effective team presentation

Team Presentations: How to Present Better as a Group

Posted by Belinda Huckle  |  On January 29, 2022  |  In Presentation Training, Tips & Advice

In this Article...quick links

1. Choose a team captain

2. map out a cohesive narrative, 3. know your roles within the team, 4. have a strategy in place for question time, 5. all team presentations must have a full group rehearsal, 6. be supportive and put up a united front in your next team presentation, 7. making good, better, follow us on social media for more great presentation tips:.

We’re all getting used to being back in the office and re-learning our in person presentation skills after spending so much time working remotely. So it’s not surprising that the prospect of creating a seamless and cohesive group presentation is even more daunting right now.

It’s safe to say that team presentations involve a lot of moving parts, not least because it brings together different personalities with varying confidence levels and presentation styles.

One of the common pitfalls with group presentations is a diffusion of responsibility – ‘My bit’s OK, that’s all I should worry about, right?’ Wrong.

A group presentation is only as good as its weakest presenter. There are a lot of potential obstacles to overcome, but there are some key reasons why presenting as a team is both relevant and a good idea:

• Showcasing expertise – to showcase different people’s expertise as Subject Matter Experts (SMEs).
• Meeting the team – increasingly in new business/pitch situations, clients and customers want to see, and hear from, ‘the team’ – those who will actually be looking after their business i.e. those operating at the ‘coalface’. And so having multiple presenters becomes an imperative.
• Maintaining energy, engagement & attention – breaking up longer presentations with different presenters helps to inject energy (much like in a relay race), keep people’s attention and maintain listeners’ engagement. Remember, variety is the spice of life!

Your people may be seasoned presenters but team them up to present with others, and lots of practical questions arise:

How do you start a team presentation? Who ends a team presentation? How do you seamlessly hand over to the next presenter, or who fields questions from the audience?

In this blog post we discuss how teams can collaborate to plan, practise and present successfully as a group.

Why this is important: Having a strong Team Captain is crucial as they will usually start and finish the presentation. As part of starting and finishing the presentation the role of the Captain also often includes:

• Making sure there is a strong Attention Grab early in the presentation in order to hook the audience from the start.
• Assigning roles within the team.
• Introducing each presenter and their role at the start of the presentation.
• Managing the transitions/handovers between each presenter.
• Fielding questions from the audience on behalf of the team and directing questions to the most relevant speaker as required.
• Summarising next steps or action points after the conclusion to the presentation.

Top Tip: The Captain should typically be either the most senior person in the group, or the most confident speaker. They don’t have to be subject matter experts.

Why this is important: Team members may have differing opinions about the message they want to convey. Having a clear overall goal for the presentation before everyone starts working on their slides is crucial for ensuring the deck, and the message you’re delivering, is clear and cohesive.

The team should decide in advance roughly how long each speaker should be speaking for (and don’t forget to include time for questions), what the structure of the presentation will be and who will cover what.

SecondNature’s Presentation Mapper™ methodology is a great tool for achieving all of this. If you’re not using our Presentation Mapper™ then get together as a team with a stack of A4 paper and, on a large table, storyboard your presentation.

Don’t get bogged down in the details at this stage. Instead, decide collectively what the purpose and end goal of the presentation are, the sections of the presentation (chapters of your story), what the key takeaways for the audience should be, and then roughly the information you want to include. Once you have outlined the storyboard for the presentation you can then discuss how long each section/chapter should be and who will be delivering each element.

Spending a bit of time at the beginning mapping out the narrative and setting a single goal for the presentation will save lots of time at the end of the process because it will ensure there aren’t areas that are needlessly repetitive. And likewise it will mean there aren’t gaping holes in your logic. Missing this step could result in duplication of content, inconsistency in the flow (and impact) of different sections, and not enough clarity about who’s presenting what.

Don’t forget to ensure that every section contributes to your presentation’s main aim, and if data is critical to your presentation, ensure everyone knows the go-to data collection sources, or people to interview, so there are no conflicting numbers.

Top Tip: Everyone needs to know all of the information inside out, even if they’re not presenting it, in case someone can’t make it on the day.

Why this is important: Assigning roles based on peoples’ strengths will create accountability and ensure things don’t fall through the cracks.

Take the time to assess your team – of course you will select people to present certain sections within the presentation based on their expertise and experience. But you should also consider some additional factors. E.g. some people may be better at explaining and simplifying difficult-to-understand ideas while others are good at engaging the audience and providing supporting information through humour, videos and interesting case studies.

Now, let’s assume everyone has been assigned a speaking slot based on their strengths and expertise and you’ve got a strong team captain to open and close the presentation.

But who takes accountability for things like design, delivery, questions and setting the boardroom up?

Here are some ways to make your next team presentation smooth and effective:

• The Team Captain, along with input from the presenters, should assign responsibilities for the smaller moving parts like consistency in design, the order of presenters, organising rehearsals, AV checks, timekeeping and so on.
• Schedule brief, but regular update meetings to ensure everyone is on track to fulfil their roles.
• Put someone in charge of the dry run , which should be scheduled at least a week before the presentation. This is important so people have enough time to work on constructive feedback before the day of the presentation.

Top Tip: Remember that unequal participation can negatively impact the dynamics of your team, so sharing responsibility is important!

Why this is important: Question time can be nerve-wracking . In a group presentation, question time can also cause some confusion if too many people jump in to answer at once, or worse still, if no one seems to know who will answer the question.

It’s best to have the team captain direct questions to the speaker with the most relevant knowledge.

Remember to pause before answering and formulate your thoughts – keep your reply concise and ensure it answers the question. If you don’t understand the question, there’s no harm in asking for a clarification. To learn more about answering questions with confidence during a presentation, read this blog .

Top Tip: If you don’t know the answer, don’t be afraid to say so. You can look into the question and return with the best answer later.

Why this is important: While everyone practising their individual presentations is great, it doesn’t guarantee that once you’ve combined all the slides, it will feel coherent or go well.

As they say, practice makes perfect – and you definitely need to schedule at least one group rehearsal to present and engage a large audience. Here are some things that you should aim to cover in a dry run of your presentation:

• The order of speakers. The team captain should open and close the presentation assuming they are the strongest and most confident presenter. The remaining speakers should follow the order, or natural chapters of the story.
• It’s important that introductions establish the credibility of each speaker i.e. why are they there.
• The transition dialogue to recap the last section and briefly introduce the next section and speaker. For longer presentations, it’s a good idea to provide an agenda for the audience which details who is speaking against each section within the presentation.
• Fine-tuning and adjusting time for each section. This keeps the presentation from being too lengthy, so you don’t lose the audience’s interest. It will also ensure you stick to the time allocated for the presentation – making sure you also allow time for questions!
• At the end of the presentation, ensure you deliver a clear, concise summary that highlights all the key points, and then the overall message or final call-to-action.

During the rehearsals you should also work out where the presenting team will be seated and/or standing in the room (taking into account where the client/customer might/will be) – when they’re presenting, and also when they aren’t speaking. Think about how you use the room. For tips about ‘The Attention Traingle’ and how to use it check out this blog .

A great option is to have the Team Captain starting and finishing at the front and centre of the room; with those that are speaking early in the presentation standing front and left of the room; and those that are speaking later, front and right of the room.

This is because we read from left to right and this visual positioning will be intuitive for the audience ‘moving through the presentation from start to finish’. And remember, if the presentation is taking place at someone else’s offices, ask to have access to the meeting room at least 30 minutes before the start to allow for adequate set up time.

Top Tip: We always recommend that there is someone outside the presentation group to listen to the presentation, from the audience’s perspective, to make sure the narrative is as clear and as tight as possible. They can also get the team to practise some Q&A and make sure timings are adhered to.

Why this is important: Remember that you’re in this together and teamwork is non-negotiable if you want to inspire confidence in your audience.

There’s nothing that puts a presenter off more than seeing their own team members look disinterested. So regardless of how many times you’ve seen and heard your team-mates present, act as though it’s the very first time.

Put up a united front by being mindful of these small but important details:

• Arrive early so the entire team has enough time to set things up.
• Be an attentive listener as each person presents – laughing, nodding and reacting in a supportive manner throughout the presentation.
• If someone can’t answer a question, step in and answer it for them, but without making them lose face..
• Avoid the urge to go through your notes when others in your team are presenting. It’s disrespectful to whomever is speaking and it will make you come across as unprepared and nervous.
• Watch your timings. The team captain should be keeping an eye on this (or they make have delegated this important task to someone else) so look to him/her to make sure you’re on track.
• Do not overrun because doing so will rob time from others in the team.

Top Tip: Remember that if in the planning process you argue, you’re only human. Work out how you can move forward in a way that makes the most of each presenter’s strengths.

Most of us don’t make group presentations that often. So a PPR (Post Presentation Review) is a great way to sharpen everyone’s skills ever further. Within 24 hours of a group presentation sit down as a team and discuss what worked well and how could things been improved in terms of:

• The process leading up to the presentation
• Handling of the technology
• The clarity of the message and the flow of the narrative
• The level of detail covered
• Overall and individual timings
• Handovers between speakers
• Management and answering of questions
• Non-verbal support from team members
• People’s individual presenting style and confidence

Top Tip: Be honest in your feedback. Remember, feedback is, as the saying goes, the breakfast of champions!

We can help improve your presenting skills

If you want to take your presenting skills (or your people’s) to the next level, we can help. We take people further TM because our programs are 100% tailored for your business and fully personalised for you/your people.

For nearly 20 years we have been the Business Presentation Skills Experts , training & coaching thousands of people in an A-Z of global blue-chip organisations – check out what they say about our programs .

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Written By Belinda Huckle

Co-Founder & Managing Director

Belinda is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of SecondNature International. With a determination to drive a paradigm shift in the delivery of presentation skills training both In-Person and Online, she is a strong advocate of a more personal and sustainable presentation skills training methodology.

Belinda believes that people don’t have to change who they are to be the presenter they want to be. So she developed a coaching approach that harnesses people’s unique personality to build their own authentic presentation style and personal brand.

She has helped to transform the presentation skills of people around the world in an A-Z of organisations including Amazon, BBC, Brother, BT, CocaCola, DHL, EE, ESRI, IpsosMORI, Heineken, MARS Inc., Moody’s, Moonpig, Nationwide, Pfizer, Publicis Groupe, Roche, Savills, Triumph and Walmart – to name just a few.

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Blog Beginner Guides How To Make a Good Presentation [A Complete Guide]

How To Make a Good Presentation [A Complete Guide]

Written by: Krystle Wong Jul 20, 2023

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

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

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

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

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

Click to jump ahead:

What are the 10 qualities of a good presentation?

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

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

1. Clear structure

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

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

2. Engaging opening

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

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

3. Relevant content

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

4. Effective visual aids

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

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

5. Clear and concise communication

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

6. Engaging delivery

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

7. Interaction and audience engagement

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

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

8. Effective storytelling

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

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

9. Well-timed pacing

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

10. Strong conclusion

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

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

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

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

1. Understand the audience and their needs

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

2. Conduct thorough research on the topic

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

3. Organize the content with a clear structure

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

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

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

4. Develop visually appealing and supportive visual aids

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

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

5. Practice, practice and practice

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

6. Seek feedback and make necessary adjustments

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

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

7. Prepare for potential technical or logistical issues

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

8. Fine-tune and polish your presentation

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

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

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

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

1. Confidence and positive body language

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

2. Eye contact with the audience

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

3. Effective use of hand gestures and movement

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

4. Utilize storytelling techniques

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

5. Incorporate multimedia elements

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

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

6. Utilize humor strategically

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

7. Practice active listening and respond to feedback

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

8. Apply the 10-20-30 rule

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

9. Implement the 5-5-5 rule

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

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

1. How to start a presentation?

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

2. How to end a presentation?

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

3. How to make a presentation interactive?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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How to give a good presentation that captivates any audience

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What are the main difficulties when giving presentations?

How to create an effective presentation, after that, how do i give a memorable presentation, how to connect with the audience when presenting.

If you’ve ever heard someone give a powerful presentation, you probably remember how it made you feel. Much like a composer, a good speaker knows precisely when each note should strike to captivate their audience’s attention and leave them with a lasting impression.

No one becomes a great public speaker or presenter without practice. And almost everyone can recall a time one of their presentations went badly — that’s a painful part of the learning process.

Whether you’re working within a small creative team or a large organization, public speaking and presentation skills are vital to communicating your ideas. Knowing how to present your vision can help you pitch concepts to clients, present ideas to your team, and develop the confidence to participate in team meetings.

If you have an upcoming presentation on the horizon and feel nervous, that’s normal. Around 15-30% of the general population experience a fear of public speaking . And, unfortunately, social anxiety is on the rise, with a 12% increase in adults over the last 20 years . 

Learning how to give a good presentation can dismantle your fears and break down these barriers, ensuring you’re ready to confidently share your point of view. 

It’s the week before your presentation, and you’re already feeling nervous . Maybe there’ll be an important mentor in the room you need to impress, or you’re looking for an opportunity to show your boss your value. Regardless of your countless past presentations, you still feel nervous. 

Sharing your vision and ideas with any sized group is intimidating. You’re likely worrying about how you’ll perform as a presenter and whether the audience will be interested in what you offer. But nerves aren’t inherently negative — you can actually use this feeling to fuel your preparation.

It’s helpful to identify where your worries are coming from and address your fears. Here are some common concerns when preparing for an upcoming presentation:

Fear of public speaking: When you share your ideas in front of a group, you’re placing yourself in a vulnerable position to be critiqued on your knowledge and communication skills . Maybe you feel confident in your content, but when you think about standing in front of an audience, you feel anxious and your mind goes blank.

It’s also not uncommon to have physical symptoms when presenting . Some people experience nausea and dizziness as the brain releases adrenaline to cope with the potentially stressful situation . Remember to take deep breaths to recenter yourself and be patient, even if you make a mistake.

Losing the audience’s attention: As a presenter, your main focus is to keep your audience engaged. They should feel like they’re learning valuable information or following a story that will improve them in life or business.

Highlight the most exciting pieces of knowledge and ensure you emphasize those points in your presentation. If you feel passionate about your content, it’s more likely that your audience will experience this excitement for themselves and become invested in what you have to say.

Not knowing what content to place on presentation slides: Overloading presentation slides is a fast way to lose your audience’s attention. Your slides should contain only the main talking points and limited text to ensure your audience focuses on what you have to say rather than becoming distracted by the content on your slides.

Discomfort incorporating nonverbal communication: It’s natural to feel stiff and frozen when you’re nervous. But maintaining effective body language helps your audience stay focused on you as you speak and encourages you to relax.

If you struggle to incorporate body language into your presentations, try starting small by making hand gestures toward your slides. If you’re working with a large audience, use different parts of the stage to ensure everyone feels included. 

Each presenter has their own personal brand and style. Some may use humor to break the ice, while others might appeal to the audience’s emotional side through inspiring storytelling. 

Watching online presentations, such as TED talks, is an excellent way to expose yourself to various presentation styles and develop your own. While observing others, you can note how they carry themselves on stage and learn new ways to keep your audience engaged.

Once you’ve addressed what’s causing your fears, it’s time to prepare for a great presentation. Use your past experience as inspiration and aim to outshine your former self by learning from your mistakes and employing new techniques. Here are five presentation tips to help you create a strong presentation and wow your audience:

1. Keep it simple

Simple means something different to everyone.

Before creating your presentation, take note of your intended audience and their knowledge level of your subject. You’ll want your content to be easy for your intended audience to follow.

Say you’re giving a presentation on improving your company’s operational structure. Entry-level workers will likely need a more straightforward overview of the content than C-suite leaders, who have significantly more experience. 

Ask yourself what you want your audience to take away from your presentation and emphasize those important points. Doing this ensures they remember the most vital information rather than less important supporting ideas. Try organizing these concepts into bullet points so viewers can quickly identify critical takeaways.

2. Create a compelling structure

Put yourself in your audience member’s shoes and determine the most compelling way to organize your information. Your presentation should be articulate , cohesive, and logical, and you must be sure to include all necessary supporting evidence to strengthen your main points.

If you give away all of your answers too quickly, your audience could lose interest. And if there isn’t enough supporting information, they could hit a roadblock of confusion. Try developing a compelling story that leads your audience through your thought processes so they can experience the ups and downs alongside you. 

By structuring your presentation to lead up to a final conclusion, you’re more likely to keep listeners’ attention. Once you’ve reached that conclusion, you can offer a Q&A period to put any of their questions or concerns to rest. 

3. Use visual aids

Appealing to various learning styles is a great way to keep everyone on the same page and ensure they absorb your content. Visual aids are necessary for visual learners and make it easier for people to picture your ideas.

Aim to incorporate a mixture of photos, videos, and props to engage your audience and convey your key points. For instance, if you’re giving a presentation on anthropology subject matter, you could show your audience an artifact to help them understand how exciting a discovery must have been. 

If your presentation is long, including a video for your audience to watch is an excellent way to give yourself a break and create new jumping-off points for your speech.

4. Be aware of design techniques and trends

Thanks to cutting-edge technology and tools, you have numerous platforms at your disposal to create a good presentation. But keep in mind that although color, images, and graphics liven things up, they can cause distraction when misused.

  Here are a few standard pointers for incorporating visuals on your slides: 

• Don’t place blocks of small text on a single slide
• Use a minimalistic background instead of a busy one
• Ensure text stands out against the background color
• Only use high-resolution photos
• Maintain a consistent font style and size throughout the presentation
• Don’t overuse transitions and effects

5. Try the 10-20-30 rule

Guy Kawasaki, a prominent venture capitalist and one of the original marketing specialists for Apple, said that the best slideshow presentations are less than 10 slides , last at most 20 minutes, and use a font size of 30. Following this strategy can help you condense your information, eliminate unnecessary ideas, and maintain your audience’s focus more efficiently.

Once you’re confident in creating a memorable presentation, it’s time to learn how to give one. Here are some valuable tips for keeping your audience invested during your talk: 

Tip #1: Tell stories

Sharing an anecdote from your life can improve your credibility and increase your relatability. And when an audience relates to you, they’re more likely to feel connected to who you are as a person and encouraged to give you their full attention, as they would want others to do the same.

Gill Hicks utilized this strategy well when she shared her powerful story, “ I survived a terrorist attack. Here’s what I learned .” In her harrowing tale, Hicks highlights the importance of compassion, unconditional love, and helping those in need.

If you feel uncomfortable sharing personal stories, that’s okay. You can use examples from famous individuals or create a fictional account to demonstrate your ideas.

Tip #2: Make eye contact with the audience

Maintaining eye contact is less intimidating than it sounds. In fact, you don’t have to look your audience members directly in their eyes — you can focus on their foreheads or noses if that’s easier.

Try making eye contact with as many people as possible for 3–5 seconds each. This timing ensures you don’t look away too quickly, making the audience member feel unimportant, or linger too long, making them feel uncomfortable.

If you’re presenting to a large group, direct your focus to each part of the room to ensure no section of the audience feels ignored. 

Tip #3: Work on your stage presence

Although your tone and words are the most impactful part of your presentation, recall that body language keeps your audience engaged. Use these tips to master a professional stage presence:

• Speak with open arms and avoid crossing them
• Keep a reasonable pace and try not to stand still
• Use hand gestures to highlight important information

Tip #4: Start strong

Like watching a movie trailer, the first seconds of your talk are critical for capturing your audience’s attention. How you start your speech sets the tone for the rest of your presentation and tells your audience whether or not they should pay attention. Here are some ways to start your presentation to leave a lasting impression:

• Use a quote from a well-known and likable influential person 
• Ask a rhetorical question to create intrigue
• Start with an anecdote to add context to your talk 
• Spark your audience’s curiosity by involving them in an interactive problem-solving puzzle or riddle

Tip #5: Show your passion

Don’t be afraid of being too enthusiastic. Everyone appreciates a speaker who’s genuinely excited about their field of expertise. 

In “ Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance ,” Angela Lee Duckworth discusses the importance of passion in research and delivery. She delivers her presentation excitedly to show the audience how excitement piques interest. 

Tip #6: Plan your delivery

How you decide to deliver your speech will shape your presentation. Will you be preparing a PowerPoint presentation and using a teleprompter? Or are you working within the constraints of the digital world and presenting over Zoom?

The best presentations are conducted by speakers who know their stuff and memorize their content. However, if you find this challenging, try creating notes to use as a safety net in case you lose track.

If you’re presenting online, you can keep notes beside your computer for each slide, highlighting your key points. This ensures you include all the necessary information and follow a logical order.

Tip #7: Practice

Practice doesn’t make perfect — it makes progress. There’s no way of preparing for unforeseen circumstances, but thorough practice means you’ve done everything you can to succeed.

Rehearse your speech in front of a mirror or to a trusted friend or family member. Take any feedback and use it as an opportunity to fine-tune your speech. But remember: who you practice your presentation in front of may differ from your intended audience. Consider their opinions through the lens of them occupying this different position.

Tip #8: Read the room

Whether you’re a keynote speaker at an event or presenting to a small group of clients, knowing how to read the room is vital for keeping your audience happy. Stay flexible and be willing to move on from topics quickly if your listeners are uninterested or displeased with a particular part of your speech.

Tip #9: Breathe

Try taking deep breaths before your presentation to calm your nerves. If you feel rushed, you’re more likely to feel nervous and stumble on your words.

The most important thing to consider when presenting is your audience’s feelings. When you approach your next presentation calmly, you’ll put your audience at ease and encourage them to feel comfortable in your presence.

Tip #10: Provide a call-to-action

When you end your presentation, your audience should feel compelled to take a specific action, whether that’s changing their habits or contacting you for your services.

If you’re presenting to clients, create a handout with key points and contact information so they can get in touch. You should provide your LinkedIn information, email address, and phone number so they have a variety of ways to reach you. 

There’s no one-size-fits-all template for an effective presentation, as your unique audience and subject matter play a role in shaping your speech. As a general rule, though, you should aim to connect with your audience through passion and excitement. Use strong eye contact and body language. Capture their interest through storytelling and their trust through relatability.

Learning how to give a good presentation can feel overwhelming — but remember, practice makes progress. Rehearse your presentation for someone you trust, collect their feedback , and revise. Practicing your presentation skills is helpful for any job, and every challenge is a chance to grow.

Enhance your presentation skills

Discover coaching that transforms your public speaking and boosts your confidence in presenting.

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.

6 presentation skills and how to improve them

How to make a presentation interactive and exciting, 3 stand-out professional bio examples to inspire your own, tell a story they can't ignore these 10 tips will teach you how, how to write a speech that your audience remembers, reading the room gives you an edge — no matter who you're talking to, 18 effective strategies to improve your communication skills, your guide to what storytelling is and how to be a good storyteller, writing an elevator pitch about yourself: a how-to plus tips, similar articles, how to pitch ideas: 8 tips to captivate any audience, the 11 tips that will improve your public speaking skills, 30 presentation feedback examples, fear of public speaking overcome it with these 7 tips, how to not be nervous for a presentation — 13 tips that work (really), stay connected with betterup, get our newsletter, event invites, plus product insights and research..

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The beginner’s guide to team presentations

A team presentation isn’t just about one presenter. You need each person on your team for the presentation to be a success.

Emily Branch

Building presentations

There are many reasons you might be giving a team presentation rather than flying solo. Perhaps the marketing team is presenting its results, or the IT team is launching new software. Whatever the case, the rules are the same for engaging team presentations.

Use these rules to organize your team and unite your individual voices around one message.

Key takeaways:

• Teams work in a collaborative group to reach an end goal.
• Select a team lead to organize the presentation, keep every member on track, and field questions from your audience.
• Your success depends on the success of everyone on your team.

Benefits of team presentations

Over half of U.S. workers rely on collaboration for their jobs, so expect to be part of a team presentation at some point in your career. They’re a necessary and beneficial part of business communication.

A team presentation isn’t just about one presenter. You need each person on your team for the presentation to be a success. Plus, successful team presentations have a higher authority level because they use the combined expertise of the entire team.

After the 2022 FIFA World Cup final , soccer fans everywhere were in a hot debate over who the better player was: Argentina’s Messi or France’s Mbappe. But a team’s success is about more than the star player.

Messi and Mbappe rely on their teammates to provide passes, keep the ball out of their goal, and provide support. A team only wins if they work as one unit toward victory rather than as individuals looking for glory.

In the business presentation world, each presenter has a role to play—supportive or active. Your presentation is only as strong as all the presenters combined.

7 tips to improve your team presentations

Use these seven tips to give effective team presentations.

1. Choose a leader

Even though you’re presenting as a group, a leader is still needed for a  team presentation. The leader ensures everyone stays on track and works together toward the same goal.

Here are some primary duties of the team lead:

• Starts and finishes the presentation
• Introduces team members
• Organizes the presentation
• Assigns roles
• Keeps team members on track

The leader doesn’t have to be the team's most senior member. The leader could also be the one with the most subject-matter expertise, the best presentation skills, the most organized, or the most confidence.

2. Establish the presentation’s objective

Your presentation should have one central objective that you come back to in every part of the presentation. Team members may take different paths, but that unifying key point will bring everyone back home to drive your main message forward.

To help each person in the group understand the main idea, summarize it in a sentence. That way everyone has a unified theme to consult when creating their presentations.

3. Build a storyline

Storylines are a crucial part of every presentation, and team presentations are no exception. A storyline gives your presentation structure so the audience can understand how the data fits into a bigger picture.

Storytelling also makes the presentation more engaging . For example, instead of telling the executives how you spent your budget this year, tell a story about the obstacles you overcame through innovative solutions made within budget. 

With storytelling, it’s easier to evoke an emotional response, which is far more memorable and effective in driving your desired results.

A strong brand storyline is even more important with a team structure as it gives each team member direction as they work independently. This way each individual presentation will fit together collectively to communicate your ideas and goals.

4. Establish team responsibilities

Giving team members responsibilities lets everyone know their duties in the presentation. It also distributes the workload fairly so no one is overworked.

The leader gives each team member a clear list of what they should create and say alongside a timeline. Then, use collaboration tools to keep everyone aligned and create pathways for communication as individuals work on their responsibilities.

Create guidelines so everyone knows who is making which slides, how many slides to build, and the design of the presentation. 

5. Practice the presentation

Group presentations require more practice sessions than individual presentations. Each group member should practice their part alone and with the group.

Make sure you rehearse the entire presentation several times so you can see how each part fits together, iron out transitions between speakers, and pinpoint any areas you need to restructure or add.

6. Know who will answer questions

Most presentations hold a Q&A session during or after the presentation. When presenting as a group, you’ll want to avoid confusion about who answers each question during the presentation.

Instead of everyone jumping in at once or in awkward silence, establish a system for answering questions before you present. This system can be a round-robin structure, a designated Q&A speaker, or a blend of both.

Another option is to have the presentation leader act as a moderator for all questions. The audience can direct their questions to the leader, and they will pick the most qualified presenter (including themself) to answer.

7. Show support during the presentation

Remember, you work as a group even when you’re not presenting. When a team member speaks, the other presenters should attentively listen and show support. You want everyone to succeed because their success is your success. Your audience will see the presentation as a whole, not as individual parts.

Some ways to actively listen include:

• Leaning forward
• Keeping eye contact
• Taking notes
• Using facial expressions

Boost your team presentations with Prezent

Let Prezent take the lead when it comes to your team presentation design! With Prezent’s AI-powered productivity platform, your team can save time while building beautiful, brand-compliant slides.

Prezent provides your team with access to over 35,000 customized slide templates designed with your company’s branding and built to fit key business themes. Build the best storyline to convey your message with knowledgeable recommendations from Prezent’s intuitive software, and learn why that particular presentation style works with Prezent’s built-in learning curriculum.

Become a better communicator and add Prezent to your team today! Contact us to learn more.

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How can you make a good presentation even more effective?

This page draws on published advice from expert presenters around the world, which will help to take your presentations from merely ‘good’ to ‘great’.

By bringing together advice from a wide range of people, the aim is to cover a whole range of areas.

Whether you are an experienced presenter, or just starting out, there should be ideas here to help you to improve.

1. Show your Passion and Connect with your Audience

It’s hard to be relaxed and be yourself when you’re nervous.

But time and again, the great presenters say that the most important thing is to connect with your audience, and the best way to do that is to let your passion for the subject shine through.

Be honest with the audience about what is important to you and why it matters.

Be enthusiastic and honest, and the audience will respond.

2. Focus on your Audience’s Needs

Your presentation needs to be built around what your audience is going to get out of the presentation.

As you prepare the presentation, you always need to bear in mind what the audience needs and wants to know, not what you can tell them.

While you’re giving the presentation, you also need to remain focused on your audience’s response, and react to that.

You need to make it easy for your audience to understand and respond.

3. Keep it Simple: Concentrate on your Core Message

When planning your presentation, you should always keep in mind the question:

What is the key message (or three key points) for my audience to take away?

You should be able to communicate that key message very briefly.

Some experts recommend a 30-second ‘elevator summary’, others that you can write it on the back of a business card, or say it in no more than 15 words.

Whichever rule you choose, the important thing is to keep your core message focused and brief.

And if what you are planning to say doesn’t contribute to that core message, don’t say it.

4. Smile and Make Eye Contact with your Audience

This sounds very easy, but a surprisingly large number of presenters fail to do it.

If you smile and make eye contact, you are building rapport , which helps the audience to connect with you and your subject. It also helps you to feel less nervous, because you are talking to individuals, not to a great mass of unknown people.

To help you with this, make sure that you don’t turn down all the lights so that only the slide screen is visible. Your audience needs to see you as well as your slides.

5. Start Strongly

The beginning of your presentation is crucial. You need to grab your audience’s attention and hold it.

They will give you a few minutes’ grace in which to entertain them, before they start to switch off if you’re dull. So don’t waste that on explaining who you are. Start by entertaining them.

Try a story (see tip 7 below), or an attention-grabbing (but useful) image on a slide.

6. Remember the 10-20-30 Rule for Slideshows

This is a tip from Guy Kawasaki of Apple. He suggests that slideshows should:

• Contain no more than 10 slides;
• Last no more than 20 minutes; and
• Use a font size of no less than 30 point.

This last is particularly important as it stops you trying to put too much information on any one slide. This whole approach avoids the dreaded ‘Death by PowerPoint’.

As a general rule, slides should be the sideshow to you, the presenter. A good set of slides should be no use without the presenter, and they should definitely contain less, rather than more, information, expressed simply.

If you need to provide more information, create a bespoke handout and give it out after your presentation.

7. Tell Stories

Human beings are programmed to respond to stories.

Stories help us to pay attention, and also to remember things. If you can use stories in your presentation, your audience is more likely to engage and to remember your points afterwards. It is a good idea to start with a story, but there is a wider point too: you need your presentation to act like a story.

Think about what story you are trying to tell your audience, and create your presentation to tell it.

Finding The Story Behind Your Presentation

To effectively tell a story, focus on using at least one of the two most basic storytelling mechanics in your presentation:

Focusing On Characters – People have stories; things, data, and objects do not. So ask yourself “who” is directly involved in your topic that you can use as the focal point of your story.

For example, instead of talking about cars (your company’s products), you could focus on specific characters like:

• The drivers the car is intended for – people looking for speed and adventure
• The engineers who went out of their way to design the most cost-effective car imaginable

A Changing Dynamic – A story needs something to change along the way. So ask yourself “What is not as it should be?” and answer with what you are going to do about it (or what you did about it).

For example…

• Did hazardous road conditions inspire you to build a rugged, all-terrain jeep that any family could afford?
• Did a complicated and confusing food labelling system lead you to establish a colour-coded nutritional index so that anybody could easily understand it?

To see 15 more actionable storytelling tips, see Nuts & Bolts Speed Training’s post on Storytelling Tips .

8. Use your Voice Effectively

The spoken word is actually a pretty inefficient means of communication, because it uses only one of your audience’s five senses. That’s why presenters tend to use visual aids, too. But you can help to make the spoken word better by using your voice effectively.

Varying the speed at which you talk, and emphasising changes in pitch and tone all help to make your voice more interesting and hold your audience’s attention.

For more about this, see our page on Effective Speaking .

9. Use your Body Too

It has been estimated that more than three quarters of communication is non-verbal.

That means that as well as your tone of voice, your body language is crucial to getting your message across. Make sure that you are giving the right messages: body language to avoid includes crossed arms, hands held behind your back or in your pockets, and pacing the stage.

Make your gestures open and confident, and move naturally around the stage, and among the audience too, if possible.

10. Relax, Breathe and Enjoy

If you find presenting difficult, it can be hard to be calm and relaxed about doing it.

One option is to start by concentrating on your breathing. Slow it down, and make sure that you’re breathing fully. Make sure that you continue to pause for breath occasionally during your presentation too.

For more ideas, see our page on Coping with Presentation Nerves .

If you can bring yourself to relax, you will almost certainly present better. If you can actually start to enjoy yourself, your audience will respond to that, and engage better. Your presentations will improve exponentially, and so will your confidence. It’s well worth a try.

Improve your Presentation Skills

Follow our guide to boost your presentation skills learning about preparation, delivery, questions and all other aspects of giving effective presentations.

Start with: What is a Presentation?

Continue to: How to Give a Speech Self Presentation

See also: Five Ways You Can Do Visual Marketing on a Budget Can Presentation Science Improve Your Presentation? Typography – It’s All About the Message in Your Slides

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What Everyone Ought to Know About Delivering Team Presentations

• Dale Ludwig   Presentations

I’ve written a lot about how important it is for presenters to initiate and manage a genuine conversation with their audiences—how it’s the presenter’s responsibility to focus on making listening and understanding easy for everyone.

But what if there is a team involved? What are the challenges unique to that situation?

Features of a Successful Team Presentation

Every team member needs to be engaged.

Let’s say you’re a member of a team that delivers research to the executives in your organization. Or maybe several people in your organization deliver sales pitches to potential clients as a team. How do the requirements for a successful presentation change when there are other people involved?

The answer is that every team member needs to be engaged, whether you’re speaking or not. Success requires not only being attentive but appearing attentive as well.

Being attentive is important for these reasons:

• You need to follow the conversation closely in order to fit the information you’re delivering into the conversation that is actually taking place.
• That means you need to connect dots to what has been said and what will be said.
• You also need to support others on the team in case they need your input or help, especially when questions are asked.

Appearing attentive is also necessary because doing otherwise undermines the cohesiveness of the team and distracts the audience. 

Every Team Member Must Appear Interested

Every team member is “presenting” whether they’re speaking or not. That means that everyone on the team should

• Appear genuinely interested in what others are saying—no matter how many times you’ve heard them say it.
• Sit up, put down your phone, and take notes. Look happy to be there.
• During transitions, treat other team members with respect. That means you may want to thank them after they’ve passed things over to you. Use their names when referring to what they said before you. Use “we” instead of “I” when appropriate.

All of these behaviors will communicate a positive impression of your team—that you are cooperative, cohesive, and getting along—and that will help the audience stay focused on the message you are communicating.

Every Team Member Must Practice to Deliver a Cohesive Presentation

The most important thing about a cohesive presentation is that it should look like it’s coming from the same person. Every team member must be able to convey the same point of view, and there should be no disconnect among individual team members. A good team presentation needs preparation. Especially if your team presentation involves people from different functional teams—for example, you might need to include an SME , a product manager, an account manager, and maybe a salesperson—you should allow time and preparation to prioritize talking points, adapt presentation styles, and develop team cohesion.

In order to pull this off effectively, every team member must prepare for the presentation.

Here are a few ways of preparing for a cohesive team presentation:

• Identify one team member who can coordinate each of the following: building the presentation narrative, identifying timelines, creating slides , and getting everyone together for brainstorming.
• Define the ultimate goal of the presentation. It will help in laying out a theme and constructing the overall narrative for the presentation. This will ensure that every team member relays the same message during their portion of the presentation.
• Agree on a frame for the presentation that suits its goals and priorities.
• Build an outline and a template for creating slides as well. This will bring consistency to slides that each team member creates and will help in building the overall cohesiveness of the presentation.

Wondering if it’s time to provide training for your team?  Contact us today.

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5 Steps to a Great Team Presentation

You work for an advertising agency. A national restaurant brand wants a fresh ad campaign, and your firm is one of three agencies invited to deliver a team presentation to the brand’s top executives.

As often happens, the brand gives the agency only a couple of weeks to prepare. The agency quickly spins into motion, assigning a presentation role to managers from key departments: strategy, creative, research, and accounts.

Each of the departmental leaders works on their talk. The day before the big presentation, they gather in the conference room to rehearse their pitch. A few things become clear almost instantly: there’s no unifying theme, each person’s slides look different, and there’s unnecessary repetition throughout the talk.

The presenters panic. They scramble to make last-minute changes, work late into the night, and head into the presentation lacking cohesion and confidence—and a good nights’ sleep.

That’s not a hypothetical scenario. We’ve seen that play out with a client when we were brought in to help the day before they were scheduled to present. It was heartbreaking, because these were brilliant people with great ideas, and they almost certainly would have delivered wonderful work.

They didn’t get the account.

A great team presentation, whether you are pitching an ad campaign, seeking to land a sale, or hoping to raise startup funds, gets its strength from the sum of its parts, and how those parts fit into one unifying theme.

If you follow the proper steps, your team members will be fully aware of their roles and how they relate to one other. That work translates into a presentation with a smooth and seamless flow. The reward is an effective and successful outcome for the team, and a powerful and compelling experience for the audience.

We offer five steps to bring your team members together, find that flow, and focus on the message you want to convey.

5 Steps to a Winning Team Presentation

Step No. 1 – Establish Your Key Message

There is an important question to ask whether you are a single presenter or part of a team: What is the brightest take-home message you’d like your audience to remember after your team finishes its presentation?

We call this your audience-focused bright shiny object , or ABSO . Your ABSO aligns your key point with your audience’s greatest concerns and needs. Here’s an example:

You are a company that provides technological and energy expertise to municipalities that are developing comprehensive initiatives to become more environmentally responsible. You and your team are pitching a panel of town officials.

Your key thought is this: “You should hire us because we not only have the scientific expertise but years of experience in translating that to real-life applications that save money and protect the environment.” The town’s need is this: “We need a program that follows proven scientific principles and incorporates economic best practices. We also need to hit our goal of reducing energy consumption by 20 percent in the next five years.” Here’s your ABSO: “We have a team of scientists, researchers, former municipal leaders, and economists who are as versed in the research as they are in the real-life applications that translate into compliance and economic savings.”

Those nearly three dozen words could be swapped out for just two – “Hire us!” –  but that pitch won’t go anywhere if you don’t answer the question the audience is asking: “Why should we hire you?”

The audience will be more likely to hire you if every speaker’s mini-presentation is guided by and reflects the central idea (or ABSO) that ties the entire presentation together.

Step No. 2 – Assign Roles

If you own a car, how many times do you think about the spark plugs in your engine? We guess that it’s not all that often. But you sure do think about them when the engine stalls. Faulty or worn, perhaps? There’s no spark to get that engine going.

We use this example in context with how you build your team presentation. Every presenter has an important role – no matter how small or big. You want your presentation to hum along, with nary a stall in sight. In other words, every presenter needs a clear understanding of their role and how they fit into the unified whole.

Here is how you build the engine:

• Determine the number of speakers – There is no magic number, but you should consider the impact on the audience. Cramming a dozen speakers into an hour might make it difficult for the speakers to build a rapport with the audience and may strain your audience’s ability to consume and consider the information you present.
• Create the content – What points and supporting evidence will each person cover (discuss this as a group), and what is each segment trying to achieve in connection to your ABSO? Answering those questions will also help to reduce repetition.
• Mind the micro and macro – Each speaker should have a “mini” presentation that conforms to the usual speech formula – open, main points with supporting detail, and close. To avoid appearing predictable , each speaker should vary their delivery (don’t all use opens that focus on statistics, for instance). Perhaps one team member uses PowerPoint, while another passes out a handout. Many team presentations begin with a “big picture” introduction, often presented by the most senior member of the team, followed by talks given by specialists in each topic area. The person who opens the talk may also close it and take on an emcee role to facilitate the Q&A period.
• Establish the lead – The person opening the team presentation should begin with a compelling statement that immediately gets the audience in the tent, establishes the session’s relevance and purpose, and reflects the audience-focused bright shiny object (ABSO). As a group, determine if the opener, who also is often the emcee, will either introduce the team following the open or open the floor for each presenter to briefly introduce themselves and the subject they will cover.

Step No. 3 – Practice, Practice, Practice

Here’s how to make your practice session an exercise in efficiency:

• Listen for the unified theme in every “mini” presentation.
• Identify and eliminate repetition. You can do this by ensuring the point is in the proper segment.
• Ditch the drag. As you time each person’s talk, pay attention to pacing.

How to reassess

After each rehearsal, go back and tinker. Consequently, that may mean you add more compelling material or chop irrelevant statistics. If this is an organic part of the creative process, you will have a more seamless and effective flow when the presentation goes “live.”

Step No. 4 – Your View on Visuals

Visual aids can have a powerful effect on helping your audience to remember your key message and main points. In a team presentation, your approach to the visuals must be cohesive. If every slide presentation follows a different template, and evidences a different style, the audience is likely to be distracted. Worse, as in the advertising agency example that started this post, they may pass on your firm altogether, concluding that the work you would have delivered would be as disjointed as the presentation itself.

Here are some guidelines to visualize:

• Each speaker should work off the same template.
• One person should be assigned to edit the final deck.
• Ensure there is continuity of colors, font sizes, and the overall look.

Step No. 5 – Final checks

Well before you arrive to that conference room to pitch your services, register a sale, or secure funds, make sure, as a group, you’ve paid attention to staging. How are you going to position yourselves? When it’s not your turn to present, how will you stay engaged? How are you transitioning from one segment to another?

Here are some things to consider before the presentation:

• Is the team standing or sitting during the talk?
• Is the team on stage? Are the presenters sitting in the audience or around the conference table?
• Are speakers expected to step forward to speak?

Here are some things to do before the presentation:

Practice all scenarios. With preparation, speakers may be less likely to be thrown off track if the actual presentation reveals a different set-up than had been discussed. Rehearse the choreography. For instance, if you are sharing a single microphone, practice the handoff. If you’re sharing a PowerPoint clicker, practice the exchange. Make eye contact with your co-presenter during the transition and exchange a warm look before turning toward the audience. Stay alert. When others are speaking, practice keeping your eyes on the speaker. You also can take notes if helpful, and imagine observing the audience to see if some points are landing better than others. Plot your Q&A. Will the emcee assign questions to team members in real time or will certain team members field certain topics? Are group members encouraged to jump in? The real goal is to avoid the awkwardness of deciding in front of the audience who should answer which questions. A team that works gracefully with one another sends a powerful message about their ability to work cohesively and efficiently on whatever task is before them. Be there for your teammate. Let’s say your colleague gets stuck in traffic on presentation day. You may be required to step up and fill the gap caused by your absent colleague. Or, you may have to shorten your part of the presentation when questions run long in the segment before you. Snags and challenges, while unfortunate, do happen. As a team, practice for the unexpected.

Total Teamwork

One player can consistently make great plays, but it takes a team to create a winning season. Or, as some recent research has revealed , a team doesn’t need to be a group of superstars to succeed, so much as a group of people who work well together. It’s a finding we can intuitively understand.

In approaching your team presentation, remember that it should reflect the experience, effort, and talent of each member as seen through the team’s collective expertise. With preparation and practice, that expertise will easily shine through.

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Home Blog Business The Manager’s Guide to Effective Teamwork

The Manager’s Guide to Effective Teamwork

Let’s cut the chase: teamwork is challenging. Encouraging people to communicate better. Getting a team to consistent performance levels. Resolving conflicts. 

Everyone who tells you otherwise would be wrong. But the above challenges shouldn’t discourage you from striving to build a high-performing team. While this quick guide won’t provide you with a “silver bullet solution”, it will leave you with a strong base of research-based knowledge you can use to improve your team management skills. 

So What is Teamwork?

The International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences gives the following teamwork definition:

Teamwork is the ability of team members to work together, communicate effectively, anticipate and meet each other’s demands, and inspire confidence, resulting in a coordinated collective action.

The ability to “join forces” to accomplish shared goals has proved crucial since the dawn of humankind. Hunting, gathering, and farming required ancient people to learn to cooperate in order to succeed. Without teamwork skills, we would have never realized such ambitious projects as building railroads, developing the Internet, or soon — sending the first tourists to space. 

But let’s reevaluate from aspirations to reality: what are the actual mechanics of effective teamwork? 

The Four Defining Characteristics of Teamwork 

Social scientists determined that the following four characteristics of teamwork drive most team successes:

Performance monitoring: When working in groups, we tend to analyze how others are handling their chores. This type of natural observation promotes better group accountability. No one wants to appear as a “lagger” among team members. Thus we try to adjust or pace and quality of work to the stands set by others. Because of such “cohesion”, the team as a unit functions smoother. 

Feedback: When working in teams, we don’t just watch others — we also provide feedback on how well they are coping with the job. Such a rapport on the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of performance helps homogenize the team’s performance. And respectively — drive efficiency. However, for this to happen, team members must feel comfortable providing and accepting feedback to everyone else, despite the rank of tenure. Free-flowing feedback is the defining characteristic of high-performing teams.

Closed-loop communication: Good communication is vital for effective teamwork. That’s a known fact. What’s more curious is that there’s a specific type of rapport that most teams assume. It’s called “closed-loop communication”. 

That’s a simple communication style most of us engage in without knowing. A closed-loop conversation goes like this:

• Sara, I need you to create a new go-to-market presentation with 15 slides by Monday.
• Got it, Tim. I will send you over a 15-slide deck by Monday.
• Yes, thanks.

Such a repetition serves several purposes. First, it provides the  “sender” with an acknowledgment that their message landed. The “receiver”, in turn, better remembers the message contents, plus verify its correctness with the sender yet again. 

Closed-loop communication helps prevent misunderstanding and ensures more smooth information flows between all team participants. 

Back-up behaviors: “I’ve got your back!” is the sentiment you experience working in a well-managed team. It arises from the fact that other members are willing to step in when needed and support you. This happens when all team members know how and when to ask for help (without the fear of being judged). 

Why is Teamwork Important?

As popular lore says: “teamwork makes the dream work”. That idea holds true at the workplace too! Over 54% of employees admit that a strong sense of community ( common vision and mission , great coworkers, and corporate culture) prompt them to stay longer with the employer. 

Gallup also found that employee engagement strongly correlates with the overall levels of teamwork in the workplace. Well-oiled teams tend to be 17% more productive, experience 24% lower turnover, and 41% lower absenteeism.  

On a broader level, without effective teamwork, organizations struggle to move forward with new initiatives and frequently — fail to complete them. Team performance directly affects project timelines and success rates, plus the overall business bottom line. 

On the other hand, well-managed and diverse teams drive better financial outcomes for organizations. McKinsey found teams made up of members from diverse backgrounds (regarding gender, age, ethnicity, etc.) are more creative and perform better by up to 35% better, than homogeneous teams. 

To sum up the benefits of teamwork boil down to:

• Improved productivity and operational effectiveness
• Higher employee engagement 
• Better financial outcomes for the businesses 
• More creative ideas and solutions to trivial issues 

Characteristics of a Successful Team

OK, so the importance of teamwork is pretty clear. But how can leaders nurture high-performing teams? 

Researchers from the University of Perth found that to succeed with team building , it’s necessary to foster the following characteristics among team members: 

• Commitment to team success and shared goals — securing a “buy-in” from a team is key to ensuring their ongoing dedication to the task at hand. 
• Interdependence — team members support and encourage their peers to achieve, contribute, and learn while doing the same themselves. 
• Interpersonal skills — people on the team can candidly communicate with one another, remain mindful of other people’s needs, and exhibit high emotional intelligence levels. 
• Open communication and positive feedback — everyone on the team should be ready to receive and give constructive criticism and feedback.
• Appropriate team composition — every person should understand their role and scope of responsibilities and expectations for them. They should also know how their contributions affect other team members and the entire project. 
• Commitment to team processes, leadership & accountability — team members must know the standard operating process and “best practices” that everyone else is using. At the same time, team leaders must also step in whenever their input is needed for shared decision-making and problem-solving.

How to Improve Teamwork: 4 Research-Based Strategies

Many managers believe that team members’ individual attributes such as age, seniority level, or reputation are the most determinant to successful team management.

 It’s the opposite. APA found that “deep level factors” such as the person’s values, personality traits, or soft skills can have more far-rearing consequences on teamwork effectiveness. 

How do you leverage those deep-level factors to build better teams? Here are four strategies. 

Create an Atmosphere of Safety and Openness 

Atlassian , a provider of project and team management applications for software teams, recently found that in teams where most team members can be honest and candid, good things happen. Such teams are: 

• 60% more likely to achieve the set goals faster 
• 80% more likely to report high emotional well-being and job satisfaction 

This survey further mirrors APA research and states that most team leaders (and members) say that mutual respect and transparent decision-making are the two driving factors for 

increasing team achievement. 

Thus, focus on building a similar environment at your company too. This includes:

• Recognize ongoing workplace issues and commit to resolving them
• Address the problem of micromanagement . Consider implementing time tracking .
• Increase transparency via an open door policy 
• Encourage honest feedbacking without the fear of repercussions 
• Earn the team’s trust by backing your words with actions. 

Focus on Developing Team Cognition

Team cognition is a shared understanding team members develop when working together for long periods.  Research from the military found that the team’s ability to be synchronized — share the same beliefs, values, perceptions — is the key to consistently high performance. 

In high team cognition levels, team members can determine how their peers will think and act in different situations and formulate their responses based on this knowledge. If you ever have been to the ER (or watches series), you know how blazingly fast the team’s response is. Everyone knows which tool to grab, what vitals to record, and how they should act in response to others. 

Teams outside of high-pressure environments can also benefit from developing such “shared mental models”.  The key to that is teaching your teams to effectively exchange information and pass on the knowledge they have to others. Experienced teams know exactly when to provide or request information from others, who to refer to, and when. 

Setting up a team-wide RACI matrix can be a good starting point for building up this type of skill. 

Consider Downsizing Your Teams

Research published in Nature journal suggests that small teams are often responsible for the most disruptive ideas. To some extent, this fact can be explained by better collaboration and a higher degree of consensus (which is easier to reach when fewer people are involved). 

But that’s not it. Small teams also end up being more creative and capable of delivering amazingly “big” results within a short timeframe. 

Researchers from the Wharton School of Business run an interesting experiment. They asked two teams to assemble some Lego. 

• A two-person team completed the task in 36 minutes. 
• A 4 person team needed 52 minutes to finish the same task. 

If you feel that your bigger teams are bogged down with approvals, miscommunication, and some inner-team power dynamics, consider “trimming” them to a more compact size.

Jeff Bezos of Amazon famously popularized the two-pizza team concept. He believed that the best work can be accomplished by a software engineer team that you can feed with two pizzas. Considering how successful Amazon is these days, this idea definitely has its merit! 

Final Tip: Help Your People Build Up Their Soft Skills 

Strong interpersonal and collaboration skills are the “mortar” of a well-performing team. Sadly, a lot of us tend to overestimate our ability “to get along with others” .

A survey of recent college graduates found that ? believe they can work well in a team environment. However, only a third of managers agreed with this statement. 

At the workplace, similar dynamics might be at play. Some managers may think they are “great”, while their team will silently disagree. Make sure that you can identify such trends and address them by suggesting team-building activities, holding training sessions for managers, or providing individual team members with aids and prompts that could help them improve their interpersonal skills. 

1. Teamwork Concept PowerPoint Template

This template illustrates business growth with the help of teamwork. It presents a cohesive work environment to achieve common goals through the efforts of entire team.

Use This Template

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Do you have a equivalent for agile teams? Bonus points for a SAFe model.

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Speak & Present Effectively

12 How to present as a team

Believe it or not team projects can be fun and rewarding. in this chapter we’ll look at how to make team projects efficient and successful..

Teamwork is a huge part of most jobs, so being able to work well with others and manage team projects is an essential skill that will enhance your career. In school, team projects help you learn key teamwork and project management skills.

Teamwork skills

Being a productive part of an effective team requires these skills:

• Understand group dynamics
• Flexibility: accept and adapt to others and their contributions
• Respect: support your teammates’ diversity, perspectives and contributions
• Give kind, useful feedback and accept feedback graciously
• Contribute proactively and positively
• Be a leader but allow others to lead when appropriate
• Plan for and manage conflict

Project planning

Planning can make your team project successful and enjoyable. Create an effective team with pre-project planning:

• Read the project assignment and rubric or grading plan
• Create or join a team based on similar grade goals, ways of working, amount of time you’re willing to invest, and team organization / leadership style. Avoid joining a team just because your friends are on it.
• Organize your first meeting. Everyone must attend.
• Create a team charter or have a process conversation (details below).
• Record your plans: team organization / leadership; working style; roles & tasks; deadlines, etc
• Schedule the project, working backwards from the due date. Allow time for personnel or tech problems.

Process conversations

Process conversations make teamwork more productive and less frustrating. They’re simple conversations where you discuss and agree how your team will function.

Process conversations are strengthened when the outcomes are documented and saved to the for later reference. Create one central place that all teammates can access and store all your files and decisions there.

Strong process conversations answer questions such as:

At the end of your team process conversation, make sure to ask if there’s anything else: What else do we need to discuss?

The 5-finger vote

Sometimes a simple yes or no isn’t enough. The 5 finger vote gives useful nuance to discussions and decisions.

Instead of asking yes/no or for/against questions, ask team members to vote with their fingers. The scale is:

For example, your team is trying to choose a topic – will it be topic A, B or C? So you take a 5 finger vote. Most members are: 3 fingers for topic A, 5 fingers for topic B, and 2 fingers for topic C. Topic B is the clear winner.

Or you can add up all the fingers and use the total to decide. For example, That’s 12 fingers for topic A, 19 fingers for topic B, and 7 fingers for topic C. Topic B’s the winner.

Team Conflict

Conflict is almost inevitable in teams of busy, stressed students. Do your best to avoid conflict by:

• Supporting each other (Remind yourself that you’ll all do better if you cooperate)
• Communicating clearly and frequently, ensuring that everyone is clear on expectations
• Using a team charter or process conversation
• Being open-minded and respectful
• Addressing concerns or frustrations early

Teams that prepare for conflict can deal with it quickly and effectively when it happens.

During the presentation

Introduce each other & remember transitions.

Introduce each other at the start of your presentation. You can take turns introducing a teammate, or designate one person to act as the host, and introduce everyone. (Make sure you know each other’s names and how to pronounce them!)

If you have a host, they can handle the introductions, thesis, overview, transitions and conclusion. This adds consistency to your presentation and helps the audience understand what’s happening.  If you’re not using a host, ensure that you practice strong transitions from one teammate to another. For example: “ Now that I’ve explained the reasons you should have a LinkedIn profile, Sharika will explain how to make your LinkedIn profile .”

It’s also a good idea to designate one teammate as timekeeper. They can make sure you don’t go overtime, and help make sure all teammates have an equal chance to contribute.

Present as a unified team

A team presentation is very different from an individual presentation. One of the biggest problems we see is team presentations that don’t feel unified. You’ve got a team, present like a team!

For this reason, it is important to ensure that everyone is aware of what their teammates will be presenting, and know when transitions are meant to occur.

It is also important to show that you’re paying attention to teammates when they are presenting, and avoid fidgeting, talking, looking bored, or turning off your camera (just because you’re not talking doesn’t mean that you disappear).  You can suggest to the audience that your group is doing a good job by nodding when a teammate delivers a strong point.

In some less formal presentations, you may decide to interact with each other: have a conversation, interview each other, argue two sides of an issue, or have some teammates demonstrate what’s being described.

Maybe some teammates can demonstrate or hold visual aids.

In online presentations, teammates can be working behind the scenes while others are presenting.  One person might be handling the tech, another might be watching the chat, and another might be controlling presentation slides.

Plan the Q&A

If you’re including a Q&A at the end of your presentation, decide how your team will handle it. You might designate which teammate will answer different types of questions, or your team might take turns answering.

At the end of each answer, ask the other teammates if they have anything to add. See more details in Chapter 13: How to handle audience questions

 Test your knowledge 

Business Presentation Skills Copyright © 2021 by Lucinda Atwood and Christian Westin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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12 Strategies to Easily Deliver A Really Great Team Presentation

Last Updated on April 1, 2024 by Lorna Barrow

You have no choice. You do have to organise a team presentation. Let me remind you how you got there.

Because of your networking skills, you got your small business on the very short list of companies to pitch their services to a very big business.

Just when you were thinking that you can handle this, the CEO of the business kinda casually remarked ” by the way, we would love if you could make a team presentation.”

“What?! This woman mad?”

You now have to bring a select group of your employees together to make a hot team presentation. Yes…you can make a fairly decent speech by yourself but pulling a team together? 

I’m sure by now you know, that having 3 or 4 persons presenting  a case, rather than a single person, has now become the rule rather than the exception in business.

So why are you nervous?

Perhaps it’s because you know that when a business, especially a small one, brings a group of their highly skilled professionals together to make a team presentation, the stakes are usually equally high.

Therefore, you need more than speaking skills. You now have to coordinate your in-house talent to speak with one voice. Your business voice. And that requires leadership skills, serious confidence before you speak and some people management.

but the above aside, how would you feel if you could make the best presentation ever and win the contract?

This is where you get lucky. You have access to my over 25 years of public speaking training to help you pull off your best team presentation. Ever!

Here’s how I will help you.

I will tell you what to do before you speak, what to do during the presentation and what you must do after.

If you’re ready, let’s jump right in…

6 strategies to use before you make your team presentation

1.  decide who will be on the team and why.

This seems so obvious that it’s not worth mentioning. Think again!

I’ve seen leaders select people to be part of a team making an important presentation just to “give them a chance to shine” or because “I’m comfortable with him” .

It is true that “Camille” needs to get out of her shell and “Ryan” is easy to get along with. But does that qualify them to be on a team making a presentation to the Ministry of Energy on a new solar plant?

2.  Appoint a leader to coordinate the whole thing

You might not believe this after watching several team presentations – but there is really more to presenting as a team, than each person standing up and speaking.

Even before you get to presenting, you must know:

1.  The objective and overall theme of the presentation

2. Which persuasion strategy you will be using

3.  What data and how much goes into the presentation

4.  Who will be responsible for what, e.g. visual aids, editing, etc 

5.  The order of speeches on the day and any other roles of the speakers

6.  Other details which are specific to the nature of your presentation

If a single person does not assume responsibility for these areas, your team will waste a lot of time either arguing or duplicating effort, instead of focusing on the case that has to be built and presented.

And guess what? Just because you own the business does not mean you’re the best person to do this, especially if you’re part of the team presentation.

3.  Know and plan to exploit the strengths of the team

In a team presentation, each member is required to handle that aspect of the topic where s/he has knowledge and experience.

But remember, a team presentation is still a public speaking activity, so you want to make a big impact on your audience. Therefore, knowledge and experience must be balanced by the speaking skills of the various speakers.

So arrange you points in such a way that you lead off and end with your strongest speakers.

4.  Know your audience

Usually, when you’re making a team presentation, the stakes are very high. With so much at stake, knowing your audience is mission critical.

Therefore, you need to collect some serious intelligence. At minimum this should include the person or persons you will be pitching to, the level of their decision-making and their requirements for detail.

Even when I make a one-woman pitch for business, this is where I start my audience analysis.

5.  Plan the details of the actual presentation

This is a very important step. If you plan these details before, on the big day, you just have to execute…well almost.

In planning, please try to cover:

1.  How you will make the best use of the available time

2.   The way you will structure your presentation

3.  How you will create influence with your presentation

4.  The order of your speeches and what each will cover

5.  Who will be the lead speaker on the day

6.  When and how you will practice

6.  Practice your team presentation… as a team

No, I’m not crazy…just very experienced with most things public speaking.

So I have come across the situation where a small business owner claimed that he did not have a lot of time before his team made the presentation.

So what did he do?

He had each person practice at home the night before, believing that this was all that was required, anyhow.

I am still shaking my head…

So please practice your presentation as a team. Have a minimum of three practice sessions. Know who will be doing the main introductions and who will be summarising. Practice your transitions and practice with your visual aids.

Most of the points that I have listed  above should inform your practice sessions as well. In addition, you can get more tips on practicing a speech in this post . Just apply them to the team as a whole.

5 strategies to use during your team presentation

1.  implement the structure you planned.

In a good structure, your lead speaker will begin with a brief introduction of your team and follow this with your big idea for solving the problem or meeting the need. Be sure to include the benefits for the clients.

Then each speaker will follow in the order which was planned, each one stressing the benefits of their aspect of the offering. 

2.  Keep the presentation flowing

Even though your team presentation has more than one speaker, don’t make the audience wait too long between speakers.

The best way to make your presentation flow is to copy all your presentations on to one flash drive in the order they will be presented.

Another good approach is to place each presentation in one presentation file (Powerpoint?) separated by a blank slide.

3.  Be a good team player even when you’re not speaking

When other team members are speaking, give them your full attention. This might be difficult especially if you’re nervous, because you will feel the urge to read over notes or whisper to your colleagues. 

Instead, stay interested and alert. Listen attentively, smile and laugh at their humour and behave as you would want them to respond when you’re speaking.

Remember, your audience is judging you as a team.

4.  Answer questions effectively

Keep it together now. This is where many team presentations fall apart.

The leader should clarify the questions and then assign them to the team member who can provide the best response.

Furthermore, in your planning and practicing, supported by your understanding of the needs of the potential client,  you should have come up with some questions that are likely to be asked.

Here are some great tips on how to answer questions after a speech. 

5.  Wrap up your entire team presentation professionally

This is where your lead speaker takes over again to restate your big idea, remind the potential client of the key benefits and then deliver your CTA.

Yes, your Call To Action. Tell your potential client what you want them to do, now that your team has so properly built your case. This post gives you some great info on how to work the CTA.

You need to be sure of what you want though, and ask for it confidently. That’s why you start and end with your best speaker.

The #1 strategy you must use after your team presentation

Review your entire presentation process.

You will realise that even though you have done many speeches on your own, speaking as part of a team is well, as they say, a whole new ball game.

When you review, check for your strengths and weakness, not only in the speeches but in the entire process. Tighten up those weak areas because you will be doing it again. And again.

And don’t forget to celebrate that you made it through your team presentation…like pros!

Your next “team presentation” step…

So there you have them!

12 practical strategies to help you just smile the next time you have to organise a team presentation.

You also now have no excuse for avoiding it or winging it. But you have every reason to pull it off with class.

Your business deserves no less.

And don’t forget, if you really want to really up your game, do contact me, I’d be really happy to provide public speaking training for you and the rest of your employees.

To your team presentation success…

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Lorna Barrow

Lorna Barrow is a Business Breakthrough Specialist, an unfiltered Transformational Speaker, a Writer, a Coach and a self-confessed Small Business Junkie. She recognises that small businesses are unique and when it comes to helping you and your business make that BIG breakthrough, she's all in for you!

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10 Presentation Ideas For Leadership Teams and Training

Leadership teams shape organizations for better or for worse. They’re responsible for guiding teams and moving things— big or small— forward. So what makes a great leader versus one that causes employees to leave a company?

When you think of a great leader, it’s probably a specific characteristic that comes to mind. Qualities like respect, self-awareness, trust, influence, collaboration, and strong communication skills can set extraordinary managers apart from mediocre ones. But how leaders listen, learn, and communicate with their employees is just as important. Because of that, leaders— regardless of the industry— need to hold themselves accountable and continuously seek out ways to grow as a manager.   

It’s not uncommon for companies to host offsites or retreats to bring the leadership team together for brainstorming, planning, and training. This helps align leaders across various departments, teams, and offices, while offering them the tools they need to be more successful in their role. 

When preparing a presentation for leadership teams and training, it's crucial to focus on content that resonates with the audience's strategic mindset and their role in guiding the organization. Here are some leadership presentation ideas to help inspire your own content.

Leadership presentation ideas

Presentations can act as a platform to encourage learning and collaboration among different leaders. Do you have a leadership retreat coming up? Here are 10 leadership presentation ideas to help train and motivate your own leadership team. 

Effective leadership strategies

As a recurring training, you might share effective leadership strategies with your executive team. This presentation would act as a refresher of the latest trends and best practices in leadership. This could include insights on empathetic leadership, fostering a positive company culture, and embracing diversity and inclusion.

Change management

How should managers and leadership teams address the challenges and opportunities associated with change within the organization? A change management presentation would provide strategies for how leaders can navigate transitions successfully, with the least amount of disruption to the team.

Strategic planning and decision-making

A strategic planning and decision making presentation will offer insights into the process of setting achievable goals and making informed decisions. Organizations might also use a strategic planning presentation to lead their own company brainstorming sessions at a leadership all-hands meeting. 

Team development and engagement

Team development and engagement is important for the overall success of the team. In this presentation you might share techniques for fostering a high-performing and engaged team, including methods for providing feedback, coaching, and creating a supportive work environment.

Communication skills

Communication skills can make or break a leader. A training session on effective communication in leadership roles could be beneficial for both managers and executives of all levels. Here you could offer practical tips for clear, transparent, and empowering communication.

Leading through uncertainty

Given the current business landscape and layoffs happening across various industries, leadership teams need to know how to handle hard situations. This presentation idea for leadership teams would discuss strategies for navigating uncertainty and ambiguity, including how to maintain resilience and inspire confidence in a team concerned about job security. 

Embracing innovation and creativity

It’s no secret that AI is here to stay, and teams are having to pivot to accommodate new technology. Use a thoughtful presentation to encourage leaders to embrace innovation and promote a culture of creativity within the organization. The slides in this deck could showcase the benefits of adopting innovative approaches and thinking outside the box.

Building high-performance teams

Leaders need the right tools and knowledge to be able to guide positive performance. Employers might offer a training “how-to” on best practices for assembling and nurturing high-performance teams. This deck should include strategies for fostering collaboration, trust, and accountability among teammates. 

Data-driven decision making

As a leader, leveraging data to make more informed decisions should be top of mind. This leadership presentation idea can highlight the importance of leveraging data and analytics in decision-making processes, and offer guidance on how to incorporate data-driven insights into leadership strategies. This could include ways to implement KPIs, OKRs, or other effective ways to track the performance of individual contributors and campaigns. 

Ethical leadership

A wildly important leadership topic is ethics. Upper management should be well-educated in ethical leadership, and how that impacts the success of the team. An ethical leadership presentation could include the significance of ethics, the impact it has on organizational culture, employee morale, and long-term success, and how to ensure it’s top of mind in each department on a daily basis.

Beautiful presentations to drive your message home

You have a presentation topic, now what? The hardest part of presentation design is going from idea to deck with little design skills to back you up. Thankfully, there's a presentation software for that. Insert: Beautiful.ai. Beautiful.ai helps leadership teams create beautiful presentations so they can pack a bigger punch with their message and inspire their audience. Presenters can use one of Beautiful.ai's customizable pre-built presentation templates — like the training presentation — or leverage our AI-assistant to create a presentation from scratch specific to their topic. By creating beautiful decks you can engage your audience, drive your message home, and leave your leadership team feeling inspired to make a difference.

Jordan Turner

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

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3 Group Presentation Pitfalls — and How to Avoid Them

• Allison Shapira

Strategies for a polished, unified final product.

Putting together an effective group presentation takes teamwork and coordination so it doesn’t look like a patchwork quilt. And yet, many of us never budget the time to fully prepare. The author outlines some of the common mistakes people make in group presentations and offers best practices to keep you on track. 

Many of us have experienced poor group presentations. If you’re giving one, it’s the last-minute scramble the night before to decide who is presenting which part of the presentation. If you’re observing one, it’s the chaos of hearing multiple people talking over one another or, even worse, simply reading their slides word-for-word and ignoring their audience. 

• Allison Shapira teaches “The Arts of Communication” at the Harvard Kennedy School and is the Founder/CEO of Global Public Speaking, a training firm that helps emerging and established leaders to speak clearly, concisely, and confidently. She is the author of the new book, Speak with Impact: How to Command the Room and Influence Others (HarperCollins Leadership).

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Complete Guide for Effective Presentations, with Examples

July 9, 2018 - Dom Barnard

During a presentation you aim to look confident, enthusiastic and natural. You’ll need more than good words and content to achieve this – your delivery plays a significant part. In this article, we discuss various techniques that can be used to deliver an effective presentation.

Effective presentations

Think about if you were in the audience, what would:

• Get you to focus and listen
• Make you understand
• Activate your imagination
• Persuade you

Providing the audience with interesting information is not enough to achieve these aims – you need to ensure that the way you present is stimulating and engaging. If it’s not, you’ll lose the audience’s interest and they’ll stop listening.

Tips for an Effective Presentation

Professional public speakers spend hours creating and practicing presentations. These are the delivery techniques they consider:

Keep it simple

You shouldn’t overwhelm your audience with information – ensure that you’re clear, concise and that you get to the point so they can understand your message.

Have a maximum of  three main points  and state them at the beginning, before you explain them in more depth, and then state them at the end so the audience will at least remember these points.

If some of your content doesn’t contribute to your key message then cut it out. Also avoid using too many statistics and technical terminology.

Connect with your audience

One of the greatest difficulties when delivering a presentation is connecting with the audience. If you don’t  connect with them  it will seem as though you’re talking to an empty room.

Trying to make contact with the audience makes them feel like they’re part of the presentation which encourages them to listen and it shows that you want to speak to them.

Eye contact and smile

Avoiding eye contact is uncomfortable because it make you look insecure. When you  maintain eye contact  the audience feels like you’re speaking to them personally. If this is something you struggle with, try looking at people’s foreheads as it gives the impression of making eye contact.

Try to cover all sections of the audience and don’t move on to the next person too quickly as you will look nervous.

Smiling also helps with rapport and it reduces your nerves because you’ll feel less like you’re talking to group of faceless people. Make sure you don’t turn the lights down too much before your presentation so you can all clearly see each other.

Body language

Be aware of your body language and use it to connect:

• Keep your arms uncrossed so your  body language is more open .
• Match your facial expressions with what you’re saying.
• Avoid fidgeting and displaying nervous habits, such as, rocking on your feet.
• You may need to glance at the computer slide or a visual aid but make sure you predominantly face the audience.
• Emphasise points by using hand gestures but use them sparingly – too little and they’ll awkwardly sit at your side, too much and you’ll be distracting and look nervous.
• Vary your gestures so you don’t look robotic.
• Maintain a straight posture.
• Be aware of  cultural differences .

Move around

Avoid standing behind the lectern or computer because you need to reduce the distance and barriers between yourself and the audience.  Use movement  to increase the audience’s interest and make it easier to follow your presentation.

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.

Watch 3 examples of good and bad movement while presenting

Example: Movement while presenting

Your movement at the front of the class and amongst the listeners can help with engagement. Think about which of these three speakers maintains the attention of their audience for longer, and what they are doing differently to each other.

Speak with the audience

You can conduct polls using your audience or ask questions to make them think and feel invested in your presentation. There are three different types of questions:

Direct questions require an answer: “What would you do in this situation?” These are mentally stimulating for the audience. You can pass a microphone around and let the audience come to your desired solution.

Rhetorical questions  do not require answers, they are often used to emphasises an idea or point: “Is the Pope catholic?

Loaded questions contain an unjustified assumption made to prompt the audience into providing a particular answer which you can then correct to support your point: You may ask “Why does your wonderful company have such a low incidence of mental health problems?” The audience will generally answer that they’re happy.

After receiving the answers you could then say “Actually it’s because people are still unwilling and too embarrassed to seek help for mental health issues at work etc.”

Be specific with your language

Make the audience feel as though you are speaking to each member individually by using “you” and “your.”

For example: asking “Do you want to lose weight without feeling hungry?” would be more effective than asking “Does anyone here want to lost weight without feeling hungry?” when delivering your presentation. You can also increase solidarity by using “we”, “us” etc – it makes the audience think “we’re in this together”.

Be flexible

Be prepared to adapt to the situation at the time, for example, if the audience seems bored you can omit details and go through the material faster, if they are confused then you will need to come up with more examples on the spot for clarification. This doesn’t mean that you weren’t prepared because you can’t predict everything.

Vocal variety

How you say something is just as is important as the content of your speech – arguably, more so.

For example, if an individual presented on a topic very enthusiastically the audience would probably enjoy this compared to someone who covered more points but mumbled into their notes.

• Adapt your voice  depending on what are you’re saying – if you want to highlight something then raise your voice or lower it for intensity. Communicate emotion by using your voice.
• Avoid speaking in monotone as you will look uninterested and the audience will lose interest.
• Take time to pronounce every word carefully.
• Raise your pitch when asking questions and lower it when you want to sound severe.
• Sound enthusiastic – the more you sound like you care about the topic, the more the audience will listen. Smiling and pace can help with this.
• Speak loudly and clearly – think about projecting your voice to the back of the room.
• Speak at a  pace that’s easy to follow . If you’re too fast or too slow it will be difficult for the audience to understand what you’re saying and it’s also frustrating. Subtly fasten the pace to show enthusiasm and slow down for emphasis, thoughtfulness or caution.

Prior to the presentation, ensure that you  prepare your vocal chords :

• You could read aloud a book that requires vocal variety, such as, a children’s book.
• Avoid dairy and eating or drinking anything too sugary beforehand as mucus can build-up leading to frequent throat clearing.
• Don’t drink anything too cold before you present as this can constrict your throat which affects vocal quality.
• Some people suggest a warm cup of tea beforehand to relax the throat.

Practice Presentation Skills

Improve your public speaking and presentation skills by practicing them in realistic environments, with automated feedback on performance. Learn More

Pause to breathe

When you’re anxious your breathing will become quick and shallow which will affect the control you have on your voice. This can consequently make you feel more nervous. You want to breathe steadily and deeply so before you start speaking take some deep breaths or implement controlled breathing.

Controlled breathing is a common technique that helps slow down your breathing to normal thus reducing your anxiety. If you think this may be useful practice with these steps:

• Sit down in an upright position as it easier for your lungs to fill with air
• Breathe in through your nose and into your abdomen for four seconds
• Hold this breathe for two seconds
• Breathe out through your nose for six seconds
• Wait a few seconds before inhaling and repeating the cycle

It takes practice to master this technique but once you get used to it you may want to implement it directly before your presentation.

Completely filling your lungs during a pause will ensure you reach a greater vocal range.

During the presentation delivery, if you notice that you’re speaking too quickly then pause and breathe. This won’t look strange – it will appear as though you’re giving thought to what you’re saying. You can also strategically plan some of your pauses, such as after questions and at the end of sections, because this will give you a chance to calm down and it will also give the audience an opportunity to think and reflect.

Pausing will also help you  avoid filler words , such as, “um” as well which can make you sound unsure.

• 10 Effective Ways to use Pauses in your Speech

Strong opening

The first five minutes are  vital to engage the audience  and get them listening to you. You could start with a story to highlight why your topic is significant.

For example, if the topic is on the benefits of pets on physical and psychological health, you could present a story or a study about an individual whose quality of life significantly improved after being given a dog. The audience is more likely to respond better to this and remember this story than a list of facts.

Example: Which presentation intro keeps you engaged?

Watch 5 different presentation introductions, from both virtual and in-person events. Notice how it can only take a few seconds to decide if you want to keep listening or switch off. For the good introductions, what about them keeps you engaged?

More experienced and confident public speakers use humour in their presentations. The audience will be incredibly engaged if you make them laugh but caution must be exercised when using humour because a joke can be misinterpreted and even offend the audience.

Only use jokes if you’re confident with this technique, it has been successful in the past and it’s suitable for the situation.

Stories and anecdotes

Use stories whenever you can and judge whether you can tell a story about yourself because the audience are even more interested in seeing the human side of you.

Consider telling a story about a mistake you made, for example, perhaps you froze up during an important presentation when you were 25, or maybe life wasn’t going well for you in the past – if relevant to your presentation’s aim. People will relate to this as we have all experienced mistakes and failures. The more the audience relates to you, the more likely they will remain engaged.

These stories can also be  told in a humorous way  if it makes you feel more comfortable and because you’re disclosing a personal story there is less chance of misinterpretation compared to telling a joke.

Anecdotes are especially valuable for your introduction and between different sections of the presentation because they engage the audience. Ensure that you plan the stories thoroughly beforehand and that they are not too long.

Focus on the audience’s needs

Even though your aim is to persuade the audience, they must also get something helpful from the presentation. Provide the audience with value by giving them useful information, tactics, tips etc. They’re more likely to warm to you and trust you if you’re sharing valuable information with them.

You could also highlight their pain point. For example, you might ask “Have you found it difficult to stick to a healthy diet?” The audience will now want to remain engaged because they want to know the solution and the opportunities that you’re offering.

Use visual aids

Visual aids are items of a visual manner, such as graphs, photographs, video clips etc used in addition to spoken information. Visual aids are chosen depending on their purpose, for example, you may want to:

• Summarise information.
• Reduce the amount of spoken words, for example, you may show a graph of your results rather than reading them out.
• Clarify and show examples.
• Create more of an impact. You must consider what type of impact you want to make beforehand – do you want the audience to be sad, happy, angry etc?
• Emphasise what you’re saying.
• Make a point memorable.
• Enhance your credibility.
• Engage the audience and maintain their interest.
• Make something easier for the audience to understand.

Some general tips for  using visual aids :

• Think about how can a visual aid can support your message. What do you want the audience to do?
• Ensure that your visual aid follows what you’re saying or this will confuse the audience.
• Avoid cluttering the image as it may look messy and unclear.
• Visual aids must be clear, concise and of a high quality.
• Keep the style consistent, such as, the same font, colours, positions etc
• Use graphs and charts to present data.
• The audience should not be trying to read and listen at the same time – use visual aids to highlight your points.
• One message per visual aid, for example, on a slide there should only be one key point.
• Use visual aids in moderation – they are additions meant to emphasise and support main points.
• Ensure that your presentation still works without your visual aids in case of technical problems.

10-20-30 slideshow rule

Slideshows are widely used for presentations because it’s easy to create attractive and professional presentations using them. 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.

If you want to give the audience more information you can provide them with partially completed handouts or give them the handouts after you’ve delivered the presentation.

Keep a drink nearby

Have something to drink when you’re on stage, preferably water at room temperature. This will help maintain your vocal quality and having a sip is a subtle way of introducing pauses.

Practice, practice, practice

If you are very familiar with the content of your presentation, your audience will perceive you as confident and you’ll be more persuasive.

• Don’t just read the presentation through – practice everything,  including your transitions  and using your visual aids.
• Stand up and speak it aloud, in an engaging manner, as though you were presenting to an audience.
• Ensure that you practice your body language and gesturing.
• Use VR to  practice in a realistic environment .
• Practice in front of others and get their feedback.
• Freely improvise so you’ll sound more natural on the day. Don’t learn your presentation verbatim because you will sound uninterested and if you lose focus then you may forget everything.
• Create cards to use as cues – one card should be used for one key idea. Write down brief notes or key words and ensure that the cards are physically connected so the order cannot be lost. Visual prompts can also be used as cues.

This video shows how you can practice presentations in virtual reality. See our  VR training courses .

Two courses where you can practice your presentations in interactive exercises:

• Essential Public Speaking
• How to Present over Video

Try these different presentation delivery methods to see which ones you prefer and which need to be improved. The most important factor is to feel comfortable during the presentation as the delivery is likely to be better.

Remember that the audience are generally on your side – they want you to do well so present with confidence.

Team Building Portal

The importance of good team presentations skills.

There are many jobs and specializations where the success of a team is partly dependent on the quality of their presentation. A part of the evaluation or assessment is influenced by how the presentation was made. An effective team will have to be good at presenting its ideas effectively in addition to formulating good strategies or solutions. It is important that the team’s recommendations are put across clearly no matter what kind of presentation they are taking part in. The success of a presentation hinges on how the audience perceives or recieves the presentation. Therefore a team should place as much importance on the quality of their presentations as they do on the quality of their other team functions.

Let’s consider an analogy here to understand this further:

John is a young athlete who is crazy about bikes. He lives and breathes bikes and owns many high-end contemporary models. He decided to extend his passion for bikes to his cell phone ring tone. He got himself a ring-back tone based on a recording of several high-powered bikes zooming past. Those who called him unfortunately did not get the intended effect. To them it sounded more like the buzzing of a lot of mosquitoes in their ears! After he received this feedback from friends, John still wanted to stick to the theme of bikes, so he changed the ring-back tone to that of a stationary bike revving up. The feedback from his friends was that it sounded like a mooing cow!

(A ring-back tone is the ringing sound that you hear when you dial a number. This tone can be customised by the cell phone owner)

Well, jokes apart, the significance of this story is simple: What the audience takes out from a presentation can have a significant bearing on the success or failure of the team, regardless of the presenter’s good intentions. It is therefore important to do dry runs and get the input from other team members before a presentation can be considered fully ready for a client.

The perceptions of the audience hinges on one or more of the following issues:

• Proper comprehension of the proposals
• Proper understanding of research findings, analysis and conclusions
• Grasp of the intellectual strength in the strategies
• Insights into the core business benefits inherent in the suggestions
• Originality and creativity in innovative approaches
• Credibility of the information and the feeling that the presenter knows his or her facts

The key to presenting anything involves being able to explain clearly, in simplified terms and highlighting relevant points that make a difference to business decisions. The manner in which the recommendations are presented can make or break a presentation. The professional standing of a team with a client or customer can be amplified if the team makes a good presentation and conversely get diminished if the team makes a bad presentation.

The presentation is the contact point or interface where all the work and effort put in by the team is finally on display. An effective team has to give the presentation due importance. The days and weeks that the team spent on strategizing and brainstorming will go to waste if the team is unable to put across its proposals in a convincing manner. The team therefore needs to pay close attention to their presentation skills. The person who front’s the team has to be carefully selected as someone who is confident and is able to clearly express the collective thoughts and ideas of the team.

Broadly a good presentation should have the following features:

• The presenter has to explain clearly
• The presenter has to be confident
• The presenter has to inspire and grab attention; boredom can set in otherwise and the audience will get fidgety
• The presenter has to convince the audience
• The presenter should be able to clarify doubts and concerns
• The presenter has to ensure complete comprehension. A tried and tested method is to first tell the audience what you are going to present to them by giving them an overview, then you can make your presentation and then finally recap everything you’ve just presented. That way you leave no room for ambiguity.
• Proper presentation aids have to be employed, go high tech if possible. The world today is all about high-tech solutions and multi-media. Using animation, audio, video footage and graphics, is more the norm rather than the exception

So the question is: “Does a team presentation depend solely on the one individual chosen to present it or is it a group activity?” Though a presentation may have one presenter from the team, the team has a few joint responsibilities:

• They have to anticipate the likely questions and decide in advance which team member will respond to each question. Everybody has to be alert and ready to offer answers to questions the presenter is unable to tackle
• Be clued up and fully informed; everybody on the team has to make it his or her business to totally understand what is being presented
• Carry documentation and relevant support reports to the presentation
• Be supportive and present a united front. There is nothing more disturbing for a client than a team that has disagreements and starts arguing with one another at the presentation.

Every team member has to be prepared for the presentation and willing to contribute to the discussion that is likely to unfold at the end. Here’s an interesting case where a poor presentation and poor preparation landed a team in a mess:

On one of the episodes of the TV show The Apprentice , (in Donald Trump’s USA version), the task involved designing youth garments with built in innovative ways to carry along high tech items like MP3 Players, Mobile phones and other gadgets. The task was for a new clothing line for a lifestyle retailer called American Eagle Outfitters. During the show one of the contestants, Tana, gave an impromptu interview (just talking and expressing her views to the camera as they usually do during the course of working on a task). In her opinion, the actual presentation to the client would contribute around 30% to the success of the team on that task. Read on to find out what actually happened…. (You will be surprised to find that she may have actually been right!):

Tana’s team did a great job on the task. They made the attempt to speak to youngsters and find out what their favourite high tech gadget was. They then designed the garments accordingly. At the presentation they were confident, and were able to answer questions asked by the company regarding the target audience preferences and more importantly they were able to sell their ideas. American Eagle representatives were all smiles at the end of the presentation which is always a positive indication!

But their rival team did not fare as well. They did not speak to potential customers and did not have their facts right, they turned up late for the meeting, forgot to bring one of the garments that they had designed and the final mistake was a poor presentation. The person who they chose as their presenter floundered and made an uninspiring presentation. She seemed to be out-of-sorts and froze up. They lost that task and the winning team (Tana’s team) walked away with a great prize. The contestant who was fired in that episode was the one who made the ineffective presentation.

To sum up, the team member who is chosen to front the team at a meeting has to have good presentation skills but this has to be blended with a high level of preparedness of all the team members including the key presenter. This applies to strategy presentations, sales meetings, business proposals or any kind of business presentation. A good presentation is more likely to impress a client and help a team walk away with a big piece of their business! If you want the thrill of team success, then the actual presentation needs careful planning and execution.

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