This activity can span across one class or multiple classes, depending on how much time and effort you want students to put into this assignment.

To make this activity extra fun, select a panel of students to be the “Sharks”. Their objective will be to bring up questions, find the flaws in the product and give credit, where credit is due.

Even though the Shark Tank game seems like it might apply best to business and marketing classes, this activity can be played by any group of students for and adapted for any subject.

When I was in college, this was one of the best activities that left a positive impact on me. It’s a really fun way to get the class interested and engaged in an activity.

Kahoot! is a trivia game that is great for new students. Most high school students and new students are probably already familiar with this game, and it’s super easy to set up.

Before you play this game in class, you will first need to enter the trivia questions on the Kahoot website. Once this is done, you can set up the game by logging into your account.

When you are ready, you will be given a code which students should type into their phone to join the game. Divide the students into teams. Team members will have to answer the multiple choice questions gameshow style.

This activity is loads of fun and a good way to get the class involved. Kahoot does not take much time to set up or play, and it’s a great way to test students on course material.

3. Scavenger Hunt

A scavenger hunt around campus was one of the first activities I did as a new student. This was a great ice breaker which allowed me to make new friends, get used to campus and have fun.

For this activity, you will need to come up with some sights around campus that students can visit. Once this is done, divide the students into groups and they will have to go on a scavenger hunt!

Students can take pictures of the sights and the winning time can get a prize. Scavenger hunts are always a fun group activity and a friendly competition that students will love.

Related: 75 Side Hustles For College Students & Ways To Make Money

4. Elevator Pitch

The elevator pitch is an activity that I did when I was in college and I didnt realize how valuable it would be later on in life. For this activity, students have to come up with a 30 second pitch about themselves.

They can talk about their interests, hobbies , job, career, what they are studying etc.

This activity will even come in handy after a student is done their college years. As someone who graduated recently, I find myself giving the elevator pitch constantly when I meet new people.

Related: 12 Best Backpacks For College Guys

5. Two Truths and a Lie

Two truths and a Lie is a class game and a great ice breaker. This is a great activity for students to get familiar with new people and learns some little things about their classmates.

This is a very easy game to organize, students will be separated into small groups. The students will the have to tell their group members two truths and a lie. Their classmates will have to try and guess the lie.

6. Question of The Day

Question of the day is a fun activity for students to express themselves. At the beginning of class you should ask your students a question. Then ask them to write a paragraph answering the question.

This is a good creative outlet and a great way for students to practice critical thinking. This activity can be done a few times during the school year or regularly throughout the semester.

Here are some examples of questions you can ask your class:

• What is the biggest struggle that young people are currently facing?
• Where will technology be in 10 years?
• Would remote learning improve your academic experience? why or why not.
• If you could go back to middle school, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
• Should men and women be allowed to live in dorm rooms together? why or why not.

A potluck is a fun activity that students will absolutely love. Speaking as a former student, I can guarantee that I’m not skipping class if I know there will be food!

There are so many different ways of doing this activity. Students can make food using local produce, students can make a food from their culture or students can make their best recipe.

This is a super fun way to celebrate the end of the semester and a great activity that students will love.

Doing a debate is a great way to get students to fully immerse and inform themselves on a topic. The great thing about doing a debate is that students will get educated on both sides of the matter at hand.

Doing a debate was one of the more memorable and fun classroom activities I did during my time in college. Having an in-class debate will boost student involvement, because no student wants to look uninformed in front of the class.

Start by dividing the class into a few different groups. Then, assign each group a topic and give them some time to prepare. Regardless of the outcome, a debate will have a positive impact on your students.

9. Local Tour

This activity is great for freshman. Giving a local tour is a great way to show the students around campus and even the college town. For many students, college can be an overwhelming experience. Therefore, giving them a local tour will make them feel more comfortable.

Consider showing them where the gyms are, the dining hall, where they can sign up for clubs and where they can meet with faculty members. These are some essential places that every college student should know.

10. Cup Pong

Now, we all know that beer pong is part of the college experience, but who says it can’t be educational? This game is super easy to set up and it will get the whole class participating, excited and having fun.

To set this game up, all you will need is 12 red solo cups, a bit of water and some questions to ask your students.

Begin by separating the class into two teams.

Each team will have the chance to answer a question. If they get it right, they get to take a shot. If they get it wrong, the other team gets the chance to answer. The game goes on until there are no cups left!

Playing cup pong may seem like an unconventional way of teaching, but it will get the class involved and the students will have a blast.

11. Case Studies

As someone who studied business in college, I did my fair share of case studies. A case study is an amazing way to learn about the ins and outs of a specific business and industry.

The cases assigned to students can be adapted based on the subject matter being taught in the course. This is one of the teaching methods that prepared me the most for the real world.

Case studies can be done individually or in larger groups. If you expect a lot out of your students, giving a divided assignment and a lot of time for them to complete it, will ensure that they learn a lot and do a good job.

12. Guest Speakers

Having the class attend a guess speaker lecture is a good way to give your students a break from regular student life. Sometimes, having a laid back class where they get to hear a guest speaker is a nice change.

Having your students attend a live event, like a guest speaker, will get them out of their dorm rooms and attending the event.

13. Video Presentation

Video presentations are a really fun activity for students to express their creativity. It’s super easy for a group of students to create video presentations using social media apps like TikTok or Instagram.

You can have students create an advertisement, skit or educational video on a specific topic. When I was in college, these were my favorite kind of group activities. It was so much fun seeing what other students would create.

14. Hangman

Now, we all know the classic game Hangman. However, it’s a great ice breaker for new students. When freshman first arrive to college, they are super nervous. S o playing a game of hangman can put them at ease.

To make things interesting, give a small prize to the first student who guesses the answer.

15. Word Limit Answers

Word limit answers are is a creative way for students to express themselves. This may sound like a lazy student’s dream, but it’s actually more challenging than you might think.

Having your students answer a question with a limited word limit is pretty hard. Students will have fun with this activity and they will have to get creative when answering the question.

16. Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down

Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down is an ice breaker that every student is going to be familiar with. This is a game that students in elementary school, middle school and high school have all played before.

A few students come up to the front of the class, while the rest put their heads down on the desk, with their thumbs up. Each of the students standing at the front must choose one person at a desk, and put their thumb down.

The students who had their thumbs put down then have to guess who did it. This is a great way to have new students feel at ease in college.

17. Interview Role Play

Interview role play is an awesome activity for current students who are nearing the end of their time in college. Have your students pair up in groups, give them a scenario and have them interview each other.

This is a great activity, as you will have some students in leadership rolls doing the interview. Those students who are being interviewed are going to get valuable experience as well.

18. Attend an Upcoming Event

On college campus, there is always some sort of interesting upcoming event that is happening. Invite your students to a great event on that’s happening campus and they will have loads of fun.

Here are some educational, fun and special event ideas:

• Live concert
• Cultural events
• Sporting events
• Guest speaker

19. Breakout Rooms

Breakout rooms were a very popular method of getting students to interact when online classes were happening. It encouraged students to have group discussions, get to know each other and help one another get better grades.

Breakout rooms can be done in person and also online. Many students really liked doing school remotely, so having an online breakout room class once in a while is fun change.

20. Therapy Dogs

There are plenty of programs that will bring therapy dogs to schools. You may need to have this run by the office of student activities, but it’s a really good one.

Therapy dogs are great for mental health. Plus, what student doesn’t want to spend some time with adorable dogs?

College can be hard on students and get stressful . A recent study suggests that dogs lower stress , so why not bring animals in for your class and even the whole student body?

21. Building Card Towers

Building card towers is a super activity that encourages classmates to work together to achieve the common goal of building a card tower.

To run this activity, you will need to separate the class into groups, give each group a deck of cards and let them figure it out. This is one of the most fun ice breakers and a great way for students to make new friendships.

22. Mystery Puzzle

A mystery puzzle is another fantastic ice breaker that gets students working together. This one takes a bit of creativity, but if done properly, students will really enjoy it.

Begin by creating a few scenarios that cover a various different themes. When the mystery is created, separate the classroom into groups and have them solve it!

23. Favourite Song Project

Every student listens to music on their free time. What better way to get them engaged in an activity than to ask them to write about their favorite songs?

This is a really easy activity to organize. Just ask your students to write a bit about their favorite song, or songs, and why they like it so much.

24. Photo Challenge

The photo challenge is a great ice breaker for new students. This is a nice way for freshman to get familiar with the college campuses and get see what similar interests they have with their classmates.

For this activity, students will have to either take a cool, fun or interesting photo around campus and present it to the class. The more effort and creativity that goes into this challenge, the more fun it will be.

Related: How to Make Money as a College Student

25. Classroom Charades

Everyone knows how to play charades. Charades is a great game to get students out of their comfort zone and to create an environment in class where students feel comfortable.

For some students, they may feel shy or absolutely dread the idea of going up and doing charades in front of the whole class. It’s important that everyone has fun and feels comfortable doing this activity.

26. Bus Trip

In college, activities are often done indoors, but what about the outdoor activities? Taking a bus trip to a local museum or a local landmark is a great way to get students out of the classroom.

It’s a fun way to get to know your students outside of class and one of my most memorable trips I ever did in college, was an overnight camping trip. I got to know my teacher really well on the drive down and made some awesome memories.

27. Board Games

Nowadays, it can be hard to get a Gen Zer to name 5 different board games. For many college students, playing board games is a really fun experience.

There are some cool board games that can be played in the classroom and it’s a real change from phone games or video games. Having a class where you play some board games will a great activity for the whole class!

Board Game Recommendations:

• Snakes and Ladders
• Connect Four
• The Game of Life

28. Community Service Activity

If you’re looking to show school spirit while making a positive impact on campus, consider organizing a community service day. This is a great opportunity for students to bond with each other while making a positive impact on the community.

Invite students to volunteer at local organizations. Whether at an animal shelter, a nursing home, or a hospital.

If planning a field trip is not an option, you can always do something on campus. Organizing a trash cleanup is a good way to get the students outside and do something positive for the community.

29. Adult Coloring Books

If you’re looking for an activity that college students absolutely love, then check out Adult Coloring Books! This activity is relaxing engaging, making students feel young again.

Throughout my time in college, I had one teacher plan this activity during exam time. She gave the class the option of studying or doing adult coloring, and most students decided to color.

Coloring was an excellent way to wake our minds off of exams, and it was quite therapeutic.

30. Use YouTube For Classroom Activities

YouTube is a great tool for classroom activities. On YouTube, there are plenty of useful resources that can lead to some fantastic class discussions. Throughout my time in college, the professors would use TED Talks to inspire us and to get the class talking.

There are plenty of YouTube videos that encourage students to think outside of the box. Oftentimes, these videos can be very impactful, and they will resonate with them.

31. Collaborative Concept Mapping

Splitting the students into small parties and having them develop a concept map is a great activity that encourages teamwork, critical thinking, and group discussion. Since a concept map requires students to work together, this is a great activity for students to break the ice.

Start by giving the student a blank sheet of paper and giving them a concept. After 10-15 minutes, most groups should be done and ready to share their ideas with the class.

You can end this activity by having the students present their concept map to the class.

32. Crazy Hair Day

When it comes to campus events that get student engagement, Crazy Hair Day always works!

Planning a day where students can come to school with crazy hair is one of the best college event ideas. This activity is great because any student can get involved, it’s easy to plan.

A good way to encourage students to come to school with crazy hair is by making it a competition. Around lunchtime, host an event where students can vote on who has the craziest hair!

This is a great activity for Spirit Week, and it is a fun way to get your fellow students excited about an event.

33. The One-Minute Paper

If you’re looking for a fun activity for college students, consider trying the One-Minute Paper. This fun activity encourages students to think independently and develop their writing skills.

For this activity, you will begin by giving the students a prompt. The students will have one minute to write about the prompt, and then they can either read it to the class or submit it to the teacher.

This is an activity that I did several times throughout college, and I always found it a fun way to build writing skills.

34. Moral Dilemmas

Moral Dilemma is an interactive activity encouraging students to converse and voice their opinions.

For this activity, you create a few groups of students and provide them with an ethical dilemma. Students will then have to think outside the box and come up with a creative solution.

When students are coming up with a solution, they may share their personal experiences, which can lead to some heated discussions. It’s important to monitor the conversations and make sure students are pushing the conversations forward instead of arguing.

35. Movie Day

If you’re looking for an activity that every student loves, planning a movie day is a great idea. These movies can be classics, educational, or relevant to a theme you are trying to cover.

As students, we appreciate a fun activity that doesn’t involve “traditional” school work. Even if it’s a movie that leads to an assignment, college students will appreciate it.

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Final Thoughts on 35 Fun Activities For College Students

Getting a classroom full of college students to participate in an activity can be a real challenge. On the bright side, there are plenty of activities that are tons of fun for college students.

As a recent college graduate myself, I can say that all these activities mentioned above are really fun and a great way for students to get to know their classmates and teacher better.

What’s your favorite activity for college students? Please let me know in the comments below.

Ethan Schattauer

3 thoughts on “ 35 Fun Activities for College Students (interactive, team building, games)  ”

“I can guarantee that I’m not skipping class if I know there will be food!”…..haaa, truth though….total truth! 😁✌🏼

Crazy Hair Day – oh my gosh, I literally LOL’d when I saw that one! 😂💯

If I were one of the college students, I think my favorite activities would be Kahoot! (love that name), Two Truths and a Lie, the potluck, a bus trip, and definitely those coloring books – crayons, coloring, and drawing are the best!

Mr. Ethan – would love to see a post under lifestyle/miscellaneous where you give your own personal recommendations of some good books to read that are authored by Gen Z’ers.

The minds of Gen Z are….to be perfectly honest here…legendary. I’ve watched several online movies and series that revolve around Gen Z, not to mention witnessing the actual lives of Gen Z’ers that I know in real life, and the mindset with which you guys face this often times crazy world that you were born into is so uniquely smart and respectable. You are a generation that is both futuristic and classic at the same time – as I always say, you rock a bold 80’s vibe with a far superior level of 20’s sophistication.

The thoughts you guys have about life and the world in general are so on point and profound. I have had some of the most brilliantly engaging conversations ever with the 20-something members of your gen, and I would love to find at least one good book that delves even further into the inner mind and perspective of its Gen Z author as they navigate life in the new millennium.

Wow, superb blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you make blogging look easy. The overall look of your site is magnificent, as well as the content!

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15 Fun Public Speaking Activities for College Students

Hrideep barot.

• Public Speaking , Toastmasters

Public speaking activities for college students offer invaluable opportunities to develop essential communication skills, boost confidence, and prepare for future academic and professional endeavors. These activities go beyond the traditional classroom setting, providing engaging and interactive platforms for students to refine their public speaking prowess. Whether it’s through exercises that focus on vocal modulation and storytelling or games that encourage friendly competition, these activities empower college students to become more effective and articulate communicators. In this guide, we will explore a variety of public speaking activities and their benefits, offering college students a roadmap to becoming more confident and proficient speakers.

What is Public Speaking?

“Speak in such a way that others love to listen to you. Listen in such a way that others love to speak to you.”  – Anonymous

Greetings, fellow wordsmiths and speech enthusiasts! If you’ve ever felt your heart race at the thought of addressing a crowd, or if you’ve found yourself tongue-tied when all eyes are on you, fear not! We’re diving headfirst into the exhilarating world of public speaking, where words wield power, charisma is your secret weapon, and confidence is your trusty sidekick. 

In this captivating blog, we’ll unravel the art of public speaking, demystify stage fright, and equip you with the skills to command any room, from a cozy gathering of friends to a roaring auditorium filled with strangers. Get ready to discover the hidden orator within you and embark on a journey that promises not just personal growth but also oodles of fun.

So, whether you’re preparing to ace that next presentation, dazzle at a social event, or simply want to boost your communication prowess, join us on this electrifying adventure. As we explore the ins and outs of public speaking, we’ll throw in some tricks, share tales of triumphs and fumbles, and sprinkle in a dash of humor to make the journey as enlightening as possible.

Can Public Speaking be learned?

Contrary to popular belief, not all great speakers were born with a silver tongue. The majority of captivating orators you admire today started as mere mortals who stumbled over their words and faced their fair share of stage fright. Let’s dive into the fascinating world of public speaking and explore how this skill is cultivated.

The Natural Born Orator: Myth or Reality?

While some individuals possess an innate knack for public speaking from a young age, they are the exception, not the rule. These “natural born orators” are like unicorns in the speaking world, rare and enchanting. They effortlessly command attention, spin mesmerizing tales, and leave audiences hanging on their every word. But here’s the kicker: there are a few of them around!

The Majority: Made, Not Born

The truth is, most of the world’s renowned speakers, from Winston Churchill to Oprah Winfrey, Malcolm X to J.K. Rowling, didn’t emerge from the womb delivering flawless speeches. They developed their skills through dedication, practice, and a willingness to learn from their mistakes.

Consider this: according to studies, around 75% of people suffer from glossophobia , which is the fear of public speaking. This statistic alone should reassure you that you’re not alone in your struggles. Even some of the greatest public speakers initially grappled with stage fright and stumbled through their early speeches.

The Power of Learning and Practice

So, how do these once-timid souls transform into magnetic orators? They embrace the art of public speaking as a craft that can be cultivated by immersing themselves in the intricacies of effective communication, learning about body language, voice modulation, and the art of storytelling. They attend workshops, take public speaking courses, and practice their skills relentlessly.

Moreover, they aren’t afraid to learn from their missteps. Every “um” and “uh,” every moment of nervousness, is seen as an opportunity for improvement. They analyze their performances, seek feedback, and refine their technique. The bottom line is this: public speaking is a skill, not a genetic trait. With the right mindset, determination, and a bit of guidance, anyone can become a masterful speaker.

Best Public Speaking Activities for college students:

A) public speaking games for college students.

Public speaking games are interactive and engaging activities designed to improve public speaking skills, boost confidence, and enhance communication abilities. Games are interactive and often competitive, making learning more engaging and enjoyable. Here are some examples of public speaking games:

• 30 Second Speech 
• Just A Minute Speech  
• Debate Duels
• Storytelling Relay
• Public Speaking Bingo
• Speech Speed Dating
• Public Speaking Charades
• Speech Olympics
• Role Reversal

1. 30-second speech

What is the 30-second speech activity? Performing a 30-second speech in a classroom setting is a concise yet impactful way to communicate your ideas or present information. This activity typically involves standing in front of your classmates or audience and speaking for exactly 30 seconds on a chosen topic. The goal is to effectively convey your message within this short time frame while engaging your audience and leaving a lasting impression.

• Introduction (5-7 seconds): Begin with an engaging opener, stating your topic’s relevance.
• Main Message (15-18 seconds): Convey your core point concisely with supporting evidence.
• Conclusion (5-7 seconds): Summarize or issue a call to action to reinforce your message.

Rules and Tips:

• Manage time closely.
• Speak clearly and at a steady pace.
• Engage the audience with questions or prompts.
• Use confident body language.
• Utilize visual aids if allowed.
• Stay calm by practicing and taking deep breaths.

By adhering to these steps and guidelines, you can confidently deliver a compelling 30-second speech in class.

2. Just A Minute speech (JAM)

What is the Just A Minute speech activity? The “Just A Minute” ( JAM ) speech activity challenges participants to speak on a given topic for one minute without hesitation, repetition, or deviation. It fosters improvisational speaking skills and quick thinking.

Preparation:

• Topic Familiarization: Stay informed about various topics.
• Practice: Hone spontaneous speaking abilities on diverse subjects.

How to Do It:

• Selection: Participants are chosen randomly or in order.
• Topic Assignment: A moderator provides a topic, and the speaker has one minute to discuss it.
• Rules: Avoid hesitation, repetition, or deviation from the topic.
• Scoring: Judges evaluate adherence to rules, fluency, and content quality.
• The JAM speech activity is an enjoyable and educational exercise for enhancing public speaking and improvisation skills.

3. Debate Duels:

Activity: Debate duels involve organizing structured debates between two students or teams who argue opposing sides of a chosen topic. Participants present arguments, offer rebuttals, and conclude their case. The goal is to foster well-researched arguments and promote respectful discourse.

• Topic Selection: Choose a relevant and debatable topic.
• Research: Participants should research their respective positions thoroughly.
• Format: Decide on debate format (e.g., timed speeches, cross-examination).
• Roles: Assign roles such as debaters, moderators, and timekeepers.
• Opening Statements: Each side presents its arguments.
• Rebuttals: Teams respond to opponents’ arguments.
• Cross-examination (if included): Teams question each other.
• Conclusions: Summarize key points and restate positions.
• Maintain respect and civility.
• Use evidence and logic to support arguments.
• Stick to time limits for speeches.
• Follow the predetermined format.

Debate duels provide a platform for students to develop research, critical thinking, and communication skills through structured, respectful debate.

4. Storytelling Relay:

Activity: In a storytelling relay, teams of 3-4 students collaborate to create a narrative. It starts with one student providing an opening sentence, and each subsequent student adds one sentence to continue the story. The aim is to build a cohesive narrative with seamless transitions.

• Team Formation: Divide students into teams of 3-4 members.
• Topic or Theme: Decide if there’s a specific topic or theme for the stories.
• Order: Determine the order in which students will contribute to the story.
• Time Limit: Set a time limit for each sentence contribution, e.g., 10 seconds.
• Opening Sentence: The first student in each team provides an opening sentence to begin the story.
• Sentence Contributions: Each student takes turns adding one sentence to continue the narrative.
• Transitions: Students must ensure their sentences connect smoothly with the previous ones.
• Cohesion: Teams collaborate to maintain consistency and coherence in the story.
• Maintain the predetermined order for sentence contributions.
• Keep sentences concise and on-topic.
• Ensure sentences flow logically from one another.
• Encourage creativity and adaptability.

Storytelling relay is a creative and collaborative activity that fosters teamwork, creativity, and improvisation skills as students work together to build a compelling story.

5. Public Speaking Bingo:

Activity: In Public Speaking Bingo, bingo cards with different public speaking challenges in each square are created (e.g., “Use a compelling statistic,” “Maintain eye contact,” “No filler words”). During speeches, students mark off squares as they complete the challenges, aiming to achieve a bingo.

• Bingo Cards: Create bingo cards with various public speaking challenges randomly placed in each square.
• Topics: Prepare speech topics or allow students to choose their own.
• Markers or Chips: Provide markers or chips for students to use when they complete a challenge.
• Prizes (optional): Consider offering small prizes for students who achieve bingo.
• Card Distribution: Distribute the bingo cards to students before the speeches begin.
• Speeches: As students give their speeches, they mark off squares when they complete the challenges listed.
• Winning: The first student to complete a row, column, or diagonal with marked squares shouts “Bingo!” and wins the game.
• Challenges must be completed during the speech.
• Challenges should be marked off honestly.
• The winner should declare “Bingo” immediately upon completing a line of challenges.

Public Speaking Bingo is a fun and interactive activity that encourages students to focus on specific public speaking skills and techniques while delivering speeches, making the learning experience engaging and enjoyable.

6. Speech Speed Dating:

Activity: Speech Speed Dating involves pairing students and giving them 3-5 minutes each to introduce themselves or present a mini-topic. After each “date,” students switch partners. This exercise helps improve speaking under time constraints and fosters active listening skills.

• Pairing: Arrange students in pairs.
• Topics (optional): Prepare mini-topics or allow students to choose what they’ll speak about.
• Timer: Set a timer for each speaking session.
• Space: Ensure there’s enough space for students to move between partners.
• Introduction: Students introduce themselves or present their mini-topic to their partner within the time limit.
• Switch Partners: After the allotted time, students rotate to a new partner and repeat the process.
• Repeat: Continue this cycle for multiple rounds, allowing students to interact with different partners.
• Stick to the time limit for each speaking session.
• Encourage active listening and engagement during each “date.”
• Ensure students switch partners as instructed to maximize interaction.

Speech Speed Dating is a dynamic activity that enhances students’ ability to convey information succinctly and promotes effective listening and engagement in a fast-paced speaking environment.

7. Public Speaking Charades:

Activity: Public Speaking Charades involves creating cards with different public speaking scenarios or gestures (e.g., “Giving a TED Talk,” “Delivering bad news”). Students act out these scenarios without speaking, and the audience guesses what they’re portraying. This exercise enhances nonverbal communication skills.

• Scenario Cards: Prepare cards with various public speaking scenarios or gestures.
• Audience: Arrange for an audience or divide students into small groups to take turns acting and guessing.
• Timer: Set a timer for each acting session.
• Card Draw: One student draws a scenario card and acts it out without speaking.
• Guessing: The audience or other students guess what public speaking scenario is being portrayed.
• Rotation: After a set time or when the correct guess is made, a new student takes a turn.
• No speaking or verbal cues are allowed during the charades.
• Encourage creative and expressive gestures to convey the scenario.
• Keep the game moving by setting time limits for each turn.

Public Speaking Charades is a lively activity that sharpens nonverbal communication skills and creativity while making public speaking scenarios more engaging and memorable.

8. Speech Olympics:

Activity: Speech Olympics is a structured competition where students participate in a series of public speaking challenges, which can include tongue twisters, impromptu storytelling, persuasive pitches, and more. Participants earn medals or points based on their performance. This activity provides a fun and lighthearted way to develop various speaking skills.

• Challenge Selection: Choose a variety of speaking challenges that suit the skill levels of the participants.
• Scoring System: Determine how participants will earn points or medals (e.g., judging panels or audience voting).
• Materials: Prepare any necessary materials or props for specific challenges.
• Medals or Prizes: Optional – acquire medals or prizes for winners.
• Introduction: Explain the rules and challenges to the participants.
• Challenge Rotation: Participants move through a series of challenges, competing against each other.
• Scoring: Use the predetermined scoring system to assess performance and award medals or points.
• Winners: Announce the winners and celebrate their achievements.
• Participants must adhere to the specific rules of each challenge.
• Judges or the audience score performances based on predefined criteria.
• Encourage sportsmanship and respectful competition.

Speech Olympics is a dynamic activity that allows students to practice a range of speaking skills competitively and engagingly, making it an enjoyable learning experience.

9. Role Reversal:

Activity: In Role Reversal, students play both the role of the speaker and the audience. After delivering a speech, they switch roles, with the audience members providing constructive feedback to the speaker. This exercise helps students gain insight into the audience’s perspective and fosters effective feedback skills.

• Speech Topics: Assign or allow students to choose their speech topics.
• Feedback Guidelines: Prepare guidelines for constructive feedback.
• Peer Evaluation Forms: Create forms or worksheets for audience members to provide feedback.
• Speaker’s Turn: A student delivers a speech on their chosen topic.
• Role Reversal: After the speech, the roles switch, and the audience becomes the feedback provider.
• Feedback Session: The audience offers constructive feedback, focusing on strengths and areas for improvement.
• Discussion: Encourage a brief discussion where the speaker can ask clarifying questions or provide context for their choices.
• Feedback should be respectful and constructive, focusing on the speech’s content and delivery.
• Encourage active listening and thoughtful feedback from the audience.
• The speaker should be receptive to feedback and open to improvement suggestions.

Role Reversal is an interactive exercise that enhances students’ understanding of both the speaker and audience perspectives, promoting effective communication skills and constructive feedback within a learning environment.

B) Public Speaking Exercises for college students: 

Public speaking exercises are structured activities and practices aimed at improving public speaking skills. Exercises are structured activities that often focus on specific aspects of public speaking, such as breath control, diction, or body language. Each exercise typically targets a specific aspect of public speaking or communication. Here are some common public speaking exercises:

• Breathing Exercises
• Tongue Twisters
• Mirror Practice
• Storytelling Practice
• Impromptu Practice
• Emotional Vocal Modulation

1. Breathing Exercises

Diaphragmatic breathing is a technique that involves using your diaphragm, a muscle located below your ribcage, to control your breath. It is a fundamental exercise for improving vocal projection and managing anxiety during speaking or public speaking situations.

How to Do It: To perform diaphragmatic breathing, sit or stand comfortably with proper posture. Inhale deeply through your nose for a slow count of four, allowing your diaphragm to expand and your lower lungs to fill. Hold your breath for four counts without tensing your chest or neck. Then, exhale slowly and steadily through your mouth for another count of four. Repeat this breathing pattern regularly to strengthen your diaphragm, enhance vocal projection, and reduce anxiety associated with speaking engagements.

2. Tongue Twisters:

Tongue twisters are word or phrase sequences designed to be challenging to articulate due to their repetitive or tricky sounds. This exercise is used to improve pronunciation, diction, and speech clarity.

How to Do It: To perform tongue twisters, start with simple ones and gradually advance to more complex ones as your proficiency grows. Pronounce each word or phrase, emphasizing correct articulation, and gradually increase your speed. The goal is to challenge your tongue and mouth muscles, enhancing your ability to enunciate words clearly and improving your overall speech clarity.

• She sells seashells by the seashore.
• Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear; Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t very fuzzy, was he?
• How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?
• Unique New York, you know you need a unique New York.
• Red leather, yellow leather.
• Six slippery snails slid slowly seaward.
• Betty Botter bought some butter but the butter was bitter, so Betty bought some better butter to make the bitter butter better.
• Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. How many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?
• Irish wristwatch, Swiss wristwatch.

3. Mirror Practice:

Mirror practice is a technique used to enhance your public speaking skills. It involves standing in front of a full-length mirror while delivering a speech or presentation. The aim is to closely observe and improve your body language, facial expressions, and gestures as you speak.

How to Do It: To perform mirror practice, position yourself in front of a full-length mirror, ensuring you have a clear view of yourself. Deliver your speech or presentation as you normally would, paying keen attention to your reflection. Focus on your posture, hand movements, facial expressions, and any other nonverbal cues you use while speaking. By actively observing yourself in the mirror, you can identify areas for improvement in your delivery and work on refining your public speaking skills over time.

4. Storytelling Practice:

Storytelling practice involves sharing personal anecdotes or stories with friends or peers while incorporating storytelling techniques such as creating suspense, infusing humor, and using vivid descriptions. This practice is aimed at refining your storytelling skills and making your narratives more engaging.

How to Do It: To perform storytelling practice, select a personal anecdote or story you’d like to share. As you share it with friends or peers, focus on the storytelling elements. Create suspense by building anticipation and keeping your audience curious about what happens next. Infuse humor by adding funny anecdotes or witty remarks where appropriate. Use vivid descriptions to paint a clear picture and evoke emotions. By practicing storytelling in this way, you can develop your ability to captivate your audience and make your narratives more compelling.

5. Impromptu Topics:

Impromptu topics practice involves regularly engaging in impromptu speaking by selecting random topics or prompts and delivering short, on-the-spot speeches about them. This exercise is designed to sharpen your ability to think quickly and articulate ideas effectively without prior preparation.

How to Do It: To perform impromptu topic practice, have a selection of random topics or prompts ready. These topics can be related to various subjects, such as current events, personal experiences, or hypothetical scenarios. Choose a topic at random and challenge yourself to deliver a brief speech or response to it without any prior planning or research. This exercise will help you become more comfortable with spontaneous speaking, improve your ability to organize your thoughts quickly and enhance your overall communication skills.

6. Emotional Vocal Modulation:

Emotional vocal modulation is a technique used to enhance the expressiveness of your speeches. It involves practicing the variation of your tone, pitch, and inflection to convey different emotions effectively. By modulating your voice, you can captivate your audience and convey a range of feelings and sentiments in your presentations.

How to Do It: To perform emotional vocal modulation, start by selecting a piece of text or speech. As you practice, deliberately vary your tone, pitch, and inflection to match the emotions or sentiments you want to convey. Experiment with different vocal techniques, such as using a higher pitch for excitement, a lower pitch for seriousness, or fluctuating tone for emphasis and engagement. Regular practice of emotional vocal modulation will help you become a more dynamic and compelling speaker, capable of engaging your audience on an emotional level.

Where to start Public Speaking?

Starting on the path of public speaking as a college student is a wise decision that can have a significant impact on your academic and professional life. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started:

1. College Public Speaking Courses:

College public speaking courses are an excellent starting point for students eager to develop their speaking skills. These courses typically provide a structured and comprehensive approach to public speaking. You’ll learn about speech organization, effective delivery techniques, and strategies to engage your audience. Instructors are often experienced public speakers who can offer valuable insights and feedback. 

Additionally, these courses offer a supportive environment for practicing your speaking skills. You’ll have the opportunity to present speeches in front of your peers, receive constructive criticism, and refine your abilities. As a bonus, college courses often provide resources like textbooks and access to speech labs to help you master the art of public speaking.

    “The best way to conquer stage fright is to know what you’re talking about.” — Michael H. Mescon

2. Join Public Speaking Clubs:

 Toastmasters and similar public speaking clubs are renowned for their ability to transform nervous speakers into confident orators. These clubs provide a supportive community of individuals who share a common goal: improving their public speaking skills. They offer a structured framework where you can gradually work your way up from short impromptu speeches to longer prepared presentations.

   What makes these clubs invaluable is the frequent practice opportunities they provide. You can refine your skills in a nonjudgmental environment, receive feedback, and witness the progress of fellow members. Joining such a club can be a powerful stepping stone in your public speaking journey.

   Toastmasters International has over 364,000 members in 16,200 clubs in 145 countries.

You can join our online community of Toastmasters for engaging in Learning and Group Discussions here.

3. Online Public Speaking Resources:

In today’s digital age, a wealth of online resources is readily available to aid in your public speaking education. You can find books, articles, videos, and courses dedicated to the subject. These resources cover a wide range of topics, from speech preparation and delivery techniques to managing stage fright.

The advantage of online resources is their accessibility and flexibility. You can explore these materials at your own pace, focusing on areas that need improvement. Whether you’re looking for expert advice, speech templates, or video tutorials, the internet offers a vast repository of knowledge to help you become a more effective speaker.

  Over 3,000 books on public speaking are available on Amazon.

4. Self-Practice and Recording:

Self-practice is a fundamental component of improving your public speaking skills. Whether it’s practicing in front of a mirror, recording your speeches, or rehearsing in an empty room, these exercises help you become more comfortable with your own voice and body language.

   Recording yourself is particularly valuable as it allows you to objectively assess your performance. You can analyze aspects like tone, gestures, and clarity of speech. By identifying areas that need refinement, you can tailor your practice sessions to address specific weaknesses and gradually build confidence.

    “Practice puts brains in your muscles.” — Sam Snead

5. Seek Feedback from Professors and Peers:

Constructive feedback is an essential component of growth as a speaker. Don’t hesitate to reach out to professors and peers for input on your presentations. Professors, with their expertise, can offer valuable insights into your content, organization, and delivery.

Additionally, peers can provide a different perspective and offer suggestions for improvement. Collaborative learning and sharing feedback within your academic community can enhance your speaking skills and help you gain a fresh outlook on your strengths and weaknesses as a speaker.

   In a survey, 94% of employees said they’d benefit from feedback, according to Harvard Business Review.

6. Volunteer for Speaking Opportunities:

Volunteering to speak in class or participate in campus events is a practical way to apply what you’ve learned. These opportunities allow you to gain real-life experience, helping you overcome nerves and improve your ability to connect with an audience.

Whether it’s delivering a presentation in front of your classmates or addressing a larger crowd at a campus event, each experience contributes to your growth as a speaker. The more you put yourself in these situations, the more confident and adept you’ll become at conveying your message effectively.

   Example: Delivering a class presentation on a topic you’re passionate about.

7. Study Renowned Speakers:

Studying the speeches of renowned public speakers is a powerful way to improve your skills. Analyzing speeches from figures like Martin Luther King Jr., Winston Churchill, Oprah Winfrey, or TED Talk presenters can provide valuable insights into effective rhetoric, storytelling, and engagement techniques.

By dissecting these speeches, you can learn how to structure your content, use persuasive language, and capture your audience’s attention. It’s a practical way to see proven strategies in action and apply them to your presentations.

   Example: Analyzing Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech for rhetorical techniques.

These seven options offer a diverse range of opportunities for college students to embark on their journey toward becoming effective public speakers. Whether you choose formal education, community support, online resources, or practical experience, remember that the key to success is consistent practice and a commitment to personal growth. Developing your public speaking skills will not only benefit your academic pursuits but also prepare you for future personal and professional endeavors.

Conclusion:

The world of public speaking holds endless possibilities for college students. It’s a realm where your voice, ideas, and stories can resonate and inspire. While the journey to becoming a confident and skilled speaker may seem daunting, the key is to remember that every great orator, from the classroom to the TED stage, started somewhere. 

The most crucial step is to just start. Put yourself out there, embrace the challenges, and dive into public speaking activities and exercises. As you navigate tongue twisters, engage in debate duels, or share personal anecdotes, you’re not only honing your communication skills but also building the confidence needed to succeed in academia and the professional world.

Don’t let fear or self-doubt hold you back. The first step may be the most challenging, but it’s also the most transformative. So, seize every opportunity, participate in these activities with enthusiasm, and let your voice be heard. With each word you speak and every audience you engage, you’re inching closer to becoming the confident, influential speaker you aspire to be. Start now, and watch as your public speaking journey unfolds, revealing the remarkable communicator within you.

To seek professional guidance and mentorship for public speaking or Toastmasters, you can reach out to us over here .

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15 Interactive Presentation Ideas to Elevate Engagement

By Krystle Wong , Aug 04, 2023

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

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

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

Click to jump ahead:

What is an interactive presentation?

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

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

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

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

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

1. Ice-breaker questions

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

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

2. Live polling

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

3. Q&A sessions

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

4. Clickable buttons

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

5. Storytelling

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

6. Interactive charts and graphs

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

7. Animated infographics

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

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

8. Gamification

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

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

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

10. Collaborative whiteboarding

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

11. Hyperlinked text

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

12. Role-playing

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

13. Embedded videos

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

14. Audience-generated content

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

15. Slide transitions

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

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

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

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

2. Mentimeter

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

3. Google Slides

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

4. Microsoft PowerPoint

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

5. Prezentor

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

6. Opinion Stage

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

7 . Venngage

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

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

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

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

1. Overloading with interactivity

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

2. Ignoring audience relevance

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

3. Not testing interactive elements

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

4. Poor timing and pace

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

5. Lack of clear purpose

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

6. Failing to engage beyond interactivity

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

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

How do you start an interactive presentation?

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

Which type of presentation is the most interactive?

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

How can interactive presentations enhance audience engagement?

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

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

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

Can interactive presentations be used for educational purposes?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lakshmi Puthanveedu • 01 Apr 2024 • 9 min read

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

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

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

Table of Contents

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

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

More Tips from AhaSlides

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

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

Start in seconds.

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

4 Tools to Generate Interactive Presentations Ideas for Students

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

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

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

6 Interactive Presentation Ideas for Students

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

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

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

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

Tell Your Story

Suitable for middle and high schoolers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Suitable for all ages

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

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

Ambassadors

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

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

Show and Tell

Suitable for primary students

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bridge the Words

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Singing is a powerful tool for crowd engagement for several reasons

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

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

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

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

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

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

#7. Host A Short Play

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

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

#8 – Debates and Discussions – Focus Groups

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

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

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

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

Government and Citizens

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

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

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

Debate Cards

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

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

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

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

Lakshmi Puthanveedu

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

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Blog > The 10 best PowerPoint Games to play in Workshops, Classrooms & Presentations

The 10 best PowerPoint Games to play in Workshops, Classrooms & Presentations

01.01.20   •  #fun #game #powerpoint #presentation.

In our last blog post, we talked about tools and tips on how to boost the audience engagement in your presentation. One of our recommended ways to do so was to play games, as they release tension and function as a fun element that lightens the mood. That’s why today we are going to list the Top 10 best games to play in your presentation.

1. Would you rather

Is it a game that everyone knows already? Probably. But did we have to include it on the list because it is just perfect for playing with your audience? Definitely. The game is pretty much self-explanatory – You give your attendees two (or more) scenarios and they have to choose which one they’d rather experience. Combining the Would you rather – question with your presentation topic is usually very easy, but we also thought of some questions you could use for any topic (e.g. as an icebreaker, to get to know your audience a little better, to ask about their opinion or just as a fun element in between). You can let your audience vote by letting them raise their hands or by using an interactive poll tool such as SlideLizard .

• Would you rather A. travel back in time OR B. travel to the future OR C. stay in the present
• Would you rather A. have a long lunch break now OR B. have a short break and finish early
• Would you rather A. be able to read minds OR B. be able to fly OR C. be able to turn invisible
• Would you rather A. receive a letter from Hogwarts OR B. join Frodo on his journey OR C. Hog-what?
• Would you rather A. never be able to go on Social Media again B. never be able to read a book again

2. Charades

The popular game is not only great for your family’s game-night, but also for your presentations and workshops. Prepare a few cards that have words related to your presentation’s topic on them, let some volunteers in your audience draw and act them out. The rest of the audience has to guess the word. You can be sure that these terms and the associated performances will never be forgotten!

Small Trivia quizzes are perfect for checking and manifesting the audience’s knowledge at the end of your presentation. Instead of repeating and summing up what you have already said, you can let your participants test their knowledge right away. However, you can also use a quiz in the beginning to test your audience’s existing knowledge about a topic. But there are not only trivia quizzes: Questions about personality can also be interesting and work well as an ice breaker in the beginning. Again, we recommend a tool for poll creation, as that is the easiest way to conduct quizzes. In a recent article we listed 50 great questions (a mix of personality and trivia) , that you could use for your next presentation! And if you're a fan of quiz game shows, we also got a full Who wants to be a Millionaire PowerPoint template for you to download for free! You'll see how it looks like in the following video (be sure to turn up your sound!):

PowerPoint can be used for way more than most people know. Even we were amazed by people on the internet who created extensive games by animating content using PP. We don’t want to go that big today, but we are going to provide you with a free-to-download template of memory. You only have to add it to your presentation and customize the pictures or terms you want under the cards. Download free PPT Memory Template

5. Two Truths and a Lie

Here is another game that is just perfect when you play it with interactive poll tools. It is great for getting the audience to know you as a presenter better. Think of a fun, interesting or astonishing fact about yourself, and then invent two fake ones. Your attendees have to vote which statement they think is true. Be prepared to see some very surprised faces in your audience!

6. PowerPoint Karaoke

PowerPoint-Karaoke is the perfect improvisation game. Players are confronted with a set of slides they have never seen before and try to give a presentation as convincingly as possible. If you want to know all about this game and get some slides you can use for playing, check out our detailed blog post on PowerPoint-Karaoke .

7. Where do you stand?

For the game “Where do you stand?”, your attendees will actually have to stand up. Therefore, it is only convenient if you have enough space. If you want to get your participant’s opinion about something and get them to move a little, look no further! Create an imaginary line across the room. One end stands for one opinion, the other end for the exact opposite opinion. Your attendees can now place themselves on this line wherever they like (right in the middle, on either end or somewhere in between). You can then even interview people on the line (it is always interesting to choose two from opposite sites) and learn about their views. If you’re a little overwhelmed now, here are some examples you could use for this game:

Attention – you can of course ask about political or more controversial topics, but that may escalate and turn into a fight, which is not the purpose of the game or your presentation.

8. Describe That

Let your audience draw from cards with words on them and then describe it for the other attendees. It is basically like charades, but with words instead of acting. Some may find that too easy. In that case, you can either choose terms that are extremely hard to describe or add some “Taboo-words” to the card that can’t be used for describing.

9. True and False

Have you ever heard a crazy, bizarre fact where you didn’t think that it could be true? Perfect. You can use it in the well-known “True and False”-Game. You pick out a fact (ideally something related to your presentation topic) and then let your audience vote (you know – via an interactive poll tool like SlideLizard ) if they think it’s true or not. A tip for making statements false: Change little things about the them, like numbers, dates or names or use common misconceptions and see how many of your attendees buy into them, e.g. “Bulls are enraged by the color red” (which is false, bulls are simply enraged by movement, not specific colors).

10. The never-ending sentence

The never-ending sentence is a great game that incorporates many of your attendees and awakens their brain cells. It is perfect for keeping up their engagement and interest, especially for long presentations or workshops when you feel like some people are getting a little tired. Simply start by saying a word – it can be related to the presentation’s topic if you want – and ask a person in your audience to repeat that word and add another one – the next person to repeat those two words and add another one as well , and so on, until a sentence forms. As it gets longer the game gets a lot more difficult, because there is a lot more to remember and to repeat. The sentence can’t be ended, it has to be continued until someone makes a mistake (or until the last person in the room has added a new word). We promise that you will be left with a lot of fun, creative, and straight-up weird sentences that will make your audience laugh a lot.

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About the author.

Pia Lehner-Mittermaier

Pia works in Marketing as a graphic designer and writer at SlideLizard. She uses her vivid imagination and creativity to produce good content.

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Formal communication.

formal communication should be used for speeches or at work

Computer Based Training (CBT)

Computer Based Traing (CBT) means digital learning programs, which work without internet. Exercises can be downloaded over the internet or can be distributed via storage media like a USB stick or a CD.

Hybrid Audience

A mix between in-person and virtual participants for an event or a lecture is called a hybrid audience. Working with a hybrid audience may be challenging, as it requires the presenter to find ways to engage both the live and the virtual audience.

Vocal distractions

In vocal distractions filler words like um, er, and you know are used during a pause.

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12 Interactive PowerPoint Activities Your Students will Love

At Slides with Friends, we're all about trying to make your life as a teacher a little bit easier. We want to provide as many tools, tips, and as much support as possible. That's why we share on topics like Review Games , Student Wellness Activities , and Tools for Measuring Student Engagement .

While we usually focus on how you can use Slides with Friends specifically, we want to bring you something a little different this time. We've compiled 12 of our favorite interactive PowerPoint activities you can use with your students. All of the activities are designed to engage your students in ways they'll love. Even better, these activities let you use a tool you're probably already familiar with.

And read to the end for an exciting new announcement!

Annotated Images

Annotated images let you teach history (or literature! or geography!) using detailed annotated images from your latest lesson. We're big fans of using visuals in the classroom. And with good reason! A study released by the Journal of Education and Practice found visual information is mapped better in students' minds across multiple types of thinking skills. By introducing more visuals to a lesson plan, and using tools like PowerPoint, lessons are more likely to be remembered.

You can introduce annotated images on PowerPoint by picking out relevant images and adding captions or labels to them and presenting them as you teach. You can add descriptions, draw arrows, or points of interest on the image.

Check out this fun example from Ditch That Textbook .

Even better, provide a few unique images of the lesson you just presented and have the students create their own annotations. Then, as a class, have each student present their image in PowerPoint.

Photos as Story Prompts

More visual learning! Using photos as storytelling prompts can be a great way to spark your student's creativity! PowerPoint is an ideal platform to display the photos, as it provides you the flexibility and versatility to show one photo at a time in case you want the students to focus exclusively on that image.

Simply ask them to write a story based on the photo in 1-3 sentences, and compare answers afterward. Encouraging different interpretations of a single image also helps foster critical thinking skills and encourages students to use their own perspectives when expressing their ideas.

Interactive Maps

Interactive maps are a fantastic way for students to learn about their world without leaving the classroom! And one of the easiest ways to show off these maps is through PowerPoint. Plus, PowerPoint makes adding hyperlinks to specific places (like pins), so you can click through areas of interest without having to open up a separate browser page.

If you're looking for a simple tutorial on how to create a lesson-based interactive map, check out this one from eLearning Industry . For more exploratory maps, check out the tutorial below (which includes the free template!).

Battleship Review Game

We love a good game here at Slides with Friends, so it shouldn't be a surprise to see so many options on this list. However, before doing research for this article, we had no idea Battleship could be played on PowerPoint!

In the template below, you can add words and to reveal the space beneath the words, students have to:

- Conjugate the Verb

- Use the Word in a Sentence

- Define the Word

Or one of any fun combinations.

We love this idea for language classes especially, but can also be used for vocabulary in any subject.

You can check out the whole presentation here.

Crossword Puzzle

Crossword puzzles are a timeless and popular way of testing knowledge and keeping minds alert. They can be used in the classroom to reinforce concepts and skills related to any subject, making them a great teaching tool. Crosswords can help students learn new vocabulary words, polish their grammar, understand history or science topics better, or firm up mathematics concepts.

And an easy way to do a crossword in the classroom is by using PowerPoint. You simply need to create a blank and a filled puzzle on PowerPoint and then fill it out with your class.

Check out this step-by-step guide on the best way to quickly create a crossword puzzle in PowerPoint.

Tests and quizzes are absolutely no fun, so if you can find an easy way to quiz your students in a fun way, that's a win-win! One of our favorite ways to do this is by creating a quiz show on PowerPoint.

By using those hyperlinks we mentioned above, you can easily create your own questions, assign point values, and include sound effects (or music!) to make your students feel like they're actually in a game show!

This 6 Steps to Create a Multiple Choice Quiz is a great way to start designing your next PowerPoint quiz. If you're looking for multiple ways to create a quiz show for your students, check out the detailed tutorial below .

Video Gallery

We've talked quite a bit about visuals here, not just because PowerPoint is a great tool for visuals, but because visuals are so extremely helpful in the classroom.

One way to incorporate visual activities into your classes with PowerPoint is by creating video galleries. This is especially useful if you have limited access to videos and need to play them in a certain order.

You can create a video gallery presentation by manually inserting the clips into slides or creating a series of hyperlinks to take the class through certain processes. You can also add captions, notes, and questions for further discussion.

Scavenger Hunt

A fun activity to incorporate in your classroom through the power of PowerPoint is a review scavenger hunt.

Scavenger hunts can be an engaging way to go over the material and test knowledge at the beginning or end of a unit. PowerPoint is a great tool to use when designing a scavenger hunt if you are working with students online. With the tool, you can hide clues in images, ask questions that are linked to hyperlinks, and even add video clips as hints.

Scavenger hunts also offer quite a bit of versatility in the classroom. You can have students work individually or in groups, depending on your goals for the lesson.

You can reference our Virtual Scavenger Hunt guide, which includes several hunt lists, for ideas on what to bring to your students.

Choose Your Own Adventure

PowerPoint slides can also be used to create engaging interactive experiences. PowerPoint's slide-linking feature allows you to jump between slides with the click of a button, providing users with their own “Choose Your Own Adventure”-style gaming experience. As a result, you can create an interactive story with a different ending each and every time.

While this activity will take quite a bit of upfront work, once you have it done, you can use it for countless classes.

We highly recommend this tutorial by The Training Lady on how to plan out your next PowerPoint adventure!

Picture Reveal

Picture Reveal is a great PowerPoint activity that encourages students to think critically. In this activity, you can present an obscured picture and provides clues as to what it could be. Students must then utilize their knowledge and logic skills to work out what the picture is by eliminating incorrect answers based on the clues provided until they eventually get the correct answer.

Picture reveals are a great way to review material from previous lessons or current topics. They can also act as an introduction to a new lesson. Plus, we can't stress this enough, visuals!

Word Search

Word search games are a great way to review vocabulary and help students learn new words. Using PowerPoint, you can create custom word searches by entering the target vocabulary words in a grid. Then draw lines connecting each letter to form words! You can even add visuals that correspond with the theme of your word search for an extra challenge.

Word search games are perfect for when you have some leftover time during class or if you want to review material from earlier units. A PowerPoint word search is also great for helping students recognize spelling patterns in unfamiliar words and promoting active learning as they look for the hidden words in the puzzle.

Student Presentation

One of the best ways to get your students engaged in the classroom is to have them lead the show. And PowerPoint is such an awesome tool for students to present their own material.

With a little guidance, you can have older students create mini-presentations about topics they've studied in class or even on their own. Not only will this allow you to assess what they've retained from studying, but it also allows your students to practice public speaking skills and become more comfortable with online presentations - essential in today's digital world!

With PowerPoint, you can easily turn any student project into an engaging presentation everyone will enjoy.

Use Slides with Friends for Your PowerPoint Activities

PowerPoint has been a vital tool in the teacher toolbox for decades. There are so many fantastic ways to use PowerPoint to engage and interact with your classroom.

Slides with Friends is excited to announce a new feature for our slide decks - A PowerPoint upload!

Now you can create your slides in an already-known program, or use slide shows you've already made, and with a click of a button upload them to Slides with Friends!

Slides with Friends brings classroom PowerPoint activities to the next level by enabling real-time collaborative engagement from all of your students. By combining your PowerPoint presentations with Slides with Friends live word clouds, polling, trivia, and quizzes, as well as photo sharing, you really can fully involve your students in every lesson.

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• 10 Effective Class Presentation Tips for College Students

Giving a presentation to your classmates can be a bit challenging, especially if you are new to visual or oral presentations or fear public speaking. 

However, class presentations foster an excellent opportunity for students to enhance their public speaking skills while broadening their perception and understanding of a particular subject matter. 

Also, the presentation provides a platform for students to connect with peers, professionals, and potential employers. 

By showcasing their skills and knowledge, they can build relationships and establish themselves as a better performer in their field. 

While presentation helps students to expand their horizons of knowledge and skills, beginners may be slightly concerned about where to start and how to master it. 

Worry not! Here, we discuss the best presentation tips for students for a flawless delivery of the subject.

10 Handy Presentation Tips for College Students

Effective delivery of a presentation requires efficient presentation techniques and exceptional presentation abilities. 

The following tips for presenting in class help students strengthen their public speaking skills, empowering them to effectively communicate their message or information to the audience.

1. Overcome Presentation Anxiety

While it is quite common to feel anxious before the presentation, it won’t allow you to deliver a presentation confidently. 

There are several reasons why students fear public speaking, including, worrying about committing a mistake, lack of experience, losing control, or what if their audience dislikes their speech. 

Nevertheless, don’t worry, as you can overcome your presentation anxieties with the following techniques:

• Prepare and practice your topic thoroughly.
• Just focus on the message you want to convey to your audience.
• Be open to feedback and criticism from others.
• Have a mindset that you are going to make it.
• Practice deep breathing to keep your mind calm and composed.

2. Learn the Art of Public Speaking

Learning and getting used to public speaking can help students feel more confident and comfortable in delivering their message to the audience. 

Also, it helps them to structure their thoughts and use perfect language to convey their content crisp and clean while engaging their audience.

There are several ways for students to learn public speaking skills, including:

• Online platforms and courses
• Local resources (community clubs, associations, etc.)
• Public speaking workshops
• Watching experienced public speakers and observing their techniques

Also Read:   17 Best Advice for College Students from Experts .

3. Craft Compelling Content

A robust opening statement sets the tone for the entire student presentation, helping you grab your audience’s attention. 

Ensure to develop a clear, concise, and thoughtful opening statement that talks about what the presentation is about and how it helps everyone out there. 

Moving on, your body content is the heart of your presentation, and that is what is going to keep your audience in the loop while conveying your ideas and thoughts. 

So, it should be well-structured, engaging, and easy to follow. Here’s how you can devise engaging content:

• Create a strong opening and ending statement with a powerful quote, thought-provoking question, or intriguing scenario.
• Clearly and precisely define your topic and its significance.
• Conduct in-depth research that is backed with statistical data or real-time stories.
• Organize your content with slides and images.

4. Add Engaging Visuals

Rather than constantly scrolling the loads of information, it is better to use visuals to engage your audience while helping them comprehend and retain complex matters and building emotional connections with them.

Tips for slideshow presentations:

• Use simple yet high-quality images.
• Add contrast and pleasing colors to make your slides look good.
• Incorporate snippets to support your visuals.
• Keep your slides consistent in terms of layout and design.
• Choose easy-to-follow fonts and numbers.
• Add data, icons, and infographics for illustration.

5. Balance Information and Entertainment

Adding humor to a presentation is a way to engage and connect with your audience more personally. 

It can help relieve tension, break the silence/drowsy state of mind, and make complex or dry information more perceivable during class presentation. 

Also, it helps keep your presentation memorable for a long time. Here is how you can add humor to your presentation:

• Know your audience and tailor your humor accordingly.
• Use humorous analogies, cartoons, catchphrases, or your own experiences.
• Try not to hurt others while using humor.
• You can make fun of everyday situations or activities, so people can relate with them.

6. Time Management in Class Presentation

Time management is one of the best tips for presenting in class. Starting and finishing your presentation in a predefined time frame is important. 

It helps you to convey your message precisely and effectively without disrupting the flow of the presentation and making it difficult for the audience to follow along. 

To manage your class presentation time, here are some presentation tips for students:

• Practice beforehand to know the required time.
• If you are going beyond the allotted time, cut short your content, delivering the most important points.
• Use visuals to quickly deliver messages.
• Use a timer to know that you are nearing the end.

7. Real-Life Examples

Listening to successful presentations helps you learn new techniques and gain insights on how to give better presentations. You can take note of key elements used, gestures followed, and eye contact made. 

Also, you can study the agenda of the presentation, like how it is structured, what topics are discussed, how properly visuals and icons are used, etc. 

Besides, you can pay attention to the language and tonality of the speaker to see how they used humor, stories, and emotional phrases to connect with audiences. 

Considering these insights, you can prepare your topic and present it flawlessly.

8. Take Peer Review and Feedback

Feedback is a way to learn where you lag and how you can improve further to build your credibility, professional knowledge and image. 

By receiving feedback from peers, you can identify blind spots, fragile areas, and how your content is perceived by others, enabling you to refine your work, address weaknesses, and develop new skills. 

Moreover, this presentation tip can strengthen your relationships with your peers while helping you present better every time.

Also Read:   Tips for Building Professional Relationships in College .

9. Stay Elegant and Attractive with Your Attire

What you wear and how you wear it matters when it comes to presenting in front of the public. 

The clothes you wear can greatly impact how your audience perceives you and your message. So, ensure to present yourself properly and professionally to attract your audience.

Here is how to dress up for class presentations:

• Keep your outfits simple, comfortable, and elegant.
• Avoid flashy colors and designs.
• Choose outfits according to the environment and temperature.
• Get your outfits properly stitched with the right fit. 
• Choose the right and soothing footwear.

10. Post-Presentation Reflection

Reviewing your past presentations can help drag strengths and areas for growth, which can help you make informed decisions and optimize your performance. 

For example, by analyzing your performance, you can assess what works well and what doesn't. This involves identifying areas for improvement concerning the use of visuals, snippets, icons, infographics, etc. 

Knowing these can help you make targeted improvements to enhance your future presentations.

Wrapping Up

A successful class presentation in college is vital for students’ academic and professional journey. 

It helps students develop valuable skills that will serve them in their future careers and provides them with an opportunity to showcase their knowledge and ideas to a wider audience. 

By mastering the art of presentation, students can set themselves apart from their peers and position themselves for success in their chosen careers.

 So, use the above-mentioned presentation tips for students to speak more confidently, sharing your thoughts and ideas.  

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Education  |  Sep 21 2019

5 Interactive Presentations Ideas that will Engage Students

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

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

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

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

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

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

Technological Aid in Interactive Presentations

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

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

5 Interactive Presentations Ideas and Corresponding Technology Aids

1. Storytelling

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

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

2. Non-linear presentation

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

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

3. Polls, surveys, and quizzes

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

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

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

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

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Free interactive teaching materials

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

5. Discussions and groups breakout sessions

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

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

Tips for Creating Interactive Presentations

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

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

Time Limits

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

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

Benefits of Having Interactive Components in Your Presentation

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

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Build Your Own Version of Interactive Presentations for Your Next Lesson

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

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

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10 interactive presentation ideas that leave a lasting impression

Attention is the gatekeeper of our memories. If you can’t get the audience to sit up and pay attention, your presentation will soon be forgotten.

In her webinar, Using neuroscience to create presentations with lasting impact , Dr. Carmen Simon, cognitive scientist and founder of Memzy , emphasized the importance of attention when forming new memories. According to Simon, one of the best ways to win attention is to insert a “cut” every three minutes.

Attention is definitely mandatory to people remembering the right things, and not just random things.

“Cuts” are simply a break from your normal presenting style, such as switching from a lecture to a Q&A or trivia question. Switching styles this ways keeps the audience intrigued about what comes next. Below are 10 interactive presentation ideas you can use as “cuts” in your own presentations.

Some of these ideas rely on Poll Everywhere, a live audience response system that lets you ask the audience a question and show live results. Try it out by signing up for a free account today.

Warm up the audience with an interactive icebreaker

Signal to the audience that this will be an interactive presentation by opening with an easy icebreaker. Kick it off before your presentation starts, as people are finding their seats, to get everyone familiar with the ins and outs of Poll Everywhere in a low-stakes setting.

Doing so speeds up the time it takes to complete subsequent activities because the audience will expect them. They’re also more likely to engage with you on Poll Everywhere if they’re already comfortable with the process.

Icebreakers come in many styles , but one of the most popular among Poll Everywhere users is the word cloud. Choose a question that calls for a personal response – What’s your favorite food? – that everyone can answer.

Plant engaged audience members ahead of time

This isn’t as sneaky as it sounds.

Sometimes all it takes is a few engaged people in the audience to get the discussion flowing, and give other people the courage to contribute. But what if you can’t count on your attendees to speak up on their own?

Ahead of your presentation, ask a few audience members who you already know and trust to pose specific questions during your presentation.

Maybe you want them to chime in with an easy “gimme” to kick things off and encourage that level of engagement. Or, maybe you want your designated attendee to ask a question that everybody else may be too afraid to ask (i.e. “How do we know we can trust this data?”).

This strategy won’t be necessary for every presentation. But when you’re worried that your request for questions will be met with lowered heads and shifting glances, this is an effective way to get the ball rolling.

Read more: From classroom to boardroom: A high school teacher’s presentation tips

Repeatedly ask questions to build involvement

You can’t expect your audience to engage and interact with you if you don’t give them an opportunity. So, make sure to have plenty of spots throughout your presentation where you can pause and ask a question.

This doesn’t need to be a threatening, pop quiz-style way to scare your audience into paying attention. Even the simplest questions can make people feel a little more involved in what you’re presenting. Think of things like:

• Have you heard of this before?
• Can you read what’s on that slide for me?
• Does anybody know where/what [thing] is?

They’re straightforward questions that require a one-word answer or super easy response, yet they do the job of reminding your audience that you’re talking with them – and not just at them.

Get people moving and out of their seats

It’s time to get your audience’s blood pumping. No, you don’t need to have them do jumping jacks or pushups, but think of some creative ways that you can get them moving around a little bit.

It could be something as simple as asking people to stand up, rather than requesting a show of hands. Or, you could think of some ways to incorporate movement with the content of your presentation. For example, have them walk up and introduce themselves to somebody new to implement the elevator pitch techniques you just taught them.

Give some thought to the different ways you could get your audience out of their seats at a few different points throughout your presentation. If nothing else, you can rest assured that they’re awake.

Read more: 8 interactive presentation games for large teams

Use interactive questions to assess the audience

If you want to know if the audience really understands what you’re presenting, ask.

Christopher Robertson , who teaches at University of Arizona’s James. E. Rogers College of Law, uses Poll Everywhere to identify and resolve any misunderstandings his students have about the complexities of law.

“Law students can easily go an entire semester passively attending class and both the professor and student discover on the final exam that they have not grasped the concepts covered in class,” said Robertson.

I find polling in class encourages active student participation and uncovers misunderstanding of how to apply the law that warrant a second look.

Taking time to test the audience this way gives them a chance to reflect on what you told them, and apply that knowledge on the spot. This can improve the chances they’ll remember that information after your presentation ends.

Enable anonymity to encourage candid feedback

Dr. Mark, physician and author of The Productive Physician , uses anonymous polling in his medical classes. He cites how this extra layer of security helps put students’ minds at ease, and lets them focus on the lesson instead of worrying about scrutiny from their peers.

“Poll Everywhere allows both anonymous and signed-in polling,” explained Dr. Mark, “but I prefer to use the anonymous mode as I feel it increases learner psychological safety: my students might be more inclined to test their knowledge without the fear of being seen to be wrong in front of their peers.”

You can enable anonymity for all Poll Everywhere activity types. The audience responds from the privacy of their phones – not in front of their peers – giving everyone an equal opportunity to make their voice heard.

Split your audience into smaller discussion groups

There’s nothing worse than explicitly asking your audience to engage with you and being met with only crickets and blank stares.

But, here’s the thing: Not everybody is comfortable speaking up in front of a crowd.

For that reason, it can be smart to divide your audience into smaller groups to discuss something relevant to your presentation topic – even if it’s just for five minutes.

If you want the whole audience to come back together and share what they learned during those conversations, it’s likely that a spokesperson will naturally arise from each group; meaning the people who aren’t comfortable chiming in on a large scale don’t have to.

The best thing about this strategy? The previously-reserved attendees will have a little more confidence to speak up when they know the rest of their group is there to jump in if needed.

Read more: How to present an effective PowerPoint presentation

Encourage questions throughout your presentation

It’s natural to want your audience to hold on to all of their questions until a Q&A portion at the conclusion of your talk. However, that’s pretty much the exact opposite of an interactive presentation.

Instead, be upfront at the beginning of your presentation that you want people to chime in with thoughts or questions, rather than biting their tongue until the very end. Of course, you’ll need to be willing to step in and get things back on track if a question steers the conversation too far off course.

If you don’t want the interruptions, find a way for people to submit questions asynchronously , such as in a chat window or shared document. You can respond to those submissions at your own pace throughout the presentation.

Either way, encouraging people to contribute to the topic in real-time is far more interactive and engaging than forcing them to sit and wait until the end.

Let the audience decide what’s next

Presentations don’t always need to flow in a straight line. With a quick question, you can empower your audience and let them decide what to learn about next.

Poll Everywhere’s own Katie Wilson gave a webinar on this very topic. In it, she explained how corporate trainers use polling to create choose-your-own-adventure style presentations .

Present your audience with a multiple choice activity, and let their votes determine which topic you tackle next. In Katie’s example, a corporate trainer is asking about how best to respond to a customer complaint.

Three options are available, and the audience votes on which one they think is most appropriate. Once the results are in, the presenter navigates to the slide associated with that option and discusses the results.

Use surveys to extend interaction after your presentation ends

Audience interaction doesn’t have to end with the presentation.

Jez Wiles, lecturer at the London College of Music, continues the conversation with his students both before and after his lectures with online questionnaires.

“Getting [students] to use a survey as a post-class reflective tool, or pre-lecture poll to find out what they know about something…this has all extended the use of [Poll Everywhere] for me, and boosted engagement,” said Wiles.

Poll Everywhere surveys can include any type of activity – from multiple choice to open-ended – and can be completed asynchronously at the audience’s own pace. This is a great way to help reinforce the topics of your presentation, or to collect audience feedback on the presentation itself.

I like the sense of fun Poll Everywhere naturally brings. I always find engagement goes up when I use it.

These are just some of the ways the Poll Everywhere community uses live audience engagement to drive interactive presentations. Each of these ideas is a type of cut you can use to keep your audience alert and engaged with what you’re saying.

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75 Unique School Presentation Ideas and Topics Plus Templates

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Curated List of Interesting Topics for School Presentations

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Unique Science Presentation Topics to Cultivate Curiosity in Class

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

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

1. Can life survive in space?

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

3. What are the traits of successful inventors?

4. How vaccines work

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

6. Left brain versus right brain

7. What are great sources of calcium?

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

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

8. Recycling facts you need to know

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

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

11. How far down does the sea go?

12. The stages of sleep

13. Will Mars be our home in 2028?

14. A quick look at laboratory safety rules

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

Engaging Culture and History Presentation Ideas to Draw Inspiration From

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

16. Women in history: A conversation through time

17. The sweet story of chocolate 

18. A history lesson with a twist 

19. The history of basketball 

20. The origin of the Halloween celebration 

21. AI History 

22. What you need to know about New Zealand 

23. 1883 volcanic eruption of Krakatoa 

24. Roman structures: 2000 years of strength

25. The most famous art heists in history 

26. Elmo: The story behind a child icon 

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

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

Health Class Presentation Topics to Help Students Make Healthy Lifestyle Decisions

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

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

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

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

29. How to look after your mental health?

30. The eradication of Polio

31. How to have a healthy lifestyle 

32. 10 handwashing facts 

33. Myths and facts about depression

34. Hacks for making fresh food last longer 

35. Ways to avoid spreading the coronavirus

36. Mask protection in 5 simple steps 

37. Everything you need to know about the flu

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

39. The importance of sleep 

40. Is milk tea bad for you?

41. How to boost happiness in 10 minutes

42. How dirty are debit and credit cards 

43. Why do you need sunscreen protection

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

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

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

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

44. Are we slowly losing the Borneo rainforest?

45. Skateboard deck design over the years

46. Food waste during the Super Bowl

47. The weight of the tallest building in the world

48. Infographic about data and statistics

49. Stats about cyberbullying

50. How whales combat climate change

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

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

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

51. Meet the teacher

52. Example: all about me

53. Self-introduction

54. Tips on how to focus on schoolwork

55. Course plan and schedule

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

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

57. Introduction of classroom rules

58. Assignment schedule

59. Daily planner

60. Course syllabus presentation

61. How to write a class presentation

Topics to Teach Students the Importance of Effective Communication

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

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

62. Interactive presentation do’s and don’ts 

63. How to create an infographic 

Recommended reading : How to Make an Infographic in 30 Minutes

64. How to improve your internet security and privacy

65. What is design thinking?

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

Presentation Topic Ideas to Help Students Prepare for Life After School

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

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

67. How to make a resume

68. How to start a startup

69. Credit card vs. debit card

70. Pros and cons of cryptocurrency

71. How to save on travel

72. How to do a SWOT analysis

73. How to pitch a business idea

74. Habits of successful people

75. Starting your own podcast: A checklist

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The future of learning is interactivity and collaboration.

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

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

Other Posts

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15 Infographic Examples for Students (Plus Editable Templates) 

Do you want to be part of these success stories, join more than 11 million who already use piktochart to craft visual stories that stick..

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20 Interactive Presentation Games

• Employee Engagement , Event Planning , Leadership Techniques

Meetings and conferences can be painfully tedious and dull. So much so that the phrase “Death by PowerPoint” has made it into our lexicon. According to Thomas Sowell , an American political economist and commentator, “People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything.”

But if the problem with meetings is that they tend to be boring, the solution lies in finding ways to better engage and entertain your audience. You probably know the feeling of sitting in a meeting, trying to pay attention while one person drones on for an hour.

Even if the purpose of the meeting is to train, disseminate new developments, or even get everyone up to speed on weekly goals, engaging your audience creates a motivation to pay attention.

That’s why interactive presentation games are a great way to re-energizing meetings by involving audiences in the presentation. Interactive presentation turn passive listeners into active participants. Games allow the attendees to learn new skills, think of solutions within a short time period, and solve problems together.

‍ MeetingPulse equips your team with the tools and resources to create engaging events. With that in mind, here’s our guide to a few popular interactive presentation games.

‍ Related: Creating a Positive Organizational Culture while working remote

1. Project Jeopardy

This game is designed to make the presentation of reports more fun and interactive. The lead person on the report creates cards that have answers from the report.

For example, the card reads “25%.” The rest of the team is supposed to ask the correct question corresponding to the “25%” answer on the card. The question could be something like, “What was the company revenue growth for the quarter?”

‍ How to play: Give everyone the URL to your MeetingPulse meeting. Display the question on your screen and create multiple choice answers or leave it open-ended. The answers will pop up on the administrator’s screen in real-time, and you can share the answers to see how many people got it right.

2. Idea Box Game

The Idea Box game is excellent for brainstorming meetings where employees can share ideas about a project or product . It helps get the creative juices flowing and might even lead to some usable prototypes. Instead of having one speaker after another speak about their idea, having a team create an idea box creates a space for collaboration to further spark innovation.

‍ How to play: Use the MeetingPulse brainstorming tool to have teams vote and collect feedback about the products. Have each attendee log in to your MeetingPulse link — a virtual Idea Box. Give small groups thirty minutes to brainstorm, then allow submissions.

At the end of the exercise, each team should have the product name, features and functions, marketing taglines, and other vital product details.

Once each team has completed their box they’re invited to share it with the rest of the team who finally vote for the best box. Their ideas will appear on the screen right away, and participants can upvote or downvote in Reddit-style fashion and even submit emoji reactions.

3. The Introduction Game

This game is ideal for a new group of team members meeting for the first time on a mutual project or new hires joining a team. Give the new hires a chance to introduce themselves in an unforgettable manner.

‍ How to play: Ask the new members to bring a personal item or a favorite song. During the meeting, introduce them by letting their song blare for a few minutes on the sound system and then ask them to say something about themselves. If you’re using the personal item, ask them to talk about the item and what it means to them.

4. The talking stick

This activity makes sure that anyone who has a contribution not only gets to do so, but also that they get to speak uninterrupted. Using the talking stick is a great, rapid-fire way to focus the meeting on deep and meaningful contributions.

‍ How to play: Form a circle and make sure everyone’s seated. Before the discussion begins, everyone should agree that the moderator has the power to choose whoever speaks next. Once a member finishes talking, they should put the stick back in the center for the next person.

Use the MeetingPulse audience feedback capability to gain insight right away. Choose up to four emojis and allow your audience to react as they listen to new ideas.

5. Telephone game

The telephone game is used typically as an ice breaker or to liven up a group after a couple of mind-numbing presentations. While it doesn’t really work with a very large group, a sizable number like 10 to 15 people is just right.

‍ How to play: The meeting leader whispers the latest company marketing strategy used to the person on their left who is then supposed to relay the message to the next person and on and on until the last person gets the message.

The last person then gets to tell the rest of the team the final message, and you can compare it to the primary message from the lead.

6. The trivia competition

You can use this game to test the attendees’ trivia knowledge of the company or of general business trends . Create a trivia competition where the members play for points and the winner gets a prize. Project the points for everyone to see the winner.

‍ How to play: Formulate questions related to the company and use them for the trivia test. You can use MeetingPulse to create the questions, and set the timer to begin the game together. To add an extra touch of fun, include images with your multiple choice questions. Visuals add to the level of engagement and give your meetings an extra edge.

7. Fill in the phrase

Check out Meeting Pulse for Cool and creative ways to make polling questions and Quizzes!

‍ This game requires participants to fill in blanks on a survey or report. The survey or report should not be complete until the end of the presentation. This game rewards audiences for listening, and you can even provide some sort of prize.

‍ How to play: Create a report for attendees that has blanks. As you continue with the presentation, invite them to fill in the blanks from the information you are giving. Not only does the audience remain engaged, but they retain crucial information better.

‍ MeetingPulse integrates with Powerpoints , so you can use our single answer polling feature to play this game and display the results directly in your PowerPoint presentation.

8. Word of the day

Have a word of the day game as part of your presentation or meeting. It can be a phrase or a word.

‍ How to play: The presenter should weave the word or phrase into their presentation and the audience acknowledges its use by shouting back. The word must come from the team and not the presenter. This activity keeps everyone alert. Sometimes shouting can be distracting in the middle of a meeting.

In this case, use the MeetingPulse emoji feature, and everyone can submit ? when you use the word “key learnings.”

9. The 20 questions game

You get 20 questions to help you identify a picture that you can’t see, but the audience can. The audience can only lead you with yes or no questions. Use this game to liven up the audience.

‍ How to play: The audience will choose a picture that you can’t see. Have someone submit a photo and display it on the MeetingPulse user dashboard. Get blindfolded and begin to ask questions regarding the picture. You get only twenty questions to get it right.

If you’re an advertising agency, you can use this test your employees’ memory and see if they remember what you worked on. To keep track of all the questions and responses, have the audience choose “yes” or “no” by using a polling tool instead of having them shout it out.

10. Call and response

This game keeps the audience focused. The leader in the meeting calls out a phrase randomly during their presentation and the audience responds to it .

‍ How to play: Agree on the action to be taken every time the phrase is called out. The second the presenter calls out the word, your audience can dance, clap or just rise and seat. Alternatively, they can respond with a phrase, word, or an emoji using MeetingPulse.

11. What would I have done?

In this game, ask each member of the team what their alternative career would be. The point of the game is to open up to each other and foster conversation.

‍ How to play: Each member writes down their alternative career and waits their turn to reveal. The audience collectively asks “What would you have done?” and the selected member responds explaining why they chose that alternative. This is another great game you can play virtually, especially if you’re working with a big team.

With MeetingPulse , you can find out everyone’s alternative career and even get some statistics.

12. Fabulous flags

In this game , team members draw things that matter to them on their flag. This is known as the personal flag game, and it’s an excellent ice breaker activity.

‍ How to play: Everyone gets 10 minutes to draw objects or symbols that represent something meaningful in their lives. Each person gets two minutes to explain the items on their flag.

13. Botticelli

Similar to 20 questions, this game also tests your trivia. You keep in mind a person, place, or thing, and the audience has to guess. The game is a bit more complex because the player can talk back to the audience and distract them from the name.

‍ How to play: The audience asks leading questions to which the player responds with a yes or no. If they ask a specific question like “Does the celebrity’s name start with B?” then the player can respond with “It’s not Brad Pitt.”

This game is logistically easy to plan because all you need to do is formulate the poll questions and integrate them into your PowerPoint with MeetingPulse .

14. Candy introductions

This is a game that allows people to get to know each other while enjoying some sweet treats. It’s excellent for training sessions where participants are complete strangers, providing general topics for introductions that employees can elaborate upon further.

‍ How to play: The participants choose different types of candy from a bag and use each to represent different topics about themselves during the introduction. They can talk about family, career, hobbies, unexpected characteristic and dream destinations.

15. Crazy job interview

In this game, one participant tries to convince the others why they would be the best for a certain job. They have to expound on qualities given by another player and how those qualities make them a good fit.

‍ How to play: The participant is given a career, like a supermodel. Then they are given random phrases like “angry with the queen” or “intellectually incompatible” and they have to use these phrases to explain why they would be great at being a supermodel.

16. The elimination game

The elimination game helps participants to get to know each other, using a series of questions to find out the most common and most rare similarities amongst people within your company.

‍ How to play: The whole room is asked to stand up. The leader then asks elimination questions like “how many are attending this conference for the first time?” That group gets to sit down. The next is “remain standing if this is your fourth consecutive attendance.” The rest of the group sits down. And the elimination questions continue.

17. Would you rather

This is a fun game to liven up the room, giving participants two choices of something they can do. They have to choose the lesser evil.

‍ How to play: The player is given a question with two very bad or very good outcomes. For example, if the employees are afraid of heights, ask, “Would you rather go sky diving or bungee jumping?”

If you want to play this game with a large group of people, you can use MeetingPulse to get answers in real time. This game can also provide valuable insight for you. For instance, you can ask, “Would you rather have a breakfast spread or small desserts for our next meeting?”

18. Anagrams

‍ Think up a word and have everyone else try to figure it out. Expect some hilarious answers as everyone chips in.

‍ How to play: Jumble up the letters but ensure that they create a five or six letter word anagram when correctly aligned. Only the presenter should suggest the word, and the activity should be timed. People can submit their answers live on MeetingPulse .

19. Two truths and a lie

The players get to tell two truths and one lie about themselves and the audience deciphers which one is the lie.

‍ How to play: The player chooses a topic, like “career.” They tell two real facts about their career and one lie. The audience then decides which statement is false and why they believe that.

20. Choose the Agenda

In this activity, the participants choose the agenda of the meeting instead of being told what it is. This allow them to address burning issues.

‍ How to play: Participants are invited to submit their agendas, which are shared by everyone and then voted on. The one with the most votes becomes the main agenda for the meeting. This gives participants control over the meeting as well.

You can use MeetingPulse’s brainstorming tool with the upvoting feature for this!

Final Thoughts

Now that you know some of the best interactive presentation games, you’re ready to host your next event with new and creative ways to keep your audience engaged. MeetingPulse is a great tool and resource for you to make your presentations more memorable and — dare we say it — fun.

‍ Related: 25 Fun Poll Questions to Ask Your Audience

Get started with MeetingPulse today!

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• Audience Response Tools
• Best Practices
• Employee Engagement
• Event Planning
• Hybrid Events
• Leadership Techniques
• Meeting Prep
• Organizational Development
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Yes, it does. You can add MeetingPulse as a  PowerPoint Add-in  and see real-time results and changes right on your PowerPoint slide.

MeetingPulse works in any web browser and can be accessed from any device that uses one. You can also integrate MeetingPulse into your favorite video-meeting apps, such as  Zoom ,  Webex , and  Microsoft Teams , as well as video platforms like  YouTube  and  Vimeo.

To make MeetingPulse a seamless addition to your meetings, we offer custom themes. You can use your own logo and your colors in Attendee View as well as Broadcast View. Your company name can also be included in the webpage’s title. Your meeting can also have its own domain. This is great if you are going to promote your meeting offline. For example, you could use “acme2022.com” instead of “meet.ps/acme-all-hands”.

Want to know more about what MeetingPulse can do? Go to the  features page . Still need help?  Contact us .

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13 Interactive Presentation Ideas to Engage Students in Class

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

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

How to display presentations

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

Interactive class presentation ideas 

Ice breakers.

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

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

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

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

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

Questions and answers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Class involvement

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

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

Transitions and animations

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

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

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

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

Interactive games

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

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

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

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

Brainstorming

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

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

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

• Sydney Opera House
• Aboriginal art
• outback 

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

Make a story

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

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

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

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

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

Have a short play 

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

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

Virtual field trip

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

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

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

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

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• Teaching Tips

21 Team-Building Activities for Students [Plus: Free List of 45+ Activities]

Creating connections in your classroom will ensure your students are engaged. Use these team-building activities to lay a solid foundation for learning.

Top Hat Staff

Team building isn’t just for the corporate workplace — it can also be used in the classroom to encourage collaboration, problem-solving and decision-making. And it doesn’t have to involve awkward activities such as a ‘trust fall.’ Engaging, relevant team-building activities for students can energize your classroom and take learning to a new level.

By accomplishing group tasks, students learn to listen, trust and support each other, while developing life skills such as communication and collaboration—skills that can’t be learned from a textbook, interactive or not. Learning to get along with peers, for example, isn’t something you can pick up through memorization.

Sara Keinath, Youth Leadership Educator at Michigan State University explains the value of team-building activities for students: “Guiding group members through intentional games can help them improve their communication skills with each other, which will transfer to their work or club projects later. Many team-building activities incorporate such skills as active listening, questioning assumptions, giving clear directions, problem-solving or learning how to ask effective questions.”

Facilitate your team-building games and activities for students over the course of a semester (rather than a one-off event). Here are 21 examples of fun team-building activities for students you can use in the classroom that won’t make everyone cringe.

Help your college students connect and collaborate. Download 45+ Team-Building Activities for College Courses and build community in any classroom.

Table of Contents

Fun leadership activities for college students.

• Group activities for in-person classes

Community-building activities for college students

Adding some fun and levity to your classroom helps your students build informal connections with peers.

1) Pub quiz

Group size: Groups of 3–7 students 

Course type: Online (synchronous), in-person

You don’t need to hang out in an actual pub for this team-building activity; the idea is to mimic a trivia pub night, fostering teamwork in a fun environment by encouraging participants to work towards a common goal. For online courses, instructors can make use of Zoom rooms to organize teams or groups. The ‘host’ asks a multiple-choice trivia question, and teams are given 60 seconds to discuss and agree upon an answer. You can use generic quiz questions (from the board game Trivial Pursuit, for example), or you could relate questions back to the course material. The team with the most points wins (consider giving bonus marks on a recent quiz as a prize).

2) Idea building blocks

Group size: Groups of 5–10 students

Course type: In-person

Divide the class into teams and present them with a problem related to your course material. One team member writes down a solution and passes the sheets of paper along to the next team member, who builds upon that idea and then passes it along to the rest of the team. The paper is passed around until each team member has added to the original solution. When their time is up, a spokesperson can present their ultimate solution to the rest of the group or to the class. This activity helps develop students’ problem-solving and collaboration skills, with learners working towards a common goal.

3) Spaghetti tower

Group size: Groups of 3–10 students

Divide students into teams and provide them with ‘building’ materials, such as dry spaghetti, marshmallows, string and tape. Set a time limit for designing and building a spaghetti tower (one that’s structurally sound, of course). When their time is up, the tallest freestanding tower wins. Prizes can range from bonus points on a recent assignment to a short extension for their next paper or report. There are several variations on this, such as building a pyramid with paper cups, but the idea is to promote communication and collaboration in a leadership exercise—and provide a little incentive as well.

4) Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts aren’t just for kids. While this icebreaker game requires some preparation, it encourages students to be collaborative: planning a strategy, dividing up tasks and communicating progress. Split your students into teams and give them a time limit to find as many items as possible on a list you’ve provided. You can make this more challenging by offering clues or riddles rather than the names of items.

5) Newspaper fashion show

Group size: Groups of 6–8 students

While this team-building game is ideal for art and design students, it can be used in any classroom to get learners out of their comfort zones and allow for team bonding. Divide students into teams of six to eight, and supply them with newspaper, tape and scissors. Participants are given a time limit to design and create an item of clothing out of a newspaper, which requires group brainstorming and delegation of tasks. Bonus points if their article somehow relates to your course material. One person in the group could ‘model’ the finished product when their time is up.

Group activities for online and in-person classes

These activities are also great as icebreakers or retreat exercises.

6) Shark Tank

Split students into small groups and have them develop a product, logo, brand name and marketing strategy before presenting their idea to a panel of ‘sharks’ (those who will judge their ideas). Once each group has presented, the ‘sharks’ all vote on their favorite project with the winner getting a special certificate or an extension on their latest assignment. This activity gives students the opportunity to exercise creative thinking and work on presentation and public speaking skills.  

7) Pipeline

Group size: Groups of 3–5 students 

Teams are given the task of carrying a marble or ball from a start line to a finish line, without it ever touching the floor—or students’ hands. Here’s how it works: Each team member is given a PVC pipe (though they could also use paper and tape, or paper towel rolls). Allow five minutes of planning time, so teams can strategize how they will transport the object as a group; if it falls to the floor, they must start over. This helps to promote problem-solving, communication and great teamwork.

8) Classify this

Group size: Groups of 3–5 students

Arrange random objects on your desk—anything from paper clips to an umbrella to jewelry (aim for about 25 objects in total). Teams of students must then categorize these objects on a piece of paper or sticky note, even when no obvious connections exist. You can decide on the number of categories they must fit the object into or let each team decide. When their time is up, a participant from each group presents their list and explains the logic behind it. This team-building exercise helps students think outside the box.

9) Goodie bag skits

This might take some students out of their comfort zone but it encourages teamwork and collaboration. Divide the class into teams of up to ten people and provide each team with a ‘goodie bag’ filled with random items. Set a time limit (five-to-ten minutes) for each group to create a short skit tied to course content, based on the items in the bag. Teams then present their skits, and a group vote can be held to declare the winner. Winners can get bonus points for their grade on this activity or their in-class participation grade at the end of the school year.

10) Deserted island

Course type: Online (synchronous or asynchronous), in-person

In this icebreaker, small groups of students imagine they’re stranded on a deserted island. This activity can help students build on their leadership skills. After dividing students into teams, provide them with a list of items for survival. Students must prioritize and rank those items—first on their own, and then as a group. Not only does this test their problem-solving skills, but it also helps them differentiate between the needs of the individual and the needs of the collective. 

11) Think-pair-repair

Group size: 20 students (minimum)

Change up your usual think-pair-share activities by posing an open-ended question to your class and asking students to come up with their best answer. Next, pair peers up and encourage them to agree on a response. Combine two pairs and have a group of four accomplish the same task. Continue until half the class goes head-to-head with the other half, defending their stance. This way, students benefit from hearing their peers’ perspectives, as well as getting to practice their debate skills. If your students are online, breakout rooms on Zoom or Microsoft Teams allow you to replicate this experience with virtual team-building. 

12) Why am I here?

Group size: 15–20 students (maximum)

Have students draw a picture that represents why they enrolled in your course. Encourage them to think beyond the fact that they may need your course credit to graduate. They could think about wanting to learn more about your field or simply that their friends were enrolled in your class, too. After five minutes, have students share their picture with the larger group if they’re comfortable—a fun way to help students feel like part of one interconnected community, particularly in the back-to-school season.

→ Download Now: 45+ Team-Building Activities

13) Improv games

Group size: 20 students (minimum )

Improvisational (improv) games encourage students to think quickly and step outside their comfort zone to connect with their peers. Here are a few examples: Pair up students and ask them to figure out the most unexpected things they share in common (this can also be done online in breakout rooms). Or challenge your students to count to 20 as a group with one person saying each number—but no one is assigned a number, and if two people talk at the same time, everyone starts again at one. 

There are literally dozens of in-school activities for college students that can be used in the classroom—you can even ask students to create their own. By incorporating group activities into your teaching, you’re providing students with an opportunity to learn essential life skills they’ll carry with them long after they graduate.

14) Socratic seminar

Ask students to prepare for a discussion by reviewing a course reading or group of texts and coming up with a few higher-order discussion questions about the text. In class, pose an introductory, open-ended question. From there, students continue the conversation, prompting one another to support their claims with evidence from previous course concepts or texts. There doesn’t need to be a particular order to how students speak, but they are encouraged to respectfully share the floor with their peers.

15) Concentric circles

Group size: 20 students (maximum)

Students form two circles: an inner circle and an outer circle. Each student on the inside is paired with a student on the outside; they face each other. Pose a question to the whole group and have pairs discuss their responses with each other. After three-to-five minutes, have students on the outside circle move one space to the right so they are standing in front of the next student. Pose a new question, and the process is repeated, exposing students to the different perspectives of their entire team.

16) Absurd questions

Group size: Groups of 5 students

Course type: Online (synchronous or asynchronous), blended, in-person

Pose a fantastical, outrageous or fictitious statement to the entire group. Statements can be tailored to your discipline such as “what if everyone lived to 150” for a developmental class or “what if there was no such thing as evolution” for a biology class. Students are asked to develop as many answers to the question as they can by considering all political, social, economical and psychological angles. They can then share the answers out loud or, if you’re teaching remotely, on a discussion board, which is a great option for introverts as well.

17) This or that

This activity allows students to see where their peers stand on a variety of different topics and issues. Instructors should distribute a list of provocative statements before class, allowing students to read ahead. Then, they can ask students to indicate whether they agree, disagree or are neutral on the topic in advance, using an online discussion thread or Google Doc. In class, use another discussion thread or live chat to have students of differing opinions share their views. After a few minutes, encourage one or two members in each group to defend their position amongst a new group of students. Ask students to repeat this process for several rounds to help familiarize themselves with a variety of standpoints.

18) Snowball discussions    

Group size: Groups of 2–4 students

Assign students a case study or reading to discuss with a partner, then have them share their thoughts with the larger group. Use breakout rooms in Zoom and randomly assign students in pairs with a discussion question. After a few minutes, combine rooms to form groups of four. After another five minutes, combine groups of four to become a larger group of eight—and so on until the whole class is back together again.

19) Make it personal

Group size: Groups of 2–8 students

After you’ve covered a topic or concept in your lecture, divide students into small discussion groups (or breakout rooms online). Ask the groups questions like “How did this impact your prior knowledge of the topic?” or “What was your initial reaction to this source/article/fact?” to encourage students to reflect on their personal connections to the course concepts they are learning, which is particularly beneficial to educators around the first day of school.

20) Synthesis

Course type: Online (synchronous), in-person 

This discussion activity can help students connect course concepts by leaning on prior knowledge and other learning experiences. Consider asking questions such as “How can this idea be combined with ________ to create a more complete or comprehensive understanding of _________?” Then, students can discuss these questions in their small teams (or online breakout room) in order to learn more about one another’s experiences inside and outside the classroom. 

21) Gallery walk

Start by setting up stations or posters in a few locations around the classroom (like on the walls or on tables). For online classes, students can complete this activity in breakout rooms. Divide students into small groups and have them rotate between each station together, performing some kind of task like sorting their observations into categories. Ask them to write down a list of questions about the source material they are viewing or respond to a discussion prompt related to the course material to generate conversation.

Recommended Readings

Educators In Conversation: How to Help Students ‘Do’ Sociology

A 6-Step Exercise for Discussing AI In Education

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