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How To Write A Presentation 101 | Step-by-Step Guides with Best Examples | 2024 Reveals

Jane Ng • 05 April, 2024 • 9 min read

Is it difficult to start of presentation? You're standing before a room full of eager listeners, ready to share your knowledge and captivate their attention. But where do you begin? How do you structure your ideas and convey them effectively?

Take a deep breath, and fear not! In this article, we'll provide a road map on how to write a presentation covering everything from crafting a script to creating an engaging introduction.

So, let's dive in!

What is a presentation , what should be in a powerful presentation.

How To Write A Presentation Script
How to Write A Presentation Introduction

Key Takeaways

Tips for better presentation.

How to start a presentation
How to introduce yourself

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How long does it take to make a presentation?	20 - 60 hours.
How can I improve my presentation writing?	Minimize text, optimize visuals, and one idea per slide.

Presentations are all about connecting with your audience.

Presenting is a fantastic way to share information, ideas, or arguments with your audience. Think of it as a structured approach to effectively convey your message. And you've got options such as slideshows, speeches, demos, videos, and even multimedia presentations!

The purpose of a presentation can vary depending on the situation and what the presenter wants to achieve.

In the business world, presentations are commonly used to pitch proposals, share reports, or make sales pitches.
In educational settings, presentations are a go-to for teaching or delivering engaging lectures.
For conferences, seminars, and public events—presentations are perfect for dishing out information, inspiring folks, or even persuading the audience.

That sounds brilliant. But, how to write a presentation?

Clear and Engaging Introduction: Start your presentation with a bang! Hook your audience's attention right from the beginning by using a captivating story, a surprising fact, a thought-provoking question, or a powerful quote. Clearly state the purpose of your presentation and establish a connection with your listeners.
Well-Structured Content: Organize your content logically and coherently. Divide your presentation into sections or main points and provide smooth transitions between them. Each section should flow seamlessly into the next, creating a cohesive narrative. Use clear headings and subheadings to guide your audience through the presentation.
Compelling Visuals: Incorporate visual aids, such as images, graphs, or videos, to enhance your presentation. Make sure your visuals are visually appealing, relevant, and easy to understand. Use a clean and uncluttered design with legible fonts and appropriate color schemes.
Engaging Delivery: Pay attention to your delivery style and body language. You should maintain eye contact with your audience, use gestures to emphasize key points, and vary your tone of voice to keep the presentation dynamic.
Clear and Memorable Conclusion: Leave your audience with a lasting impression by providing a strong closing statement, a call to action, or a thought-provoking question. Make sure your conclusion ties back to your introduction and reinforces the core message of your presentation.

How To Write A Presentation Script (With Examples)

To successfully convey your message to your audience, you must carefully craft and organize your presentation script. Here are steps on how to write a presentation script:

1/ Understand Your Purpose and Audience

Clarify the purpose of your presentation. Are you informing, persuading, or entertaining?
Identify your target audience and their knowledge level, interests, and expectations.
Define what presentation format you want to use

2/ Outline the Structure of Your Presentation

Strong opening.

Start with an engaging opening that grabs the audience's attention and introduces your topic. Some types of openings you can use are:

Start with a Thought-Provoking Question: "Have you ever...?"
Begin with a Surprising Fact or Statistic: "Did you know that....?"
Use a Powerful Quote: "As Maya Angelou once said,...."
Tell a Compelling Story : "Picture this: You're standing at...."
Start with a Bold Statement: "In the fast-paced digital age...."

Main Points

Clearly state your main points or key ideas that you will discuss throughout the presentation.

Clearly State the Purpose and Main Points: Example: "In this presentation, we will delve into three key areas. First,... Next,... Finally,.... we'll discuss...."
Provide Background and Context: Example: "Before we dive into the details, let's understand the basics of....."
Present Supporting Information and Examples: Example: "To illustrate...., let's look at an example. In,....."
Address Counterarguments or Potential Concerns: Example: "While..., we must also consider... ."
Recap Key Points and Transition to the Next Section: Example: "To summarize, we've... Now, let's shift our focus to..."

Remember to organize your content logically and coherently, ensuring smooth transitions between sections.

You can conclude with a strong closing statement summarizing your main points and leaving a lasting impression. Example: "As we conclude our presentation, it's clear that... By...., we can...."

3/ Craft Clear and Concise Sentences

Once you've outlined your presentation, you need to edit your sentences. Use clear and straightforward language to ensure your message is easily understood.

Alternatively, you can break down complex ideas into simpler concepts and provide clear explanations or examples to aid comprehension.

4/ Use Visual Aids and Supporting Materials

Use supporting materials such as statistics, research findings, or real-life examples to back up your points and make them more compelling.

Example: "As you can see from this graph,... This demonstrates...."

5/ Include Engagement Techniques

Incorporate interactive elements to engage your audience, such as Q&A sessions , conducting live polls, or encouraging participation. You can also spin more funs into group, by randomly dividing people into different groups to get more diverse feedbacks!

6/ Rehearse and Revise

Practice delivering your presentation script to familiarize yourself with the content and improve your delivery.
Revise and edit your script as needed, removing any unnecessary information or repetitions.

7/ Seek Feedback

You can share your script or deliver a practice presentation to a trusted friend, colleague, or mentor to gather feedback on your script and make adjustments accordingly.

How to Write A Presentation Introduction with Examples

How to write presentations that are engaging and visually appealing? Looking for introduction ideas for the presentation? As mentioned earlier, once you have completed your script, it's crucial to focus on editing and refining the most critical element—the opening of your presentation - the section that determines whether you can captivate and retain your audience's attention right from the start.

Here is a guide on how to craft an opening that grabs your audience's attention from the very first minute:

1/ Start with a Hook

To begin, you can choose from five different openings mentioned in the script based on your desired purpose and content. Alternatively, you can opt for the approach that resonates with you the most, and instills your confidence. Remember, the key is to choose a starting point that aligns with your objectives and allows you to deliver your message effectively.

2/ Establish Relevance and Context

Then you should establish the topic of your presentation and explain why it is important or relevant to your audience. Connect the topic to their interests, challenges, or aspirations to create a sense of relevance.

3/ State the Purpose

Clearly articulate the purpose or goal of your presentation. Let the audience know what they can expect to gain or achieve by listening to your presentation.

4/ Preview Your Main Points

Give a brief overview of the main points or sections you will cover in your presentation. It helps the audience understand the structure and flow of your presentation and creates anticipation.

5/ Establish Credibility

Share your expertise or credentials related to the topic to build trust with the audience, such as a brief personal story, relevant experience, or mentioning your professional background.

6/ Engage Emotionally

Connect emotional levels with your audience by appealing to their aspirations, fears, desires, or values. They help create a deeper connection and engagement from the very beginning.

Make sure your introduction is concise and to the point. Avoid unnecessary details or lengthy explanations. Aim for clarity and brevity to maintain the audience's attention.

For example, Topic: Work-life balance

"Good morning, everyone! Can you imagine waking up each day feeling energized and ready to conquer both your personal and professional pursuits? Well, that's exactly what we'll explore today – the wonderful world of work-life balance. In a fast-paced society where work seems to consume every waking hour, it's vital to find that spot where our careers and personal lives harmoniously coexist. Throughout this presentation, we'll dive into practical strategies that help us achieve that coveted balance, boost productivity, and nurture our overall well-being.

But before we dive in, let me share a bit about my journey. As a working professional and a passionate advocate for work-life balance, I have spent years researching and implementing strategies that have transformed my own life. I am excited to share my knowledge and experiences with all of you today, with the hope of inspiring positive change and creating a more fulfilling work-life balance for everyone in this room. So, let's get started!"

🎉 Check out: How to Start a Presentation?

Whether you're a seasoned speaker or new to the stage, understanding how to write a presentation that conveys your message effectively is a valuable skill. By following the steps in this guide, you can become a captivating presenter and make your mark in every presentation you deliver.

Additionally, AhaSlides can significantly enhance your presentation's impact. With AhaSlides, you can use live polls , quizzes , and word cloud to turn your presentation into an engaging and interactive experience. Let's take a moment to explore our vast template library !

Frequently Asked Questions

How to write a presentation step by step .

You can refer to our step-by-step guide on How To Write A Presentation Script: Understand Your Purpose and Audience Outline the Structure of Your Presentation Craft Clear and Concise Sentences Use Visual Aids and Supporting Material Include Engagement Techniques Rehearse and Revise Seek Feedback

How do you start a presentation?

You can start with an engaging opening that grabs the audience's attention and introduces your topic. Consider using one of the following approaches: Start with a Thought-Provoking Question: "Have you ever...?" Begin with a Surprising Fact or Statistic: "Did you know that....?" Use a Powerful Quote: "As Maya Angelou once said,...." Tell a Compelling Story : "Picture this: You're standing at...." Start with a Bold Statement: "In the fast-paced digital age...."

What are the five parts of a presentation?

When it comes to presentation writing, a typical presentation consists of the following five parts: Introduction: Capturing the audience's attention, introducing yourself, stating the purpose, and providing an overview. Main Body: Presenting main points, evidence, examples, and arguments. Visual Aids: Using visuals to enhance understanding and engage the audience. Conclusion: Summarizing main points, restating key message, and leaving a memorable takeaway or call to action. Q&A or Discussion: Optional part for addressing questions and encouraging audience participation.

A writer who wants to create practical and valuable content for the audience

Tips to Engage with Polls & Trivia

More from AhaSlides

How to Write a Persuasive Speech | Tips for Crafting an Effective One in 2024

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How to Structure your Presentation, with Examples

August 3, 2018 - Dom Barnard

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

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

Why is structuring a presentation so important?

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

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

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

What will affect your presentation structure?

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

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

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

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

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

Good presentation structure is important for a presentation

What is the typical presentation structure?

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

1. Greet the audience and introduce yourself

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

Read our tips on How to Start a Presentation Effectively

2. Introduction

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

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

In this section also explain:

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

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

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

3. The main body of your talk

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

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

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

4. Conclusion

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

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

Follow these steps:

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

5. Thank the audience and invite questions

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

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

Questions being asked after a presentation

Demonstration

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

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

Problem-solution

This structure is particularly useful in persuading the audience.

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

Storytelling

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

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

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

Great storytelling: Examples from Alibaba Founder, Jack Ma

Remaining method

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

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

Transitions

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

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

Moving from the introduction to the first point

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

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

Shifting between similar points

Move from one point to a similar one:

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

Internal summaries

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

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

Physical movement

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

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

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

Key slides for your presentation

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here are some additional resources for slide design:

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

Group Presentations

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

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

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

Example of great presentation structure and delivery

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

How Google Works – by Eric Schmidt

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

Start with why – by Simon Sinek

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

The Wisdom of a Third Grade Dropout – by Rick Rigsby

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Blog Beginner Guides 8 Types of Presentations You Should Know [+Examples & Tips]

8 Types of Presentations You Should Know [+Examples & Tips]

Written by: Krystle Wong Aug 11, 2023

From persuasive pitches that influence opinions to instructional demonstrations that teach skills, the different types of presentations serve a unique purpose, tailored to specific objectives and audiences.

Presentations that are tailored to its objectives and audiences are more engaging and memorable. They capture attention, maintain interest and leave a lasting impression.

Don’t worry if you’re no designer — Whether you need data-driven visuals, persuasive graphics or engaging design elements, Venngage can empower you to craft presentations that stand out and effectively convey your message.

Venngage’s intuitive drag-and-drop interface, extensive presentation template library and customizable design options make it a valuable tool for creating slides that align with your specific goals and target audience.

Click to jump ahead:

8 Different types of presentations every presenter must know

How do i choose the right type of presentation for my topic or audience, types of presentation faq, 5 steps to create a presentation with venngage .

When it comes to presentations, versatility is the name of the game. Having a variety of presentation styles up your sleeve can make a world of difference in keeping your audience engaged. Here are 8 essential presentation types that every presenter should be well-acquainted with:

1. Informative presentation

Ever sat through a presentation that left you feeling enlightened? That’s the power of an informative presentation.

This presentation style is all about sharing knowledge and shedding light on a particular topic. Whether you’re diving into the depths of quantum physics or explaining the intricacies of the latest social media trends, informative presentations aim to increase the audience’s understanding.

When delivering an informative presentation, simplify complex topics with clear visuals and relatable examples. Organize your content logically, starting with the basics and gradually delving deeper and always remember to keep jargon to a minimum and encourage questions for clarity.

Academic presentations and research presentations are great examples of informative presentations. An effective academic presentation involves having clear structure, credible evidence, engaging delivery and supporting visuals. Provide context to emphasize the topic’s significance, practice to perfect timing, and be ready to address anticipated questions.

2. Persuasive presentation

If you’ve ever been swayed by a passionate speaker armed with compelling arguments, you’ve experienced a persuasive presentation .

This type of presentation is like a verbal tug-of-war, aiming to convince the audience to see things from a specific perspective. Expect to encounter solid evidence, logical reasoning and a dash of emotional appeal.

With persuasive presentations, it’s important to know your audience inside out and tailor your message to their interests and concerns. Craft a compelling narrative with a strong opening, a solid argument and a memorable closing. Additionally, use visuals strategically to enhance your points.

Examples of persuasive presentations include presentations for environmental conservations, policy change, social issues and more. Here are some engaging presentation templates you can use to get started with:

3. Demonstration or how-to presentation

A Demonstration or How-To Presentation is a type of presentation where the speaker showcases a process, technique, or procedure step by step, providing the audience with clear instructions on how to replicate the demonstrated action.

A demonstrative presentation is particularly useful when teaching practical skills or showing how something is done in a hands-on manner.

These presentations are commonly used in various settings, including educational workshops, training sessions, cooking classes, DIY tutorials, technology demonstrations and more. Designing creative slides for your how-to presentations can heighten engagement and foster better information retention.

Speakers can also consider breaking down the process into manageable steps, using visual aids, props and sometimes even live demonstrations to illustrate each step. The key is to provide clear and concise instructions, engage the audience with interactive elements and address any questions that may arise during the presentation.

4. Training or instructional presentation

Training presentations are geared towards imparting practical skills, procedures or concepts — think of this as the more focused cousin of the demonstration presentation.

Whether you’re teaching a group of new employees the ins and outs of a software or enlightening budding chefs on the art of soufflé-making, training presentations are all about turning novices into experts.

To maximize the impact of your training or instructional presentation, break down complex concepts into digestible segments. Consider using real-life examples to illustrate each point and create a connection.

You can also create an interactive presentation by incorporating elements like quizzes or group activities to reinforce understanding.

5. Sales presentation

Sales presentations are one of the many types of business presentations and the bread and butter of businesses looking to woo potential clients or customers. With a sprinkle of charm and a dash of persuasion, these presentations showcase products, services or ideas with one end goal in mind: sealing the deal.

A successful sales presentation often has key characteristics such as a clear value proposition, strong storytelling, confidence and a compelling call to action. Hence, when presenting to your clients or stakeholders, focus on benefits rather than just features.

Anticipate and address potential objections before they arise and use storytelling to showcase how your offering solves a specific problem for your audience. Utilizing visual aids is also a great way to make your points stand out and stay memorable.

A sales presentation can be used to promote service offerings, product launches or even consultancy proposals that outline the expertise and industry experience of a business. Here are some template examples you can use for your next sales presentation:

6. Pitch presentation

Pitch presentations are your ticket to garnering the interest and support of potential investors, partners or stakeholders. Think of your pitch deck as your chance to paint a vivid picture of your business idea or proposal and secure the resources you need to bring it to life.

Business presentations aside, individuals can also create a portfolio presentation to showcase their skills, experience and achievements to potential clients, employers or investors.

Craft a concise and compelling narrative. Clearly define the problem your idea solves and how it stands out in the market. Anticipate questions and practice your answers. Project confidence and passion for your idea.

7. Motivational or inspirational presentation

Feeling the need for a morale boost? That’s where motivational presentations step in. These talks are designed to uplift and inspire, often featuring personal anecdotes, heartwarming stories and a generous serving of encouragement.

Form a connection with your audience by sharing personal stories that resonate with your message. Use a storytelling style with relatable anecdotes and powerful metaphors to create an emotional connection. Keep the energy high and wrap up your inspirational presentations with a clear call to action.

Inspirational talks and leadership presentations aside, a motivational or inspirational presentation can also be a simple presentation aimed at boosting confidence, a motivational speech focused on embracing change and more.

8. Status or progress report presentation

Projects and businesses are like living organisms, constantly evolving and changing. Status or progress report presentations keep everyone in the loop by providing updates on achievements, challenges and future plans. It’s like a GPS for your team, ensuring everyone stays on track.

Be transparent about achievements, challenges and future plans. Utilize infographics, charts and diagrams to present your data visually and simplify information. By visually representing data, it becomes easier to identify trends, make predictions and strategize based on evidence.

Now that you’ve learned about the different types of presentation methods and how to use them, you’re on the right track to creating a good presentation that can boost your confidence and enhance your presentation skills .

Selecting the most suitable presentation style is akin to choosing the right outfit for an occasion – it greatly influences how your message is perceived. Here’s a more detailed guide to help you make that crucial decision:

1. Define your objectives

Begin by clarifying your presentation’s goals. Are you aiming to educate, persuade, motivate, train or perhaps sell a concept? Your objectives will guide you to the most suitable presentation type.

For instance, if you’re aiming to inform, an informative presentation would be a natural fit. On the other hand, a persuasive presentation suits the goal of swaying opinions.

2. Know your audience

Regardless if you’re giving an in-person or a virtual presentation — delve into the characteristics of your audience. Consider factors like their expertise level, familiarity with the topic, interests and expectations.

If your audience consists of professionals in your field, a more technical presentation might be suitable. However, if your audience is diverse and includes newcomers, an approachable and engaging style might work better.

3. Analyze your content

Reflect on the content you intend to present. Is it data-heavy, rich in personal stories or focused on practical skills? Different presentation styles serve different content types.

For data-driven content, an informative or instructional presentation might work best. For emotional stories, a motivational presentation could be a compelling choice.

4. Consider time constraints

Evaluate the time you have at your disposal. If your presentation needs to be concise due to time limitations, opt for a presentation style that allows you to convey your key points effectively within the available timeframe. A pitch presentation, for example, often requires delivering impactful information within a short span.

5. Leverage visuals

Visual aids are powerful tools in presentations. Consider whether your content would benefit from visual representation. If your PowerPoint presentations involve step-by-step instructions or demonstrations, a how-to presentation with clear visuals would be advantageous. Conversely, if your content is more conceptual, a motivational presentation could rely more on spoken words.

6. Align with the setting

Take the presentation environment into account. Are you presenting in a formal business setting, a casual workshop or a conference? Your setting can influence the level of formality and interactivity in your presentation. For instance, a demonstration presentation might be ideal for a hands-on workshop, while a persuasive presentation is great for conferences.

7. Gauge audience interaction

Determine the level of audience engagement you want. Interactive presentations work well for training sessions, workshops and small group settings, while informative or persuasive presentations might be more one-sided.

8. Flexibility

Stay open to adjusting your presentation style on the fly. Sometimes, unexpected factors might require a change of presentation style. Be prepared to adjust on the spot if audience engagement or reactions indicate that a different approach would be more effective.

Remember that there is no one-size-fits-all approach, and the best type of presentation may vary depending on the specific situation and your unique communication goals. By carefully considering these factors, you can choose the most effective presentation type to successfully engage and communicate with your audience.

To save time, use a presentation software or check out these presentation design and presentation background guides to create a presentation that stands out.

What are some effective ways to begin and end a presentation?

Capture your audience’s attention from the start of your presentation by using a surprising statistic, a compelling story or a thought-provoking question related to your topic.

To conclude your presentation , summarize your main points, reinforce your key message and leave a lasting impression with a powerful call to action or a memorable quote that resonates with your presentation’s theme.

How can I make my presentation more engaging and interactive?

To create an engaging and interactive presentation for your audience, incorporate visual elements such as images, graphs and videos to illustrate your points visually. Share relatable anecdotes or real-life examples to create a connection with your audience.

You can also integrate interactive elements like live polls, open-ended questions or small group discussions to encourage participation and keep your audience actively engaged throughout your presentation.

Which types of presentations require special markings

Some presentation types require special markings such as how sales presentations require persuasive techniques like emphasizing benefits, addressing objections and using compelling visuals to showcase products or services.

Demonstrations and how-to presentations on the other hand require clear markings for each step, ensuring the audience can follow along seamlessly.

That aside, pitch presentations require highlighting unique selling points, market potential and the competitive edge of your idea, making it stand out to potential investors or partners.

Need some inspiration on how to make a presentation that will captivate an audience? Here are 120+ presentation ideas to help you get started.

Creating a stunning and impactful presentation with Venngage is a breeze. Whether you’re crafting a business pitch, a training presentation or any other type of presentation, follow these five steps to create a professional presentation that stands out:

Sign up and log in to Venngage to access the editor.
Choose a presentation template that matches your topic or style.
Customize content, colors, fonts, and background to personalize your presentation.
Add images, icons, and charts to enhancevisual style and clarity.
Save, export, and share your presentation as PDF or PNG files, or use Venngage’s Presentation Mode for online showcasing.

In the realm of presentations, understanding the different types of presentation formats is like having a versatile set of tools that empower you to craft compelling narratives for every occasion.

Remember, the key to a successful presentation lies not only in the content you deliver but also in the way you connect with your audience. Whether you’re informing, persuading or entertaining, tailoring your approach to the specific type of presentation you’re delivering can make all the difference.

Presentations are a powerful tool, and with practice and dedication (and a little help from Venngage), you’ll find yourself becoming a presentation pro in no time. Now, let’s get started and customize your next presentation!

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7 Creative Ways to Start Any Presentation (With Examples!)

I like building and growing simple yet powerful products for the world and the worldwide web.

Published Date : December 4, 2020

Reading Time :

Creating an effective presentation is challenging and needs a lot of effort to become engaging with your audience. Many questions are indeed rounding up your head.

Like how to start a PowerPoint presentation and a class set-up presentation, it helps people, such as entrepreneurs, organize and disseminate their ideas flawlessly.

It clarifies intentions, concepts, and other feasible topics specifically. They may differ from execution, events, and for whom the presentation.

With that, the bottom line and the question is how to do it. How do you start a Board Meeting A formal gathering of a company's board of directors, where they discuss strategic matters, review financial performance, make key decisions, and oversee the organization's governance. <h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:21">Key Participants:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-11:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:102">Board members: Elected or appointed individuals responsible for guiding the company's direction.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:94">Executives: Company leaders like the CEO, CFO, and COO, who provide updates and reports.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-9:88">Secretary: Oversees logistics, records minutes, and ensures compliance with rules.</li> <li data-sourcepos="10:1-11:0">Legal counsel: Offers guidance on legal matters and ensures adherence to regulations.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="12:1-12:12">Purpose:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="14:1-19:0"> <li data-sourcepos="14:1-14:78">Strategic planning: Setting the company's long-term direction and goals.</li> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:81">Financial oversight: Reviewing financial reports, budgets, and investments.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-16:86">Risk management: Identifying and mitigating potential risks to the organization.</li> <li data-sourcepos="17:1-17:76">Executive evaluation: Assessing the performance of company leadership.</li> <li data-sourcepos="18:1-19:0">Decision-making: Approving key initiatives, investments, and policies.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="20:1-20:11">Format:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="22:1-25:0"> <li data-sourcepos="22:1-22:43">Varies based on company size and culture.</li> <li data-sourcepos="23:1-23:91">Typically includes presentations, discussions, voting on proposals, and Q&A sessions.</li> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-25:0">It may be formal with strict agendas or more informal with brainstorming sessions.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="26:1-26:26">Public Speaking Roles:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="28:1-30:0"> <li data-sourcepos="28:1-28:125">CEO and other executives: Act as a public speaker, presenting reports, answering questions, and defending proposals.</li> <li data-sourcepos="29:1-30:0">Board members: May participate in discussions, ask questions, and occasionally propose or speak in favor of motions.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="31:1-31:39">Addressing Public Speaking Anxiety:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="33:1-36:0"> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:87">Many executives and board members face public speaking anxiety in these meetings.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-34:93">Preparation, practicing presentations, and visualization techniques can help manage nerves.</li> <li data-sourcepos="35:1-36:0">Some companies hire public speaking coaches to offer personalized guidance and improve communication skills.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="37:1-37:248">Remember:</h2> Effective board meetings require clear communication, active participation, and informed decision-making. By understanding the format, roles, and potential challenges, participants can contribute to a productive and impactful session. " href="https://orai.com/glossary/board-meeting/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">board meeting presentation, or how do you start a presentation introduction in class?

Many students are also struggling with how to start a case study presentation, and young entrepreneurs or start-ups are struggling with how to start a business presentation.

To ease the tension and upgrade your Confidence In the context of public speaking, confidence refers to the belief in one's ability to communicate effectively and deliver one's message with clarity and impact. It encompasses various elements, including self-belief, composure, and the ability to manage one's fear of public speaking. <h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:16">Key Aspects:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-12:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:108">Self-belief: A strong conviction in your knowledge, skills, and ability to connect with your audience.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:95">Composure: Maintaining calmness and poise under pressure, even in challenging situations.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-9:100">Assertiveness: Expressing your ideas clearly and concisely, avoiding hesitation or self-doubt.</li> <li data-sourcepos="10:1-10:104">Positive self-talk: Countering negative thoughts with affirmations and focusing on your strengths.</li> <li data-sourcepos="11:1-12:0">Strong body language: Using gestures, posture, and eye contact that project confidence and professionalism.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="13:1-13:27">Benefits of Confidence:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="15:1-19:0"> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:99">Reduced anxiety: Feeling confident helps manage fear of public speaking and stage fright.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-16:133">Engaging delivery: Confident speakers project their voices, hold eye contact, and connect with their audience more effectively.</li> <li data-sourcepos="17:1-17:137">Increased persuasiveness: A confident presentation inspires belief and motivates your audience to listen and remember your message.</li> <li data-sourcepos="18:1-19:0">Greater impact: Confidently delivered speeches leave a lasting impression and achieve desired outcomes.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="20:1-20:15">Challenges:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="22:1-26:0"> <li data-sourcepos="22:1-22:112">Overcoming fear of public speaking: Many people experience some level of anxiety when speaking publicly.</li> <li data-sourcepos="23:1-23:101">Imposter syndrome: Doubting your abilities and qualifications, even when objectively qualified.</li> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:92">Negative self-talk: Internalized criticism and limiting beliefs can hamper confidence.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-26:0">Past negative experiences: Unsuccessful presentations or negative feedback can erode confidence.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="27:1-27:24">Building Confidence:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="29:1-36:0"> <li data-sourcepos="29:1-29:102">Practice and preparation: Thoroughly rehearse your speech to feel comfortable with the material.</li> <li data-sourcepos="30:1-30:101">Visualization: Imagine yourself delivering a successful presentation with confidence and poise.</li> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-31:100">Positive self-talk: Actively replace negative thoughts with affirmations about your abilities.</li> <li data-sourcepos="32:1-32:106">Seek feedback: Ask trusted individuals for constructive criticism and use it to improve your skills.</li> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:157">Consider a speaking coach: Working with a coach can provide personalized guidance and support to address specific challenges and confidence barriers.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-34:114">Start small: Gradually increase the size and complexity of your speaking engagements as you gain experience.</li> <li data-sourcepos="35:1-36:0">Focus on progress: Celebrate small successes and acknowledge your improvement over time.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="37:1-37:282">Remember:</h2> Confidence in public speaking is a journey, not a destination. By actively practicing, embracing feedback, and focusing on your strengths, you can overcome fear of public speaking and develop the confidence to deliver impactful and memorable presentations. " href="https://orai.com/glossary/confidence/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">confidence , furthermore those people above, I will share some tips, steps, and how to start a presentation example.

Why Presentation is Important in Persuading

Presentations break communication barriers. Across this, it brings mutual understanding to the audience.

In winning your stances and goals, having and knowing how to start a presentation is a must. It helps you more to give an idea of what your topic could be through moving pictures and graphics in reality.

The role of presentation in persuading can be categorized into many factors. First, it helps your audience to feel more comfortable with your spiels.

Second, you have the chance to tell your options, choices, summary, and the result of your case study, etc., within your presentation. Especially can be stoop on how to start a business presentation.

Lastly, knowing how to deliver and how to start a presentation in persuading your listener includes support for your audience’s decision. Through it, the concept of persuasion becomes more reliable with tangible materials.

It is evident in thesis defenses and academic proposals. To start a case study presentation, you must present facts, stats, related studies, and other materials.

And to achieve that in a well-presented way, you need to think and come up with a composition associated with your topic to make it reliable and credible.

Different Ways to Start a Presentation

Difficulties on how to start a case study presentation and the things you need to behold within your PowerPoint presentation would be easy after sharing with you this advice.

As for direction and advice, take a look at this list to start a presentation generally.

1. Start With a Strong Claim

The beginning is always the hard part of a presentation. But like a bottle of water, after it gets opened, the water inside can flow smoothly to your gulp.

Meaning after spitting out your first words, everything should follow accordingly to your presentation. That’s why it is the most crucial when you are learning how to start a presentation.

Try to use the iconic lines of a famous philosopher —striking advice of a hotshot entrepreneur for your business proposal presentation.

Through this, you can have a good impression on your listener. Shook them and contradict their ideas; indeed, you can have an intense or beneficial presentation.

2. Know Your Prospect

Besides technicalities and visuals, knowing first the current state, perspective, wants, and needs of your prospect or audience is vital.

Before the presentation, you can send them a pre-assessment or survey consisting of what they want to see and learn and things to keep them interested, or you need to get their attention and interest.

3. Assist the Flow With Visuals

Showing your audience a good spiel in presenting your developing ideas and concepts through pictures that can’t be put quickly in language can break communication drawbacks.

Apart from describing your idea in a presentation, you are also giving quick ways to dice abstract ideas.

4. Moving Pictures

Pictures and videos are great instruments for nurturing your ideas and your audience counterparts.

The power of moving pictures is evident as the film business and the movie industry is booming and depicting fictional stories into reality.

5. Break People’s Expectation

To break the set expectations of your audience for you, always stick to your premise. Whether on business, academics, proposals, and other topical presentations.

Call an action to smash misconceptions about your particular presentation.

6. Spill Surprising Stories

Bring stories and the characters in life. Create conflict and suspense to highlight your goal’s presentation.

It also helps you to organize your presentation’s information to be catchy and relatable. Touching stories can affect audience decision-making.

7. Know When to Pause

Don’t present vague ideas, premises, and concepts. Stop bombarding your audience.

After a round of applause or before speaking, take a three-second pause. Observe your audience’s facial expressions.

With that, you can focus on your tone. It is also an indication that you want to give your audience a short rest.

Orai helps you perfect your Speech A form of communication involving spoken language, it is used to express ideas, share information, tell stories, persuade, or entertain. Public speaking is a powerful tool used in diverse contexts, ranging from casual conversations to formal presentations. <h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:27">Components of a Speech:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-10:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:73">Content: The information, message, or story conveyed through words.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:106">Delivery: The vocal and physical presentation, including clarity, volume, gestures, and eye contact.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-10:0">Structure: The organization of the content, typically following an introduction, body, and conclusion.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="11:1-11:21">Speech in Action:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="13:1-17:0"> <li data-sourcepos="13:1-13:88">Informing: Sharing knowledge and facts, educating an audience on a specific topic.</li> <li data-sourcepos="14:1-14:119">Persuading: Advocating for a particular viewpoint, using arguments and evidence to influence thoughts or actions.</li> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:93">Motivating: Inspiring and energizing an audience, fostering action and positive change.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-17:0">Entertaining: Engaging and delighting an audience through humor, storytelling, or creative language.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="18:1-18:32">Public Speaking and Anxiety:</h2> Many people experience public speaking anxiety, a fear of speaking in front of an audience. While it's common, effective preparation, practice, and breathing techniques can significantly reduce anxiety and improve delivery. <h2 data-sourcepos="22:1-22:32">Different Types of Speeches:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="24:1-28:0"> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:81">Informative speech: Focuses on conveying information clearly and concisely.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-25:102">Persuasive speech: Aims to convince the audience to adopt a particular viewpoint or take action.</li> <li data-sourcepos="26:1-26:99">Motivational speech: Inspires and energizes the audience, building enthusiasm and commitment.</li> <li data-sourcepos="27:1-28:0">Entertaining speech: Aim to amuse and delight the audience, often using humor, storytelling, or anecdotes.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="29:1-29:33">Crafting a Compelling Speech:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="31:1-35:0"> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-31:106">Know your audience: Tailor your content and delivery to their interests, needs, and prior knowledge.</li> <li data-sourcepos="32:1-32:107">Have a clear message: Identify the main point you want to convey and structure your speech around it.</li> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:111">Engage your audience: Use varied vocal techniques, storytelling, and visual aids to keep them interested.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-35:0">Practice, practice, practice: Rehearse your speech out loud to refine your delivery and build confidence.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="36:1-36:13">Remember:</h2> Speech is a powerful tool for communication, connection, and influence. By understanding its elements, addressing potential anxieties, and tailoring your delivery to different contexts, you can harness the power of speech to achieve your intended goals and captivate your audience. " href="https://orai.com/glossary/speech/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">speech with feedback on your tone, tempo, Confidence In the context of public speaking, confidence refers to the belief in one's ability to communicate effectively and deliver one's message with clarity and impact. It encompasses various elements, including self-belief, composure, and the ability to manage one's fear of public speaking. <h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:16">Key Aspects:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-12:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:108">Self-belief: A strong conviction in your knowledge, skills, and ability to connect with your audience.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:95">Composure: Maintaining calmness and poise under pressure, even in challenging situations.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-9:100">Assertiveness: Expressing your ideas clearly and concisely, avoiding hesitation or self-doubt.</li> <li data-sourcepos="10:1-10:104">Positive self-talk: Countering negative thoughts with affirmations and focusing on your strengths.</li> <li data-sourcepos="11:1-12:0">Strong body language: Using gestures, posture, and eye contact that project confidence and professionalism.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="13:1-13:27">Benefits of Confidence:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="15:1-19:0"> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:99">Reduced anxiety: Feeling confident helps manage fear of public speaking and stage fright.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-16:133">Engaging delivery: Confident speakers project their voices, hold eye contact, and connect with their audience more effectively.</li> <li data-sourcepos="17:1-17:137">Increased persuasiveness: A confident presentation inspires belief and motivates your audience to listen and remember your message.</li> <li data-sourcepos="18:1-19:0">Greater impact: Confidently delivered speeches leave a lasting impression and achieve desired outcomes.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="20:1-20:15">Challenges:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="22:1-26:0"> <li data-sourcepos="22:1-22:112">Overcoming fear of public speaking: Many people experience some level of anxiety when speaking publicly.</li> <li data-sourcepos="23:1-23:101">Imposter syndrome: Doubting your abilities and qualifications, even when objectively qualified.</li> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:92">Negative self-talk: Internalized criticism and limiting beliefs can hamper confidence.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-26:0">Past negative experiences: Unsuccessful presentations or negative feedback can erode confidence.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="27:1-27:24">Building Confidence:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="29:1-36:0"> <li data-sourcepos="29:1-29:102">Practice and preparation: Thoroughly rehearse your speech to feel comfortable with the material.</li> <li data-sourcepos="30:1-30:101">Visualization: Imagine yourself delivering a successful presentation with confidence and poise.</li> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-31:100">Positive self-talk: Actively replace negative thoughts with affirmations about your abilities.</li> <li data-sourcepos="32:1-32:106">Seek feedback: Ask trusted individuals for constructive criticism and use it to improve your skills.</li> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:157">Consider a speaking coach: Working with a coach can provide personalized guidance and support to address specific challenges and confidence barriers.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-34:114">Start small: Gradually increase the size and complexity of your speaking engagements as you gain experience.</li> <li data-sourcepos="35:1-36:0">Focus on progress: Celebrate small successes and acknowledge your improvement over time.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="37:1-37:282">Remember:</h2> Confidence in public speaking is a journey, not a destination. By actively practicing, embracing feedback, and focusing on your strengths, you can overcome fear of public speaking and develop the confidence to deliver impactful and memorable presentations. " href="https://orai.com/glossary/confidence/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">confidence , and Conciseness In the realm of public speaking, conciseness refers to the ability to express your message clearly and effectively using the fewest possible words. It's about conveying your ideas precisely, avoiding unnecessary details and rambling while maintaining your message's essence and impact. <h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:33">Benefits for Public Speakers:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-11:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:137">Engaged audience: A concise speech keeps your audience focused and prevents them from losing interest due to excessive information.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:117">Increased clarity: By removing unnecessary clutter, your core message becomes clearer and easier to understand.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-9:137">Enhanced credibility: Concise communication projects professionalism and efficiency, making you appear more confident and prepared.</li> <li data-sourcepos="10:1-11:0">Reduced anxiety: Knowing you have a clear and concise message can help manage public speaking anxiety by minimizing the pressure to fill time.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="12:1-12:35">Challenges for Public Speakers:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="14:1-17:0"> <li data-sourcepos="14:1-14:126">Striking a balance: Knowing where to draw the line between conciseness and omitting important information can be tricky.</li> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:115">Avoiding oversimplification: Complex topics may require elaboration to ensure clarity and understanding.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-17:0">Overcoming natural tendencies: Some speakers naturally use more words than others, requiring a conscious effort to be concise.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="18:1-18:41">Strategies for Achieving Conciseness:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="20:1-25:0"> <li data-sourcepos="20:1-20:92">Identify your core message: What is your audience's main point to remember?</li> <li data-sourcepos="21:1-21:128">Prioritize and eliminate: Analyze your content and remove any information not directly supporting your core message.</li> <li data-sourcepos="22:1-22:133">Use strong verbs and active voice: This makes your sentences more impactful and avoids passive constructions that can be wordy.</li> <li data-sourcepos="23:1-23:109">Simplify your language: Avoid jargon and technical terms unless they are essential and clearly defined.</li> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-25:0">Practice and refine: Rehearse your speech aloud and identify areas where you can tighten your wording or eliminate redundancies.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="26:1-26:20">Additional Tips:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="28:1-31:0"> <li data-sourcepos="28:1-28:93">Use storytelling: Engaging narratives can convey complex ideas concisely and memorably.</li> <li data-sourcepos="29:1-29:110">Focus on the visuals: Powerful visuals can support your message without extensive explanation.</li> <li data-sourcepos="30:1-31:0">Embrace silence: Pausing deliberately can emphasize key points and give your audience time to absorb your message.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="32:1-32:404">Remember:</h2> Conciseness is a powerful tool for public speakers. By eliminating unnecessary words and focusing on your core message, you can create a more engaging, impactful, and memorable presentation for your audience. This can also help manage public speaking anxiety by reducing the pressure to fill time and enabling you to focus on delivering your message with clarity and confidence. " href="https://orai.com/glossary/conciseness/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">conciseness .

Things to Avoid on Presentation

Introducing your name along with your topic is not acceptable and is not a killer intro. To nail a presentation, be careful and prevent unnecessary elements.

Here is the list of recommended things you should avoid on how to start a presentation.

1. Cliché Sentences

Do you believe that the flow and relevancy of your presentation depend on your introduction?

If you do believe, avoid cruddy beginnings, initials, and phrases. Instead of stating, “What will your presentation be about,” give them an idea of why they need it and why it is worth sharing.

2. Plain Visuals

Stop using standard PowerPoint templates, discarded pictures, and non-HD videos. For engaging your audience, mastering your spiels is not enough to convince your listeners.

The balanced presentation consists of a good Speech A form of communication involving spoken language, it is used to express ideas, share information, tell stories, persuade, or entertain. Public speaking is a powerful tool used in diverse contexts, ranging from casual conversations to formal presentations. <h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:27">Components of a Speech:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-10:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:73">Content: The information, message, or story conveyed through words.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:106">Delivery: The vocal and physical presentation, including clarity, volume, gestures, and eye contact.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-10:0">Structure: The organization of the content, typically following an introduction, body, and conclusion.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="11:1-11:21">Speech in Action:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="13:1-17:0"> <li data-sourcepos="13:1-13:88">Informing: Sharing knowledge and facts, educating an audience on a specific topic.</li> <li data-sourcepos="14:1-14:119">Persuading: Advocating for a particular viewpoint, using arguments and evidence to influence thoughts or actions.</li> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:93">Motivating: Inspiring and energizing an audience, fostering action and positive change.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-17:0">Entertaining: Engaging and delighting an audience through humor, storytelling, or creative language.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="18:1-18:32">Public Speaking and Anxiety:</h2> Many people experience public speaking anxiety, a fear of speaking in front of an audience. While it's common, effective preparation, practice, and breathing techniques can significantly reduce anxiety and improve delivery. <h2 data-sourcepos="22:1-22:32">Different Types of Speeches:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="24:1-28:0"> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:81">Informative speech: Focuses on conveying information clearly and concisely.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-25:102">Persuasive speech: Aims to convince the audience to adopt a particular viewpoint or take action.</li> <li data-sourcepos="26:1-26:99">Motivational speech: Inspires and energizes the audience, building enthusiasm and commitment.</li> <li data-sourcepos="27:1-28:0">Entertaining speech: Aim to amuse and delight the audience, often using humor, storytelling, or anecdotes.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="29:1-29:33">Crafting a Compelling Speech:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="31:1-35:0"> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-31:106">Know your audience: Tailor your content and delivery to their interests, needs, and prior knowledge.</li> <li data-sourcepos="32:1-32:107">Have a clear message: Identify the main point you want to convey and structure your speech around it.</li> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:111">Engage your audience: Use varied vocal techniques, storytelling, and visual aids to keep them interested.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-35:0">Practice, practice, practice: Rehearse your speech out loud to refine your delivery and build confidence.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="36:1-36:13">Remember:</h2> Speech is a powerful tool for communication, connection, and influence. By understanding its elements, addressing potential anxieties, and tailoring your delivery to different contexts, you can harness the power of speech to achieve your intended goals and captivate your audience. " href="https://orai.com/glossary/speech/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">speech , spiels, and an enticing display. Instead of using plain visuals, use simple but complex graphics.

3. Lame Transitions

It is not all about effects or glitching transition effects but about how you transmit your spiels. Always open your arguments with a bang and end them using striking remarks.

4. Unstable Stats and Facts

Don’t use outdated data, studies, and facts. Don’t go to less up-to-date data websites.

Treat the facts and stats as vitamins for your presentation, as it helps your exhibition look reliable and robust.

5. Colorless Templates

Pick templates that fit your topic and theme—download innovative templates and slides. Analyze your presentation structure.

Make sure to go for a font that suits perfectly to the presentation. Go for roadmaps, unique mats, and decks.

Check out this video for more tips on how to avoid presentation pitfalls:

Steps to Enhance Your Visual Presentation

To sort things specifically on how to start a presentation. Here are the steps and tips on how to start a PowerPoint presentation.

Step 1: Get a Color Palette

“Colors speak louder than texts.”

Aside from shapes, figures, and moving objects, picking the right color palette for your presentation can beautify the board’s ambiance if that’s the case.

Logos and company icons have their color combination to mark and emphasize their brand to all consumers. It may also apply to presentations.

If you want to be considered or remembered, start by choosing the right color palette.

Step 2: Create a Theme

The theme supports the flow of your topic; it is the backbone of your presentation. Not considering this element can’t make your topic vague and not intact.

Step 3: Add Hyperlinks

Going back to how to start a presentation, comparing specific ideas is a waste of time. Using hyperlinks, you can offer your audience a “video game” theme.

Step 4: Play Short Video or Create GIFS

Before or after spiels about a particular slide, play a short video as an icebreaker. It helps you to feed your audience with a large amount of information in a shorter period.

Step 5: Practice the Presentation with Spiels in Every Portion

Practice helps you to attain presentation skills. You can interact with your audience, disseminate the messages clearly, and analyze your listeners’ mindset.

You can also improve the flow of run-throughs. These will support you to polish and enhance persuasive skills.

Practice your perfect Speech A form of communication involving spoken language, it is used to express ideas, share information, tell stories, persuade, or entertain. Public speaking is a powerful tool used in diverse contexts, ranging from casual conversations to formal presentations. <h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:27">Components of a Speech:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-10:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:73">Content: The information, message, or story conveyed through words.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:106">Delivery: The vocal and physical presentation, including clarity, volume, gestures, and eye contact.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-10:0">Structure: The organization of the content, typically following an introduction, body, and conclusion.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="11:1-11:21">Speech in Action:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="13:1-17:0"> <li data-sourcepos="13:1-13:88">Informing: Sharing knowledge and facts, educating an audience on a specific topic.</li> <li data-sourcepos="14:1-14:119">Persuading: Advocating for a particular viewpoint, using arguments and evidence to influence thoughts or actions.</li> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:93">Motivating: Inspiring and energizing an audience, fostering action and positive change.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-17:0">Entertaining: Engaging and delighting an audience through humor, storytelling, or creative language.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="18:1-18:32">Public Speaking and Anxiety:</h2> Many people experience public speaking anxiety, a fear of speaking in front of an audience. While it's common, effective preparation, practice, and breathing techniques can significantly reduce anxiety and improve delivery. <h2 data-sourcepos="22:1-22:32">Different Types of Speeches:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="24:1-28:0"> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:81">Informative speech: Focuses on conveying information clearly and concisely.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-25:102">Persuasive speech: Aims to convince the audience to adopt a particular viewpoint or take action.</li> <li data-sourcepos="26:1-26:99">Motivational speech: Inspires and energizes the audience, building enthusiasm and commitment.</li> <li data-sourcepos="27:1-28:0">Entertaining speech: Aim to amuse and delight the audience, often using humor, storytelling, or anecdotes.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="29:1-29:33">Crafting a Compelling Speech:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="31:1-35:0"> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-31:106">Know your audience: Tailor your content and delivery to their interests, needs, and prior knowledge.</li> <li data-sourcepos="32:1-32:107">Have a clear message: Identify the main point you want to convey and structure your speech around it.</li> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:111">Engage your audience: Use varied vocal techniques, storytelling, and visual aids to keep them interested.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-35:0">Practice, practice, practice: Rehearse your speech out loud to refine your delivery and build confidence.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="36:1-36:13">Remember:</h2> Speech is a powerful tool for communication, connection, and influence. By understanding its elements, addressing potential anxieties, and tailoring your delivery to different contexts, you can harness the power of speech to achieve your intended goals and captivate your audience. " href="https://orai.com/glossary/speech/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">speech with Orai

Presentation Checklist

Besides sharing the tips and steps on how to start a presentation, let me give you a sample presentation checklist to support and organize your presentation.


Presentable Outfit
A backup copy of your presentation
Early arrival to set up essential equipment
Practice your presentation
Props and other needed materials

This checklist may vary in every presentation. You can create and set your reminders.

Vital Points of a Presentation

To use your time wisely , try this outline on creating a presentation, such as how to start a Board Meeting A formal gathering of a company's board of directors, where they discuss strategic matters, review financial performance, make key decisions, and oversee the organization's governance. <h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:21">Key Participants:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-11:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:102">Board members: Elected or appointed individuals responsible for guiding the company's direction.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:94">Executives: Company leaders like the CEO, CFO, and COO, who provide updates and reports.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-9:88">Secretary: Oversees logistics, records minutes, and ensures compliance with rules.</li> <li data-sourcepos="10:1-11:0">Legal counsel: Offers guidance on legal matters and ensures adherence to regulations.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="12:1-12:12">Purpose:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="14:1-19:0"> <li data-sourcepos="14:1-14:78">Strategic planning: Setting the company's long-term direction and goals.</li> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:81">Financial oversight: Reviewing financial reports, budgets, and investments.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-16:86">Risk management: Identifying and mitigating potential risks to the organization.</li> <li data-sourcepos="17:1-17:76">Executive evaluation: Assessing the performance of company leadership.</li> <li data-sourcepos="18:1-19:0">Decision-making: Approving key initiatives, investments, and policies.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="20:1-20:11">Format:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="22:1-25:0"> <li data-sourcepos="22:1-22:43">Varies based on company size and culture.</li> <li data-sourcepos="23:1-23:91">Typically includes presentations, discussions, voting on proposals, and Q&A sessions.</li> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-25:0">It may be formal with strict agendas or more informal with brainstorming sessions.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="26:1-26:26">Public Speaking Roles:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="28:1-30:0"> <li data-sourcepos="28:1-28:125">CEO and other executives: Act as a public speaker, presenting reports, answering questions, and defending proposals.</li> <li data-sourcepos="29:1-30:0">Board members: May participate in discussions, ask questions, and occasionally propose or speak in favor of motions.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="31:1-31:39">Addressing Public Speaking Anxiety:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="33:1-36:0"> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:87">Many executives and board members face public speaking anxiety in these meetings.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-34:93">Preparation, practicing presentations, and visualization techniques can help manage nerves.</li> <li data-sourcepos="35:1-36:0">Some companies hire public speaking coaches to offer personalized guidance and improve communication skills.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="37:1-37:248">Remember:</h2> Effective board meetings require clear communication, active participation, and informed decision-making. By understanding the format, roles, and potential challenges, participants can contribute to a productive and impactful session. " href="https://orai.com/glossary/board-meeting/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">board meeting presentation and more.

This table only serves as a sample outline. It may also vary depending on your topic and forte.


Bold Introduction	Engaging VisualsUsed Famous People’s Iconic Lines
Body and Discussion	Part 1: Premise, Objective, and Goal Part 2: Argument and Background InformationPart 3: Expected Result and Resolution (others.)
Conclusion	In summary of the whole presentation, the topic leaves a remarkable ending.

How to Start Business Presentation and Other Samples

For all entrepreneurs, this portion is for you. To gratify your needs and to enlighten you on how to start a business presentation. Here are the basics.

Create a Plan

Always start with a concrete plan to strengthen the body of your presentation. With that, your listeners can’t easily stab your presentation.

Pick The Right Deck

If you are discussing in a formal setting, pick a deck with gray colors, choose dominant colors, and then combine.

Tell Stories and Laugh

To balance the whole presentation, put some icebreakers and funny idioms about your topic. Make sure it is sensible.

Add Verbal Cues and Signpost

It helps your audience to get intact through the presentation. Try to use signal transitions, such as words or phrases that would give interconnections.

Collect Images and Charts

Of course, images and charts are vital. Make sure to use HD photos and reliable maps from data websites.

Initiate Audience Interaction

After the presentation, evaluate it by asking your listeners if they have any questions.

Questions like these must be considered and answered in your presentation.

How would you design your material?
How factual is it?
What is the target deadline? Show your timeline.

Watch this live Speech A form of communication involving spoken language, it is used to express ideas, share information, tell stories, persuade, or entertain. Public speaking is a powerful tool used in diverse contexts, ranging from casual conversations to formal presentations. <h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:27">Components of a Speech:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-10:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:73">Content: The information, message, or story conveyed through words.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:106">Delivery: The vocal and physical presentation, including clarity, volume, gestures, and eye contact.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-10:0">Structure: The organization of the content, typically following an introduction, body, and conclusion.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="11:1-11:21">Speech in Action:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="13:1-17:0"> <li data-sourcepos="13:1-13:88">Informing: Sharing knowledge and facts, educating an audience on a specific topic.</li> <li data-sourcepos="14:1-14:119">Persuading: Advocating for a particular viewpoint, using arguments and evidence to influence thoughts or actions.</li> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:93">Motivating: Inspiring and energizing an audience, fostering action and positive change.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-17:0">Entertaining: Engaging and delighting an audience through humor, storytelling, or creative language.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="18:1-18:32">Public Speaking and Anxiety:</h2> Many people experience public speaking anxiety, a fear of speaking in front of an audience. While it's common, effective preparation, practice, and breathing techniques can significantly reduce anxiety and improve delivery. <h2 data-sourcepos="22:1-22:32">Different Types of Speeches:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="24:1-28:0"> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:81">Informative speech: Focuses on conveying information clearly and concisely.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-25:102">Persuasive speech: Aims to convince the audience to adopt a particular viewpoint or take action.</li> <li data-sourcepos="26:1-26:99">Motivational speech: Inspires and energizes the audience, building enthusiasm and commitment.</li> <li data-sourcepos="27:1-28:0">Entertaining speech: Aim to amuse and delight the audience, often using humor, storytelling, or anecdotes.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="29:1-29:33">Crafting a Compelling Speech:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="31:1-35:0"> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-31:106">Know your audience: Tailor your content and delivery to their interests, needs, and prior knowledge.</li> <li data-sourcepos="32:1-32:107">Have a clear message: Identify the main point you want to convey and structure your speech around it.</li> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:111">Engage your audience: Use varied vocal techniques, storytelling, and visual aids to keep them interested.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-35:0">Practice, practice, practice: Rehearse your speech out loud to refine your delivery and build confidence.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="36:1-36:13">Remember:</h2> Speech is a powerful tool for communication, connection, and influence. By understanding its elements, addressing potential anxieties, and tailoring your delivery to different contexts, you can harness the power of speech to achieve your intended goals and captivate your audience. " href="https://orai.com/glossary/speech/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">speech or business seminar to get different hooks and other strategies to impress your listeners with your business presentation:

3 Essential Parts on How to Start a Board Meeting Presentation

As your supervisor and other executives watch you presenting, stand tall and present like a boss through these points.

Create the Structure of Your Presentation

It organizes the presentation and connects the main points to sub-points. With that, you can have minimal effort but impactful results.

Build Big Introduction

Try to begin asking the “why’s,” furthermore, enlighten them of “hows.” How to conduct, how to execute, and how to surpass their limits.

Stop introducing your presentation with your name. Always start to implore your audience with no cliché intro.

Develop Your Data and Tell Crucial Parts

You can be ideological, symbolic, and rhetorical, and these things are not yet easy to comprehend without visuals. That’s why it is essential to develop and expand your data to make it understandable.

Suppose you want to have a good impression when presenting a business proposal to your bosses and other hotshots. Watch this video on striking tips and techniques for a presentation:

Vital Aspects of How to Start a Case Study Presentation

Case study presentations are more technical, unlike the other displays. It should be specific, tangible, credible, and substantial.

Also, here are the vital points to follow.

Show the Possible Results. Collect the possible outcomes or predicted results. With that, you can jump to “how” you will carry the topic into different methods and production.
Prepare Back-Up Studies. Always have a backup; there are some unexpected circumstances, emergencies, and other possible matters that may ruin your original presentation. It is wise to prepare around three to six backup studies you can easily refer to.
Connect to Your Prospect’s Situation. Research on their state, status, and other related ideas. It will help your case study to get a thumbs up.
Focus on Deals. Keep in mind that you have a target deal. Always connect your study to the current agreement and profitable offers.

How to Start a Presentation Introduction in Class

Facing new students is challenging, right? If you want to get a good impression from your class in different situations, take a look at these tips.

Present Yourself With Manners

Tell them briefly who you are and why you are there in front of them while showing the right conduct and manners.

Cite Your Objectives and Its Relevance

The material or your material must be the center of any presentation. Discuss its factuality and how tangible it is. Along with these, tell stories that may catch their interest and attention throughout the presentation.

Leave Interesting Statement

End it with a bang! Make them think and stare at you. You can also give them riddles and some metaphorical set of words as an ending remark .

Indeed, you will gain their participation, plus you are helping your listeners to think critically.

Become a pro presenter. Download Orai and start practicing

How to Make an Unforgettable Start-Up Presentation

To give more emphasis on how to start a business presentation and to help young entrepreneurs. I’ll share with you this detailed outline. I hope you tuck this with you.

1. Set Goals For Your Business Presentation

Always set the stage with objectives. Since you are presenting to get clients and investment, it would help if you cleared how long it takes your business proposal.

2. Start With Provoking Questions or Stories

Never underestimate the power of storytelling. Initiate your presentation with real-life stories.

Stating provoking questions can grab attention, positive or negative, is a good result. It helps you to get your listener’s ears and eyes.

3. Show Alarming Statistics, Graphics as a Clue

This recommendation is similar to a word game, the “4-pics, One Word,” demonstrating the idea or topic with photos will be more immersing.

Visuals are one of the key points to expand a presentation. They are depicting patterns, diagrams, and trends. Lend quick analysis and predictions.

By using graphics, you can easily sustain the interest of your listeners and attract more viewers.

4. Know Your Material

Master your presentation and fill loops. And on your topic. Study the weak points and establish more of the strengths of the presentation.

With that, you can derive the information smoothly. Take note of this. It is also vital on how to start a Board Meeting A formal gathering of a company's board of directors, where they discuss strategic matters, review financial performance, make key decisions, and oversee the organization's governance. <h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:21">Key Participants:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-11:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:102">Board members: Elected or appointed individuals responsible for guiding the company's direction.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:94">Executives: Company leaders like the CEO, CFO, and COO, who provide updates and reports.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-9:88">Secretary: Oversees logistics, records minutes, and ensures compliance with rules.</li> <li data-sourcepos="10:1-11:0">Legal counsel: Offers guidance on legal matters and ensures adherence to regulations.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="12:1-12:12">Purpose:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="14:1-19:0"> <li data-sourcepos="14:1-14:78">Strategic planning: Setting the company's long-term direction and goals.</li> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:81">Financial oversight: Reviewing financial reports, budgets, and investments.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-16:86">Risk management: Identifying and mitigating potential risks to the organization.</li> <li data-sourcepos="17:1-17:76">Executive evaluation: Assessing the performance of company leadership.</li> <li data-sourcepos="18:1-19:0">Decision-making: Approving key initiatives, investments, and policies.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="20:1-20:11">Format:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="22:1-25:0"> <li data-sourcepos="22:1-22:43">Varies based on company size and culture.</li> <li data-sourcepos="23:1-23:91">Typically includes presentations, discussions, voting on proposals, and Q&A sessions.</li> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-25:0">It may be formal with strict agendas or more informal with brainstorming sessions.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="26:1-26:26">Public Speaking Roles:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="28:1-30:0"> <li data-sourcepos="28:1-28:125">CEO and other executives: Act as a public speaker, presenting reports, answering questions, and defending proposals.</li> <li data-sourcepos="29:1-30:0">Board members: May participate in discussions, ask questions, and occasionally propose or speak in favor of motions.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="31:1-31:39">Addressing Public Speaking Anxiety:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="33:1-36:0"> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:87">Many executives and board members face public speaking anxiety in these meetings.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-34:93">Preparation, practicing presentations, and visualization techniques can help manage nerves.</li> <li data-sourcepos="35:1-36:0">Some companies hire public speaking coaches to offer personalized guidance and improve communication skills.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="37:1-37:248">Remember:</h2> Effective board meetings require clear communication, active participation, and informed decision-making. By understanding the format, roles, and potential challenges, participants can contribute to a productive and impactful session. " href="https://orai.com/glossary/board-meeting/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">board meeting presentation.

5. Add Business-Related Stories and Humor

Put the top 10 successful corporations, traders, companies, and other information that may help you present your goal. Flash the motto of some famous entrepreneurs. Analyze or contradict it to gain more attention.

Try to spiel some business jokes as an icebreaker. Any possible facts about business that you can use — catch it!

6. Hold Your Audience With Visuals

Play videos like a Public Service Announcement (PSA), but make sure it is connected to your topic.

Learn how to start a business presentation that has movement and action for society. With that, your listeners may think your presentation is worth investing in.

7. Relax and Have an Early Set-Up

Stay calm and don’t even think about drawbacks or shortcomings, especially the night before the presentation.

Make sure to pamper your body. Create also a plan B for unexpected circumstances.

8. Calculate Your Time and Sort it Into Parts

In your run-through, always set a timer. It gives you a heads up if you may look rushing or too slow in explaining each slide.

Being not responsible for other people’s time is a turn-off, especially in business, where time is essential in the industry.

To present other samples wisely. Let me share some videos to rock and how to start a presentation:

What are some examples of great presentation structures and delivery techniques?

Successful presentations like “How Google Works” and “Start with Why” prove the power of Clarity In public speaking, clarity refers to the quality of your message being readily understood and interpreted by your audience. It encompasses both the content and delivery of your speech, ensuring your message resonates and leaves a lasting impact. <h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:16">Key Aspects:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-13:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:133">Conciseness: Avoid unnecessary details, digressions, or excessive complexity. Focus on delivering the core message efficiently.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:149">Simple language: Choose words and phrases your audience understands readily, avoiding jargon or technical terms unless you define them clearly.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-9:145">Logical structure: Organize your thoughts and ideas logically, using transitions and signposts to guide your audience through your message.</li> <li data-sourcepos="10:1-10:136">Effective visuals: If using visuals, ensure they are clear, contribute to your message, and don't distract from your spoken words.</li> <li data-sourcepos="11:1-11:144">Confident delivery: Speak clearly and articulately, avoiding mumbling or rushing your words. Maintain good eye contact with your audience.</li> <li data-sourcepos="12:1-13:0">Active voice: Emphasize active voice for better flow and avoid passive constructions that can be less engaging.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="14:1-14:24">Benefits of Clarity:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="16:1-20:0"> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-16:123">Enhanced audience engagement: A clear message keeps your audience interested and helps them grasp your points easily.</li> <li data-sourcepos="17:1-17:123">Increased credibility: Clear communication projects professionalism and expertise, building trust with your audience.</li> <li data-sourcepos="18:1-18:111">Improved persuasiveness: A well-understood message is more likely to resonate and win over your audience.</li> <li data-sourcepos="19:1-20:0">Reduced confusion: Eliminating ambiguity minimizes misinterpretations and ensures your message arrives as intended.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="21:1-21:15">Challenges:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="23:1-27:0"> <li data-sourcepos="23:1-23:129">Condensing complex information: Simplifying complex topics without sacrificing crucial details requires skill and practice.</li> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:128">Understanding your audience: Tailoring your language and structure to resonate with a diverse audience can be challenging.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-25:85">Managing nerves: Nerves can impact your delivery, making it unclear or rushed.</li> <li data-sourcepos="26:1-27:0">Avoiding jargon: Breaking technical habits and simplifying language requires constant awareness.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="28:1-28:22">Improving Clarity:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="30:1-35:0"> <li data-sourcepos="30:1-30:117">Practice and rehearse: The more you rehearse your speech, the more natural and clear your delivery will become.</li> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-31:107">Seek feedback: Share your draft speech with others and ask for feedback on clarity and comprehension.</li> <li data-sourcepos="32:1-32:161">Consider a public speaking coach: A coach can provide personalized guidance on structuring your message, simplifying language, and improving your delivery.</li> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:128">Join a public speaking group: Practicing in a supportive environment can help you gain confidence and refine your clarity.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-35:0">Listen to effective speakers: Analyze how clear and impactful others achieve communication.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="36:1-36:250">Remember:</h2> Clarity is a cornerstone of impactful public speaking. By honing your message, focusing on delivery, and actively seeking feedback, you can ensure your audience receives your message clearly and leaves a lasting impression. " href="https://orai.com/glossary/clarity/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">clarity and simplicity. Both Schmidt and Sinek captivate audiences with straightforward messages enhanced by visuals (slides or whiteboard) that support, not overpower, their narratives. The lesson: ditch complexity, focus on your core message, and deliver it with a conviction for maximum impact.

How can group presentations be structured effectively?

Effective group presentations require thorough rehearsal, clean transitions, and speaker handovers. Recap your section, introduce the next speaker, and gesture towards them to link sections and keep the audience engaged.

How can physical movement enhance the delivery of my presentation?

Ditch the podium! Move around the stage to grab attention, connect with listeners, and emphasize key points. Strategic shifts in location signal transitions, while your energy and passion come alive through purposeful movement. Make your presentation dynamic and memorable – get moving!

How can I structure a presentation using the remaining method approach?

To master the “remaining method,” Briefly introduce the controversy, dive deep with your side (logos & pathos!), acknowledge and dissect opposing solutions, and then unveil your “remaining solution” as the superior answer. Wrap up with a strong summary and a call to action. Guide your audience, earn trust, and win them over!

What are the key elements involved in storytelling for presentations?

Ditch the dry facts! Captivate your audience with stories. Use classic structures like the hero’s journey or jump into the action with “in media res.” Craft your narrative with a clear plot, relatable characters, and a consistent tone. Tie it all back to your key points for maximum impact. Storytelling makes presentations memorable, engaging, and impactful – go forth and win hearts (and minds)!

How can I structure my presentation using the problem-solution method?

Hook them, hit them, fix them! Problem-solution presentations start with a clear pain point, delve deep with causes and impacts (think logic and emotions!), and then unveil your solution as the hero and its amazing benefits. Finish with a call to action – tell them what to do next! Simple, powerful, persuasive.

What are some common presentation structures beyond the typical format described in the passage?

Forget the slides; show and tell! Demo presentations explain the “what” and “why” of your product, then dazzle with a live showcase. Highlight problem-solving and potential uses to keep them hooked. Leave them curious and wanting more with a glimpse of what your product can truly do. It’s all about interactive understanding and engagement!

What is the purpose of the Q&A session at the end of a presentation?

Q&A isn’t just an add-on! It’s a chance to clear confusion, recap key points, and answer burning questions. Wrapping up the discussion, offering deeper dives, and inviting audience participation – it’s the perfect way to seal the deal and connect with your listeners.

What should be included in the main body of a presentation?

Ditch the tangents and deliver on your promises! The main body is where you unpack your points. Organize it clearly, hit each topic with evidence and examples, summarize as you go, and link your ideas. Keep it focused, relevant, and audience-friendly – take notes, stay on track, and make your impact!

How should the introduction of a presentation be structured?

Hook, roadmap, and expectations – that’s your intro! Briefly introduce the topic, explain why it matters and what you’ll cover, and tell the audience how long they’re in for and if they can participate. Set the stage, guide them through, and make them feel comfortable – then dive in!

Why is structuring a presentation important?

Get organized, and get remembered! Structure keeps your audience engaged and learning while boosting your Confidence In the context of public speaking, confidence refers to the belief in one's ability to communicate effectively and deliver one's message with clarity and impact. It encompasses various elements, including self-belief, composure, and the ability to manage one's fear of public speaking. <h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:16">Key Aspects:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-12:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:108">Self-belief: A strong conviction in your knowledge, skills, and ability to connect with your audience.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:95">Composure: Maintaining calmness and poise under pressure, even in challenging situations.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-9:100">Assertiveness: Expressing your ideas clearly and concisely, avoiding hesitation or self-doubt.</li> <li data-sourcepos="10:1-10:104">Positive self-talk: Countering negative thoughts with affirmations and focusing on your strengths.</li> <li data-sourcepos="11:1-12:0">Strong body language: Using gestures, posture, and eye contact that project confidence and professionalism.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="13:1-13:27">Benefits of Confidence:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="15:1-19:0"> <li data-sourcepos="15:1-15:99">Reduced anxiety: Feeling confident helps manage fear of public speaking and stage fright.</li> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-16:133">Engaging delivery: Confident speakers project their voices, hold eye contact, and connect with their audience more effectively.</li> <li data-sourcepos="17:1-17:137">Increased persuasiveness: A confident presentation inspires belief and motivates your audience to listen and remember your message.</li> <li data-sourcepos="18:1-19:0">Greater impact: Confidently delivered speeches leave a lasting impression and achieve desired outcomes.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="20:1-20:15">Challenges:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="22:1-26:0"> <li data-sourcepos="22:1-22:112">Overcoming fear of public speaking: Many people experience some level of anxiety when speaking publicly.</li> <li data-sourcepos="23:1-23:101">Imposter syndrome: Doubting your abilities and qualifications, even when objectively qualified.</li> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:92">Negative self-talk: Internalized criticism and limiting beliefs can hamper confidence.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-26:0">Past negative experiences: Unsuccessful presentations or negative feedback can erode confidence.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="27:1-27:24">Building Confidence:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="29:1-36:0"> <li data-sourcepos="29:1-29:102">Practice and preparation: Thoroughly rehearse your speech to feel comfortable with the material.</li> <li data-sourcepos="30:1-30:101">Visualization: Imagine yourself delivering a successful presentation with confidence and poise.</li> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-31:100">Positive self-talk: Actively replace negative thoughts with affirmations about your abilities.</li> <li data-sourcepos="32:1-32:106">Seek feedback: Ask trusted individuals for constructive criticism and use it to improve your skills.</li> <li data-sourcepos="33:1-33:157">Consider a speaking coach: Working with a coach can provide personalized guidance and support to address specific challenges and confidence barriers.</li> <li data-sourcepos="34:1-34:114">Start small: Gradually increase the size and complexity of your speaking engagements as you gain experience.</li> <li data-sourcepos="35:1-36:0">Focus on progress: Celebrate small successes and acknowledge your improvement over time.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="37:1-37:282">Remember:</h2> Confidence in public speaking is a journey, not a destination. By actively practicing, embracing feedback, and focusing on your strengths, you can overcome fear of public speaking and develop the confidence to deliver impactful and memorable presentations. " href="https://orai.com/glossary/confidence/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">confidence and delivery. It’s a win-win for both the speaker and the listener!

Conclusion:

To be an effective speaker or presenter, you must master how to start a presentation. Learn the basics and dynamics.

Earn persuasive skills and grasp how to start a PowerPoint presentation with the steps and tips above to disseminate the information in a free-lingual way effectively.

I hope you find this helpful; you are free to use these tips for any goals.

You can try Orai , an AI-powered Speech Coach A speech coach is a trained professional who provides personalized guidance and support to individuals seeking to improve their public speaking skills. Whether you aim to master public speaking for professional presentations, overcome stage fright, or simply hone your everyday communication, a speech coach can tailor their expertise to meet your needs and goals. <h2 data-sourcepos="5:1-5:32">What Does a Speech Coach Do?</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="7:1-13:0"> <li data-sourcepos="7:1-7:124">Conduct assessments: Analyze your strengths, weaknesses, and communication style through evaluations and observations.</li> <li data-sourcepos="8:1-8:149">Develop personalized plans: Create a customized roadmap with exercises, techniques, and feedback to address your specific areas of improvement.</li> <li data-sourcepos="9:1-9:167">Offer expert instruction: We will guide you through various aspects of public speaking, including vocal control, body language, content delivery, and overcoming anxiety.</li> <li data-sourcepos="10:1-10:168">Provide practice opportunities: Facilitate mock presentations, simulations, and role-playing scenarios to refine your skills in a safe and supportive environment.</li> <li data-sourcepos="11:1-11:114">Offer constructive feedback: Identify areas for improvement and suggest strategies for achieving your goals.</li> <li data-sourcepos="12:1-13:0">Boost confidence and motivation: Encourage and support you throughout your journey, empowering you to become a confident and impactful communicator.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="14:1-14:40">Who Can Benefit from a Speech Coach?</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="16:1-20:0"> <li data-sourcepos="16:1-16:174">Professionals: Refining public speaking skills can benefit executives, entrepreneurs, salespeople, leaders, and anyone who presents in professional settings.</li> <li data-sourcepos="17:1-17:160">Students: Teachers, public speakers, debaters, and students wanting to excel in presentations or classroom settings can gain valuable skills with a coach.</li> <li data-sourcepos="18:1-18:176">Individuals who fear public speaking: Coaching can help those who experience anxiety or nervousness when speaking in public develop strategies and gain confidence.</li> <li data-sourcepos="19:1-20:0">Anyone seeking to improve communication: A coach can provide guidance to individuals seeking to enhance their communication skills for personal or professional development.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="21:1-21:28">Types of Speech Coaches:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="23:1-26:0"> <li data-sourcepos="23:1-23:110">Private coaches: Work one-on-one with individuals to provide highly personalized attention and feedback.</li> <li data-sourcepos="24:1-24:130">Group coaches: Offer workshops or classes in group settings, often at a lower cost but with less individualized attention.</li> <li data-sourcepos="25:1-26:0">Specialization coaches: Some coaches specialize in executive communication, storytelling, or presentation design.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="27:1-27:35">Finding the Right Speech Coach:</h2> <ul data-sourcepos="29:1-33:0"> <li data-sourcepos="29:1-29:91">Identify your goals: What areas do you want to improve? What are your specific needs?</li> <li data-sourcepos="30:1-30:109">Research credentials and experience: Look for qualified coaches with relevant experience and expertise.</li> <li data-sourcepos="31:1-31:122">Consider availability and budget: Set a budget and explore options that fit your schedule and financial constraints.</li> <li data-sourcepos="32:1-33:0">Schedule consultations: Talk to potential coaches to assess their personality, approach, and compatibility with your needs.</li> </ul> <h2 data-sourcepos="34:1-34:418">Remember:</h2> Investing in a speech coach can be a transformative experience, enhancing your communication skills, boosting your confidence, and empowering you to achieve your communication goals. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting your journey, consider exploring the potential of working with a speech coach to unlock your full potential as a communicator and master public speaking. " href="https://orai.com/glossary/speech-coach/" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex="0" role="link">speech coach that perfectly suits your budget! They provide instant feedback on you to help with your public speaking needs. Start your free trial with Orai today!

How many words is a 5-minute speech, good attention getters for speeches with 10+ examples, quick links.

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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

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

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

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

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The 6 types of presentation (and why you need them)

Hrideep barot.

Presentation , Public Speaking

We all have been exposed to different types of presentations right from school years.

Group presentations, lectures by teachers and professors, seminars, webinars or online presentations, e-learning, e-conferences, etc., are all different types of presentations that we come across in our daily lives.

But each of them work for different settings.

In this article, we will take a look at 6 such types of presentations and when and why you need them.

1. Informative Presentations

This is the most common type of presentation, be it in an educational setting or business or corporate setting.

The aim of an informative presentation is to give detailed information about a product, concept, or idea to a specific kind of audience.

They are often analytical or require a rational analysis of the data presented.

Training sessions or one-day workshops are good examples where this kind of presentation is used.

Here is an example of an informative presentation on public speaking and presentations.

Now, there are different situations where you can use informative presentations.

a) Reporting

Although a report is a written explanation of an event, it can also be verbal.

A perfect place to use informative presentations is news reporting , as it requires the presenter to present information systematically.

b) Briefing

This involves explaining both positive and negative aspects of a particular topic in a few words.

It is providing information quickly and effectively about an issue to influence decisions or to come to solutions.

Hence, the decision-making bodies of an organization can make use of this kind of presentation to save time and effectively come to conclusions.

c) Research

Informative presentations are often used to present research findings to a specific audience , as it involves reporting the findings and briefing it to the audience.

Hence, almost everywhere where research takes place, be it in an educational context or occupational , can make use of this kind of presentation.

Tips for giving informative presentations

As there would be a lot of technical information and statistics, focus on the main points or agenda first and if you have more time, you can add them at the end
Keep your presentation simple and clear . Avoid complex sentence structures and graphics
Tell the outline of your presentation briefly in the introduction for a better flow
Make sure that your presentation does not stretch for too long. 10-15 minutes is what your audience can concentrate on
Restate your keyphrase at the end and briefly summarize all the important points of your presentation

Speech topics for an informative presentation

Cropping techniques
Organic Farming
Corporate Farming
Hydroponics
Sustainable Agriculture, etc
Climate change
Environmental issues
Eco-friendly ways of management
Eco-politics
Eco-feminism, etc
Gender studies
Gender and education
Religious studies
History of education
Philosophy of education, etc
Ethnic cultures
Indigenous cultures
Multiculturalism
Popular culture
Cultural trends, etc
Business administration
Business ethics
Business models
Promotion and marketing communications
Finance, etc

2. Persuasive presentations

Persuasion is the art of motivating or convincing someone to act or make a change in their actions or thoughts.

If you are planning to give a persuasive presentation, and are looking for how to give a persuasive speech, check out our article on A Comprehensive Guide to Writing a Persuasive Speech to gain in-depth knowledge about the art of giving persuasive presentations.

Persuasive presentations are also widely used form after informative presentations.

There are various circumstances where persuasive presentations can be used.

a) Policy-making

Avoid taking too much time when you want to persuade any decision!

Government bodies make use of persuasion almost every time, be it the legislative or decision-making bodies, executive bodies, or even courts.

Even election campaigns involve using persuasive presentations as an instrument of their pre-determined goals of swaying the citizens.

For that matter, any executive or management body of an organization can make use of these kinds of presentations.

b) Value judgment

Give personal examples if you want to persuade someone's viewpoints!

This kind involves answering the question “why” and supplementing it with possible benefits.

Most Ted talks and YouTube videos try to persuade the audience and fall into the persuasive presentation category.

Even religious heads use this as a means of persuading their believers to follow their belief system.

Deciding on a procedure or telling an audience the correct procedure of doing something is another situation.

An example of a persuasive presentation

Bailey parnell: is social media hurting your mental health.

This TED talk by Bailey Parnell is a good example of a persuasive presentation.

She starts strong by asking rhetorical questions that set the mood for her further points.

We can also see how the speaker is genuinely concerned regarding the issue, engaging the audience till the end.

Tips for giving a persuasive presentation

Start your presentation with a relevant quote or statistics about your topic to establish credibility
Tell personal anecdotes and examples wherever necessary to develop an emotional connection with your audience
Deliver your presentation with passion and genuine interest to motivate your audience to think
Answer the question “why” for better understanding and clarity in your presentation
State your viewpoint clearly and clarify doubts if your audience seems to have any

Speech topics for persuasive presentations

Is animal testing ethical?
Should cosmetic surgery be banned?
Can the death penalty be the only solution to the rising crime rates?
Should the legal age be 18?
Should immigration laws be revised?
Why you should never add your parents on Facebook
Guys are more interested in gossip than girls
It is your major duty to annoy your parents
You are not enjoying student life if you are not procrastinating
Endless memes can be made on my life, etc
Is taming wild and exotic animals ethical?
The importance of emotional support animals
Why are bunnies the perfect pet?
Why do animals make the best companions?
Why there is a need for patients to have emotional support animals, etc
How and why there is a need to do business analysis before opening your business?
Why small businesses are successful and more profitable?
Why do sales and customer service departments need to be paid more?
Why does the HR department need to be polite and understanding?
Why should you not do business with a family member?
How charity is a means of converting black money to white?
Why is detaining people on the suspicion of terrorism justified?
Should euthanasia be made legal?
Should violent crime offenders be sentenced to death?
Should foreigners be allowed to buy a property?

3. Demonstrative presentations

This involves demonstrating a process or the functioning of a product in a step-by-step fashion.

So, a master class on communication skills or making a product model is an example of a demonstrative presentation.

Usually, the audience is an active part of such presentations and these can work in any context where you want the audience to learn a new skill.

a) Instructions

This involves giving guidelines or steps of a process or work .

Teaching how to make a car model step-by-step is a good example where you can use this kind of informative presentation to guide your audience.

Another instance can be at the workplace , to train the employees or introduce them to a new product at work.

This type also works with demonstrating recipes and cooking workshops.

An example of demonstrative presentation

The easy guide on making just about any smoothie.

In this recipe demonstration, he tells his audience how many ingredients are involved and briefs them about the outline of his presentation at the start of his speech.

He also shows all steps in real-time so that the audience have a better understanding of the process and keeps them engaged.

Tips to give a demonstrative presentation

Introduce your product and its function to your audience before telling them how to go about with the steps
Explain the steps with diagrams or show them in real-time along with the audience
Give equal time to every person in the audience for clearing doubts, if any
Keep your introduction short. Not more than 5 minutes
Discuss options or variations that the audience can try at the end of the presentation

Speech topics for demonstrative presentations

How to administer CPR
How to wrap a gift professionally
How to budget your monthly income
How to choose a car insurance
How to restore a piece of antique furniture

4. Inspirational presentations

As the name suggests, this type of presentation involves inspiring others!

The main aim of an inspirational presentation is to motivate or move your audience and is also known as a motivational presentation.

Using techniques like storytelling, narrating personal anecdotes , or even humor work wonders as your audience develops an emotional connection to the message.

This TED talk by Luvvie Ajayi Jones is humorous but a lot more inspirational. Check it out!

Tips for giving an inspirational presentation

Start with a question that will leave the audience thinking. Pause for some time and then begin with your presentation
Develop a sense of connection by narrating personal incidents and experiences to grow empathy
Have some main points that you want to emphasize on
Make use of humor ! It instantly builds a connection with the listener
Non-verbal elements like paralanguage, body language, speech modulations, tone, etc., makes a huge difference

Speech topics for an inspirational presentation

Importance of diversity and inclusion
Building mental resilience
Need for change management
Valuing small victories in life
How procrastinating is your enemy

5. Business presentations

In the corporate world, presentations are the go-to solution to do anything: planning or strategizing, articulating company goals, screening candidates, status reports , and many more.

Let us take a dive into the different types of business presentations.

a) Sales presentation

Also known as sales pitches , sales presentations involve providing information about a product or a service to sell it.

It has a pre-defined strategy of initiating and closing the sales deal.

This can be done in person or nowadays, on the phone, or via e-communication .

b) Training sessions

Make training sessions interesting by interacting with the audience!

Often employees have on-the-job training sessions that are aimed to increase the knowledge and skills of the employees.

This kind can also involve the audience to participate , like in demonstrative presentations.

c) Meetings

Take everyone's opinion before concluding a point!

Meetings can be called for for different reasons and can be of different forms as well.

Conferences ( both video and in-person), board meetings, informal team meetings, daily reporting, etc., are all various contexts of meeting in a business setting.

d) E- presentations

E- presentations existed before the COVID pandemic as well but were used seldom.

But, with the ongoing pandemic, e-presentations or remote presentations have replaced all other types of presentations and will be with us for a while longer.

However, on the brighter side, it is an eco-friendly alternative to normal face-to-face kind of a set-up, and it also saves transportation and other costs !

e) Seminars

Give ample time of breaks in a seminar to make it less tiring!

Seminars are widely used in the health sector , usually involving a panel of speakers on a topic. The audience is anywhere between 10 to 100.

It ends with a question and answers session , and the audience gets to take handouts with them.

f) One-on-one or 1:1

Pay attention to your body language, especially in an interview!

Interviews are usually one-on-one and involve presenting your achievements and capabilities to your prospective employer.

Apart from interviews, 1:1 meetings are also used in sales and marketing to crack a business deal.

Tips for giving business presentations

Include key phrases and other important details on your slides and make them bold
Avoid casual slangs and informal tone of speech
If you are giving a sales presentation, explain your product or service in simple and clear words , and list the reasons why it is beneficial for your potential clients
Make sure to be on time ! Delaying your audience will work against you and leave a bad impression on you and your company
Know your material or content thoroughly to answer the questions asked by your audience

Speech topics for business presentations

Implementing an Agile Project
Introduction to data modeling
Introduction to UML(Unified Modeling Language)
Social Media strategies for a successful business
Business writing for managers

6. Powerpoint presentations

PowerPoint presentations or PPTs are the most effective ones among all types of presentations simply because they are convenient and easy to understand .

They are available in different formats and are suitable to use in practically any type of presentation and context, be it business, educational, or for informal purposes.

There are various types of PowerPoint presentations that you can use depending on the context.

a) PPTs for general audience

Use inclusive language when addressing to a general audience.

For general audiences, avoid using jargon terms

If you feel that you need to use them, provide the audience some background information about the field or topic being covered

Avoid using more than 8 words per line, as anything more than that becomes difficult to remember
Use bullets or a numbered list for better retention
Try not to read from your PPT
Give handouts or record your presentation in case anyone wants it

b) PPTs for teaching

Include pictures when teaching through a ppt.

In this case, the PowerPoint is content-based
Make sure that the words on the slides are visible
Use bigger font and avoid fancy fonts
Add relevant pictures and graphics to keep your audience engaged
You can also add documentaries or relevant videos to aid in understanding

c) Repurpose PPTs

This involves reinventing an earlier ppt or combining 1 or more than 1 PowerPoints
Giving new touches to an earlier PPT or changing the format
You can take any slide of your PPT and upload it on social media for growing your brand or business
You can even convert your PPT into mp4 , i.e, video format
You can even add voice and save the mp4 format, and you have a good marketing plan!

d) PechaKucha

This type of PowerPoint presentation comes from the Japanese word PechaKucha meaning sound of a conversation or chit-chat
This involves changing slides every 20 seconds
There can be a maximum of 20 slides , which means your presentation lasts for only 6 minutes and 40 seconds
The PPT mostly has graphics and fewer words
This type of presentation is best suited for telling a story or a personal anecdote

e) Multimedia presentations

This is the best kind of PPT to engage your audience
It contains texts along with pictures, videos, infographics, music, illustrations, GIFs , and many more
Add higher resolution images and videos , or even a 360-degree snapshot if you are in the sales and marketing industry
Adding infographics such as charts and graphs makes the process of understanding easier and saves time
Music in a PPT helps your audience to be relaxed, at the same time making them alert and engaged

Types of slides in a presentation

PowerPoint presentation slides are broadly classified into 3 categories: Text, Visual, and Mixed slides.

1. Text slides

As the name suggests, this category of slides involve words or texts.

You can format the text as plain sentences or pointers.

You may even arrange them all in a single slide or one line per slide.

The slide seen below is an example where every point is mentioned in a single slide.

Archived Material (Presentations): Not too much text

2. Visual slides

This type of slide has visual elements such as images or videos , and are better known as conceptual slides since they are a better option than text slide to explain a particular concept.

You can use them at the start of the presentation to better visualize and grasp the meaning of the presentation.

The slide right below is a good example of a visual slide.

Illustration 1 exercise: Visual Metaphor | David Howcroft's OCA Art Journey

3. Mixed slides

Mixed slides combine the texts and visuals to give a comprehensive understanding of any concept or a speech.

Graphs and charts are the best examples of mixed slides.

Mixed slides have an advantage over the other slides; they keep your audience engaged, listening and participating more actively!

Presentation Design: A Visual Guide to Creating Beautiful Slides [Free E-Book]

Types of Oral presentations

So far we came across 6 types of presentations, and they all share one common feature. They are all one of the types of oral presentations.

Oral presentations involve the use of verbal and non-verbal elements to deliver a speech to a particular or general audience.

All the types we discussed fall into these 4 broad categories:

1. Extemporaneous presentations

This type of presentation involves making short pointers or key phrases to aid while speaking.

You do not memorize, but organize the points and structure the speech way in advance.

Hence, on the day of your presentation, by just looking at the key points , you expand on them and move to the next point.

2. Impromptu presentations

Impromptu presentations are spoken without any preparation . It can be nerve-wracking for many, and hence not many are in favor of it.

There is a valid reason for their fear, as you have to make your speech as you say it!

However, those who are experts in their fields and are called upon to share a few words can easily give this type of presentation.

3. Manuscript presentations

The other extreme of the spectrum is manuscript presentations.

Here you have a script and you speak from it, word by word.

News anchors and show announcers usually engage in this type, since there are a lot of specific details that cannot be said wrong, and also, time constraints.

Usually, a prompter is used, from which the speaker speaks to their audience.

Nowadays, there are teleprompters , that are heavily used in the entertainment and media industry.

It is a digital screen that displays the contents, and the speaker speaks from it.

4. Memorized presentations

This type does not have any notes or cues , but you memorize or rote learn the whole speech.

School and some presentations at the workplace involve using this kind of presentation.

In most cases, we recommend not to memorise your speech in most cases. We’ve made a video on the same and how it could lead to you potentially blanking out on stage. Highly recommend you view this quick vid before choosing memorisation as a presentation path:

But, if you do choose it for whatever reason, since you are free from notes, you are free to focus on other aspects, such as body language and gestures.

Types of presentation styles

There are various presenting styles, but they do not work for all types of presentations.

Let us get familiar with them, and know which style works with which type.

a) The storyteller

There's a reason why we all love to hear stories!

This style of presentation involves the speaker narrating stories and engaging the audience emotionally .

This technique works best with persuasive and inspirational types of presentation.

So, how to tell a story in a presentation?

Understand and know your audience : Knowing your audience will help you with how you will frame your story, at the same time gauging the relevance of your narrative
Know your message : Be clear with what you want to convey through your story or how you are connecting the story with your actual presentation
Try narrative a real-life story : Inspiring presenters often take their own stories or the stories of people whom they know as a supplement to their presentation. When the audience listens to your real-life examples, they become genuinely interested in your story
Add visual aids : Using visual aids such as pictures, videos, multimedia, etc., increases the memory retention and engagement of your audience
Use the “you” attitude : Tell the story keeping your audience in mind because ultimately they are going to be the receivers and hence, the story should be relevant and should include their point of view as well

Want more storytelling tactics? Mystery, characterisation and the final takeaway are some more key elements of a good story for your next presentation. We’ve gone deeper into this topic in this video if you would like to know more:

b) The Visual style

Make use of the visual aids to keep your audience engaged.

Most of us are visual learners, making visual information easy to understand and retain.

Visual aids like graphics, images, diagrams, key pointers or phrases , etc., are very useful when giving any type of presentation.

Some tips of presenting with visual style:

Include only important pointers in your PowerPoint presentation and highlight or bold them
Try including visuals that complement what you are saying and use them as a supplementary tool to aid in understanding your audience
If you are giving a business presentation and want to include visuals, instead of plain texts, include graphics and charts to make information simpler to present and understand
Avoid overly complex visuals as it will confuse the audience more
Avoid using more than 6 lines per slide

c) Analytic style

Provide examples to support your data findings!

If you have data records or statistical information to be presented, an analytic style will be more helpful.

It works best for Informative and Business types of presentations.

Tips to deliver in analytic style:

Give handouts so that the audience is on track with your presentation and the information will be easier to comprehend
Focus and speak on selected data as too much data statistics can be overwhelming for the audience
You can make use of humor and personal anecdotes to keep the presentation interesting and engaging
If you have too much data and are worried that you will not be able to explain it in the time frame given, avoid writing content of more than 2000 words

Quick tip: In case you have a PDF to present and want to edit the data points, there are multiple software programs that you can use to allow you to easily do this. Check out this list of the Best Free Recording Software Programs to know more.

d) The Connector

Make an impactful presentation by simply connecting with your audience!

The connector style of presentation involves the speaker establishing a connection with the audience by pointing out similarities between them and the listeners.

This style works well with Sales and marketing presentations.

How to give a presentation using connector style?

Have a Q & A round with the audience at the end of your presentation for clarifying any doubts and avoiding miscommunication
Use audience polls at the start of your presentation to know your audience and tailor your speech accordingly
Make use of body language and gestures for delivering your presentation effectively. If you are confused or want to know more about the aspects of how to use body and gestures, check out our article on To walk or stand still: How should you present when on stage?
Ask questions to your audience at regular intervals for a better audience engagement
Make use of multimedia sources to keep your audience engaged and entertained

Which type of presentation is best?

Although all the presentation types have their own bonuses and are suitable for certain circumstances, some are universal and can be used with a little bit of modification almost everywhere!

These are persuasive presentations!

You can use them in various settings; from political, business to educational.

Just remember to choose the right topic for the right audience, and a style that you think is the most suitable and you are good to go!

Level up your public speaking in 15 minutes!

Get the exclusive Masterclass video delivered to your inbox to see immediate speaking results.

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To conclude

We saw 6 types of presentation and understood it in detail.

We also gained some tips on how to make our presentation more engaging and also came across things to avoid as well.

We then explored the types of slides that you can use, and also the types of presenting orally.

We also gave you some tips and a few topic ideas that you can incorporate in your next speech!

Enroll in our transformative 1:1 Coaching Program

Schedule a call with our expert communication coach to know if this program would be the right fit for you

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Less is More! Tips to Avoid Overwhelming Your Audience

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6 presentation skills and how to improve them

smiling-woman-introducing-her-presentation-to-her-team-at-work-presentation-skills

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What are presentation skills?

The importance of presentation skills, 6 presentation skills examples, how to improve presentation skills.

Tips for dealing with presentation anxiety

Learn how to captivate an audience with ease

Capturing an audience’s attention takes practice.

Over time, great presenters learn how to organize their speeches and captivate an audience from start to finish. They spark curiosity, know how to read a room , and understand what their audience needs to walk away feeling like they learned something valuable.

Regardless of your profession, you most likely use presentation skills on a monthly or even weekly basis. Maybe you lead brainstorming sessions or host client calls.

Developing effective presentation skills makes it easier to contribute ideas with confidence and show others you’re someone to trust. Although speaking in front of a crowd sometimes brings nerves and anxiety , it also sparks new opportunities.

Presentation skills are the qualities and abilities you need to communicate ideas effectively and deliver a compelling speech. They influence how you structure a presentation and how an audience receives it. Understanding body language , creating impactful visual aids, and projecting your voice all fall under this umbrella.

A great presentation depends on more than what you say. It’s about how you say it. Storytelling , stage presence, and voice projection all shape how well you express your ideas and connect with the audience. These skills do take practice, but they’re worth developing — especially if public speaking makes you nervous.

Engaging a crowd isn’t easy. You may feel anxious to step in front of an audience and have all eyes and ears on you.

But feeling that anxiety doesn’t mean your ideas aren’t worth sharing. Whether you’re giving an inspiring speech or delivering a monthly recap at work, your audience is there to listen to you. Harness that nervous energy and turn it into progress.

Strong presentation skills make it easier to convey your thoughts to audiences of all sizes. They can help you tell a compelling story, convince people of a pitch , or teach a group something entirely new to them. And when it comes to the workplace, the strength of your presentation skills could play a part in getting a promotion or contributing to a new initiative.

To fully understand the impact these skills have on creating a successful presentation, it’s helpful to look at each one individually. Here are six valuable skills you can develop:

1. Active listening

Active listening is an excellent communication skill for any professional to hone. When you have strong active listening skills, you can listen to others effectively and observe their nonverbal cues . This helps you assess whether or not your audience members are engaged in and understand what you’re sharing.

Great public speakers use active listening to assess the audience’s reactions and adjust their speech if they find it lacks impact. Signs like slouching, negative facial expressions, and roaming eye contact are all signs to watch out for when giving a presentation.

2. Body language

If you’re researching presentation skills, chances are you’ve already watched a few notable speeches like TED Talks or industry seminars. And one thing you probably noticed is that speakers can capture attention with their body language.

A mixture of eye contact, hand gestures , and purposeful pacing makes a presentation more interesting and engaging. If you stand in one spot and don’t move your body, the audience might zone out.

two-women-talking-happily-on-radio-presentation-skills

3. Stage presence

A great stage presence looks different for everyone. A comedian might aim for more movement and excitement, and a conference speaker might focus their energy on the content of their speech. Although neither is better than the other, both understand their strengths and their audience’s needs.

Developing a stage presence involves finding your own unique communication style . Lean into your strengths, whether that’s adding an injection of humor or asking questions to make it interactive . To give a great presentation, you might even incorporate relevant props or presentation slides.

4. Storytelling

According to Forbes, audiences typically pay attention for about 10 minutes before tuning out . But you can lengthen their attention span by offering a presentation that interests them for longer. Include a narrative they’ll want to listen to, and tell a story as you go along.

Shaping your content to follow a clear narrative can spark your audience’s curiosity and entice them to pay careful attention. You can use anecdotes from your personal or professional life that take your audience along through relevant moments. If you’re pitching a product, you can start with a problem and lead your audience through the stages of how your product provides a solution.

5. Voice projection

Although this skill may be obvious, you need your audience to hear what you’re saying. This can be challenging if you’re naturally soft-spoken and struggle to project your voice.

Remember to straighten your posture and take deep breaths before speaking, which will help you speak louder and fill the room. If you’re talking into a microphone or participating in a virtual meeting, you can use your regular conversational voice, but you still want to sound confident and self-assured with a strong tone.

If you’re unsure whether everyone can hear you, you can always ask the audience at the beginning of your speech and wait for confirmation. That way, they won’t have to potentially interrupt you later.

Ensuring everyone can hear you also includes your speed and annunciation. It’s easy to speak quickly when nervous, but try to slow down and pronounce every word. Mumbling can make your presentation difficult to understand and pay attention to.

6. Verbal communication

Although verbal communication involves your projection and tone, it also covers the language and pacing you use to get your point across. This includes where you choose to place pauses in your speech or the tone you use to emphasize important ideas.

If you’re giving a presentation on collaboration in the workplace , you might start your speech by saying, “There’s something every workplace needs to succeed: teamwork.” By placing emphasis on the word “ teamwork ,” you give your audience a hint on what ideas will follow.

To further connect with your audience through diction, pay careful attention to who you’re speaking to. The way you talk to your colleagues might be different from how you speak to a group of superiors, even if you’re discussing the same subject. You might use more humor and a conversational tone for the former and more serious, formal diction for the latter.

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses when it comes to presenting. Maybe you’re confident in your use of body language, but your voice projection needs work. Maybe you’re a great storyteller in small group settings, but need to work on your stage presence in front of larger crowds.

The first step to improving presentation skills is pinpointing your gaps and determining which qualities to build upon first. Here are four tips for enhancing your presentation skills:

1. Build self-confidence

Confident people know how to speak with authority and share their ideas. Although feeling good about your presentation skills is easier said than done, building confidence is key to helping your audience believe in what you’re saying. Try practicing positive self-talk and continuously researching your topic's ins and outs.

If you don’t feel confident on the inside, fake it until you make it. Stand up straight, project your voice, and try your best to appear engaged and excited. Chances are, the audience doesn’t know you’re unsure of your skills — and they don’t need to.

Another tip is to lean into your slideshow, if you’re using one. Create something colorful and interesting so the audience’s eyes fall there instead of on you. And when you feel proud of your slideshow, you’ll be more eager to share it with others, bringing more energy to your presentation.

2. Watch other presentations

Developing the soft skills necessary for a good presentation can be challenging without seeing them in action. Watch as many as possible to become more familiar with public speaking skills and what makes a great presentation. You could attend events with keynote speakers or view past speeches on similar topics online.

Take a close look at how those presenters use verbal communication and body language to engage their audiences. Grab a notebook and jot down what you enjoyed and your main takeaways. Try to recall the techniques they used to emphasize their main points, whether they used pauses effectively, had interesting visual aids, or told a fascinating story.

woman-looking-at-video-from-tablet-while-cooking-dinner-presentation-skills

3. Get in front of a crowd

You don’t need a large auditorium to practice public speaking. There are dozens of other ways to feel confident and develop good presentation skills.

If you’re a natural comedian, consider joining a small stand-up comedy club. If you’re an avid writer, participate in a public poetry reading. Even music and acting can help you feel more comfortable in front of a crowd.

If you’d rather keep it professional, you can still work on your presentation skills in the office. Challenge yourself to participate at least once in every team meeting, or plan and present a project to become more comfortable vocalizing your ideas. You could also speak to your manager about opportunities that flex your public speaking abilities.

4. Overcome fear

Many people experience feelings of fear before presenting in front of an audience, whether those feelings appear as a few butterflies or more severe anxiety. Try grounding yourself to shift your focus to the present moment. If you’re stuck dwelling on previous experiences that didn’t go well, use those mistakes as learning experiences and focus on what you can improve to do better in the future.

Tips for dealing with presentation anxiety

It’s normal to feel nervous when sharing your ideas. In fact, according to a report from the Journal of Graduate Medical Education, public speaking anxiety is prevalent in 15–30% of the general population .

Even though having a fear of public speaking is common, it doesn’t make it easier. You might feel overwhelmed, become stiff, and forget what you were going to say. But although the moment might scare you, there are ways to overcome the fear and put mind over matter.

Use these tactics to reduce your stress when you have to make a presentation:

1. Practice breathing techniques

If you experience anxiety often, you’re probably familiar with breathing techniques for stress relief . Incorporating these exercises into your daily routine can help you stop worrying and regulate anxious feelings.

Before a big presentation, take a moment alone to practice breathing techniques, ground yourself, and reduce tension. It’s also a good idea to take breaths throughout the presentation to speak slower and calm yourself down .

2. Get organized

The more organized you are, the more prepared you’ll feel. Carefully outline all of the critical information you want to use in your presentation, including your main talking points and visual aids, so you don’t forget anything. Use bullet points and visuals on each slide to remind you of what you want to talk about, and create handheld notes to help you stay on track.

3. Embrace moments of silence

It’s okay to lose your train of thought. It happens to even the most experienced public speakers once in a while. If your mind goes blank, don’t panic. Take a moment to breathe, gather your thoughts, and refer to your notes to see where you left off. You can drink some water or make a quick joke to ease the silence or regain your footing. And it’s okay to say, “Give me a moment while I find my notes.” Chances are, people understand the position you’re in.

men-giving-conference-sitting-on-a-chair-with-microphone-presentation-skills

4. Practice makes progress

Before presenting, rehearse in front of friends and family members you trust. This gives you the chance to work out any weak spots in your speech and become comfortable communicating out loud. If you want to go the extra mile, ask your makeshift audience to ask a surprise question. This tests your on-the-spot thinking and will prove that you can keep cool when things come up.

Whether you’re new to public speaking or are a seasoned presenter, you’re bound to make a few slip-ups. It happens to everyone. The most important thing is that you try your best, brush things off, and work on improving your skills to do better in your next presentation.

Although your job may require a different level of public speaking than your favorite TED Talk , developing presentation skills is handy in any profession. You can use presentation skills in a wide range of tasks in the workplace, whether you’re sharing your ideas with colleagues, expressing concerns to higher-ups, or pitching strategies to potential clients.

Remember to use active listening to read the room and engage your audience with an interesting narrative. Don’t forget to step outside your comfort zone once in a while and put your skills to practice in front of a crowd. After facing your fears, you’ll feel confident enough to put presentation skills on your resume.

If you’re trying to build your skills and become a better employee overall, try a communications coach with BetterUp.

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Elizabeth Perry, ACC

Elizabeth Perry is a Coach Community Manager at BetterUp. She uses strategic engagement strategies to cultivate a learning community across a global network of Coaches through in-person and virtual experiences, technology-enabled platforms, and strategic coaching industry partnerships. With over 3 years of coaching experience and a certification in transformative leadership and life coaching from Sofia University, Elizabeth leverages transpersonal psychology expertise to help coaches and clients gain awareness of their behavioral and thought patterns, discover their purpose and passions, and elevate their potential. She is a lifelong student of psychology, personal growth, and human potential as well as an ICF-certified ACC transpersonal life and leadership Coach.

8 tips to improve your public speaking skills

The 11 tips that will improve your public speaking skills, the significance of written communication in the workplace, what is an entrepreneur understanding the different types and examples of entrepreneurship, get smart about your goals at work and start seeing results, 9 signs that you’re being pushed out of your job, goal-setting theory: why it’s important, and how to use it at work, the importance of good speech: 5 tips to be more articulate, empathic listening: what it is and how to use it, how to write a speech that your audience remembers, impression management: developing your self-presentation skills, 30 presentation feedback examples, your guide to what storytelling is and how to be a good storyteller, how to give a good presentation that captivates any audience, 8 clever hooks for presentations (with tips), how to make a presentation interactive and exciting, stay connected with betterup, get our newsletter, event invites, plus product insights and research..

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5 Factors That Must Be Considered When Preparing for a Presentation

Master the art of impactful presentations with our guide on the top 5 essential factors to consider during preparation, ensuring effectiveness and audience engagement. Presentations can be nerve-wracking, but they don't have to be. With the right presentation tips, anyone can learn how to prepare a presentation that is effective and engaging. In this post, we'll discuss the 5 factors that you should consider when preparing for a presentation.

Key Takeaways:

Understand your audience's knowledge level and interests for a tailored approach.
Clearly define your central message to maintain focus and clarity.
Utilize appropriate visual aids to enhance understanding and retention.
Practice your delivery for confidence and effectiveness.
Time your presentation to fit within the allocated slot.
Bonus: Leverage an AI presentation maker like Sendsteps.ai for efficiency.

Tip 1: Understanding Your Audience

The first step to preparing for a presentation is to understand your audience. Who are they? What do they already know? What do they want to learn? By understanding your audience, you can tailor your message to their interests and needs.

Tip 2: Defining Your Message

Once you understand your audience, it's time to define your message. What do you want your audience to take away from your presentation? What key points do you want to convey? By defining your message, you can ensure that your presentation is focused and effective.

Tip 3: Choosing the Right Visual Aids

Visual aids can be a powerful tool in any presentation, but it's important to choose the right ones. Consider using charts, graphs, images, or videos to help illustrate your message. Just be sure to keep your visuals simple and easy to understand.

Tip 4: Practicing Your Delivery

No matter how well you prepare, delivery is key to an effective presentation. Practice your delivery until you feel confident and comfortable with your material. Consider recording yourself or practicing in front of a friend to get feedback.

Tip 5: Timing Your Presentation

Finally, it's important to time your presentation. Be mindful of the time assigned to you and make sure that your presentation fits within that time frame. You don't want to run out of time or go over your assigned time.

Bonus Tip: Use an AI Presentation Maker

Preparing a presentation can be time-consuming, but it doesn't have to be. Consider using an AI presentation maker to streamline the process and make it 10x faster. With an AI presentation maker like Sendsteps.ai(/en/ai/), you can create an effective presentation in no time.

To gain further knowledge about AI, check out our latest blog that offers tips and tricks for crafting presentations using AI.

In conclusion, preparing for a presentation requires careful consideration of your audience, message, visual aids, delivery, and timing. By keeping these tips in mind, you can create an effective presentation that engages your audience and leaves a lasting impression. And don't forget the bonus tip - an AI presentation maker can make the process even easier and more efficient.

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What are the crucial factors to consider when preparing for a presentation.

When preparing for a presentation, it's essential to understand your audience to tailor your content, define a clear message to maintain focus, choose effective visual aids to support your points, practice your delivery for smooth execution, and time your presentation to fit the allocated duration. Additionally, using an AI presentation maker like Sendsteps.ai can significantly streamline the preparation process, making it more efficient and effective. By focusing on these key aspects, presenters can create engaging and impactful presentations.

How to effectively balance visual elements and text in a presentation?

Balancing visual elements and text in a presentation involves ensuring that visuals complement the spoken or written content without overwhelming it. The visuals should aid in illustrating key points and concepts, while the text provides necessary explanations or details. This balance helps in keeping the audience engaged without causing information overload.

What are some common mistakes to avoid when preparing a presentation?

Avoiding common mistakes in presentation preparation typically includes steering clear of overly complex or cluttered slides, excessive use of animations or transitions, and inadequate rehearsal. Presenters should also avoid making the content too dense or failing to tailor the presentation to the audience's needs and interests.

How to engage and maintain the audience's attention throughout the presentation?

Engaging and maintaining audience attention in a presentation can be achieved through various strategies. Interactivity, such as asking questions or using audience response systems, helps keep the audience involved. Storytelling, relatable examples, and a clear, enthusiastic delivery also play crucial roles in keeping the audience interested and focused throughout the presentation.

Anouk Baltus

Anouk’s passion for presenting started when she was very young: from voluntarily giving presentations in primary school to winning a speaking award with a self-written and presented speech. This adoration comes to life while working for Sendsteps. A passion for giving and writing speeches turned into writing blogposts about these subjects to help others find their passion in presenting.

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Business Jargons

A Business Encyclopedia

Presentation

Definition : A presentation is a form of communication in which the speaker conveys information to the audience. In an organization presentations are used in various scenarios like talking to a group, addressing a meeting, demonstrating or introducing a new product, or briefing a team. It involves presenting a particular subject or issue or new ideas/thoughts to a group of people.

It is considered as the most effective form of communication because of two main reasons:

Use of non-verbal cues.
Facilitates instant feedback.

Business Presentations are a tool to influence people toward an intended thought or action.

Parts of Presentation

Introduction : It is meant to make the listeners ready to receive the message and draw their interest. For that, the speaker can narrate some story or a humorous piece of joke, an interesting fact, a question, stating a problem, and so forth. They can also use some surprising statistics.
Body : It is the essence of the presentation. It requires the sequencing of facts in a logical order. This is the part where the speaker explains the topic and relevant information. It has to be critically arranged, as the audience must be able to grasp what the speaker presents.
Conclusion : It needs to be short and precise. It should sum up or outline the key points that you have presented. It could also contain what the audience should have gained out of the presentation.

Purpose of Presentation

To inform : Organizations can use presentations to inform the audience about new schemes, products or proposals. The aim is to inform the new entrant about the policies and procedures of the organization.
To persuade : Presentations are also given to persuade the audience to take the intended action.
To build goodwill : They can also help in building a good reputation

Factors Affecting Presentation

Audience Analysis

Communication environment, personal appearance, use of visuals, opening and closing presentation, organization of presentation, language and words, voice quality, body language, answering questions, a word from business jargons.

Presentation is a mode of conveying information to a selected group of people live. An ideal presentation is one that identifies and matches the needs, interests and understanding level of the audience. It also represents the facts, and figures in the form of tables, charts, and graphs and uses multiple colours.

Related terms:

Verbal Communication
Visual Communication
Non-Verbal Communication
Communication
7 C’s of Communication

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October 2, 2022 at 11:33 pm

Thank you so much for providing us with brief info related to the presentation.

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July 3, 2023 at 2:04 am

it was helpful👍

What is PowerPoint Presentation with Features & Examples?

PowerPoint is a presentation software developed by Microsoft, which allows users to create, edit, and deliver visually engaging slideshows, whether you're a student, professional, or simply curious, explore the power of Microsoft PowerPoint and learn how you can create impactful presentations effortlessly.

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According to Glassdoor , a PowerPoint designer's average salary in the UK is about £37,811 annually. Who knew there was big money in presentations alone? In this blog, you will learn What PowerPoint is, its key features, its benefits, and how to use it, as well as learn some tips for creating effective presentations.

Table of contents

1) What is PowerPoint?

2) Understanding the PowerPoint interface

3) Key features of PowerPoint

4) How to use PowerPoint to create a presentation?

5) Benefits of PowerPoint

6) Tips for creating effective PowerPoint Presentations

7) Alternatives to PowerPoint

What is PowerPoint?

PowerPoint is an essential multifunctional tool for making presentations which had been created by MS. As a part of the Microsoft Office Suite, it offers a toolbox to organise the presentation by using different tools and features to make it visually pleasant and attractive. MS PowerPoint gives the opportunity for the text, graphics, multimedia objects, and animation elements to be combined in one place to allow the users to present information in a more effective way.

Evolution of PowerPoint

In the course of time, PowerPoint has become a very functional tool to produce high-quality presentations Moreover, a secure system would be established to manage risks of data leakage or theft. First released in 1987 for Apple computers, it defies to the competition with its easy Graphical User Interface (GUIGUI)) and its large range of functions. With every new release, MS PowerPoint offered new functionality and boasted significant improvements, staying the wonder of the world of presentations.

Understanding the PowerPoint interface

The PowerPoint Program provides the presenter with an easy-to-use interface for designing and updating the presentation. It is important to master its main functions in order to conduct operations using this software with a level of proficiency.Here's a breakdown of the MS PowerPoint interface:

1) Ribbon: The Ribbon is located at the top of the MS PowerPoint window and has several tabs which include Home, Insert, Design, Transitions, etc.

2) Slides pane: Slide pane which is positioned to the far left of the window, is the PowerPoint window. You will see there a collection of your slides examples (thumbnails) which enables you to adjust and customize them with greater ease. The floating pane of the editor lets you not only add, delete, duplicate, but also hide slides from there.

3) Notes pane : The Notes pane is located below the Slides pane. It provides space for adding speaker notes or additional information related to each slide.

4) Slide area : The Slide area occupies the central part of the PowerPoint window. It displays the selected slide, where you can add and arrange content such as text, images, charts, and multimedia elements .

5) Task panes : Task panes are additional panels on the PowerPoint window's right side. They offer various functionalities such as formatting options, slide layouts, animations, etc. Task panes can be opened or closed based on your specific needs.

Understanding the MS PowerPoint interface will help you navigate the software effectively and make the most of its features. Whether you are creating slides, adding content, or applying formatting, having a good grasp of the interface ensures a smooth and productive experience .

Key Features of PowerPoint

When it comes to creating captivating and professional presentations, MS PowerPoint stands out as versatile and feature-rich software. Its array of tools and functionalities enables users to bring their imagination and ideas to life. Moreover, it also helps engage their audience effectively .

From slide templates to multimedia integration, there are various Features of PowerPoint ; let's discuss some of them below.

1) Slide Templates : PowerPoint provides a collection of pre-designed templates that make it easy to create visually appealing slides.

2) Slide Master : The Slide Master feature allows users to define the overall layout, font styles, and colour scheme for the entire presentation .

3) Animations and transitions : PowerPoint offers various animation effects and slide transitions to add visual interest and captivate the audience .

4) Multimedia integration : Users can embed images, videos, and audio files directly into their presentations, enhancing the overall impact .

5) Collaboration tools : MS PowerPoint allows multiple users to work on a presentation simultaneously, making it ideal for team projects and remote collaboration .

6) Presenter View : The Presenter View feature gives presenters access to speaker notes, a timer, and a preview of upcoming slides, enabling a seamless presentation experience .

These features collectively contribute to PowerPoint's versatility and make it a powerful tool for developing engaging and impactful presentations.

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How to use PowerPoint to create a presentation?

Creating a presentation in PowerPoint is a straightforward process. Whether it's simple animations or explainer videos learning H ow to use PowerPoint is an extremely valuable skill. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to create a presentation:

1) Launch PowerPoint and choose a template or start with a blank slide.

2) Add slides by clicking "New Slide" or using the shortcut key (Ctrl + M).

3) Customise slide content by entering text and inserting visuals.

4) Rearrange slides for a logical flow by dragging them in the slide navigation pane.

5) Apply slide transitions for visual effects in the "Transitions" tab.

6) Add animations to objects in the "Animations" tab.

7) Preview your presentation by clicking "Slide Show".

8) Save your presentation and choose a format (.pptx or .pdf).

9) Share your presentation via email, cloud storage, or collaboration tools.

By following these steps, you can create a well-structured and visually appealing presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint. Remember to keep your content concise, use engaging visuals, and practice your presentation skills to deliver an impactful presentation .

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Benefits of PowerPoint

PowerPoint is a very popular presentation software and for a good reason. It offers numerous benefits for users, from easy collaboration to ease of use. These are some of the key benefits of PowerPoint.

1) Visual appeal : Microsoft PowerPoint allows you to create visually appealing presentations with its wide range of design tools and features. You can use templates, themes, and customisable layouts to make your slides visually engaging and professional .

2) Easy to use : PowerPoint has a user-friendly interface, making it accessible to users of all levels. The intuitive tools and straightforward navigation make it easy to create, edit, and deliver presentations efficiently .

3) Flexibility : PowerPoint provides flexibility in terms of content creation. You can include various types of content, such as text, images, charts, graphs, videos, and audio files, to enhance your message and engage your audience effectively.

4) Organisation and structure : PowerPoint offers features to help you organise and structure your content. You can create multiple slides, use slide masters for consistent formatting, and arrange the sequence of slides to create a logical flow .

5) Presenter tools : PowerPoint includes built-in presenter tools that aid in delivering presentations smoothly. You can use presenter view to see your notes and upcoming slides while your audience sees only the presentation. Additionally, features like slide transitions and animations add visual interest and help you control the flow of information .

6) Collaboration and sharing : PowerPoint allows for easy collaboration and sharing of presentations. Several users can simultaneously work on the same presentation, making it convenient for team projects. You can also share your presentations via email, cloud storage, or online platforms, ensuring easy access for viewers .

7) Integration with other tools : PowerPoint can seamlessly integrate with other Microsoft Office applications, such as Word and Excel. You can import data and charts from Excel or copy and paste content between different Office applications, saving time and effort .

8) Presenter-audience interaction : PowerPoint provides features that facilitate interaction between the presenter and the audience. You can include interactive elements like hyperlinks, buttons, and quizzes to engage your audience and make your presentations more dynamic.

9) Portable and accessible : PowerPoint presentations can be saved in various formats, such as .pptx or .pdf, making them easily accessible on different devices. This portability allows you to deliver presentations on laptops, tablets, or even projectors without compatibility issues .

10) Time and effort savings : PowerPoint simplifies the process of creating presentations, saving you time and effort. The pre-designed templates, slide layouts, and formatting options enable you to create professional-looking presentations efficiently .

Tips for Creating Effective PowerPoint Presentations

PowerPoint presentations can be powerful tools for communicating information and engaging an audience. Consider the following PowerPoint Tips to create effective presentations .

Tips for Creating PowerPoint Presentations

1) Simplicity is key : Keep your slides clean and uncluttered. Use concise bullet points and simple visuals to convey your message effectively .

2) Visuals matter : Incorporate relevant, high-quality visuals such as images, charts, and diagrams to enhance understanding and engagement .

3) Limit text : Avoid overwhelming your audience with excessive text on slides. Use brief phrases or keywords to communicate key points .

4) Choose legible fonts : Opt for clear and readable fonts that are easy to read, even from a distance. Maintain consistency in font styles throughout your presentation .

5) Consistent design : Maintain a consistent design theme, including colours, fonts, and layout, to create a visually appealing and professional presentation.

6) Emphasise important points : Use visual hierarchy techniques, such as font size, colour, and formatting, to draw attention to essential information .

7) Use transitions and animations sparingly : Incorporate slide transitions and animations thoughtfully, focusing on enhancing content and transitions without distracting the audience .

8) S lide notes for guidance : Utilise the slide notes feature to include additional details, explanations, or reminders for a well-prepared and confident presentation.

9) Practice and time yourself : Rehearse your presentation to ensure smooth delivery and stay within the allocated time. Practice helps you refine your content and delivery.

10) Engage the audience : Encourage audience participation through interactive elements, questions, or discussions to foster engagement and make your presentation more memorable.

By implementing these tips, you can create effective MS PowerPoint presentations that capture attention, communicate information clearly, and engage your audience effectively.

Alternatives to PowerPoint

Most of you are used to using PowerPoint for your presentation needs since it was the first option available to us through our academics. However, if you wish to check out alternative options to Powerpoint know if they work better for you, here are ten options that is worth a short:

5) Slidebean

6) Zoho Show

7) Google Slide

9) Beautiful.ai

10) Microsoft Sway

Conclusion

This blog walked you through What is PowerPoint and how it can aid you in curating compelling visual representations of the message you wish to get across. We discussed it features and the process of how you can create presentations on PowerPoint. Now take what you know and run with it explore your options with your templates and building new ones, let your creativity take its course.

Learn how to create customised slide shows in MS PowerPoint with our Microsoft PowerPoint MO300 Training .

Frequently Asked Questions

Well, making a presentation can be tricky business. Here are some of the common mistakes people make:

1) Adding too much text! The presentation needs to have brief and simple points you elaborate on in person.

2) Bad colour schemes for template and font colour. Sometimes the clash of colour may make the text illegible.

3) Too many elements! Crowding of elements may lose your audience’s attention.

Yes, you most definitely can! You can use PowerPoint online with a Microsoft Office 360 plug in that allows you to use all Microsoft applications on your browser.

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Our Office Applications Blogs covers a range of topics offering valuable resources, best practices, and industry insights. Whether you are a beginner or looking to advance your skills, The Knowledge Academy's diverse courses and informative blogs have you covered.

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How-To Geek

7 powerpoint features you should use during presentations.

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Microsoft Office vs. Google Docs, Sheets, Slides: Which Is Best?

Windows terminal can now save your sessions, today's nyt connections hints and answer for august 29 (#445), quick links, presenter coach for practicing, cameo for a live camera feed, subtitles for showing spoken words, presenter view for tools during the show, pen, highlighter, and laser pointer for visual emphasis, zoom for a closer view, speaker notes for talking points.

As you may already know, Microsoft PowerPoint offers a robust feature set for creating presentations. But what kind of tools are useful for actually presenting a slideshow? We'll walk you through several features that can help you engage your audience.

Before it's time for your presentation, you can practice with help from PowerPoint itself. Using Presenter Coach , you can receive feedback as you walk through your slideshow.

Related: How to Practice Your Presentations with PowerPoint's Presenter Coach

To use Presenter Coach, head to the Slide Show tab and select "Rehearse with Coach." When your slideshow opens in full screen mode, click "Start Rehearsing" to begin.

You'll see feedback in real-time as you speak and move through your presentation. You can also view a rehearsal report after you finish that summarizes your time spent practicing, filler words you use, your pace, and more.

Plan ahead for your presentation by practicing with this handy built-in tool.

For a personal touch or a way to communicate visually, consider using a live camera feed. With the Cameo feature, you can put your face and voice front and center during your slideshow.

To add the Cameo object, go to the slide, open the Insert tab, and select "Cameo" in the Camera section.

You can then move or resize the object, see a preview using the camera icon, and customize the object using the Camera Format tab that appears when you select it.

Cameo on a slide with the Camera Format tab open

If you add the Cameo element to additional slides, your camera feed continues seamlessly through your presentation.

For complete details on this feature, take a look at our how-to for using a live camera feed in PowerPoint .

Related: The Best Webcams of 2023

You may have audience members viewing your PowerPoint presentation who have a hearing impairment or speak a different dialect. With subtitles, you can display every word you say during a presentation in the language of your choice.

Related: How to Set Up and Use Subtitles in Microsoft PowerPoint

To set up the subtitles , go to the Slide Show tab and select the Subtitle Settings drop-down menu. You can then adjust the spoken and subtitle languages, the microphone you want to use, and the placement of the captions.

You can check the box above the menu to Always Use Subtitles or use the Toggle Subtitles icon (Windows) or Closed Caption button (Mac) to turn them on and off during your presentation.

Subtitle toggle in PowerPoint on Windows

For an excellent way to accommodate your audience during your slideshow, give the subtitles feature a try.

When you present your slideshow, you probably want every tool available to you, and PowerPoint has many. To access those tools like a laser pointer or your presenter notes, check out Presenter View .

To use the feature on Windows, go to the Slide Show tab and check the box for Use Presenter View in the Monitors section of the ribbon. Then, start your presentation as normal. On Mac, simply click "Presenter View" on the Slide Show tab.

User Presenter View on the Slide Show tab

To start Presenter View during the slideshow, click the three dots on the bottom left and pick "Show Presenter View."

Show Presenter View during a presentation

Next, you'll see a dashboard-like screen with everything you need. On the top left is the current slide, to the right is the next slide, and below that you have your notes.

On the left, you can open additional tools, turn subtitles on or off, black or unblack the show, toggle the camera, and end the show.

Presenter View puts everything you need at your fingertips during your presentation.

These may seem like super basic tools, but they can be quite handy while presenting a slideshow. You can use a pen to circle an image or draw an arrow, a highlighter to call out certain text, or a laser pointer to emphasize parts of a slide.

Related: Turn Your Mouse into a Laser Pointer in PowerPoint

To access the tools in Presenter View, select the Pen and Laser Pointer Tools icon (pen) below the current slide.

To access the tools without Presenter View, select the Pen and Laser Pointer Tools icon on the bottom left of the slide.

Pen, Highlighter, and Laser Pointer in Slide Show View

Choose a tool and then use your cursor to control it. For the pen and highlighter, you can also pick a color in the pop-up window.

To "put away" the tool you're using, access it using the steps above and deselect it.

Along with using the tools above for making parts of your presentation stand out, you can take advantage of the Zoom feature. With it, you can zoom in on part of a slide , move around if you like, and then zoom back out.

As of November 2022, this feature is not available in PowerPoint on Mac.

In regular slide show view or Presenter View, select the zoom icon (magnifying glass) on the bottom left.

You'll then see a rectangle on your screen indicating the zoom area. Move that rectangle to the spot you want to enlarge and click.

You can then drag to move around the slide while it's zoomed in. Right-click or use your Escape key to zoom back out to the original view.

Just like giving a speech with index cards for your talking points, notes in PowerPoint are just as beneficial. You can include information you want to highlight or further details for text or images you use.

Related: How to Insert a Check Mark or Checkbox in PowerPoint

To add presenter notes to your slideshow, open the notes panel. Either select "Notes" in the status bar or drag up from the bottom of the slide in the PowerPoint window.

Then when it's time to present, use Presenter View to display your notes during the show.

With an update to PowerPoint in 2022, you can also edit your notes while you present. This is a good way to capture additional points you think of while presenting or if an audience question pops up.

Place your cursor in the notes area on the right side and add or remove text. You can also use the buttons at the bottom to increase or decrease the font size.

Having your speaker notes with you during a slideshow is a key element in a successful presentation.

When you finish creating your PowerPoint slideshow , prepare to present it by trying out these features ahead of time. Then, incorporate them into your slideshow where it makes sense. Your audience will be glad you did!

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Inspiration

23 presentation examples that really work (plus templates!)

Three professionals engaged in a collaborative meeting with a Biteable video maker, a laptop, and documents on the table.

30 Mar 2023

To help you in your quest for presentation greatness, we’ve gathered 23 of the best business presentation examples out there. These hand-picked ideas range from business PowerPoint presentations, to recruitment presentations, and everything in between.

As a bonus, several of our examples include editable video presentation templates from Biteable .

Biteable allows anyone to create great video presentations — no previous video-making skills required. The easy-to-use platform has hundreds of brandable templates and video scenes designed with a business audience in mind. A video made with Biteable is just what you need to add that wow factor and make an impact on your audience.

Create videos that drive action

Activate your audience with impactful, on-brand videos. Create them simply and collaboratively with Biteable.

Video presentation examples

Video presentations are our specialty at Biteable. We love them because they’re the most visually appealing and memorable way to communicate.

1. Animated characters

Our first presentation example is a business explainer video from Biteable that uses animated characters. The friendly and modern style makes this the perfect presentation for engaging your audience.

Bonus template: Need a business video presentation that reflects the beautiful diversity of your customers or team? Use Biteable’s workplace scenes . You can change the skin tone and hair color for any of the animated characters.

2. Conference video

Videos are also ideal solutions for events (e.g. trade shows) where they can be looped to play constantly while you attend to more important things like talking to people and handing out free cheese samples.

For this event presentation sample below, we used bright colours, stock footage, and messaging that reflects the brand and values of the company. All these elements work together to draw the attention of passers-by.

For a huge selection of video presentation templates, take a look at our template gallery .

Business PowerPoint presentation examples

Striking fear into the hearts of the workplace since 1987, PowerPoint is synonymous with bland, boring presentations that feel more like an endurance test than a learning opportunity. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Check out these anything-but-boring business PowerPoint presentation examples.

3. Design pointers

This PowerPoint presentation takes a tongue-in-cheek look at how the speakers and users of PowerPoint are the problem, not the software itself.

Even at a hefty 61 slides, the vintage theme, appealing colors, and engaging content keep the viewer interested. It delivers useful and actionable tips on creating a better experience for your audience.

Pixar, as you’d expect, redefines the meaning of PowerPoint in their “22 Rules for Phenomenal Storytelling”. The character silhouettes are instantly recognizable and tie firmly to the Pixar brand. The bright colour palettes are carefully chosen to highlight the content of each slide.

This presentation is a good length, delivering one message per slide, making it easy for an audience to take notes and retain the information.

Google slides examples

If you’re in business, chances are you’ll have come across slide decks . Much like a deck of cards, each slide plays a key part in the overall ‘deck’, creating a well-rounded presentation.

If you need to inform your team, present findings, or outline a new strategy, slides are one of the most effective ways to do this.

Google Slides is one of the best ways to create a slide deck right now. It’s easy to use and has built-in design tools that integrate with Adobe, Lucidchart, and more. The best part — it’s free!

5. Teacher education

Here’s a slide deck that was created to educate teachers on how to use Google Slides effectively in a classroom. At first glance it seems stuffy and businessy, but if you look closer it’s apparent the creator knows his audience well, throwing in some teacher-friendly content that’s bound to get a smile.

The slides give walkthrough screenshots and practical advice on the different ways teachers can use the software to make their lives that little bit easier and educate their students at the same time.

6. Charity awareness raiser

This next Google slide deck is designed to raise awareness for an animal shelter. It has simple, clear messaging, and makes use of the furry friends it rescues to tug on heartstrings and encourage donations and adoptions from its audience.

Pro tip: Creating a presentation is exciting but also a little daunting. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed — especially if the success of your business or nonprofit depends on it.

Prezi presentation examples

If you haven’t come across Prezi , it’s a great alternative to using static slides. Sitting somewhere between slides and a video presentation, it allows you to import other content and add motion to create a more engaging viewer experience.

7. Red Bull event recap

This Prezi was created to document the Red Bull stratosphere freefall stunt a few years ago. It neatly captures all the things that Prezi is capable of, including video inserts and the zoom effect, which gives an animated, almost 3D effect to what would otherwise be still images.

Prezi has annual awards for the best examples of presentations over the year. This next example is one of the 2018 winners. It was made to highlight a new Logitech tool.

8. Logitech Spotlight launch

What stands out here are the juicy colors, bold imagery, and the way the designer has used Prezi to its full extent, including rotations, panning, fades, and a full zoom out to finish the presentation.

Sales presentation examples

If you’re stuck for ideas for your sales presentation, step right this way and check out this video template we made for you.

9. Sales enablement video presentation

In today’s fast-paced sales environment, you need a way to make your sales enablement presentations memorable and engaging for busy reps. Sales enablement videos are just the ticket. Use this video presentation template the next time you need to present on your metrics.

10. Zuroa sales deck

If you’re after a sales deck, you can’t go past this example from Zuora. What makes it great? It begins by introducing the worldwide shift in the way consumers are shopping. It’s a global phenomenon, and something we can all relate to.

It then weaves a compelling story about how the subscription model is changing the face of daily life for everyone. Metrics and testimonials from well-known CEOs and executives are included for some slamming social proof to boost the sales message.

Pitch presentation examples

Pitch decks are used to give an overview of business plans, and are usually presented during meetings with customers, investors, or potential partners.

11. Uber pitch deck

This is Uber’s original pitch deck, which (apart from looking a teensy bit dated) gives an excellent overview of their business model and clearly shows how they intended to disrupt a traditional industry and provide a better service to people. Right now, you’re probably very grateful that this pitch presentation was a winner.

You can make your own pitch deck with Biteable, or start with one of our video templates to make something a little more memorable.

12. Video pitch template

This video pitch presentation clearly speaks to the pains of everyone who needs to commute and find parking. It then provides the solution with its app that makes parking a breeze.

The video also introduces the key team members, their business strategy, and what they’re hoping to raise in funding. It’s a simple, clear pitch that positions the company as a key solution to a growing, worldwide problem. It’s compelling and convincing, as a good presentation should be.

13. Fyre Festival pitch deck

The most epic example of a recent pitch deck is this one for Fyre Festival – the greatest event that never happened. Marvel at its persuasion, gasp at the opportunity of being part of the cultural experience of the decade, cringe as everything goes from bad to worse.

Despite the very public outcome, this is a masterclass in how to create hype and get funding with your pitch deck using beautiful imagery, beautiful people, and beautiful promises of riches and fame.

Business presentation examples

Need to get the right message out to the right people? Business presentations can do a lot of the heavy lifting for you.

Simply press play and let your video do the talking. No fumbling your words and sweating buckets in front of those potential clients, just you being cool as a cucumber while your presentation does the talking.

Check out two of our popular templates that you can use as a starting point for your own presentations. While they’re business-minded, they’re definitely not boring.

14. Business intro template

Modern graphics, animations, and upbeat soundtracks keep your prospects engaged as they learn about your business, your team, your values, and how you can help them.

15. Business explainer template

Research presentation examples.

When you’re giving a more technical presentation such as research findings, you need to strike the perfect balance between informing your audience and making sure they stay awake.

As a rule, slides are more effective for research presentations, as they are used to support the speaker’s knowledge rather can capture every small detail on screen.

With often dry, complex, and technical subject matter, there can be a temptation for presentations to follow suit. Use images instead of walls of text, and keep things as easy to follow as possible.

16. TrackMaven research deck

TrackMaven uses their endearing mascot to lighten up this data-heavy slide deck. The graphs help to bring life to their findings, and they ensure to only have one bite-size takeaway per slide so that viewers can easily take notes.

17. Wearable tech research report

Obviously, research can get very researchy and there’s not a lot to be done about it. This slide deck below lays out a ton of in-depth information but breaks it up well with quotes, diagrams, and interesting facts to keep viewers engaged while it delivers its findings on wearable technology.

Team presentation examples

Motivating your team can be a challenge at the best of times, especially when you need to gather them together for….another presentation!

18. Team update template

We created this presentation template as an example of how to engage your team. In this case, it’s for an internal product launch. Using colorful animation and engaging pacing, this video presentation is much better than a static PowerPoint, right?

19. Officevibe collaboration explainer

This short slide deck is a presentation designed to increase awareness of the problems of a disengaged team. Bright colors and relevant images combine with facts and figures that compel viewers to click through to a download to learn more about helping their teams succeed.

Recruitment presentation examples

Recruiting the right people can be a challenge. Presentations can help display your team and your business by painting a dynamic picture of what it’s like to work with you.

Videos and animated slides let you capture the essence of your brand and workplace so the right employees can find you.

20. Company culture explainer

If you’re a recruitment agency, your challenge is to stand out from the hundreds of other agencies in the marketplace.

21. Kaizen culture

Showcasing your agency using a slide deck can give employers and employees a feel for doing business with you. Kaizen clearly displays its credentials and highlights its brand values and personality here (and also its appreciation of the coffee bean).

Explainer presentation examples

Got some explaining to do? Using an explainer video is the ideal way to showcase products that are technical, digital, or otherwise too difficult to explain with still images and text.

Explainer videos help you present the features and values of your product in an engaging way that speaks to your ideal audience and promotes your brand at the same time.

22. Product explainer template

23. lucidchart explainer.

Lucidchart does a stellar job of using explainer videos for their software. Their series of explainers-within-explainers entertains the viewer with cute imagery and an endearing brand voice. At the same time, the video is educating its audience on how to use the actual product. We (almost) guarantee you’ll have more love for spiders after watching this one.

Make a winning video presentation with Biteable

Creating a winning presentation doesn’t need to be difficult or expensive. Modern slide decks and video software make it easy for you to give compelling presentations that sell, explain, and educate without sending your audience to snooze town.

For the best online video presentation software around, check out Biteable. The intuitive platform does all the heavy lifting for you, so making a video presentation is as easy as making a PowerPoint.

Use Biteable’s brand builder to automatically fetch your company colors and logo from your website and apply them to your entire video with the click of a button. Even add a clickable call-to-action button to your video.

Share your business presentation anywhere with a single, trackable URL and watch your message turn into gold.

Make stunning videos with ease.

Take the struggle out of team communication.

Try Biteable now.

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How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation (Step-by-Step)

PowerPoint Tutorials
Presentation Design
January 22, 2024

In this beginner’s guide, you will learn step-by-step how to make a PowerPoint presentation from scratch.

While PowerPoint is designed to be intuitive and accessible, it can be overwhelming if you’ve never gotten any training on it before. As you progress through this guide, you’ll will learn how to move from blank slides to PowerPoint slides that look like these.

Example of the six slides you'll learn how to create in this tutorial

Additionally, as you create your presentation, you’ll also learn tricks for working more efficiently in PowerPoint, including how to:

Change the slide order
Reset your layout
Change the slide dimensions
Use PowerPoint Designer
Format text
Format objects
Play a presentation (slide show)

With this knowledge under your belt, you’ll be ready to start creating PowerPoint presentations. Moreover, you’ll have taken your skills from beginner to proficient in no time at all. I will also include links to more advanced PowerPoint topics.

Ready to start learning how to make a PowerPoint presentation?

Take your PPT skills to the next level

Start with a blank presentation.

Note: Before you open PowerPoint and start creating your presentation, make sure you’ve collected your thoughts. If you’re going to make your slides compelling, you need to spend some time brainstorming.

For help with this, see our article with tips for nailing your business presentation here .

The first thing you’ll need to do is to open PowerPoint. When you do, you are shown the Start Menu , with the Home tab open.

This is where you can choose either a blank theme (1) or a pre-built theme (2). You can also choose to open an existing presentation (3).

For now, go ahead and click on the Blank Presentation (1) thumbnail.

In the backstage view of PowerPoint you can create a new blank presentation, use a template, or open a recent file

Doing so launches a brand new and blank presentation for you to work with. Before you start adding content to your presentation, let’s first familiarize ourselves with the PowerPoint interface.

The PowerPoint interface

Picture of the different parts of the PowerPoint layout, including the Ribbon, thumbnail view, quick access toolbar, notes pane, etc.

Here is how the program is laid out:

The Application Header
The Ribbon (including the Ribbon tabs)
The Quick Access Toolbar (either above or below the Ribbon)
The Slides Pane (slide thumbnails)

The Slide Area

The notes pane.

The Status Bar (including the View Buttons)

Each one of these areas has options for viewing certain parts of the PowerPoint environment and formatting your presentation.

Below are the important things to know about certain elements of the PowerPoint interface.

The PowerPoint Ribbon

The Ribbon is contextual. That means that it will adapt to what you’re doing in the program.

For example, the Font, Paragraph and Drawing options are greyed out until you select something that has text in it, as in the example below (A).

Example of the Shape Format tab in PowerPoint and all of the subsequent commands assoicated with that tab

Furthermore, if you start manipulating certain objects, the Ribbon will display additional tabs, as seen above (B), with more commands and features to help you work with those objects. The following objects have their own additional tabs in the Ribbon which are hidden until you select them:

Online Pictures
Screenshots
Screen Recording

The Slides Pane

This is where you can preview and rearrange all the slides in your presentation.

Right-clicking on a slide in the pane gives you additional options on the slide level that you won’t find on the Ribbon, such as Duplicate Slide , Delete Slide , and Hide Slide .

Right clicking a PowerPoint slide in the thumbnail view gives you a variety of options like adding new slides, adding sections, changing the layout, etc.

In addition, you can add sections to your presentation by right-clicking anywhere in this Pane and selecting Add Section . Sections are extremely helpful in large presentations, as they allow you to organize your slides into chunks that you can then rearrange, print or display differently from other slides.

Content added to your PowerPoint slides will only display if it's on the slide area, marked here by the letter A

The Slide Area (A) is where you will build out your slides. Anything within the bounds of this area will be visible when you present or print your presentation.

Anything outside of this area (B) will be hidden from view. This means that you can place things here, such as instructions for each slide, without worrying about them being shown to your audience.

The notes pane in PowerPoint is located at the bottom of your screen and is where you can type your speaker notes

The Notes Pane is the space beneath the Slide Area where you can type in the speaker notes for each slide. It’s designed as a fast way to add and edit your slides’ talking points.

To expand your knowledge and learn more about adding, printing, and exporting your PowerPoint speaker notes, read our guide here .

Your speaker notes are visible when you print your slides using the Notes Pages option and when you use the Presenter View . To expand your knowledge and learn the ins and outs of using the Presenter View , read our guide here .

You can click and drag to resize the notes pane at the bottom of your PowerPoint screen

You can resize the Notes Pane by clicking on its edge and dragging it up or down (A). You can also minimize or reopen it by clicking on the Notes button in the Status Bar (B).

Note: Not all text formatting displays in the Notes Pane, even though it will show up when printing your speaker notes. To learn more about printing PowerPoint with notes, read our guide here .

Now that you have a basic grasp of the PowerPoint interface at your disposal, it’s time to make your presentation.

Adding Content to Your PowerPoint Presentation

Notice that in the Slide Area , there are two rectangles with dotted outlines. These are called Placeholders and they’re set on the template in the Slide Master View .

To expand your knowledge and learn how to create a PowerPoint template of your own (which is no small task), read our guide here .

Click into your content placeholders and start typing text, just as the prompt suggests

As the prompt text suggests, you can click into each placeholder and start typing text. These types of placeholder prompts are customizable too. That means that if you are using a company template, it might say something different, but the functionality is the same.

Example of typing text into a content placeholder in PowerPoint

Note: For the purposes of this example, I will create a presentation based on the content in the Starbucks 2018 Global Social Impact Report, which is available to the public on their website.

If you type in more text than there is room for, PowerPoint will automatically reduce its font size. You can stop this behavior by clicking on the Autofit Options icon to the left of the placeholder and selecting Stop Fitting Text to this Placeholder .

Next, you can make formatting adjustments to your text by selecting the commands in the Font area and the Paragraph area of the Home tab of the Ribbon.

Use the formatting options on the Home tab to choose the formatting of your text

The Reset Command: If you make any changes to your title and decide you want to go back to how it was originally, you can use the Reset button up in the Home tab .

Hitting the reset command on the home tab resets your slide formatting to match your template

Insert More Slides into Your Presentation

Now that you have your title slide filled in, it’s time to add more slides. To do that, simply go up to the Home tab and click on New Slide . This inserts a new slide in your presentation right after the one you were on.

To insert a new slide in PowerPoint, on the home tab click the New Slide command

You can alternatively hit Ctrl+M on your keyboard to insert a new blank slide in PowerPoint. To learn more about this shortcut, see my guide on using Ctrl+M in PowerPoint .

Instead of clicking the New Slide command, you can also open the New Slide dropdown to see all the slide layouts in your PowerPoint template. Depending on who created your template, your layouts in this dropdown can be radically different.

Opening the new slide dropdown you can see all the slide layouts in your PowerPoint template

If you insert a layout and later want to change it to a different layout, you can use the Layout dropdown instead of the New Slide dropdown.

After inserting a few different slide layouts, your presentation might look like the following picture. Don’t worry that it looks blank, next we will start adding content to your presentation.

Example of a number of different blank slide layouts inserting in a PowerPoint presentation

If you want to follow along exactly with me, your five slides should be as follows:

Title Slide
Title and Content
Section Header
Two Content
Picture with Caption

Adding Content to Your Slides

Now let’s go into each slide and start adding our content. You’ll notice some new types of placeholders.

Use the icons within a content placeholder to insert things like tables, charts, SmartArt, Pictures, etc.

On slide 2 we have a Content Placeholder , which allows you to add any kind of content. That includes:

A SmartArt graphic,
A 3D object,
A picture from the web,
Or an icon.

To insert text, simply type it in or hit Ctrl+C to Copy and Ctrl+V to Paste from elsewhere. To insert any of the other objects, click on the appropriate icon and follow the steps to insert it.

For my example, I’ll simply type in some text as you can see in the picture below.

Example typing bulleted text in a content placeholder in PowerPoint

Slides 3 and 4 only have text placeholders, so I’ll go ahead and add in my text into each one.

Examples of text typed into a divider slide and a title and content slide in PowerPoint

On slide 5 we have a Picture Placeholder . That means that the only elements that can go into it are:

A picture from the web

A picture placeholder in PowerPoint can only take an image or an icon

To insert a picture into the picture placeholder, simply:

Click on the Picture icon
Find a picture on your computer and select it
Click on Insert

Alternatively, if you already have a picture open somewhere else, you can select the placeholder and paste in (shortcut: Ctrl+V ) the picture. You can also drag the picture in from a file explorer window.

To insert a picture into a picture placeholder, click the picture icon, find your picture on your computer and click insert

If you do not like the background of the picture you inserted onto your slide, you can remove the background here in PowerPoint. To see how to do this, read my guide here .

Placeholders aren’t the only way to add content to your slides. At any point, you can use the Insert tab to add elements to your slides.

You can use either the Title Only or the Blank slide layout to create slides for content that’s different. For example, a three-layout content slide, or a single picture divider slide, as shown below.

Example slides using PowerPoint icons and background pictures

In the first example above, I’ve inserted 6 text boxes, 3 icons, and 3 circles to create this layout. In the second example, I’ve inserted a full-sized picture and then 2 shapes and 2 text boxes.

The Reset Command: Because these slides are built with shapes and text boxes (and not placeholders), hitting the Reset button up in the Home tab won’t do anything.

That is a good thing if you don’t want your layouts to adjust. However, it does mean that it falls on you to make sure everything is aligned and positioned correctly.

For more on how to add and manipulate the different objects in PowerPoint, check out our step-by-step articles here:

Using graphics in PowerPoint
Inserting icons onto slides
Adding pictures to your PowerPoint
How to embed a video in PowerPoint
How to add music to your presentation

Using Designer to generate more layouts ideas

If you have Office 365, your version of PowerPoint comes with a new feature called Designer (or Design Ideas). This is a feature that generates slide layout ideas for you. The coolest thing about this feature is that it uses the content you already have.

To use Designer , simply navigate to the Design tab in your Ribbon, and click on Design Ideas .

To use Designer on your slides, click the

NOTE: If the PowerPoint Designer is not working for you (it is grey out), see my troubleshooting guide for Designer .

Change the Overall Design (optional)

When you make a PowerPoint presentation, you’ll want to think about the overall design. Now that you have some content in your presentation, you can use the Design tab to change the look and feel of your slides.

For additional help thinking through the design of your presentation, read my guide here .

A. Picking your PowerPoint slide size

If you have PowerPoint 2013 or later, when you create a blank document in PowerPoint, you automatically start with a widescreen layout with a 16:9 ratio. These dimensions are suitable for most presentations as they match the screens of most computers and projectors.

However, you do have the option to change the dimensions.

For example, your presentation might not be presented, but instead converted into a PDF or printed and distributed. In that case, you can easily switch to the standard dimensions with a 4:3 ratio by selecting from the dropdown (A).

You can also choose a custom slide size or change the slide orientation from landscape to portrait in the Custom Slide Size dialog box (B).

To change your slide size, click the Design tab, open the slide size dropdown and choose a size or custom slide size

To learn all about the different PowerPoint slide sizes, and some of the issues you will face when changing the slide size of a non-blank presentation, read my guide here .

B. Selecting a PowerPoint theme

The next thing you can do is change the theme of your presentation to a pre-built one. For a detailed explanation of what a PowerPoint theme is, and how to best use it, read my article here .

In the beginning of this tutorial, we started with a blank presentation, which uses the default Office theme as you can see in the picture below.

All PowerPoint presentations start with the default Microsoft Office theme

That gives you the most flexibility because it has a blank background and quite simple layouts that work for most presentations. However, it also means that it’s your responsibility to enhance the design.

If you’re comfortable with this, you can stay with the default theme or create your own custom theme ( read my guide here ). But if you would rather not have to think about design, then you can choose a pre-designed theme.

Microsoft provides 46 other pre-built themes, which include slide layouts, color variants and palettes, and fonts. Each one varies quite significantly, so make sure you look through them carefully.

To select a different theme, go to the Design tab in the Ribbon, and click on the dropdown arrow in the Themes section .

On the Design tab you will find all of the default PowerPoint templates that come with the Microsoft Office Suite

For this tutorial, let’s select the Frame theme and then choose the third Variant in the theme. Doing so changes the layout, colors, and fonts of your presentation.

Example choosing the Frame PowerPoint theme and the third variant of this powerpoint presentation

Note: The theme dropdown area is also where you can import or save custom themes. To see my favorite places to find professional PowerPoint templates and themes (and recommendations for why I like them), read my guide here .

C. How to change a slide background in PowerPoint

The next thing to decide is how you want your background to look for the entire presentation. In the Variants area, you can see four background options.

To change the background style of your presentation, on the Design tab, find the Background Styles options and choose a style

For this example, we want our presentation to have a dark background, so let’s select Style 3. When you do so, you’ll notice that:

The background color automatically changes across all slides
The color of the text on most of the slides automatically changes to white so that it’s visible on the dark background
The colors of the objects on slides #6 and #7 also adjust, in a way we may not want (we’ll likely have to make some manual adjustments to these slides)

What our PowerPoint presentation looks like now that we have selected a theme, a variant, and a background style

Note: If you want to change the slide background for just that one slide, don’t left-click the style. Instead, right-click it and select Apply to Selected Slides .

After you change the background for your entire presentation, you can easily adjust the background for an individual slide.

You can either right-click a PowerPoint slide and select format background or navigate to the design tab and click the format background command

Inside the Format Background pane, you can see you have the following options:

Gradient fill
Picture or texture fill
Pattern fill
Hide background

You can explore these options to find the PowerPoint background that best fits your presentation.

D. How to change your color palette in PowerPoint

Another thing you may want to adjust in your presentation, is the color scheme. In the picture below you can see the Theme Colors we are currently using for this presentation.

Example of the theme colors we are currently using with this presentation

Each PowerPoint theme comes with its own color palette. By default, the Office theme includes the Office color palette. This affects the colors you are presented with when you format any element within your presentation (text, shapes, SmartArt, etc.).

To change the theme color for your presentation, select the Design tab, open the Colors options and choose the colors you want to use

The good news is that the colors here are easy to change. To switch color palettes, simply:

Go to the Design tab in the Ribbon
In the Variants area, click on the dropdown arrow and select Colors
Select the color palette (or theme colors) you want

You can choose among the pre-built color palettes from Office, or you can customize them to create your own.

As you build your presentation, make sure you use the colors from your theme to format objects. That way, changing the color palette adjusts all the colors in your presentation automatically.

E. How to change your fonts in PowerPoint

Just as we changed the color palette, you can do the same for the fonts.

Example of custom theme fonts that might come with a powerpoint template

Each PowerPoint theme comes with its own font combination. By default, the Office theme includes the Office font pairing. This affects the fonts that are automatically assigned to all text in your presentation.

To change the default fonts for your presentation, from the design tab, find the fonts dropdown and select the pair of fonts you want to use

The good news is that the font pairings are easy to change. To switch your Theme Fonts, simply:

Go to the Design tab in the Ribbon
Click on the dropdown arrow in the Variants area
Select Fonts
Select the font pairing you want

You can choose among the pre-built fonts from Office, or you can customize them to create your own.

If you are working with PowerPoint presentations on both Mac and PC computers, make sure you choose a safe PowerPoint font. To see a list of the safest PowerPoint fonts, read our guide here .

If you receive a PowerPoint presentation and the wrong fonts were used, you can use the Replace Fonts dialog box to change the fonts across your entire presentation. For details, read our guide here .

Adding Animations & Transitions (optional)

The final step to make a PowerPoint presentation compelling, is to consider using animations and transitions. These are by no means necessary to a good presentation, but they may be helpful in your situation.

A. Adding PowerPoint animations

PowerPoint has an incredibly robust animations engine designed to power your creativity. That being said, it’s also easy to get started with basic animations.

Animations are movements that you can apply to individual objects on your slide.

To add an animation to an object in PowerPoint, first select the object and then use the Animations tab to select an animation type

To add a PowerPoint animation to an element of your slide, simply:

Select the element
Go to the Animations tab in the Ribbon
Click on the dropdown arrow to view your options
Select the animation you want

You can add animations to multiple objects at one time by selecting them all first and then applying the animation.

B. How to preview a PowerPoint animation

There are three ways to preview a PowerPoint animation:

Click on the Preview button in the Animations tab
Click on the little star next to the slide
Play the slide in Slide Show Mode

To learn other ways to run your slide show, see our guide on presenting a PowerPoint slide show with shortcuts .

To adjust the settings of your animations, explore the options in the Effect Options , Advanced Animation and the Timing areas of the Animation tab .

The Animations tab allows you to adjust the effects and timings of your animations in PowerPoint

Note: To see how to make objects appear and disappear in your slides by clicking a button, read our guide here .

C. How to manage your animations in PowerPoint

You can see the animations applied to your objects by the little numbers in the upper right-hand corner of the objects

The best way to manage lots of animations on your slide is with the Animation Pane . To open it, simply:

Navigate to the Animations tab
Select the Animation Pane

Inside the Animation Pane, you’ll see all of the different animations that have been applied to objects on your slide, with their numbers marked as pictured above.

Note: To see examples of PowerPoint animations that can use in PowerPoint, see our list of PowerPoint animation tutorials here .

D. How to add transitions to your PowerPoint presentation

PowerPoint has an incredibly robust transition engine so that you can dictate how your slides change from one to the other. It is also extremely easy to add transitions to your slides.

In PowerPoint, transitions are the movements (or effects) you see as you move between two slides.

To add a transition to a slide, select the slide, navigate to the transitions tab in PowerPoint and select your transition

To add a transition to a PowerPoint slide, simply:

Select the slide
Go to the Transitions tab in the Ribbon
In the Transitions to This Slide area, click on the dropdown arrow to view your options
Select the transition you want

To adjust the settings of the transition, explore the options in the Timing area of the Transitions tab.

You can also add the same transition to multiple slides. To do that, select them in the Slides Pane and apply the transition.

E. How to preview a transition in PowerPoint

There are three ways to preview a transition in PowerPoint

There are three ways to preview your PowerPoint transitions (just like your animations):

Click on the Preview button in the Transitions tab
Click on the little star beneath the slide number in the thumbnail view

Note: In 2016, PowerPoint added a cool new transition, called Morph. It operates a bit differently from other transitions. For a detailed tutorial on how to use the cool Morph transition, see our step-by-step article here .

Save Your PowerPoint Presentation

After you’ve built your presentation and made all the adjustments to your slides, you’ll want to save your presentation. YOu can do this several different ways.

Click the file tab, select Save As, choose where you want to save your presentation and then click save

To save a PowerPoint presentation using your Ribbon, simply:

Navigate to the File tab
Select Save As on the left
Choose where you want to save your presentation
Name your presentation and/or adjust your file type settings
Click Save

You can alternatively use the Ctrl+S keyboard shortcut to save your presentation. I recommend using this shortcut frequently as you build your presentation to make sure you don’t lose any of your work.

The save shortcut is control plus s in PowerPoint

This is the standard way to save a presentation. However, there may be a situation where you want to save your presentation as a different file type.

To learn how to save your presentation as a PDF, see our guide on converting PowerPoint to a PDF .

How to save your PowerPoint presentation as a template

Once you’ve created a presentation that you like, you may want to turn it into a template. The easiest – but not technically correct – way, is to simply create a copy of your current presentation and then change the content.

But be careful! A PowerPoint template is a special type of document and it has its own parameters and behaviors.

If you’re interested in learning about how to create your own PowerPoint template from scratch, see our guide on how to create a PowerPoint template .

Printing Your PowerPoint Presentation

After finishing your PowerPoint presentation, you may want to print it out on paper. Printing your slides is relatively easy.

The print shortcut is control plus P in PowerPoint

To open the Print dialog box, you can either:

Hit Ctrl+P on your keyboard
Or go to the Ribbon and click on File and then Print

In the Print dialog box, make your selections for how you want to print your PowerPoint presentation, then click print

Inside the Print dialog box, you can choose from the various printing settings:

Printer: Select a printer to use (or print to PDF or OneNote)
Slides: Choose which slides you want to print
Layout: Determine how many slides you want per page (this is where you can print the notes, outline, and handouts)
Collated or uncollated (learn what collated printing means here )
Color: Choose to print in color, grayscale or black & white

There are many more options for printing your PowerPoint presentations. Here are links to more in-depth articles:

How to print multiple slides per page
How to print your speaker notes in PowerPoint
How to save PowerPoint as a picture presentation

So that’s how to create a PowerPoint presentation if you are brand new to it. We’ve also included a ton of links to helpful resources to boost your PowerPoint skills further.

When you are creating your presentation, it is critical to first focus on the content (what you are trying to say) before getting lost inserting and playing with elements. The clearer you are on what you want to present, the easier it will be to build it out in PowerPoint.

If you enjoyed this article, you can learn more about our PowerPoint training courses and other presentation resources by visiting us here .

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Create a presentation

Create a presentation in PowerPoint

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Create presentations from scratch or start with a professionally designed, fully customizable template from Microsoft Create .

Tip: If you have Microsoft Copilot it can help you create a presentation, add slides or images, and more. To learn more see Create a new presentation with Copilot in PowerPoint.

Open PowerPoint.

In the left pane, select New .

Select an option:

To create a presentation from scratch, select Blank Presentation .

To use a prepared design, select one of the templates.

To see tips for using PowerPoint, select Take a Tour , and then select Create , .

Add a slide

In the thumbnails on the left pane, select the slide you want your new slide to follow.

In the Home tab, in the Slides section, select New Slide .

In the Slides section, select Layout , and then select the layout you want from the menu.

Add and format text

Place the cursor inside a text box, and then type something.

Select the text, and then select one or more options from the Font section of the Home tab, such as Font , Increase Font Size , Decrease Font Size , Bold , Italic , Underline , etc.

To create bulleted or numbered lists, select the text, and then select Bullets or Numbering .

Add a picture, shape, and more

Go to the Insert tab.

To add a picture:

In the Images section, select Pictures .

In the Insert Picture From menu, select the source you want.

Browse for the picture you want, select it, and then select Insert .

To add illustrations:

In the Illustrations section, select Shapes , Icons , 3D Models , SmartArt , or Chart .

In the dialog box that opens when you click one of the illustration types, select the item you want and follow the prompts to insert it.

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105+ Creative Presentation Ideas to Engage Your Audience

Written by: Orana Velarde

100+ creative presentation ideas that will delight your audience

With most people tuning out of a PowerPoint presentation within the first 10 minutes , developing engaging slide show presentation ideas that keep your audience hooked till the end can be a challenge.

This is why we've created this post with 105+ creative presentation ideas to help you put together exciting presentations that don't put your audience to sleep. You can use these presentation ideas for business meetings, webinars, classrooms, online courses, pitch decks and more.

Here are some of the ideas we’re covering:

Use neon colors and duotones
Unify transitions horizontally
Use a monochrome palette
Tell a personal story
Use isometric illustrations

In this article, you'll find unique slide examples, templates, designs and more. Put these slide show presentation ideas to practice using our presentation maker and create your own presentation in minutes.

Here's a short selection of 8 easy-to-edit Presentation templates you can edit, share and download with Visme. View more below:

Add bright and bold colors to make your presentation stand out and grab your audience's attention. Create a vibrant and dynamic look by using neon colors and duotones.
Instead of using different transitions for each slide, use the same transition horizontally throughout your presentation. This creates a cohesive and visually pleasing flow.
To create a sophisticated, minimalist look, limit your color choices to shades of a single color.
Connect with your audience and make your message more relatable by incorporating personal anecdotes or stories into your presentation.
Add depth and dimension to your presentation with isometric illustrations, which can be a fun and engaging way to present complex information.
Sign up for Visme’s presentation software to start applying these creative presentation ideas.

105+ Creative Presentation Ideas

The ideas we've shared cut across various design concepts, industries and use cases. We've also sprinkled presentation design ideas from Visme's template library. If you're running out of creative steam, you can use these templates to jumpstart your designs.

And if you're running out of time, consider using Visme's AI presentation maker to bring these 100 creative presentation ideas to life. It's a user-friendly tool that effortlessly transforms your ideas into visually stunning presentations.

Now, let's jump into the creative presentation design ideas.

1 Use Neon Colors

Neon colors will give your presentation enough color kick to keep the viewer’s attention. Use neon colors either as the background, as specific elements or as details inside the slides. The trick with neon is to not go overboard with the contrasts. Instead of using a neon rainbow, think more along the lines of neon accents.

2 Be Minimal

Using a minimal design composition is one of the unique presentation ideas. The trick is to have just enough information and visual details for the viewer to feel comfortable seeing the slides. A minimal design can instill calm and awe in your audience when done right. The trick with minimalism is to know when enough is enough, you wouldn’t want to be boring instead of minimal.

Our Simple presentation theme with over 300 different slide designs to choose from.

RELATED: 20+ Examples of Minimalist Design to Inspire Your Own Creations

3 Use all caps

Another creative presentation idea is using all caps when you feel like the topic of your presentation can be delivered with few words. Using all capitals in your slides will give the message importance. This design might not be suited for a text-heavy presentation but maybe one with an audio narrative that goes along with it or bullet points.

Also, this kind of presentation design is suitable for captivating introduction slide ideas.

use all caps creative presentation ideas

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4 Go vertical

Rectangular presentations are definitely the norm, but with the rise of Instagram Stories, this might be starting to change. This shift introduces a unique opportunity for those looking for ideas for presentation styles that stand out. Now that we can put archived stories into Highlights, why not publish vertical presentations there? Going vertical is just one idea. Along with that, you can add any other design technique.

5 Use duotones

Duotone doesn’t exactly mean “two colors,” it actually means “two tones.” The idea behind this design angle is to use two contrasting tonalities which can have different shades. The difference between duotone and two colors is that it has a more edgy look. Depending on what two tonalities you choose, it can be subtle or very powerful. The photos used in the design also need to be customized to the duotone color you chose.

6 Add a video in different shapes or snippets

Videos can be a powerful tool in your arsenal for engaging your audience during a presentation. Not only do they help to break up the monotony of a lecture-style presentation, but they can also help to explain complex concepts, add visual interest, and evoke emotions.

One way to make your videos stand out is by using different shapes or snippets. Rather than presenting a standard rectangular video, consider incorporating shapes such as circles, triangles or diamonds. These shapes can add a unique and visually appealing element to your presentation.

Another way to incorporate video snippets is by breaking up a longer video into smaller, bite-sized pieces. This can be particularly useful if you have a lengthy video that you want to show but don't want to lose your audience's attention. By breaking it up into smaller segments, you can keep your audience engaged and prevent them from losing interest.

Don’t worry about the design complexity. If you create your presentation in Visme, you can resize your videos instantly and turn them into any shape you want.

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7 Unify transitions horizontally

Unifying the transitions between slides is always a great idea, but doing it horizontally is especially effective. By keeping all the movements going in one direction, it's both easy to follow and will look great. You don’t need to just apply horizontal transitions to the switch between slides, you can also apply animation to the titles and images. As long as they all go in the same direction, you are gold.

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8 Black and white + spot of bright color

This presentation design idea is highly effective if you're looking for a creative way to present information.

Adding a bright color to a black and white scheme can add just the right amount of attention-grabbing detail to your presentation. Try choosing a powerful color so that it’s really noticeable and pops visually. You can use the color in small amounts or in large sections. Up to you, just remember to maintain a balance throughout.

9 Use a color theme

A cohesive color theme throughout your presentation can engage your audience and create a more visually appealing experience.

To start, consider the overall tone of your presentation and what emotions you want to evoke in your audience. Are you presenting on a serious topic, such as healthcare or finance, where a more subdued color palette may be appropriate?

Or are you presenting on a more lighthearted topic, such as creativity or innovation, where bright and bold colors can help to capture your audience's attention?

Once you have a general idea of your color palette, try to use it consistently throughout your slides. This means using the same background, font and accent colors for headings and graphics– like the presentation template below.

Visme's presentation templates offer a wide range of professionally designed themes with 300+ slides in 20+ different categories, making it the best choice for exploring creative presentation ideas without PowerPoint. You can create visually stunning slides with our carefully curated color schemes and stylish designs.

Read this article about 25 free presentation themes in Visme and find the perfect one.

Visme's presentation maker and branded presentation templates have been helping businesses create impactful presentations while saving them time and money. That's why many businesses choose Visme over other tools.

But don't just take it for word. Here's what one of our satisfied customers has to say about Visme.

"Previously we were using PowerPoint, which is fine, but the interactivity you can get with Visme is so much more robust that we've all steered away from PowerPoint."

"PowerPoint templates are plain and boring, and we want to create more fun and engaging content. Visme has multiple slide templates to choose from, which makes this so much easier."

"I just made a deck recently and it took me about 15-20 minutes. I found a template I really liked and tweaked it and put it in our brand colors. In PowerPoint, it would take anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half."

- Kendra Bradley, Graphic Content Developer at WOW!

10 Add full-screen videos

The use of full-screen video in your slides can have a big impact on your storytelling. There’s a catch though. The wrong video will be detrimental to your message, be mindful of the videos you chose to grace the background of your slides. The video should either tell your story without words or be a complement that won’t interfere. The wrong video will confuse your viewers and it will be hard to get their undivided attention back.

If you’re looking for quick idea inspiration, check out our YouTube video where Mike shares 30 of our favorite presentation ideas at a glance.

11 Use an 80’s visual style

If looking for a unique design style, why not try an 80’s style for a change. Neon graffiti writing, disco balls, and brightly colored shapes might go well with your presentation’s topic. You can use 80’s visuals as small complementary elements or as the entirety of the presentation style. Nevertheless, if your presentation is about something quite serious then maybe you should try another style.

All you have to do is provide a text prompt, choose your preferred template style and the tool will generate text, images and icons and prepare a ready-to-use presentation within seconds.

The flexibility to customize these presentations in the Visme editor adds the perfect finishing touches to your visual storytelling journey.

12 Go vintage

Another creative presentation idea is the vintage look. This could work really well with a history-themed presentation or anything to do with recuperating old traditions. When we say “vintage” we mean sepia-toned photos, intricate picture frames, bold fonts which look like they came out of old posters.

A vintage color palette is usually pastel turquoise green, ochre yellow and washed out blue and orange. You could consider using vintage mockup sets to create scenes for your slides, or use vintage style fonts, and old photographs as backgrounds.

13 Use a monochrome palette

A monochrome palette is one that maintains a single tonality in different strengths. For example, you can create a presentation in shades of blue, or in shades of orange. Use the palest shade for the background and a stronger shade for the titles and decorative shapes. Try doing it the opposite way as well. You can even use photos with a bit of a filter effect in the chosen color by adding a color filter.

14 Tell a personal story

Telling stories from your own life—whether those stories are deeply moving, humorous tales, or just little snippets that allow someone to look into your history—can be a great way to make a presentation more meaningful.

Colin Stokes uses this to his advantage in his TED talk. He begins by talking about the movies he watches with his daughter and what she likes, and then moving into watching a movie with his son, and wondering how it has affected him, allowing him to move seamlessly into his actual points.

Watch the video below to learn how Colin Stokes did it

Choose a relevant story from your past, and tell it with all the honesty that you can. Your audience will feel that, sympathize, and therefore connect more with your message.

15 Creative photo crops

The photos in your presentations can be cropped hundreds of different ways. From simple circles or rectangles to more elaborate triangles, polygons, letter shapes or even a brushstroke. Analyze the message of your presentation to know which shape to use for the cropping of your photos. You can also create a collage with the shapes as long as they don’t distract from the information being presented.

16 Add fun illustrations

Adding fun illustrations is a great idea to engage your audience during a presentation. They can help break up text-heavy slides, make your presentation more visually attractive and reinforce your message, making it one of the best fun presentation ideas.

Hand-drawn doodles, icons and graphics and animated GIFs are all illustrations you can use. To maximize the visual impact of your illustrations, you can use them in 3D.

With Visme, you can enhance your presentation by adding 3D objects that allow you to customize their colors, size and alignment. Additionally, you can add 3D animated graphics to take things to the next level.

When using illustrations, it's important to remember to use them sparingly to avoid overwhelming your audience. Less is more when it comes to adding graphics to your slides. Remember to match the illustrations with your theme and color scheme to keep things consistent.

17 Thick and bold fonts

Huge chunky fonts are a great way to call attention to titles on slides. You could even try making the letters bleed over the edges or place the words vertical along the side. The best thick and bold fonts are the ones with minimal decorations. Try using fonts that have strong corners or the opposite, extreme rounded terminals. It will also work best if the title is short and sweet.

18 Go with nature

Freshen up your presentation with some natural elements around the edges or as a background. You could use full-screen background photos of leaves or palm fronds coming in from the sides of the slides.

Another presentation idea would be to use nature-related photography along with other design ideas like interesting photo crops. This technique could be used for presentations that relate to nature or natural topics, but also for a home decor proposal or creative direction pitch for a TV ad.

Integrating nature into your slides is a beautiful presentation example of how to connect with your audience on a different level. This technique could be used for presentations about environmental topics or even about home decoration.

presentation slides - company overview template visme

19 Use circles

Circles represent wholeness and a natural sense of completion. They can signify eternity and constant movement. They can also make your presentation more friendly and emotionally accessible. You can try using circles as decorative elements or as the shape for cropping images and as backgrounds for illustrations.

20 Add some sparkle (glitter backgrounds)

Give your presentations a little bit of a festive feel with some glittery details. This PowerPoint idea can work great if you are presenting a creative proposal for a fashion label or clothing catalog. It can even work really well for holiday-themed pitches or products. There are different types of glittery graphics you can use, like a glitter texture, a glittering rain or even just a dash of glitter. You can find some great glitter backgrounds and textures over at Freepik .

add some sparkle creative presentation ideas

21 Get crafty (ripped paper details)

Sometimes to tell a story, visual details can really help get a mood across. Ripped paper shapes and edges can give a presentation a special feel, almost as if it was done by hand. This visual technique works for any type of presentation except maybe in a corporate setting. Ripped paper can be found on creative graphics resource sites or you can do it yourself and take a photo.

22 Cut-out paper illustrations

Another crafty idea to design your slides is by using cut paper illustrations. This technique could look really crafty or quite elegant if done well. Cut paper can be used as an elaborate background, as the letters in titles or as decorative elements. There are some great cut paper bundles online to use as PNG files which can be uploaded to the Visme editor.

cut-out paper illustrations creative presentation ideas

23 Pathway transitions

Create interesting transitions by designing scenes or pathways instead of just sliding them in one unified direction. By doing this, you can use a storytelling technique that will keep the audience’s attention throughout the presentation and information relay. You can find out how to do it in our free guide to creating captivating presentations .

Create an automatically animated presentation in minutes.

24 use isometric illustrations.

If you are looking for a different way to illustrate your slides, why not consider using isometric illustrations? This style of illustration is great for explaining things that can be separated into parts. The parts can be animated as well. An isometric illustration can work for any kind of presentation, from technology to corporate. It will give your presentation a modern edge and a professional look.

Use-isometric-illustrations creative presentation ideas

25 Use motion graphics

Motion graphics are a great way to illustrate an idea with animated objects . They don’t tell stories on their own, they support the context and illustrate the content.

For example, if your presentation is about travel, you could have flying airplanes across the slides or bags on a luggage conveyor belt. For something more abstract, you can use moving shapes and add effects to the titles. Your Visme editor has a variety of design tools to help you create all sorts of content with motion graphics.

Here’s what one of Visme’s satisfied customers Jessica L. | Small-Business Owner, has to say about Visme’s presentation tool:

"No need to go back to PowerPoint. Visme makes project presentations easy and fast. Lots of useful templates and excellent graphics. I enjoy the features they continue to add and update often. They make project work easy".

26 Add GIFs to your slides

GIFs can be fun, entertaining and humorous. They can also be informational. GIFs be sourced from sites like Giphy , where you can also create your own! Choosing to include a GIF in your presentation slide or a few different GIFs will depend on what message you want to send with your story. The theme and topic of your presentation will help you decide if you need a clip from a blockbuster movie or a quick representation of the process of your systems.

RELATED: Everything You Need to Know About Using Cool GIFs in Your Marketing

27 Use quotes between slides

Quotes can be good breathers between a bunch of informative slides. You can either use them to separate ideas inside your presentation or to start new sections of information. It’s important that your quotes represent the topic of your presentation so that they make sense and not confuse the viewer.

28 Start with “once upon a time”

One of the most effective and engaging ways to present a presentation is by incorporating creative storytelling techniques.

If a presentation can be created as a story, then why not go all the way and start the presentation with a classic story opening? Using the “once upon a time” phrase will instantly grab the viewer’s attention because it will be out of the ordinary. Make a slide especially for it with a visual that matches the topic of your presentation.

start with once upon a time creative presentation ideas

29 Turn the slides into a scrolling infographic instead of a presentation

To showcase your content in a unique and engaging way, consider using creative slide ideas that break away from the traditional slide-by-slide approach. For instance, you can arrange your slides vertically to create a scrolling infographic instead of a classic slide-by-slide transition presentation.

This innovative format expands the types of presentations you can create, offering a fresh perspective on information delivery.

An added bonus to this presentation style is to add parallax scrolling or interaction animation. As the viewer scrolls down, the information fills each slide progressively. It doesn’t continue until the viewer scrolls again. This technique is best for displaying online slide show presentation ideas.

Create a scrolling presentation in minutes.

30 engage your audience.

What’s one of the best ways to make your presentations more interesting? Make the audience a part of them.

Regardless if you’re presenting in person to a room full of people or via Zoom to viewers around the world, there are a number of techniques to engage your audience with both your content and yourself. The trick is to make them feel connected somehow, like they can relate. You can achieve this with humor, storytelling, asking questions and inviting them to leave comments in the webinar chat window.

Take this speech by Donovan Livingston. He delivers a commencement speech in spoken word poetry, and specifically encourages the audience to take part, saying they should clap, throw their hands in the air, or otherwise participate if they feel so moved. While not seen, several people are heard cheering and clapping throughout the video.

Participation can also be accomplished through things such as games, posing questions or something as simple as asking participants to raise their hands.

31 Use a scrunched paper background

Give your presentation a laid-back and grunge feel by designing it with a scrunched paper background. It can be any kind of paper really, depending on your topic. It could be notebook paper, or printer paper, it could even be recycled paper. Try a few different types of paper until you find the one that suits your story.

Use-a-scrunched-paper creative presentation ideas

32 Add interactive pop-ups

Adding interactive pop-ups is a game-changer when it comes to creative ways of presenting. These pop-ups allow you to go beyond the traditional approach, giving your audience a more dynamic and engaging experience.

Interactive pop-ups can take many forms, from quizzes and polls to clickable infographics and interactive timelines. With Visme, you can access various interactive features that can help you create engaging and effective presentations.

For example, you can create clickable icons or buttons that allow your audience to explore additional information or resources. You can also create interactive timelines that enable your audience to explore different events or milestones.

One of the most powerful interactive features of Visme is the ability to create quizzes and polls. You can make interactive questions and answer options that allow your audience to engage with your presentation on a deeper level.

You can also use this feature to gather feedback from your audience, allowing you to tailor your presentation to their needs and interests.

Watch the video below or read this article to learn how to create an interactive presentation .

33 Use a back-to-school theme

A back-to-school theme can make your presentation look like a lot of fun. This is a great technique for teachers and educators welcoming their students back to a new school year. The background can be a sheet of notebook paper, an open notebook, or a blackboard. The edges could be decorated with pencils and paperclips, maybe an eraser or sharpener. The back-to-school theme has lots of possibilities.

back to school theme creative presentation ideas

34 Use a billboard-inspired theme

Use billboard mockups to create slides which look like billboards. This could look interesting and quite unique. You could use the same billboard for all the slides, or different ones for a more varied approach. This technique would work great with a pitch for an election or a local spot in a government office.

Do-a-Billboard-inspired-theme creative presentation ideas

35 Use black-and-white photography

Black and white photography is a classic design technique. They import elegance and sophistication to any design by providing a minimalistic approach to the visuals. The photos can either be desaturated from color photos or given an artistic flair with extra contrast and fewer grey tones.

36 Explain your reasons

What people really want to know is why you’re giving the presentation you’re giving. This is especially true if you’re pitching to investors or potential new clients. When you share your why with the audience using storytelling and body language, you make meaningful connections and lasting relationships

Simon Sinek explains quite well why this is so important—the greatest leaders, the ones who inspire the most people, understand why they do the things they do, rather than just what or how.

When it comes to explaining your reasons, one tool that can significantly improve your presentations is Visme's AI writer . This advanced feature helps you write your presentation copy, break down complex ideas and edit or improve your existing words. With Visme's AI writer, you can make sure your "why" is clear and easy to understand alongside your visuals.

37 Add an audio narrative

Your presentation doesn’t need to be silent, especially if you won’t be standing by it to tell the story yourself. Adding an audio narrative can turn a viewable presentation into an experience. You can either set it up as a video that runs on its own and the viewer looks and listens, or it can be triggered by arrows that are clicked on.

RELATED: How to Create a Narrated Presentation With Voice Over Using Visme

38 Follow a space theme with photography

Most of the photos from Nasa are labeled as public domain. Meaning that you can give your presentation a space theme quite easily. Choose images of astronauts in space or more abstract and colorful images like distant galaxies and nebulas. The latter can make great backgrounds behind content without the topic necessarily being about space.

presentation topic ideas - moon landing science presentation template visme

39 Do a space theme with illustration

An illustrated space theme can be either colorful and whimsical or sober and elegant. By choosing the style of illustration you use, you can either use this technique for presentations related to children or scientists. Cartoon astronauts can be lots of fun, line illustration planets can be educational and data-driven drawings can be informational.

Do-a-space-theme-with-illustration creative presentation ideas

40 Include music

Sometimes, when listening to someone talk for long periods of time, it helps to have something else to draw your attention. While images are great, including music can really help stimulate an audience and set the mood.

Dean Burnett talks about why this happens: “[Music] provides non-invasive noise and pleasurable feelings, to effectively neutralize the unconscious attention system’s ability to distract us.” Essentially, music is entertaining enough that, when in the background, can keep us focused on otherwise un-entertaining things.

Take, for example, this valedictorian’s speech. While peppered with humor and stories of his time through high school, he uses background music to help keep people’s attention—in fact, this is specifically stated to be his reason for including music, humorously quipping about giving the audience something to listen to while they “zone out” of his speech.

Whether incorporated into individual slides, in a video, done live, or with a music-playing device nearby, this creative presentation idea can be a great way to enhance the quality of your speech or talk.

41 Graffiti photography backgrounds and details

Using colorful backgrounds like photos of urban graffiti can give your presentation a bit of an edge. There are lots of free photographs of graffiti on sites like Unsplash which you can use straight away. Apart from graffiti murals, you can also incorporate graffiti letterings in your titles and quotes. You can find graffiti style fonts online quite easily.

42 Stop-motion

The stop-motion technique can take time but it can also make your presentation unforgettable. There are lots of ways to use stop-motion, either with characters doing actions or objects that move around and create a scene. Stop-motion can also be used to create titles that move into place. What the title is written with can be anything, from toys to plants. The theme and topic of your presentation will ultimately be the driving point to what kind of stop-motion can be used. But be sure that it works from educational to promotional to corporate.

43 Claymation

Very similar to stop-motion, claymation is the animation of things created with clay or play-doh. Anything can be created with clay, so the possibilities really are endless about what can be achieved. This technique really does take a lot of time, you can source it out to a professional or buy some already created footage. The claymation can be just a decorative element in the background or it could also be the center of the presentation.

44 Color blocking

The color blocking technique is another creative presentation idea that entails using color in large sections and in contrasting tones. The idea is that the color blocks will be strong and colorful. The color blocks can either be the shapes that determine where the information goes or just a way to separate the slides in specific sections.

Any type of presentation can benefit from color blocking. Just make sure you use colors that go together and don’t clash. Explore this technique for different presentation slide ideas, especially when aiming for a bold and visually striking effect. Take a look at this sponsorship deck and how it uses bright and bold color blocking techniques.

45 Get surreal

Surrealism is an avant-garde movement from the 20th century which was meant to tap into subconscious creativity. This might not be the kind of design technique for any sort of presentation but it can work for one that is about art, or literature or other creative outlets. There are plenty of surrealist artworks in the public domain sector or the Metropolitan Museum of Art. These can be used as subtle backgrounds or visual complements to the text.

Designing a presentation for an organization requires input from different stakeholders. However, when collaborating with others on a presentation design, keeping track of all the moving parts can be difficult.

That's where Visme's workflow management feature comes in. It helps organize roles, tasks, progress, deadlines and corrections all in one place to make your presentation design process efficient and smooth.

46 Polaroids

Polaroids, often a photography favorite, can inspire creative photography presentation ideas. The original Polaroids from the 70’s could be used as vintage polaroids that have been kept in a box for years. The newest Instamatic photographs, which are the new kind of polaroids, can be used for a fun way to show photos and visuals in presentation slides. You could either use one polaroid per slide or a collection of polaroids on a table or corkboard.

There are many topics that can work with Polaroid photography backgrounds and details in your slide show presentation ideas.

47 Use a Handwriting Font

Fonts come in all shapes and sizes, including lots of handwriting fonts. Handwritten fonts can be used for any type of presentation as long as the style matches the topic of the information. There are kid-style handwriting, calligraphy style handwriting, hand lettering, and novelty fonts as well. The options are wide and varied for this design technique. Creative Bloq has a great collection of handwritten fonts.

48 Use a geometric background

A geometric background can look really nice on any presentation. Geometric backgrounds can be tiled polygons or more abstract compositions of different size polygons. The decision to choose between tiled shapes and more creative compositions will depend on your creative angle and disposition. You can use these types of designs with any colors, so you can match the theme or your brand.

49 Coffee style design

Using a coffee-style design can work for any PowerPoint presentation idea, from office-related topics to digital nomads to anything or anyone who loves coffee. If the background is subtle, it can fit a more serious topic or data report. It can make a boring presentation just a bit more visually entertaining than the rest. Of course, it can also be perfect for a small coffee brewer pitching their company to investors.

50 Include memes

You’ve seen them everywhere by this point. You might be pretty sick of them. However, that doesn’t mean memes can’t be useful—in fact, using a couple strategically can surprise the audience and make them laugh.

The presentation " Memes, Memes Everywhere" focuses on, unsurprisingly, memes, and explains their purpose while using examples on every slide, which help support their points and add some humor to a very text-heavy presentation.

Choosing relevant memes and using them sparingly can really help add some personality to your presentation, without distracting from the work.

RELATED: 85+ Best Free Presentation Templates

51 Polka dots

Using a polka-dot background is suitable for various types of presentations. It can give your presentation a whimsical look or simply give it a subtle texture. The polka dots could be small and soft or big and punchy. A strong polka-dot background can work great in a creative setting or even boring data analysis. The style of polka dots will depend on the general topic of your presentation. You can use the polka-dot design as a full background or as a decorative section on the slide.

52 Metaphors

Visual metaphors can be useful in a similar manner; they can spice up your presentation, illustrate your point, and make your work far more entertaining. James Geary speaks about just how important metaphors are.

His presentation provides several examples of metaphors--such as the phrase “some jobs are jails”--and explains just how hard it is to ignore the lasting power of a well-used metaphor. Because of the connotations a metaphor can bring to the table, their use is an excellent way to imbue added meaning to your words.

53 Use timelines in your slides

Timelines can be used in lots of different ways inside a PowerPoint presentation, and the ideas are limitless. A timeline can either be inside one slide, or it can be connected between various slides. You can make a timeline with icons, connected shapes, or an inclined line. The timeline can be a visual way of explaining a chronological event or a plan of action that needs to be taken care of. Make sure the timeline fits the rest of the theme.

54 Use a comic book style

Comic books are a source of inspiration for many people. The visual aspect of a comic style composition can really make your presentation shine. There are a few ways you can use this technique. You could set up the slides as if they were snippets of a comic book, place the text in speech and thought bubbles and apply a background with a pointillist texture. If using characters, make sure the characters fit the theme of your presentation. For a perfect fit, hire a designer to create a comic book presentation just for your company.

Use-a-Comic-book-style-3 creative presentation ideas

55 Use a manga style

Looking for creative PowerPoint slide ideas that stand out? Consider taking inspiration from the Japanese art of Manga. Manga can give your presentation a distinct and eye-catching look, much like comic books.

It isn’t as versatile as a comic book because it has a more specific look, so it might not work for all topics. It can work for more creative outlets like fashion, art, and photography. Manga has a specific style for the atmosphere around the unique characters as well. They are more common in black and white and look very photographic.

Use-a-Manga-style creative presentation ideas

56 Use psychedelic visuals

Psychedelia was a big part of the design world in the 60’s and 70’s. Music and creative event posters were so intricate and colorful that they took an important place in the design history books. This design style can be used for a unique visual approach in your presentations. Just like many other techniques we have mentioned, they can be used as a background in slides or as decorative elements. The swirly shapes and contrasting colors can call attention to the viewer in a positive way.

Use-Psychedelic-visuals. creative presentation ideas

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57 Use neon lights

Neon lights are a great way to give your presentation some life when it’s otherwise visually bland. There are plenty of neon light fonts available online to choose from, from classic style neon tubing on a wall to a neon style given to a font to make it look like neon. Presentations of any topic can be given an additional visual with a bit of neon brightness.

Use-Neon-lights-2 creative presentation ideas

58 Cinemagraph backgrounds

A cinemagraph is like a GIF loaded with elegance. The idea behind a cinemagraph is a photo with a moving section which makes it look cinematic. This kind of background can keep your viewers happily hypnotized while listening to your audio narrative or keep them on the slide longer to truly grasp the information being given. There are cinemagraphs available for all sorts of themes and topics. You can definitely find one that suits your needs.

59 Full-screen video backgrounds

A full-screen background can be really appealing. But just like other design ideas, the video you choose needs to match the theme and topic of your presentation. Your best bet is to have a video which is directly related to what your presentation is about. Videos can be created especially for your purpose, sourced with permission from YouTube or bought from a stock video site.

60 Visualize data

Staring at a large amount of numbers on screen can be overwhelming for most people, even if the realities of those numbers enforce your point. What’s the best way to avoid scaring your crowd? Put the data into easily understandable visualizations. This especially helpful when customizing sales, business or consultant presentation template .

If you want to take this a step further, you can use illustrations or create infographics to make these data visualizations even more engaging.

report examples - market research report template

61 Use a wild west theme

The wild west is not a very versatile theme but can work for a history project or a proposal for a wild west themed party or event. What entails a wild west theme? Brown sandy tones, horses, cowboys, and tumbleweeds. If the full-on wild west theme is too much, you can also take a cue from the era and be inspired by the color scheme. Another approach would be to use photography from the actual west of the United States, mountains and deserts and so on.

Use-a-Wild-West-theme. creative presentation ideas

62 Use mind maps

Mind maps are great visual tools for explaining concepts easily. By including mind maps in your slides, you can relay complicated information visually and creatively. There are eight types of mind maps, the most common being bubble maps, the tree map, and flow map. Each one has a different purpose and you can learn all about this in our guide about mind maps in the Visual Learning Center.

63 Use interactive geographic maps

The difference between a static map and an interactive map will define how much attention your slides get. Regions can switch colors according to a change in data over time, making the map more into a chart. With Visme, you can make your maps interactive with live data . All you need to do is sync your data from a Google Sheets file and when your presentation is published online, your map will always be synchronized to that data.

Want to create your own interactive map?

Create a color-coded map to visualize geographical data
Choose either the entire world map, a continent or a country
Enable feature to have data values appear on hover

64 Color contrasts

Using contrasting colors in your slides will make the information pop out of the screen in a positive way. The trick to using contrasting colors is to know how colors match together. Contrasting doesn’t mean they need to clash. Try using a color palette generator like Adobe Color to find great palettes that will make this technique your new best friend. You can learn more about how color works in our guide about color perception in the Visme Learning Center.

color contrasts creative presentation ideas

65 Live data graphs

Adding live data to a presentation can turn your slides into evergreen content in a flash. You can use any type of chart and populate it with live data such as bar graphs, line graphs, pie graphs, and more. You can add live data graphs to one or two slides in your presentation or have a series of them. Creating a live data graph is easy with the Visme editor.

66 Color fade transitions

Transitions come in lots of different styles. We have mentioned horizontal transitions, animated transitions, and pathway transitions. This particular technique involves color as the ruling factor.

A color-fade transition makes each slide connected to each other through color. This can be achieved with gradients, color blocks, or colored photo filters. Make your PowerPoint presentation ideas stand out with color fade transitions.

67 “Grow” your presentation so it looks like one animated slide

This creative PowerPoint idea is quite interesting as it really only uses one slide that grows upon itself. The practical way to do this is to create the final slide with all the parts and information set up like a finished puzzle. Once you have the completed slide, duplicate it as many times as you need and systematically take off a bit of information until you’ve reached the first title slide. Once you have all the slides, make sure they are in order before downloading the entire thing.

RELATED: A Non-Designer’s Guide to Creating Memorable Visual Presentations [Free E-Book]

68 Use humor

Want a great way to connect with your audience and make a memorable, more engaging presentation? Be funny. When used strategically, this is a great way to capture attention. In fact, infusing humor into your talk is one of the most effective fun presentation ideas you can use.

Morgan Spurlock makes wonderful use of this in his TED talk. For example, in one of his earliest statements, he offered individuals the opportunity to buy the rights to name his TED talk—which he refers to again at the end, where he reveals the title. He peppers the entire presentation with humorous commentary that nonetheless supports his point.

Create relevant jokes or find a way to bring out the humor in your subject, and your audience will be much more engaged and more likely to remember your words.

69 Tree diagram transitions

A tree diagram is one of the eight thinking maps which help visualize idea and concepts. The purpose of a tree diagram is to classify and organize information. This map can help build a presentation by making sure each slide is a continuation of the one before. They might need to be grouped into sections so that all the information is relayed easily.

tree diagram transitions creative presentation ideas

Want to create your own tree diagram?

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70 Journal style (with hand-drawn illustrations on the margins)

One creative presentation idea is to make your talk just a little bit different than the rest is to use a journal style. The general visual idea for this technique is to make your slides look like the pages of a journal. The style of the journal will depend on what your presentation topic is. It can be a whimsical bullet journal or an intricate botany journal. You could even consider handwriting on paper as a background.

journal style creative presentation ideas

71 Ink splatters

Use ink splatters to decorate your slides any way you like. They can be big and impressive behind the content, or they can be small and subtle like drops from a pen. An ink splatter can give your presentation a bit of an artistic flair and if done right, can make your slides look elegant and clean. Any style of presentation can benefit from some ink splatters as a decorative element.

If you're looking for fresh presentation slide ideas, why not experiment with ink splatters and see how they can enhance your next presentation?

ink splatters 2 creative presentation ideas

72 Passport with stamps

Using travel stamps as a decorative element can work for a presentation with a travel-theme or a creative design proposal for a department store or airport mall. The stamps can be used as a background on a passport page or on their own around the content. A photo of a real passport page can be used for this technique but there are plenty of graphics available in this style on sites like Freepik .

passports with stamps creative presentation ideas

73 Express your emotions

We can sometimes be afraid of expressing how we feel, even to those we’re close to, much less in front of a crowd. However, showing them makes your words more authentic and can generate compassion or excitement in your audience.

Take this TED talk by Thordis Elva and Tom Stranger , for example. While the two talk about their experiences, their voices break and crack. The emotional turmoil they went through is clearly heard, and viewers can clearly understand their pain.

This can take some getting used to, and some courage. However, the results are well worth the effort.

74 Use a video game theme

Video games come in all shapes and sizes. From kids' games to arcade games to car games. Each one has their own style, just like presentations do. If you think a video game visual style is good for your project, consider all the different kinds until you find the one that fits best. You can use game screenshots as backgrounds or infuse the entire design of the presentation with the video game style you chose.

use a video game theme creative presentation ideas

75 Use postcards

One of the least-used creative presentation ideas is to turn your content inside slides into postcards which have been sent from around the world. They can be new postcards which could be used from either front or back sides. The back part would make a great text block for the content you need to display, the photo side can be on the sides or as a background. This design technique can work for presentations about literature, family connections, history or travel. There are postcard templates available on sites like Creative Market .

use postcards creative presentation ideas

76 Incorporate robots in the design

Using robots in your slides can be a creative approach to visually elevate your presentation. There are different styles of robots you can add to your presentation design; realistic photography of anamorphic robots, cute illustrated robots, or robotic parts from factories. These visuals might only apply for technology-themed presentations or about robots themselves. Cute illustrations of robots can be great backgrounds for whimsical topics or other styles of storytelling presentations.

incorporate robots in the design creative presentation ideas

77 Chalk on blackboard

Looking for creative slides presentation ideas? Consider using a chalkboard design to add a unique and nostalgic touch to your presentation.

Writing on a chalkboard is not limited to a school setting or a bar menu. These two might be the most common yet they are not the only possibilities for using chalk on a blackboard. A good handwriting font is the best companion to a chalkboard design. Some of these fonts are already available with a chalky texture and others might need some professional tweaking to get the right texture.

chalk on blackboard creative presentation ideas

78 Get inspired by a specific location

Even if the PowerPoint presentation ideas you are designing are not about a specific place in the world, you can be inspired by one to set up the color scheme and feel of the slides. For example, if you get inspired by Greece, you can use white and light blue hues or even photos of Greek islands. If you get inspired by Brazil, you can use photos of the beach, the texture of the boardwalk tiles or green, blue, and yellow color schemes.

get inspired by a specific location creative presentation ideas

79 Use props

Using props can quickly turn a run-of-the-mill presentation into a unique, interactive experience. Kenny Nguyen demonstrates this well. In his talk he often refers to the “sword of yes” and “shield of no.” Naturally he picks up a sword and shield from the table to help demonstrate his points.

Choosing similar props can help you really illustrate your points—and make it that much more entertaining, too.

80 Use hashtags as titles

In the age of social media, hashtags are used every day. They appear regularly on social media, in spoken and written conversations, and of course in content marketing. Why not include some hashtags as titles? This technique will work great in a presentation for a social media content management pitch, or an in an influencer marketing strategy. On another note, hashtag titles can even be used for any type of presentation geared at the digital generation.

use hashtags as titles creative presentation ideas

81 Black background, white letters, and color accents

When you use a black background, the colors that you place on top will usually look brighter than if they were on a white background. When creating this kind of color palette, make sure the colors you use don’t clash with each other or with the black. Along with the bright colors, make sure you use white to make the composition pop! Neon colors or pastel tones are what will work best.

82 Vintage film edges

Even though we are used to taking photos with our phones, the classic nostalgia of film is still prevalent in the world of visuals and design. The graphic representation of a film negative is as recognizable as an envelope representing an email. Use a vintage film edge along the horizontal edges of your slides to give your visuals a cinematic feel. Even better if you make the edges animated so that it looks like it’s rolling along on a projector.

vintage film edges creative presentation ideas

83 Adult coloring book inspired design

Using a coloring book design can be really creative. Practically anything can be turned into a coloring book style illustration. A great way to use this technique is to have the first slide with the un-colored illustration and then progressively color in the illustration as the slides progress. Furthermore, if the illustration is depictive of the information, the visuals can be even more engaging.

adult coloring book inspired creative presentation ideas

84 Stripes

A stripes design is as classic as it gets. From pinstripes to artistic colorful lines, you can use them as a subtle background or a powerful striped theme intertwined with text boxes. Stripes are the kind of design technique that can work for any type of presentation, from corporate to educational.

85 Make each slide look like a social media post

Just like postcards and polaroids, you could try a creative approach and use social media templates to put the content in. The most notorious social media visual channel is Instagram. It has been known to inspire offline events as well. Make your slides look like social media posts or social media pages. For this technique, you can either use screenshots or templates.

make each slide look like a social media post creative presentation ideas

86 Ink in water

Dropping ink in water creates beautiful colorful bubbly designs which can be photographed at high speed. These images can be used as backgrounds for any type of creative theme presentations. Choose the color and thickness of the ink design to match the theme of your presentation. There are also animated versions of this effect which can be bought like video stock.

ink in water creative presentation ideas

87 Lego bricks

Use lego bricks as inspiration to fill your presentation slides with color and fun. Use the bricks to create slide frames, letters or even charts. The best approach to a lego inspired presentation is to be creative. There are lots of things you can do with lego, you could go as far as using the legos to write the titles of the slides. Don’t use the Lego logo though unless you are specifically designing a presentation about lego.

88 Use classic storytelling techniques

A presentation is, in a way, like a story—you’re talking about your chosen subject and leading viewers on a journey to discover what that subject means. Moreover, stories hold an intrinsic interest for us. Therefore, you can easily use several storytelling techniques to help improve your presentation.

Alex Blinkoff goes into this in great detail, examining things such as “The Hero’s Journey” and provides several examples of ways to use storytelling techniques in your presentations. Check them out, and decide what might work best for your subject.

Click on image to view interactive slide show created with Visme

89 Jigsaw puzzles

Pieces of a jigsaw puzzle can be used to make charts, infographic diagrams, or interlocking frames. The idea behind puzzle pieces is that things come together to form a whole and this concept can be used for any slide and any kind of presentation. Make sure to use a suitable color palette that matches your theme and the rest of the presentation.

jigsaw puzzle creative presentation ideas

90 Headlines coming in animated on boats/trains/airplane

Headlines or titles can be given a life of their own inside the slides. One interesting and creative approach would be to make the titles enter the slide on top of some kind of vehicle. The vehicle could be anything, from a train to a boat, to an airplane. Depending on the type of vehicle, this animated technique can be used for child-themed topics, transportation themes, travel ideas, or even about a corporate sales report.

91 Use a camouflage design

Camo doesn’t necessarily need to convey a sense of military, although it does carry a strong connection. Thankfully, camouflage comes in different styles, from jungle greens to desert browns. Other out of the box camouflage styles are the ones where the colors are completely off the charts, like pinks and blues. Camouflage designs are better used as backgrounds or small subtle sections.

use a camouflage sign creative presentation ideas

92 Use unique novelty fonts for headers

There are so many novelty fonts to choose from out there these days! Using a unique novelty font for the titles and headers is a great way to add some visual pizzazz to your slides. Try looking for some really special fonts that carry personality. Once you have selected the font, add some color and texture to make it look even better.

use unique novelty fonts for headers creative presentation ideas

93 Use a city skyline

Using a background of a city skyline can work great for a presentation related to business or corporate topics. It can also be perfect for an urban travel related theme or educational presentation. You can choose to use photography as a background or with the buildings cut out from the sky. Another choice is to find an illustrated city skyline and use it as a border on the slides.

94 Use a connected dots background

One of the design trends of the last few years is the connected dots visual. It’s used on websites and on printed flyers. It’s so versatile that it can be added to any kind of presentation in a heartbeat. The lines can be short or long between the dots and the composition can be tight or spread out. You can find connected dot visuals easily on sites like Freepik, in lots of different colors. If you can manage vector graphics , you can also change the composition of the dots quite easily yourself.

use connected dots in the background creative presentation ideas

95 Use a bokeh background

Bokeh is a photography and light technique which turns dots of light into bright shiny spheres. With a bit of creativity, the lights can be turned into shapes, like hearts or stars. This design style is great for backgrounds since it’s mostly abstract. It works best as a complement to the content instead of an important visual aspect. You can find bokeh backgrounds in stock photo sites or make it yourself.

use a bokeh background creative presentation ideasv

96 Use watercolor designs

The use of watercolor designs is an easy way of infusing some lively color into a presentation. Watercolors can be a splash on the background, shapes around the content, or colorful strokes intertwined with text boxes. Depending on the color of the paint used, the watercolor technique can be used for any type of presentation. A soft watercolor brushed background can work for a feminine theme and a deep intense splash can add visual creativity to an otherwise boring corporate presentation.

use watercolor designs creative presentation ideas

Just like watercolor graphics, paint can add a dose of creativity to any presentation. Different to watercolors though, paint is more intense. Paint based graphics come in all shapes and sizes, from thick brush strokes to paint drips. Digital paint compositions can also make great backgrounds for colorful and creative presentations.

98 Use bright fun colors

Why create a bland presentation when you can make it fun and colorful instead? Creative color palettes can include up to six different colors which look great together. Use shapes, cut-outs, color blocks, swashes, anything your heart desires. This technique is for letting go and being creatively free with color. Just make sure the colors go together by trying out some palettes first.

99 Use arrow graphics

Arrows symbolize direction. They can be a great addition to your charts, infographic visuals and slide sections. You could even do the entire presentation using arrows. According to their size, color, and thickness, they have different temperaments. Look for different styles of arrows and see if they fit your topic and theme. Freepik has some great arrow visuals and the Visme editor also has arrow icons and infographic visuals.

use arrow graphics creative presentation ideas

100 Use electronic visuals

Another great idea for a background visual is the inside of a computer system. The intricate details of a motherboard or a close up of a memory chip can make a great visual impact. Apart from using an electronic background image, little pieces of electronic devices can be placed around the slide as decoration. This technique is generally limited to electronic or computer theme topics.

use electronic visuals creative presentation ideas

101 Metaphors

Visual metaphors can be useful in a similar manner. They can spice up your presentation, illustrate your point, and make your work far more entertaining. James Geary speaks about just how important metaphors are.

102 Keep it feminine

A feminine style design can work for your presentation if your company makes products for women or if your targeted audience is women. By feminine design, we mean light and soft colors, subtle shapes and a general airy feeling to the composition. Feminine design can be minimal but it can also be decadent and full of style. Whichever you chose, make sure it fits with your audience.

103 Go futuristic

A futuristic style can fit any theme as long as the concept of the future depicted, fits the topic of the presentation. Futuristic design can be of many different styles; from spaceship driving controls to cosmos related atmospheres, to flying cars, and artificial intelligence. Even color palettes can look futuristic if you add some metallic tones.

104 Add a music background

A music soundtrack can be added to any presentation that doesn’t have any other sort of audio already. The best music for a presentation is one without lyrics, in other words, an instrumental track. A good track will accompany the content in a positive way and not interfere with the message. You can find audio tracks easily online.

105 Communicate with images

A picture can speak a thousand words. Naturally, they can be used to communicate concepts that, for the sake of space or time, you might not be able to include in the presentation itself. This slide deck uses this strategy to its advantage.

The presentation includes many images as backgrounds and minimal text. The images used always either enhance what’s being said or, in some cases, provide the answer for viewers. For example, the second slide states “The Landscape Today,” and includes a bleak background with a broken, tilted picture frame, emphasizing the idea that the following slides (which describe the landscape) offer some pretty disheartening information.

Using images in a related fashion can help express your views and emphasize your message.

Harness the power of Visme's AI image edit tools in your toolkit. These advanced yet easy-to-use tools let you effortlessly edit, touch up, unblur and upscale your images using simple prompts. It's an incredibly convenient way to add extra polish and clarity to your pictures to make your presentations more impactful.

106 Include artsy data visualization

Data visualization is a way of showing data and information in a way that is visually expressive. Creative data analysts can make some really beautiful creations and you can hire them to make them for you. If you haven’t seen any creative data visualizations, take a look at our collection of the best of 2018 and get inspired. You can either make the whole presentation into a data viz or add them to some of the slides.

By Beyond Words Studio

RELATED: The 25 Best Data Visualizations of 2018

107 Stay branded

This creative tip is a simple yet effective way to spark good presentation ideas. When creating your presentation, do your best to stay on brand. This, of course, will work only if you are creating a presentation for your own brand. If creating one for a client, then you should stay on brand with their own brand style guide. This means only use the brand colors and fonts, use photos, textures, and shapes that match the brand.

Use Visme's brand design tool to ensure your presentations perfectly reflect your brand personality. Just copy and paste your website URL, and the tool will automatically extract your branding assets, such as brand colors, brand fonts and company logo.

108 Ask questions

A great tip to make your PowerPoint presentations ideas more interactive is to ask questions from your audience. Like the example below, you can display only your question on the slide. Once the audience has pitched in their opinions and answers, you can click to reveal the actual answer. You can enable this type of interactivity on click when making a presentation in Visme .

109 Replace boring bullet points with visuals

While adding bullet points in your slides might be better than adding walls of text, they're still not the most effective way to get your message across and engage your audience. Take things up a notch and replace boring bullets with visuals, such as photos and even icons. Here's an example of how you can use icons to add a creative twist to the plain ol' bullet points.

110 Share your slide deck

Downloading your slide deck and presenting in front of an audience is not the only way to use your presentation. Make the most of your slides by sharing your presentation online.

Add interactive elements, such as clickable buttons, links, hover effects, popups, embedded videos and more so your audience can view and engage with your slides on their own.

If you've created your presentation in Visme, you can share your presentation publicly or privately using a link, or embed it anywhere you like.

Start Using These Creative Presentation Ideas

Ready to start creating your own presentation after over 100 pieces of inspiration? Choose your favorite creative presentation ideas and incorporate them into your own presentation.

You can add interactivity, animation, visuals and all kinds of creative elements to your presentations when you design them in Visme's online presentation maker. With our Dynamic Field feature , you can automatically update key information in real-time across all your slides or multiple projects. Customize existing dynamic fields or create new ones and format them to maintain design consistency.

Create a free account with Visme to start building a presentation your audience will love.

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About the Author

Orana is a multi-faceted creative. She is a content writer, artist, and designer. She travels the world with her family and is currently in Istanbul. Find out more about her work at oranavelarde.com

What are the Main Features of Microsoft PowerPoint?

By: Author Shrot Katewa

There are a lot of presentation programs out there. With all the options available, it can become rather tough to choose which is best for you. That is why the features of any software are so important. It can determine whether or not you use the software. With that being said, what are the features of Microsoft PowerPoint?

The most popular features of Microsoft PowerPoint are as follows: Animations, designs, being able to add images and videos, and also editing those images and videos. With PowerPoint, you can use all the features available to make presentations that really stand out and could help you boost your career or sign a client.

In this article, we are going to not only mention the main features of PowerPoint, but we are also going to share with you some of the most useful features of PowerPoint. Plus, we are going to talk a little bit about each of them.

So, if you have ever wondered what features PowerPoint has or what certain features are meant for and what they do, you have come to the right place. For everything that you need to know, keep reading.

A Quick Note Before We Begin – if you want to make jaw-dropping presentations, I would recommend using one of these Presentation Designs . The best part is – it is only $16.5 a month, but you get to download and use as many presentation designs as you like! I personally use it from time-to-time, and it makes my task of making beautiful presentations really quick and easy!

1. PowerPoint Design Ideas

First on this list and one of my favorite features of PowerPoint is the “ Design Ideas “. It can be found in the “ Design ” tab in PowerPoint. Once you are there you will see two separate sections. One section will be a theme and the other will be a different variant of that theme. These themes are for each slide.

PowerPoint’s Design Ideas automatically and instantly provides you will several design options for a particular slide based on the content that is present on the slide.

Design Ideas can help you save a good amount of time and make your slides look good. It is a great feature for those who perhaps want to improve the design of the slides but are not really great at creating designs.

It doesn’t always give the perfect design option, and sometimes you do need to play around with it a little bit to get a good design. But, most of the time, it doesn’t get the job done.

Design Ideas is a great feature that is unique to Microsoft PowerPoint and something that most other presentation programs do not have. But, other unique features presented in this article give a great advantage when using PowerPoint !

2. Animations

Microsoft PowerPoint animations allow you to emphasize certain points of your current slide. There are primarily 3 categories of animations in PowerPoint. You can select any object in your slide and animate it with these animations:

Entrance Animation
Emphasis Animation
Exit Animations

Each animation category provides you with a huge list of additional options to choose from.

As the name suggests, entrance animation is a type of animation that will make a shape, text or any other element appear on a slide. Likewise, an exit animation can be applied when you want a certain element to disappear from the slide.

Note – If you are on the fence but interested in getting PowerPoint, check out this limited-time deal to get Office 365 1-year subscription for the lowest price on Amazon!

Emphasis animation can be used when you want to highlight or bring the attention of the audience members to a particular element on the slide.

Once you choose and apply the animations, you also get other options. You can select how long you want animations to last, when you want them to start, and when you want them to end. Microsoft was not shy when they gave us the number of features that they did regarding animations.

3. Slide Transitions

I have seen a lot of people confuse slide transitions with animations and vice versa. It is important to remember that they are completely different things.

Also Read – Difference Between Animations and Slide Transitions in PowerPoint!

While animation gives you the ability to animate elements within your slide, transitions give you the ability to change how slides change from one to another. This can have a significant impact on a slide’s first impressions.

Some of the most notable transitions are:

Other options include the ability to set the speed of your transition, change the dynamic of the transition, and much more. Again, Microsoft has added a lot of customizability over the last few years when it comes to transitions.

When using transitions, you can alter the entire feel of a presentation without changing its theme. I recommend taking your time and making sure that each transition doesn’t feel forced but feels natural to the presentation.

Sometimes an image can say a thousand words. With that in mind, it is easy to understand why adding images to your presentation can help you say more than you could while using words. Well, at least this is true in some cases.

If your presentation feels slightly boring, don’t be afraid to throw in an image every now and then. To be honest, most presentations require images anyway. Not only are they necessary, in some cases, they can also spice up your presentation.

When it comes to adding images, there are two main ways of doing this. You could either add an image via your PC or you can embed an image from somewhere else on the internet. Whatever best suits you, PowerPoint has you covered.

5. Merge Shapes

Microsoft PowerPoint allows you to merge shapes. This is because they understand that they might not always have the exact shape that you are looking for.

So, hopefully, merging shapes can help give you a uniform shape. I say “uniform” because if you cannot find a shape that you want to use, you could draw one. The problem is, this might not be the best option because freehand drawing can be difficult.

If merging shapes is still not giving you what you want, there is another option that you can use. These are known as “smart-art”. It can help you transform your presentation into something phenomenal.

Another great way of spicing up a presentation is to add videos to certain slides. As we discussed with images, a video can say a lot without having to use words. In fact, there are so many applications for using videos in your presentation. I guess the only limit would be your imagination.

Videos can be easily added from the storage on your PC. This might make the size of your presentation quite large. So, you might want to double-check the size of the video before inserting it into your presentation.

Again, this is one of my favorite features of PowerPoint. You can easily add videos to your presentation from Youtube. We are trying to keep each section brief so I can’t go into too much detail about the importance of being able to add videos from YouTube. However, there are a lot of reasons.

So, if you don’t have the video on your PC and you cannot find it on YouTube but you know where it is on another website, all you need to do is get the embed code for that video. This can often be done just by right-clicking on the video, copying the embed code, and then you can embed it into your presentation.

With the ability to add icons to your presentations, it just gives you some freedom to add a personal touch to the presentation. It is important to note that some versions do not come with the icons feature. However, if you have Office 365 you should always have the icons option.

If you do not have the option to use icons, you could technically use shapes and with some clever aligning skills, they could be turned into icons or at least used as such. You could also use icons found on the web. They would need to be saved to your PC as an image and then again, with some clever aligning skills, nobody would know the difference.

8. PowerPoint Notes for Presentation

When you are giving a presentation it is often difficult to constantly remember what you have to say. This is true even though you have the slide right in front of you. That is where the notes feature comes in. They can help you remember what to say for each slide which is a great way to stay on topic.

Your presentation can be set up in a way that the notes do not appear on the presentation but they still appear on your PC or Mac. Remember, most of the time the people who are viewing the presentation cannot see this. Otherwise, you can also hide your notes

The notes feature is not just there for you to remember what to say and a lot of people tend to overlook this. If you are working in a team, then using notes can help other employees or other people who are working on the presentation understand what’s happening on each slide.

9. Morph Transition

We have already talked about transitions earlier in the article. However, “Morph Transition” is by far one of the best ways to you make your slides give a great first impression. In fact, this creates a lasting impression as well!

By using Morph Transition, you can make actually make elements move between slides – a feature that gives a video-like feel to your PowerPoint slides!

It is important to remember that the slides where Morph Transition is used, need to have at least one element that has something in common between both the slides.

I shall soon be making a video to help you understand how the Morph Transition works in PowerPoint and how you can leverage this feature to take your PowerPoint presentations up a notch! (I will update it here once the video is created).

This is one of the most used features of PowerPoint. It is also one of the best features in terms of what you can do with it. Using charts in your presentations can help you illustrate data in an easy-to-understand way for your audience.

You can also link charts to external data sources. Most notably, you can link to excel sheets. The chart’s functionality in PowerPoint is so versatile you can even get your chart to be updated automatically in PowerPoint when the data gets edited in excel.

It is actually a rather simple process. All you have to do is link a chart to an external data set. This can be done from within PowerPoint so it is pretty much hassle-free.

11. Removing Background from Images

When you upload an image to your presentation, what if that image needs to be edited? What is the first thing that you would normally think you would do? You would probably go to an image editing program such as Photoshop, right?

With Microsoft PowerPoint, there is no need for that in most cases. Well, at least if you want to remove a background from your image , you could just use PowerPoint.

All you have to do is click on the drawing format ribbon and select “remove background”. It then works almost the exact same way as all other photo editing software. You will draw around the piece you want to keep or the piece you want to get rid of.

12. Video Editing (Basic)

Again, what if you upload a video to your PowerPoint presentation but you don’t want to show the whole video. maybe you just want to show some parts or cut some pieces out. What is the first thing you would do? Open up a video editing software right? Well, with PowerPoint you might not have to.

While PowerPoint is not the next Adobe premier, it does allow you to trim the video, cut portions of a video out, and finally add sound. It is a basic video editor.

Being able to use PowerPoint as a quick video editor adds to the convenience of PowerPoint. It also adds to your overall productivity because you don’t have to open and close program after program to get everything done.

13. Export PowerPoint as Video

Microsoft PowerPoint allows you to export entire presentations as videos. I know that you might be thinking why would this even be useful. Well, I alone can think of so many reasons why you would want to use this feature.

Not all presentations are designed to be given by a speaker. Actually, the main reason for a PowerPoint presentation is to get a point across to somebody. This could be your employer, colleague, client, or even the classroom.

If you don’t want to send somebody a presentation that they could edit or see the notes for and you just want them to watch it, this feature is for you. Why not export it as a video and give whoever you send the video to the ability to watch it at their own time, pause it at their own time, and take notes.

14. Add Audio Narration to your PowerPoint Presentation

This feature kind of feeds off of the previous one. You are not always going to be there to give a presentation as a speaker but you still want to iterate a lot of the points made in your slides. So, why not add audio narration to your presentation?

Doing this will allow you to send the presentation as a video to somebody and have the narration over it. So, technically, you would still be the speaker if it is you narrating the presentation.

This feature is Great for teachers who just want to give the classroom information in the most efficient way possible. In fact, with online learning becoming more relevant than ever in 2020, this feature has picked up in popularity.

This feature is also great for presentations that are designed to be given as instructional videos.

15. Adding Comments to Slides

The feature to add comments in PowerPoint is more about the person who reviews a presentation rather than the person who creates it. Some people get comments mixed up with notes but they are two different features that have two different applications.

If you need to review somebody else’s presentation, you can add comments to certain sections or slides of the presentation. This is so that they can understand your criticisms.

Also, if you are the person creating it and you want to add a comment, this can help the person who is reviewing the presentation to fully understand why you did what you did in certain slides.

Final Thoughts

The features mentioned in this article show why PowerPoint is still the leading presentation software. There is so much that you can do and honestly, it all makes every presentation different from the other.

If you take time to learn what each feature does, you could use them to make presentations that have a higher chance of captivating your audience, your classroom or even getting you one step closer to signing a contract with the new clients.

We have covered a lot of the features mentioned in this article. So, I highly recommend taking a little bit of time out of your day to read those articles.

Image Credit for Featured Image

What is Docker?

Docker is an open platform for developing, shipping, and running applications. Docker enables you to separate your applications from your infrastructure so you can deliver software quickly. With Docker, you can manage your infrastructure in the same ways you manage your applications. By taking advantage of Docker's methodologies for shipping, testing, and deploying code, you can significantly reduce the delay between writing code and running it in production.

The Docker platform

Docker provides the ability to package and run an application in a loosely isolated environment called a container. The isolation and security lets you run many containers simultaneously on a given host. Containers are lightweight and contain everything needed to run the application, so you don't need to rely on what's installed on the host. You can share containers while you work, and be sure that everyone you share with gets the same container that works in the same way.

Docker provides tooling and a platform to manage the lifecycle of your containers:

Develop your application and its supporting components using containers.
The container becomes the unit for distributing and testing your application.
When you're ready, deploy your application into your production environment, as a container or an orchestrated service. This works the same whether your production environment is a local data center, a cloud provider, or a hybrid of the two.

What can I use Docker for?

Fast, consistent delivery of your applications.

Docker streamlines the development lifecycle by allowing developers to work in standardized environments using local containers which provide your applications and services. Containers are great for continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) workflows.

Consider the following example scenario:

Your developers write code locally and share their work with their colleagues using Docker containers.
They use Docker to push their applications into a test environment and run automated and manual tests.
When developers find bugs, they can fix them in the development environment and redeploy them to the test environment for testing and validation.
When testing is complete, getting the fix to the customer is as simple as pushing the updated image to the production environment.

Responsive deployment and scaling

Docker's container-based platform allows for highly portable workloads. Docker containers can run on a developer's local laptop, on physical or virtual machines in a data center, on cloud providers, or in a mixture of environments.

Docker's portability and lightweight nature also make it easy to dynamically manage workloads, scaling up or tearing down applications and services as business needs dictate, in near real time.

Running more workloads on the same hardware

Docker is lightweight and fast. It provides a viable, cost-effective alternative to hypervisor-based virtual machines, so you can use more of your server capacity to achieve your business goals. Docker is perfect for high density environments and for small and medium deployments where you need to do more with fewer resources.

Docker architecture

Docker uses a client-server architecture. The Docker client talks to the Docker daemon, which does the heavy lifting of building, running, and distributing your Docker containers. The Docker client and daemon can run on the same system, or you can connect a Docker client to a remote Docker daemon. The Docker client and daemon communicate using a REST API, over UNIX sockets or a network interface. Another Docker client is Docker Compose, that lets you work with applications consisting of a set of containers.

The Docker daemon

The Docker daemon ( dockerd ) listens for Docker API requests and manages Docker objects such as images, containers, networks, and volumes. A daemon can also communicate with other daemons to manage Docker services.

The Docker client

The Docker client ( docker ) is the primary way that many Docker users interact with Docker. When you use commands such as docker run , the client sends these commands to dockerd , which carries them out. The docker command uses the Docker API. The Docker client can communicate with more than one daemon.

Docker Desktop

Docker Desktop is an easy-to-install application for your Mac, Windows or Linux environment that enables you to build and share containerized applications and microservices. Docker Desktop includes the Docker daemon ( dockerd ), the Docker client ( docker ), Docker Compose, Docker Content Trust, Kubernetes, and Credential Helper. For more information, see Docker Desktop .

Docker registries

A Docker registry stores Docker images. Docker Hub is a public registry that anyone can use, and Docker looks for images on Docker Hub by default. You can even run your own private registry.

When you use the docker pull or docker run commands, Docker pulls the required images from your configured registry. When you use the docker push command, Docker pushes your image to your configured registry.

Docker objects

When you use Docker, you are creating and using images, containers, networks, volumes, plugins, and other objects. This section is a brief overview of some of those objects.

An image is a read-only template with instructions for creating a Docker container. Often, an image is based on another image, with some additional customization. For example, you may build an image which is based on the ubuntu image, but installs the Apache web server and your application, as well as the configuration details needed to make your application run.

You might create your own images or you might only use those created by others and published in a registry. To build your own image, you create a Dockerfile with a simple syntax for defining the steps needed to create the image and run it. Each instruction in a Dockerfile creates a layer in the image. When you change the Dockerfile and rebuild the image, only those layers which have changed are rebuilt. This is part of what makes images so lightweight, small, and fast, when compared to other virtualization technologies.

A container is a runnable instance of an image. You can create, start, stop, move, or delete a container using the Docker API or CLI. You can connect a container to one or more networks, attach storage to it, or even create a new image based on its current state.

By default, a container is relatively well isolated from other containers and its host machine. You can control how isolated a container's network, storage, or other underlying subsystems are from other containers or from the host machine.

A container is defined by its image as well as any configuration options you provide to it when you create or start it. When a container is removed, any changes to its state that aren't stored in persistent storage disappear.

Example docker run command

The following command runs an ubuntu container, attaches interactively to your local command-line session, and runs /bin/bash .

When you run this command, the following happens (assuming you are using the default registry configuration):

If you don't have the ubuntu image locally, Docker pulls it from your configured registry, as though you had run docker pull ubuntu manually.

Docker creates a new container, as though you had run a docker container create command manually.

Docker allocates a read-write filesystem to the container, as its final layer. This allows a running container to create or modify files and directories in its local filesystem.

Docker creates a network interface to connect the container to the default network, since you didn't specify any networking options. This includes assigning an IP address to the container. By default, containers can connect to external networks using the host machine's network connection.

Docker starts the container and executes /bin/bash . Because the container is running interactively and attached to your terminal (due to the -i and -t flags), you can provide input using your keyboard while Docker logs the output to your terminal.

When you run exit to terminate the /bin/bash command, the container stops but isn't removed. You can start it again or remove it.

The underlying technology

Docker is written in the Go programming language and takes advantage of several features of the Linux kernel to deliver its functionality. Docker uses a technology called namespaces to provide the isolated workspace called the container. When you run a container, Docker creates a set of namespaces for that container.

These namespaces provide a layer of isolation. Each aspect of a container runs in a separate namespace and its access is limited to that namespace.

Install Docker
Get started with Docker

COMMENTS

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How To Write A Presentation 101 | Step-by-Step Guides with Best Examples | 2024 Reveals

Table of Contents

Key Takeaways

Start in seconds.

How To Write A Presentation Script (With Examples)

1/ Understand Your Purpose and Audience

2/ Outline the Structure of Your Presentation

Main Points

3/ Craft Clear and Concise Sentences

4/ Use Visual Aids and Supporting Materials

5/ Include Engagement Techniques

6/ Rehearse and Revise

7/ Seek Feedback

How to Write A Presentation Introduction with Examples

1/ Start with a Hook

2/ Establish Relevance and Context

3/ State the Purpose

4/ Preview Your Main Points

5/ Establish Credibility

6/ Engage Emotionally

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you start a presentation?

What are the five parts of a presentation?

More from AhaSlides

How to Structure your Presentation, with Examples

Why is structuring a presentation so important?

What will affect your presentation structure?

What is the typical presentation structure?

1. Greet the audience and introduce yourself

2. Introduction

3. The main body of your talk

4. Conclusion

5. Thank the audience and invite questions

Other common presentation structures

Demonstration

Problem-solution

Storytelling

Remaining method

Transitions

Moving from the introduction to the first point

Shifting between similar points

Internal summaries

Physical movement

Key slides for your presentation

Group Presentations

Example of great presentation structure and delivery

How Google Works – by Eric Schmidt

Start with why – by Simon Sinek

The Wisdom of a Third Grade Dropout – by Rick Rigsby

8 Types of Presentations You Should Know [+Examples & Tips]

8 Different types of presentations every presenter must know

1. Informative presentation

2. Persuasive presentation

3. Demonstration or how-to presentation

4. Training or instructional presentation

5. Sales presentation

6. Pitch presentation

7. Motivational or inspirational presentation

8. Status or progress report presentation

1. Define your objectives

2. Know your audience

3. Analyze your content

4. Consider time constraints

5. Leverage visuals

6. Align with the setting

7. Gauge audience interaction

8. Flexibility

What are some effective ways to begin and end a presentation?

How can I make my presentation more engaging and interactive?

Which types of presentations require special markings

7 Creative Ways to Start Any Presentation (With Examples!)

Why Presentation is Important in Persuading

Different Ways to Start a Presentation

1. Start With a Strong Claim

2. Know Your Prospect

3. Assist the Flow With Visuals

4. Moving Pictures

5. Break People’s Expectation

6. Spill Surprising Stories

7. Know When to Pause