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Presentation Skills 101: A Guide to Presentation Success

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

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

Table of Contents

The Importance of Presentation Skills

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Archetypes of presentations

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Punctuality

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

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

Body Language

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tech Skills

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

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

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

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

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

Public Speaking Anxiety

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

Lack of Confidence

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

Content Organization

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

Audience Engagement

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

Technical Issues

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

Time Management

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

Handling Questions and Challenges

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

Visual Aids and Technology

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

Language and Articulation

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

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

Overcoming Impersonal Delivery

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

Cultural and Diversity Awareness

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

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

Tip #1: Build a narrative

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tip #3: Practice meditation daily

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

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

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

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

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

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Business Presentations, Presentation Approaches, Presentation Skills Filed under Education

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17 PowerPoint Presentation Tips From Pro Presenters [+ Templates]

Published: April 26, 2024

PowerPoint presentations can be professional, attractive, and really help your audience remember your message.

If you don’t have much experience, that’s okay — I’m going to arm you with PowerPoint design tips from pro presenters, the steps you need to build an engaging deck, and templates to help you nail great slide design.

Download Now

Buckle up for a variety of step-by-step explanations as well as tips and tricks to help you start mastering this program. There are additional resources woven in, and you’ll find expert perspectives from other HubSpotters along the way.

Table of Contents

How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation

Powerpoint presentation tips.

Microsoft PowerPoint is like a test of basic professional skills, and each PowerPoint is basically a presentation made of multiple slides.

Successful PowerPoints depend on three main factors: your command of PowerPoint's design tools, your attention to presentation processes, and being consistent with your style.

Keep those in mind as we jump into PowerPoint's capabilities.

Getting Started

1. open powerpoint and click ‘new.’.

A page with templates will usually open automatically, but if not, go to the top left pane of your screen and click New . If you’ve already created a presentation, select Open and then double-click the icon to open the existing file.

10 Free PowerPoint Templates

Download ten free PowerPoint templates for a better presentation.

• Creative templates.
• Data-driven templates.
• Professional templates.

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

Creating PowerPoint Slides

3. insert a slide..

Insert a new slide by clicking on the Home tab and then the New Slide button. Consider what content you want to put on the slide, including heading, text, and imagery.

• Finally, PowerPoint Live is a new tool that enables you to do more seamless presentations during video calls and may be a better overall match for doing presentations remotely. Check out this video:

11. Try Using GIFs.

12 Free Customizable Resume Templates

Fill out this form to access your free professionally-designed templates, available on:

• Microsoft Word
• Google Docs
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Google Slides

15. Embed multimedia.

PowerPoint allows you to either link to video/audio files externally or to embed the media directly in your presentation. For PCs, two great reasons for embedding are:

• Embedding allows you to play media directly in your presentation. It will look much more professional than switching between windows.
• Embedding also means that the file stays within the PowerPoint presentation, so it should play normally without extra work (except on a Mac).

If you use PowerPoint for Mac it gets a bit complicated, but it can be done:

• Always bring the video and/or audio file with you in the same folder as the PowerPoint presentation.
• Only insert video or audio files once the presentation and the containing folder have been saved on a portable drive in their permanent folder.
• If the presentation will be played on a Windows computer, then Mac users need to make sure their multimedia files are in WMV format.
• Consider using the same operating system for designing and presenting, no matter what.

16. Bring your own hardware.

Between operating systems, PowerPoint is still a bit jumpy. Even between differing PPT versions, things can change. The easiest fix? Just bring along your own laptop when you're presenting.

The next easiest fix is to upload your PowerPoint presentation into Google Slides as a backup option — just make sure there is a good internet connection and a browser available where you plan to present.

Google Slides is a cloud-based presentation software that will show up the same way on all operating systems.

To import your PowerPoint presentation into Google Slides:

• Navigate to slides.google.com . Make sure you’re signed in to a Google account (preferably your own).
• Under Start a new presentation , click the empty box with a plus sign. This will open up a blank presentation.
• Go to File , then Import slides .
• A dialog box will come up. Tap Upload.
• Click Select a file from your device .
• Select your presentation and click Open .
• Select the slides you’d like to import. If you want to import all of them, click All in the upper right-hand corner of the dialog box.
• Click Import slides.

When I tested this out, Google Slides imported everything perfectly, including a shape whose points I had manipulated. This is a good backup option to have if you’ll be presenting across different operating systems.

17. Use Presenter View.

In most presentation situations, there will be both a presenter’s screen and the main projected display for your presentation.

PowerPoint has a great tool called Presenter View, which can be found in the Slide Show tab of PowerPoint. Included in the Presenter View is an area for notes, a timer/clock, and a presentation display.

For many presenters, this tool can help unify their spoken presentation and their visual aid. You never want to make the PowerPoint seem like a stack of notes that you’re reading off of.

Use the Presenter View option to help create a more natural presentation.

Pro Tip: At the start of the presentation, you should also hit CTRL + H to make the cursor disappear. Hitting the “A” key will bring it back if you need it.

Your Next Great PowerPoint Presentation Starts Here

Now that you have these style, design, and presentation tips under your belt, you should feel confident to create your PowerPoint presentation.

But if you can explore other resources to make sure your content hits the mark. After all, you need a strong presentation to land your point and make an impression.

With several templates to choose from — both in PowerPoint and available for free download — you can swiftly be on your way to creating presentations that wow your audiences.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in September 2013 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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Ideas and insights from Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning

Powerful and Effective Presentation Skills: More in Demand Now Than Ever

When we talk with our L&D colleagues from around the globe, we often hear that presentation skills training is one of the top opportunities they’re looking to provide their learners. And this holds true whether their learners are individual contributors, people managers, or senior leaders. This is not surprising.

Effective communications skills are a powerful career activator, and most of us are called upon to communicate in some type of formal presentation mode at some point along the way.

For instance, you might be asked to brief management on market research results, walk your team through a new process, lay out the new budget, or explain a new product to a client or prospect. Or you may want to build support for a new idea, bring a new employee into the fold, or even just present your achievements to your manager during your performance review.

And now, with so many employees working from home or in hybrid mode, and business travel in decline, there’s a growing need to find new ways to make effective presentations when the audience may be fully virtual or a combination of in person and remote attendees.

Whether you’re making a standup presentation to a large live audience, or a sit-down one-on-one, whether you’re delivering your presentation face to face or virtually, solid presentation skills matter.

Even the most seasoned and accomplished presenters may need to fine-tune or update their skills. Expectations have changed over the last decade or so. Yesterday’s PowerPoint which primarily relied on bulleted points, broken up by the occasional clip-art image, won’t cut it with today’s audience.

The digital revolution has revolutionized the way people want to receive information. People expect presentations that are more visually interesting. They expect to see data, metrics that support assertions. And now, with so many previously in-person meetings occurring virtually, there’s an entirely new level of technical preparedness required.

The leadership development tools and the individual learning opportunities you’re providing should include presentation skills training that covers both the evergreen fundamentals and the up-to-date capabilities that can make or break a presentation.

So, just what should be included in solid presentation skills training? Here’s what I think.

The fundamentals will always apply When it comes to making a powerful and effective presentation, the fundamentals will always apply. You need to understand your objective. Is it strictly to convey information, so that your audience’s knowledge is increased? Is it to persuade your audience to take some action? Is it to convince people to support your idea? Once you understand what your objective is, you need to define your central message. There may be a lot of things you want to share with your audience during your presentation, but find – and stick with – the core, the most important point you want them to walk away with. And make sure that your message is clear and compelling.

You also need to tailor your presentation to your audience. Who are they and what might they be expecting? Say you’re giving a product pitch to a client. A technical team may be interested in a lot of nitty-gritty product detail. The business side will no doubt be more interested in what returns they can expect on their investment.

Another consideration is the setting: is this a formal presentation to a large audience with questions reserved for the end, or a presentation in a smaller setting where there’s the possibility for conversation throughout? Is your presentation virtual or in-person? To be delivered individually or as a group? What time of the day will you be speaking? Will there be others speaking before you and might that impact how your message will be received?

Once these fundamentals are established, you’re in building mode. What are the specific points you want to share that will help you best meet your objective and get across your core message? Now figure out how to convey those points in the clearest, most straightforward, and succinct way. This doesn’t mean that your presentation has to be a series of clipped bullet points. No one wants to sit through a presentation in which the presenter reads through what’s on the slide. You can get your points across using stories, fact, diagrams, videos, props, and other types of media.

Visual design matters While you don’t want to clutter up your presentation with too many visual elements that don’t serve your objective and can be distracting, using a variety of visual formats to convey your core message will make your presentation more memorable than slides filled with text. A couple of tips: avoid images that are cliched and overdone. Be careful not to mix up too many different types of images. If you’re using photos, stick with photos. If you’re using drawn images, keep the style consistent. When data are presented, stay consistent with colors and fonts from one type of chart to the next. Keep things clear and simple, using data to support key points without overwhelming your audience with too much information. And don’t assume that your audience is composed of statisticians (unless, of course, it is).

When presenting qualitative data, brief videos provide a way to engage your audience and create emotional connection and impact. Word clouds are another way to get qualitative data across.

Practice makes perfect You’ve pulled together a perfect presentation. But it likely won’t be perfect unless it’s well delivered. So don’t forget to practice your presentation ahead of time. Pro tip: record yourself as you practice out loud. This will force you to think through what you’re going to say for each element of your presentation. And watching your recording will help you identify your mistakes—such as fidgeting, using too many fillers (such as “umm,” or “like”), or speaking too fast.

A key element of your preparation should involve anticipating any technical difficulties. If you’ve embedded videos, make sure they work. If you’re presenting virtually, make sure that the lighting is good, and that your speaker and camera are working. Whether presenting in person or virtually, get there early enough to work out any technical glitches before your presentation is scheduled to begin. Few things are a bigger audience turn-off than sitting there watching the presenter struggle with the delivery mechanisms!

Finally, be kind to yourself. Despite thorough preparation and practice, sometimes, things go wrong, and you need to recover in the moment, adapt, and carry on. It’s unlikely that you’ll have caused any lasting damage and the important thing is to learn from your experience, so your next presentation is stronger.

How are you providing presentation skills training for your learners?

Manika Gandhi is Senior Learning Design Manager at Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning. Email her at [email protected] .

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How to make a great presentation

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How to speak so that people want to listen

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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 Killer Presentation

• Chris Anderson

For more than 30 years, the TED conference series has presented enlightening talks that people enjoy watching. In this article, Anderson, TED’s curator, shares five keys to great presentations:

• Frame your story (figure out where to start and where to end).
• Plan your delivery (decide whether to memorize your speech word for word or develop bullet points and then rehearse it—over and over).
• Work on stage presence (but remember that your story matters more than how you stand or whether you’re visibly nervous).
• Plan the multimedia (whatever you do, don’t read from PowerPoint slides).
• Put it together (play to your strengths and be authentic).

According to Anderson, presentations rise or fall on the quality of the idea, the narrative, and the passion of the speaker. It’s about substance—not style. In fact, it’s fairly easy to “coach out” the problems in a talk, but there’s no way to “coach in” the basic story—the presenter has to have the raw material. So if your thinking is not there yet, he advises, decline that invitation to speak. Instead, keep working until you have an idea that’s worth sharing.

Lessons from TED

A little more than a year ago, on a trip to Nairobi, Kenya, some colleagues and I met a 12-year-old Masai boy named Richard Turere, who told us a fascinating story. His family raises livestock on the edge of a vast national park, and one of the biggest challenges is protecting the animals from lions—especially at night. Richard had noticed that placing lamps in a field didn’t deter lion attacks, but when he walked the field with a torch, the lions stayed away. From a young age, he’d been interested in electronics, teaching himself by, for example, taking apart his parents’ radio. He used that experience to devise a system of lights that would turn on and off in sequence—using solar panels, a car battery, and a motorcycle indicator box—and thereby create a sense of movement that he hoped would scare off the lions. He installed the lights, and the lions stopped attacking. Soon villages elsewhere in Kenya began installing Richard’s “lion lights.”

• CA Chris Anderson is the curator of TED.

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10 minute read

Top 12 PowerPoint Tips and Hacks for Flawless Presentations

Saikat Basu

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We’ve all seen our fair share of bad PowerPoint presentations . We can all agree that for a PowerPoint presentation to impress, it needs time and attention to detail.

So how can you ramp up your PowerPoint productivity in the shortest time possible?

That’s where we come in. For starters, follow our proven PowerPoint tips and tricks for business presentations , which are sure to make an impact.

Step up your PowerPoint game

Download our print-ready shortcut cheatsheet for PowerPoint.

1. Keep it simple

Keep your slides simple. It’s the visual backdrop to what you are going to say.

The most recommended PowerPoint tip for your productivity is called simplicity . You may be tempted by the graphical razzmatazz of beautiful images, background, and charts. At the end of the day, PowerPoint is a background visual aid for your talk. It is not the talk.

PowerPoint has lots of bells and whistles. But you don’t have to use them all. For instance, your content may not need the much-maligned bullet points - you can just use one key point per slide instead.

That’s why…

2. Reduce the text

Less is more when it is about the text on your slides.

The average reading speed on a screen is around 100 - 150 words per minute. Too much information on the slide is a distraction and an inattentive audience will lose the message you are trying to convey.

Don’t give them too much to read. Use high-quality pictures and eye-catching graphics instead.

To make information digestible, expert slide designers recommend you write one key idea per slide that is summarized by a clear headline.

Tip: Exploit white space. Create more space between your text, paragraphs, and graphics on your slide.

3. Plan your content first

Think about the message you want to convey and use it to write an outline.

As PowerPoint is such a visual medium, it is easy to get sidetracked with the visuals. So it’s important to chalk out what you want to say and in what order even before you open PowerPoint.

Your slides will come together quickly with the help of PowerPoint design options and you can even choose the right templates if you know your stuff inside out. 

Tip: Use brainstorming tools like mind maps, flowcharts, and even storyboards to sketch your content flow.

4. Use PowerPoint Designer for ideas

PowerPoint makes an intelligent guess by looking at the words on your slide and suggests high-quality artwork to complement it. You can pick one of the creative layouts or go back to your own design.

Tip: PowerPoint Designer can also turn lists, processes, or timelines into beautiful graphics too.

5. Use PowerPoint templates

Start with a template to break through any creative blocks.

PowerPoint templates are meant to be the starter plugs when inspiration deserts you or you are design-challenged. PowerPoint ships with a set of readymade templates and there are more available online. Pick one to begin.

Tip: Manpreet Kaur, the head of Corporate Communications at Mercer also suggests you use templates for mining ideas for your own presentation.

Whenever you receive any PowerPoint presentation from any of your clients, business partners, or sellers, make it a point to add them to any folder as a stock for templates for future reference. You can leverage these templates to find inspiration for any icon idea, layout, idea presentation, and number representation on the slides.

6. Edit the Slide Master

To open the Slide Master view, go to the View tab on the Ribbon and select Slide Master .

The first slide on the top is the Slide Master. Any changes to the Slide Master will be applied to all the slides in the presentation.

The Slide Master view also shows all the slide layouts used in PowerPoint. You can also use these Layout Master slides to control the appearance of any group of slides that share a common layout.

Tip: Make changes to the Slide Master before you start filling a presentation with the content.

7. Use PowerPoint Shapes for visuals

PowerPoint Shapes is the most powerful graphical tool in your control.

The multifaceted Shapes feature on the Ribbon gives you infinite ways to use PowerPoint like an illustration program. Look beyond the commonplace rectangle, oval, and rounded rectangle patterns.

Every shape is editable. You can customize any PowerPoint shape and create your own custom designs. They can be formatted with colors, 3-D effects and shadows too.

Tip: Most default shapes are overused. So, you can use your own custom shapes to add interest to a key point or a slide. For instance, you can turn a chevron into a more interesting arrow to illustrate the flow of a process.

8. Choose the right fonts

Choose the right fonts that are modern and pleasing.

It’s well established that fonts have a cognitive impact on how your audience will take in the information.

Sans-serif fonts are preferred for their smooth typefaces. But your typography choices will be influenced by the theme of the content. An artsy presentation can be more liberal with fonts that are decorative.

Also, to create contrast, you can use a technique called font-pairing where two complementary fonts are combined. For instance, use a serif font for titles and pair it with a sans-serif font in the body.

Tip: Want a free font library? Head over to Google Fonts and the collection of 916 free licensed fonts.

9. Use visual metaphors for your data

Visuals help everyone get the context behind data at a faster rate.

Business executives are used to spreadsheets . But that doesn’t mean they will like it in a presentation. Arresting illustrations are far better than bullet points and shoddy SmartArt.

We have talked about shapes and using high-quality photos before. But what if you have to analyze dry data?

Use visual metaphors or analogies to bring out the scale and relationships in the data. Executives can look up numbers, but the right use of an analogy can bring out the context behind it.

For instance, the evolution of man can be used to show the growth of a startup over time.

Tip: When stuck for ideas take inspiration from the best infographics on Slideshare and Pinterest. Infographics are designed to pack a lot of information in a small space.

10. Customize your slides for different audiences

Save yourself a lot of time by reusing your slides for different audiences.

This somewhat lesser-known PowerPoint tip uses a feature called Custom Slideshow to filter what you want your audience to see. Maybe, you want to hide some sensitive information for a lower level of executives while revealing it to those higher up. You do not have to create different slideshows for these two groups.

Create a custom show in five steps.

• On the Ribbon, go to Slide Show > Custom Slide Show , and then select Custom Shows .
• Click the New button in the Custom Shows dialog box. 
• In the Define Custom Show box , choose the slides that you want to include in the custom show, and then hit Add .
• You can change the order of the slides with the arrow keys.
• Type a name in the slideshow name box, and then click OK .

  Tip: You can also create hyperlinked custom shows that you can jump to from your primary PowerPoint show.

11. Rehearse Your Presentation

Prepare your presentation according to the time allotted.

No PowerPoint tip is useful if you cannot fit the number of slides and the time you take to present them in the schedule. PowerPoint helps you rehearse your presentation before you do it. With the Rehearse Timing feature, you can tweak your delivery according to the time on hand.

A helpful Microsoft Support video walks you through the process.

Tip: Use the timer to check if you're spending too much or too little time on one particular slide. Maybe, explaining the data in a better way can shorten the time.

12. Make your PowerPoint presentations accessible

Go to File > Info > Check for Issues > Check Accessibility

Sharon Rosenblatt, Director of Communications at Accessibility Partners stresses the importance of making presentations more inclusive.

Always use the accessibility checker, and not just if your slideshow is being shared with someone you know has a disability, but you never know where files get sent to.

PowerPoint is all about visuals so it’s more important to finetune the little things that can help make the message easily understood by people who have accessibility challenges.

Tip: Microsoft details the best practices for making all PowerPoint presentations accessible .

The bottom line: Get to the point fast

When you are presenting to busy people, you have to cut the clutter but not lose the message. A successful presentation is about brevity and speed.

A business presentation is also a decision-making tool. So make sure you are presenting the information your audience wants to know. And nothing more.

Yes, they do take some work. But with the help of these PowerPoint tips and tricks, you can start and finish any presentation without losing your sleep.

Want more PowerPoint tips? Then check out these other PowerPoint features that will level up your presentations. Or try taking GoSkills top-rated PowerPoint certification course .

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Saikat is a writer who hunts for the latest tricks in Microsoft Office and web apps. He doesn't want to get off the learning curve, so a camera and a harmonica claim an equal share of his free time.

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Presentation Skills: 50 Tips & Examples to Improve Yours

If you’re looking for practical strategies that you can use on your presentation today, then you’ll love this article.

Inside, you’ll get access to:

– A presentation skills “checklist” infographic – A complete guide breaking down proven strategies, word-for-word formulas, expert tips and examples to help you dramatically improve your presentation skills

But first, I’d like to start with a very quick, 3-point introduction.

(Hint: when you finish reading it, you’ll know why presentation skills are crucial to your success).

There are three tiny things you need to know about presentation skills before we jump into strategies and tactics:

1) What are presentation skills?

Presentation skills are your ability one to deliver presentations that educate, engage, or entertain your audience.

2) Why we give presentations

According to the california state university employee development center , we usually of give presentations to:, inform persuade educate, for instance:, inform -> “abc engineering: q4 sales results” persuade -> “xyz marketing: how we help you x3 your conversions” educate -> “10 advanced seo techniques from the pros”, 3) why bad presentation skills have hidden costs, it’s because they’re the difference between getting what you want (educating people, persuading them to do something, closing a deal, etc)…., …or nothing at all., let me give you an example: a prospective client, let’s call him joe, schedules a meeting with your company because he’s looking for an agency that will handle his yearly event activities., the current supplier isn’t up to par so joe wants to find a new company to make events that help him look good and bring more traffic to his store., joe has an annual budget of  $100,000 dollars (not bad, eh). you get in the meeting room. you make your presentation., “we are a professional team of event experts”., it’s about you, your history, services, clients you used to work with, and some case studies., joe is feeling a bit bored because you’re not actually showing him what you can do to help him design better events.  you’re not tying your services to specific benefits he’s looking for (like increasing his customer footfall by 20% within 3 months)., basically , your pitch is bad., wanna know what happens next, joe is going to meet with other event agencies that know how to sell themselves and communicate on the value they’re bringing to the table., he’ll chose the best one., the one that solves his problems., the one that is best positioned to help him get what he wants ., and it won’t be you., he’ll be thinking “if that guy can’t put a solid pitch together, he won’t be able to handle my events in a way that satisfies me”., you lost 100,000 bucks., the lesson here, good presentation skills are the difference between getting what you want, or nothing at all., 50 proven ways to dramatically improve your presentation skills, click here to enlarge, lay out the foundations, 1. anticipate. seriously., [tweet “if your presentation is important to you, then act like it is.”], when i asked ed from clear preso what was his #1 advice for improving presentation skills, here’s what he said:, “do not leave it till the last minute to craft your message. do not create the sides the night before the presentation or go out there without having rehearsed. if the presentation matters to you, then put in some serious time and effort, or don’t bother at all”., ed fidgeon-kavanagh, chief presentationist at  clear preso, 2. be audience-centered (hfd), “when people encounter you, they ask themselves four questions that determine your likeability or “l-factor”. first, they seek friendliness. then, they ask themselves if you are relevant to them. next, they ponder whether you have empathy for them. finally, they ask themselves if you are ‘real’ — that is, authentic and honest”., tim sanders ,  sales & leadership keynote speaker, author of the likeability factor, if you want your audience to like you, learn as much as you can about them, specifically:, where are they from what’s their age range what do you have in common have they had any bad news recently what do they fear what do they want (aka what are their key motivators), bottom line : be precise, not random. find out the h opes, f ears and d reams (hfd) of your audience and plan to communicate with that unique group only, no other., how to identify your audience’s hopes, fears and dreams, 3 proven strategies to identify what your customers want, additional ways to learn more about your audience:, quora (check out questions + best answers related to your topic) amazon (read reviews about products/services/topics related to yours) udemy (see what people are saying about courses related to your topic) google  (instant results and related searches to identify what people are looking for), 3. define your goal, [tweet “if you can’t explain in one sentence what the goal of your presentation is, you don’t have one.”], “if you want results, you need to start by setting goals. when your goals are set, you need to find out how to best achieve them”., michael aagaard,  via content verve, crucial, especially when trying to build effective presentations that convey a powerful message., here’s an example:, if you’re trying to build a relationship with a prospective client (to be able to sell your products), your goal isn’t to make a creative presentation. your goal is to show your client you + your products are perfectly positioned to solve their problems., answer this question:, why are you making this presentation (aka why do you wanna talk to them)., get an order of $10,000 today build a relationship with them (so two years from now they wanna purchase from you), bottom line :  have one goal.  set your smart goals before you write a single word., 4. identify your audience’s motivation level, the way we’re going to think about your audience today is rooted in this guy named b.j. fogg who famously came up with the behavior model :, let me simplify that for you:, for a person to perform a target behavior (aka help you reach your goal) he must be sufficiently motivated and have the ability to perform the behavior., which is why you really need to understand  what stage of the buying cycle your audience members are in ., answer these questions:, has your audience heard of your company/product before are they intending to make a purchase do they have all of the information they need to make an informed decision what fears / anxieties could be holding them back, bottom line : knowing the context helps you to determine your choice of words and level of information, but also to structure your delivery and motivate your audience., map out a crystal-clear message, 5. build your core message, [tweet “you can have the best product but if you can’t communicate well about it, you have nothing. “], your core message is the #1 thing you wanna your audience to remember., the most critical one. the one they can’t miss. if they remember one thing, they’ll remember you., use this formula to build your core message:, action verb + who + what, show these shanghai-based consultants how my company can help them get more leads . motivate my directory board to increase the marketing budget . convince the prospect to sign that contract today ., bottom line : you core message must be articulated around a) helping you reach your goal and b) giving your audience what they want., 6. craft your elevator speech, [tweet “your elevator speech answers this question: why should i listen to you “], effective elevator speeches include:, benefits the word you are geared toward solving your audience’s problems, use these elevator pitch builder formulas:, today, i am going to teach you about [ result they care about ], today, you will get / discover  [ outcome ], if you agree to meet with us, you will [ result they care about ], if you read that presentation, you will [ result they care about ], today, you will discover the 5 strategies we’re using to triple our conversions . today, i am going to teach you  the 3-step process i used to double my website traffic in 2 months . if you agree to meet with us, you will learn how to launch events that increase footfall and instantly separate you from the competition ., bottom line :  your elevator speech must be angled toward helping your audience do do/get/discover something that benefits to them., 7. break down your core message in small bits, answer these questions:, what are the top 5 big reasons that will motivate my audience members to do what i want what messages will drive them toward my goal, if you don’t know, ask your actual customers why they’ve decided to work with you (aka what they like about you)., 8. backup everything with data (supportive points), [tweet ““in god we trust, all others must bring data.””], if you want people to trust you, make sure to provide research, data-rich points that prove what you’re saying (aka case studies, statistics, testimonials, money-back guarantees…), don’t say: we’ve helped companies increase their sales. say: we’ve has helped bryan from abc marketing to increase their sales by 34% in two months., rule of thumb : opinions are bullshit. do research .  n o opinions unchecked. , build a powerful structure, 9. treat your presentation as if it were a movie, [tweet “treat your presentation as a movie: set up a conflict that needs to be resolved.”], when asked what she thinks a great presentation advice is, graphic designer  elly whiley  had this to say…, “treat your presentation as if it were a movie., have a solid introduction that will intrigue your audience, a climatic middle where you raise problems and/or questions and finally a powerful conclusion where you answer and resolve everything raised and leave the audience with something to think about.”, elly whiley ( via canva ), the most effective presenters use the same techniques as great storytellers again and again. they remind people of the status quo (i.e. your audience’s pain points)… and then reveal the path to a better way., let’s illustrate this with one of my favorite example:.

10. Use PRD and PCR frames to tell stories

[tweet “”a story is a series of actions that overcome obstacles in order to achieve a goal””], let’s take a quick look at how the harvard business review editor bronwyn fryer describes what a story is :, “essentially, a story expresses how and why life changes., it begins with a situation in which life is relatively in balance : you come to work day after day, week after week, and everything’s fine. you expect it will go on that way., but then there’s an event —in screenwriting, we call it the “inciting incident”—that throws life out of balance . you get a new job, or the boss dies of a heart attack, or a big customer threatens to leave., the story goes on to describe how, in an effort to restore balance, the protagonist’s subjective expectations crash into an uncooperative objective reality”., story : balance + something happens (that throws life out of balance) + how to restore balance, the prd frame, p roblem : the current situation for your audience. do you suffer from/sick of being… r elief : it can change . it doesn’t have to be that way/there’s a solution… d ream : your solution. imagine if you could…how your life would be if you could…, the  pcr frame, p rotagonist : climate change / small farmers providing food to restaurants c onflict : how climate change affects the growing season” r esolution :  policies that are or should be in place or discussion about how people in other regions are mitigating the effects of climate change on local resources.  source ., tweet these story frame techniques –, 11. each slide has one message, idea, goal, one slide = one idea, one message, one core point, when asked what was his # 1 advice to build effective presentations skills, haiku deck co-founder adam tratt had this to say:, “the first is focus on one idea at a time. we do this by limiting the number of words you can put on a slide., less is more. remember, your audience can either listen to you, or ready your slide. avoid loading up your presentations with too many words”., adam tratt . co-founder at h aiku deck ., to help you be laser-focused on  your message,  use this formula every time you’re building a slide:, the purpose of this slide is to [ fill the blank ], for example: the purpose of this slide is to [ show that our sales grew by 16% this year ] the purpose of this slide is to [ demonstrate that our app features are the best in the market ], craft your irresistible content , here are 4 ways to craft attention-grabbing headlines that’ll motivate your audience to keep reading., [tweet “5 times as many people read advertising headlines than copy.”], if advertisers haven’t done some selling in their headlines, they’ve wasted 80% of their clients’ money. david ogilvy ., headlines have two purposes:  grab your audience’s attention + motivate them keep them reading., powerful headlines have four qualities:, 1) self-interest (focused on your audience) 2) news (teach them something) 3) curiosity (get them want to know more) 4) ultra-specific (aka use figures), 12. craft powerful headlines using the “brain dump” method, you’re gonna make a couple of subject lines and start filling them in.  for instance, your slide is about the weight-loss problem., let’s start writing:, subject 1: how to write lose weight  (sucky) subject 2: how to write lose weight effectively  (meh)  subject 3:  5 best-ever weight-loss secrets from thin people   (good) subject 4:  3 things experts won’t tell you about weight-loss   (catchy), bottom line : practice, practice, practice. write as many subject lines as needed. review them later, pick the best one (ask friends or colleagues if you’re unsure)., 13. steal your headlines from amazon, for example, let’s say i want to figure out some good headlines for copywriting services i have., the first step is to slap the term “copywriting” into amazon and see what comes up:, browse through the best ranked book titles., book title: “copywriting: a beginner’s blueprint. how to write amazing copy that compels readers to take action without selling your soul.”, headlines we can make out of this book title:, learn how to write amazing copy that compels readers to take action, right now., you don’t have to sell your soul to write amazing copy that sells, tweet this headline building tip –, 14.use these 7 attention-grabbing headline starters, new now here’s announcing presenting introducing look , source:  ca$hvertising, for example:, our powerful new seminar teaches marketers the power of persuasion to drive people into a buying frenzy now you can stop worrying about your traffic announcing the hottest new lobster roll from cali presenting the easiest way to engage your customers here’s why our digital marketing services are a great fit for you look it’s that easy, tweet these proven headline starters –, 15. use “lenses” to write headlines, copywriter neville medhora came up with the concept of lenses to write headlines that appeal to a specific audience.  lenses work especially well for sales presentations . there are three types of “lenses” you can instantly apply to your headlines:, “competitive” lens : “dominate the search results, and leave page 2 of google for your competitors”., “benefit driven” lens:  “80% faster than any other internet provider”., “inspirational” lens:  “what if you could learn the exact system to rank a website that generates traffic, sales & customers 24/7”, check out neville’s video to dig deeper into the lenses concept:.

Resources for your headlines:

Portent  (headline generator) title generator (headline generator) internet marketing course (headline generator) over 139 formulas, from +30 different online author  (aka joanna wiebe’s supreme guide to writing amazing headlines fast), 16. avoid the me-too syndrome (here’s how), [tweet “nobody cares about you, people care about what you can do for them.”], the problem with 80% of business presentations and sales pitches, let’s take a look at this really bad example:, can you spot what’s wrong with this spam email, well, i’ll tell you:, the me-too syndrome aka the number of time it’s about them vs. the number of time it’s about me., here’s the breakdown:, them (aka “i”; “us”, “our”): 15, me (aka “you”): 11, me-too score: 58% (15/26), to avoid the me-too syndrome, make sure me-too score is under 50%, but more importantly… don’t talk about you, talk about what you can do for them., how will you improve their business how will you educate them on a specific topic they’re interested in how will your skills/services/products will make their life better, don’t be like that dumb chris who says:, if you’re interested in hearing what we can do for you…, instead, say this:, we have closely analyzed your website and based on this, we believe there are two challenges you’re looking at:the first is x, the second is y. we’ve done a lot of work on x and y. in fact, we’ve already helped abc firm to grow their traffic by 200% the last 6 months. we’d love to help you do the same., 17. be ultra-specific, if i asked you right now, “what makes your company different”, what would you say 90% of us would something like this: “we provide premium services” or “we’re a great team of professional people”. yeah, i like to breathe oxygen too., be specific., don’t say:, how to improve your finance quickly and claim back your freedom., 18. apply the svo principle, sentences that have a subject-verb-object order are more readable than those that don’t. source ., the technique was recommended by the american concrete institute., the american concrete institute recommends the technique., 19. write to a friend, [tweet “write for the ear, not the eye. old adage.”], there’s nothing worse than getting junk content from another  me-too company that rambles on and on about how amazing they are., but on the other hand, when you read something that’s written to you – like a personal note – you’ll devour every word. because you’ll want to know what’s in it for you., bottom line : act as your audience members are your best friends (think, how would i write to name of friend)., 20. use questions, rhetorical — interesting, aren’t they, 21. hit specific emotions, you know which emotions you want them to feel at every paragraph (anger, curiosity, relief, happiness)., learn how to identify the emotions you want to evoke + find out the perfect matching words., 22. do not overwhelm them, keep it simple., [tweet “79% of people scan read, rather than read every single word.”], no, your audience doesn’t need to know everything. prioritize and focus truly brings value to them aka here’s what we really do that’s gonna make a meaningful impact on your life / business / sexuality / happiness., bottom line : every word must earn its place on the slide, seriously., 23. do the chimpanzee brain test, read out loud every single sentence in your deck and ask yourself:, is it easy to understand or not, if the answer is no, shorten the phrase or break it down in smaller pieces., bottom line : you don’t need complex words or perfect grammar. don’t make them think and express only one though in a sentence. use your next sentence to say the next thing., 24. apply the 6×7 rule, “remember, your audience can either listen to you, or read your slides. avoid loading up your presentations with too many words”., adam tratt. co-founder at haiku deck ., your audience should be listening to you, and not reading slides. plus, you should be looking at them while speaking (not reading slides)., no more than 6 lines per slide no more than 7 words per line source, design your stunning presentation, 25. customize your deck size, learn how (and why) to do that here ., 26. prepare your opening slides, here’s the deal, your opening slides have two targets:, assure your audience they’re in the right place (aka your core topic), remind them what they’re going to hear (which is gonna hook them because they want to get the answer), left side cover shows you the result you’ll get by reading the deck: learn 100 marketing growth hacks right side cover shows you the result you’ll get by reading the deck: learn facts about the spine you probably didn’t know, how to create a brilliant cover slide in 5 minutes, 27. each content slide has 3-4 elements, image source, headline to grab the attention, sub-headlines give you more information and further, illustration : to get your attention and to illustrate the point more fullyspee, copy : to convey the main selling message of the slide, download your free, professional-looking template here, 28. use visuals, many folks out there urge you to use visuals, few tell you why you should., so here’s why:, we process visuals 60,000 times faster than text., 40% of learners respond better to visual information than text alone., people who use visual aids are 43% more persuasive than those who don’t ., here’s my go-to-list of breathtaking, free-to-use photography resources:, gratisography  (crisp, fun, humorous visuals) death to the stock photo  (as the first one) startup stock photos  (genuine looking pics) pexels (lots of themes, beautiful photo) unsplash  (stunning nature related visuals) little visuals  (as unsplash) pic jumbo  (urban-related pictures), learn how to design  attention-grabbing cover slide  here., 29. build a powerful color theme, [tweet “color accounts for 85% of the reason why someone decides to purchase a product.”], so, what’s the bottom line, color sell products. make sure the colors you chose are:, strongly associated with your organization (color increases brand recognition by up to 80%), aligned with your audience’s characteristics. find out how to align your colors with your consumer’s backgrounds here , page 6 and 7., complementary: colors opposite each other on the color wheel., create your winning color themes:, colorcode colour lovers adobe kuler  ♥ the basics of color theory (fun, interactive article), 30. use icons, this post shows you how to integrate icons in your presentation slides. here are great icon resources:, flaticon freepik  ♥ icon finder the noun project, 31. steal like an artist, you don’t have to start building a presentation from scratch., instead, do what i’m doing:, create a folder on your desktop and title it “swipe file.” anytime you see a beautiful design or great copy, just add it to your swipe file.  set up individual folders or labels (e.g. “great cover slides”, “headlines”, etc). pretty soon, you’ll have a repository of inspiration that you can tap into when you are working on your own presentations., here’s how my personal swipe file looks like:, amazing sources of design inspiration:, dribbble graphic river note & point slideshare  ♥ the 3-step process to hack slide design, 32. choose the right typography, people are more likely to engage in a given behavior the less effort it requires ( source ), helvetica is apple’s office font. amazing, isn’t it,  for free and creative font options, check out:, the 10 most popular typefaces used by the top 100 u.s newspapers the top 10 fonts web designers love (free and paid) dafont font squirrel  ♥ fonts2u fonts fabric, 33. use the crap principle, there are not a hundred but one principle of design that i want you to get under your belt., the crap principle: contrast, repetition, alignment, proximity., contrast is all about making things stand out. it can be achieved using three major tactics:  manipulation of space (near / far, empty / filled), color choices (dark vs. light / cool vs. warm) and text (typography style / bold vs. narrow)., repetition , for instance making a headline and a sub-message the same color, makes scanning your deck much easier. repetition helps you create a cohesive look to your presentation., alignment . newspapers use this to great effect. aligning a whole bunch of elements with one another makes them scan faster. alignment makes things easier to read., proximity means that things are associated with one another. let me explain that for you: the closer things are, the more they are associated the farther they are away from one another, the less they are associated., 34. make closing slides, repeat your agenda aka your deck’s plan to remind the audience of what they just got. in the final slide confirms that the presentation is over., thank you contact information, “according to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. number two is death. death is number two. does that sound right” jerry seinfeld, deliver like a boss, [tweet “you only have 7 seconds to make a great first impression”], it takes only seven seconds for us to judge another person when we first meet them , says linda blair, clinical psychologist. which leads us to the following question:, what is the best way to start a presentation and make a killer opener, well, to succeed, three things must happen:, 1) get them to pay attention to you 2) answer the why should i listen to you question 3) give them a hint about the direction of your speech, here are 4 ways to craft a killer opener that’ll grab your audience’s attention (and improve your presentation and public speaking skills), 35. begin with a story, [tweet “your audience recalls only 10 to 30% of what they hear.”], “two years ago, my life changed forever. my wife kalcy and i welcomed our daughter leila to the world.”, the first 20 hours — how to learn anything | josh kaufman | tedxcsu, 36. make a provocative statement, “hey are you excited to be here are you ready to learn some stuff are you ready to get humped up and get excited, motivated if that’s you…you came to the wrong place because we’re not doing any of that today. we’re gonna learn actual stuff, usable, in the real word. and you’re gonna come away from here with things you can use, make money with”. oren klaff, you might want another example, am i right, check out will stephen’s amazingly provocative tedx intro:, x how to sound smart in your tedx talk | will stephen | tedxnewyork, “hear that that’s nothing which is what i, as a speaker at today’s conference, have for you all: i have nothing nada zip nothing smart nothing inspirational i have absolutely nothing to say whatsoever.”, like this presentation opener tip click here  to tweet it –, 37. use statistics/quotes in your opener, one of the best ways to start a speech, numbers and quotes , “46% of us small businesses feel they are being “sold to” instead of “spoken to” by other businesses “. “you only have 7 seconds to make a great first impression”. “before we get started i wanna tell you about a quote from a guy named adam nash: growth is important and all good companies take it seriously”.   growth hacking – neil patel – pioneers festival 2014, to find reliable statistics or quotes, head over to google and try these search strings:, site:edu + “your keyword” + “data”, site:edu + “your keyword” + “percent”, inurl:research + “your keyword” + “statistics”, “your keyword” + quote, 38. make a huge promise (gts formula), get your audience’s excited about what they’ll be able to do or know by the end of your speech., use the gts (give them something) formula:, you will get you will learn today, i’m going to show you [ statement that benefits your audience ]. by the end of this presentation, you will [ result they’re interested in ]., by the end of today’s presentation, you will join an elite group of speakers who can changes lives of their audience members for the better. you will learn secret techniques that only a few of the world’s best speakers are using and that’ll make every speech an outstanding one., people will listen because they really want to get what you promise., bottom line : don’t over-promise, ever., tweet this gts technique –, 39. share a plan, if your speech is longer than 30 minutes, give em a plan. a plan makes it easy for your audience to follow through aka see where you are at any point in time., “5 steps for financial freedom and you’re taking about 3: they know you’re at the middle of the speech”., command with your body, 40. stand facing the people you’re taking too, 41. use high-power poses, according to harvard business school professor amy j.c. cuddy , high-power poses decrease cortisol (“the stress hormone”) by about 25% and increase testosterone by about 19% for both men and women., nonverbal expressions of power and dominance are about expanding:, stretch out open up make yourself taller, seriously, set aside 15 minutes to watch this amazing tedx talk:, body language, the power is in the palm of your hands | allan pease .

Bottom line : Don’t use defensive postures such as arms crossed, hands in pockets, hands clasped behind or in front of your body. These postures limit your gestural ability and will make your audience close off as well.

42. use eye contact, eye contact is crucial in keeping you and your audience connected. here are two things you should do to keep them engaged:, spend a few seconds with each person you look at, for bigger lecture halls, use an m or a w pattern to spread eye contact throughout ( source )., 43. keep moving, “human beings are drawn to movement. if you move when you speak, you’ll get people’s attention., it can be especially effective to move toward the audience before making a key point, and away when you want to signal a break or a change of subject. you can also use space to reinforce your ideas. for example, if you’re presenting three issues, talk about each of them from a different physical position”., carole kinsey goman (via forbes)., convince with your voice, 44. use pauses to add expression and feeling to  your speech, [tweet “pausing is to speaking as punctuation is to writing.”], look, pauses are super important because they:, reduce the overall rate of speaking, give the audience time to reflect + absorb what you’re saying, tell your listeners you are moving from one thought to the next, here are a few tips from the presentation coach diane windingland :, pause before you speak, look at your audience first, pause before and after important/difficult words or concepts, pause after changing visual, pause before and after a punch line ( e.g take my wife….please),  plus, when saying something important, speak slowly., slowness implies what you’re going to say is extremely important—so important that they need time for it to sink in. plus, a clear speech is easier to understand., 45. use a conversational tone, verbal presentation skills are crucial to your success and there are two things you should do to increase engagement with your audience:, first, use the words “you” and “i”  so your audience relates with what you’re telling them., do you reme mber the last time you….[client problem]. i understand that. you know that feeling when… [bad situation]. i think it’s crazy, don’t you you ’re stuck in [bad situation], you ’re dealing with… [problem]… i feel your pain. let me be honest with you, if you ’re serious about [benefit they want]…, second, you can also use rhetorical questions:, pretty sneaky, isn’t it you guys know what i’m talking about, right, 46. use sensory phrases, using sensory phrases while you’re presenting will help you get your audience to feel something:, does it feel like…. can you imagine… let me show you… let me tell you… you don’t need to…, if you’re like me you’ll love to get your brain juice going with concrete examples., check out these lists of emotion, trigger words and phrases:, 47. eliminate filler words (aka the dreaded “um”), since being kids, we’ve been conditioned to answer questions immediately.  and that’s why we’re using filler words such as “uh”, “um”, “well”, “like”… that make us look dumb and unprepared., here are a few ways eliminate these words from your vocabulary:, video or audio record yourself: find out just how bad it really is. if you’re aware of it, you can work on it, don’t speak while looking at your notes (look at your notes, look up and then speak), be silent while you are trying to come up with the right word, apply the pta formula : pause, think, answer, tweet this filler words elimination technique –, 48. apply the sdt principle.

Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass. Anton Chekhov

The SDT (aka Show Don’t Tell) principle has one purpose: enable your audience  to experience the story through action, words, senses, and feelings.

Here’s a kickass example from zendesk  customer service software:, bottom line : get your audience to picture what you’re telling them.,  great resources on body language techniques:, your hand gestures are speaking for you  (with pictures), the secrets of body language: why you should never cross your arms again, amy cuddy: your body language shapes who you are  (ted talk), 49. avoid the lecture (here’s why), “for the first 5-10 minutes of a typical 50 minute lecture a student remembers a high proportion of the information presented, after which the proportion of information preserved rapidly declines. students typically retain 70% from the first 10 minutes of lecture, and 20% from the last 10 minutes . source ., yup… our brains don’t pay attention during a lecture., “research has shown that the lecture, aka “a dump of information”, is quite literally the worst way to receive content. we cannot retain, interact, or engage with it. the research of james hartley and ivor davies revealed that in the first seven minutes of a lecture, all were engaged. shortly after that window of time, attention dropped and plateaued for the next forty minutes., don’t make the mistake of doing a brain dump. ponder how to create small moments between 7-10 minute chunks of content that allow the audience to stop, pause, and think for a while. avoid the lecture”, bryan kelly (via bryan paul kelly), 50. rehearse, when asked what he thinks the most costly presentation mistake is, scott schwertly  of ethos3  had this to say…, “rehearse. embrace the mindset that every presentation requires a number of rehearsals. if your boss wants you to present on a piece of subject matter you have never seen before, it requires a minimum of 7-8 rehearsals. back in 1981, jerry seinfeld practiced 200 times for his comedy bit on the tonight show with johnny carson., if you think practicing your presentation 2x the night before and 1x the morning of your talk will make you succeed, you are dead wrong.”, scott schwertly , ceo of ethos3, here are two effective ways to rehearse your speech:, audio record yourself: it will help you assess which phrases sound good and which just look weird. don’t forget to listen for filler words and heck out the time., get feedback. grab a friend or a colleague and ask him: what can i improve what’s your favorite element of the speech, it’s time to put your new presentation skills into action , it’s no secret that effective presentation skills can skyrocket your success – a new job, a boost for your business, or even fund raising for your startup., no wonder why 90% of american people are saying communicate skills are most important for their children to get ahead in the world today ., some years back, when i was just starting to get serious about building persuasive presentations and pitches, i scoured the web for checklists that would help me remember all these new things that i was learning., i found nothing, other than seamless list of tips like “arrive early” (duh), “be entertaining” or “tell stories”., i felt frustrated, and that’s why i decided to create this piece of content., i believe this infographic would be a great little addition to keep on your own computer desktop. whenever you build or deliver a presentation….just check out the list to make sure you’re on track., hope you’ve enjoyed and learnt., additional resources you’ll love, pptpop’s best resources : a hand-curated list of articles, templates, and life-changing books that will help you become a better you, faster than anyone else., make a killer sales presentation : my personal blueprint to designing high-converting sales decks form scratch., [tweet “how to hack your presentation skills [infographic] “], join pptpop, if you join pptpop, you’ll get one or two monthly emails where i share crazy-effective advice designed  to help you craft irresistible pitches and presentations that hook. and sell. a lot. no fluff. no b.s. click that fat blue button to subscribe., recommended for you.

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By Iveta Pavlova

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PowerPoint is software for presentations that offers many opportunities for creativity. If you want to create visually appealing and engaging presentations, check out this collection of 15 beginner PowerPoint tutorials that will help you step up your game, no matter if you are a regular presenter or a beginner in the software.

In this selection of PowerPoint tutorials, we’ve included tutorials for beginners, intermediate and advanced users. Some are incredibly impressive and will teach you hacks that you never thought were possible in PowerPoint. Let’s begin!

*Last updated July 1st, 2022

2. Tips and Tricks for working with PowerPoint

Level: Intermediate / Advanced

A one-hour web session with PowerPoint guru Tess Ausman. In the video tutorial, she shares advanced tips and techniques for PowerPoint which will take your presentations to the next level. Animations, screencasts, and everything you need to know in order to use and master PowerPoint’s superpowers.

You may also want to check out these amazing  12 PowerPoint Presentation Tips .

3. How to add audio in PowerPoint?

Level: Beginners

PowerPoint is perfect for newbies and experienced presenters and it allows a lot of audio customization. Our guide shows you how to add audio to PowerPoint in a quick step-by-step guide. You will also see how to record yourself, to get the best results. All steps are explained with images, to ensure you understand the concept well. Adding audio is one of the first things you need to do to attract customers’ attention.

4. How to make photos 3D in PowerPoint?

It’s always a good idea to come up with interesting concepts. In this PowerPoint tutorial, you will learn how to use separate images and then add them to PowerPoint, to achieve a smooth 3D look. The video is quite long, so if you want to watch only the PowerPoint part, you can skip to 15:31.

5. How to collaborate in PowerPoint?

Level: Beginner / Intermediate 

Learning how to collaborate with your team is crucial. Fortunately, PowerPoint has advanced a lot over the years and nowadays it’s not hard to work together with your peers. There are many collaboration tutorials for PowerPoint but this one is extremely easy to apply.

6. How to Insert a GIF in PowerPoint?

Level: Beginner

GIFs are a very powerful method to deliver a message. They represent information in a more visual way. Our guide on how to insert GIFs into PowerPoint will help you insert simple animations and attract attention. On top of that, you will learn where you can find resources for inspiration. All steps are visualized for easy access.

7. How to Add Speaker Notes in PowerPoint?

Level: Intermediate

Speaker notes are crucial for all presenters. They let you memorize key phrases during the slides, and avoid any mishaps. In this PowerPoint video tutorial, you’ll learn not only how to add and show speaker notes, but also some of the reasons why people use them.

8. Microsoft PowerPoint Tutorial for Beginners Level 1

If you are a complete beginner to the software, we recommend to start off with a tutorial that covers the basics of working with PowerPoint. Jamie K. from Teacher’s Tech explains the basic functions and the interface options of the software and takes you through the process of creating a basic presentation.

9. Ten Powerful PowerPoint Tips

Level: Beginners / Intermediate

A video of PowerPoint hacks and tricks that will help you create a more appealing presentation design. Again created by Jamie K. from Teacher’s Tech, this video presents you to handy features in PowerPoint that reveal how to craft visually pleasing presentations more easily and quickly.

10. PowerPoint Slide Master tutorial – Placeholders & Basics

Working with Slide Master in PowerPoint requires you to be at least an intermediate user of the software, so we recommend you to check out the PowerPoint tutorials for beginners first. This great tutorial by Andrzej Pach introduces you to the Slide Master tool which will be really useful to you if you’d like to create custom presentation templates. His channel is full of useful videos, so we highly recommend you to check it out.

11. Three PowerPoint Hacks for Instant Improvement

Level: Advanced

A very insightful video tutorial by Leila Gharani who shares advanced hacks on how to instantly improve your presentations in PowerPoint. She talks about working with smart shapes, morph transitions, and advanced morph available in the newest version of PowerPoint. Every step is explained and the final result for your presentation is super impressive.

Need an amazing resume template? Take a look at these  Top Resume Powerpoint Templates to Help You Stand Out .

12. How To Make Videos in PowerPoint?

A tutorial by Michael Kinney who will teach you how to turn your PowerPoint slideshow into a narrated video. The tutorial assumes you are already familiar with the software and explains how to set up your mic, use the recording features in PowerPoint, and later on, export your presentation into a video.

13. Animated 3D Models in PowerPoint – Part 1, The Basics

Thanks to the evolving technologies, incorporation 3D objects in your PowerPoint presentation is now completely possible. The following video will introduce you to the basics of using 3D models in PowerPoint and is a part of a sequence, so if you feel impressed, you can check out the second video which will show you advanced tricks with 3D models in PowerPoint. The video tutorial is made by Lia from Spicy Presentations and for doing it, you will need to have the latest Microsoft Office 365.

You may also be interested in How to Add Audio to PowerPoint: The Quick Step-by-Step Guide

14. How To Create Parallax Effect PowerPoint Step-by-Step?

A video tutorial by One Skill who shows how to create a parallax effect in your PowerPoint presentation. The tutorial is suitable for users who are already familiar with the software and want to make their presentations more attractive and modern. This step-by-step narrated tutorial will help you get there easily!

15. 40 Best Animation Tutorials for PowerPoint

There are so many animation effects you can achieve with PowerPoint that they cannot possibly be gathered into one video tutorial. The YouTube channel The Teacher regularly uploads great PowePoint tutorials which can be achieved by users with at least intermediate knowledge of the software. In the video below, you will see previews of 40 great animation effects. If you like any, just look for it in the description of the video and head over the tutorial itself.

To wrap up,

PowerPoint is a software that offers a lot as long as you know how to use it right. We hope this collection of 15 PowerPoint tutorials was useful to you and helped you learn new tricks and tips. It certainly was useful to us! If you want to recommend PowerPoint tutorials that helped you master your skills, you are welcome to share them in the comments below.

You may also be interested in these related articles:

• The Best Free PowerPoint Templates to Download in 2022
• 35+ Free Infographic PowerPoint Templates to Power Your Presentations
• 50 Free Cartoon PowerPoint Templates with Characters & Illustrations

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Iveta Pavlova

Iveta is a passionate writer at GraphicMama who has been writing for the brand ever since the blog was launched. She keeps her focus on inspiring people and giving insight on topics like graphic design, illustrations, education, business, marketing, and more.

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• PRESENTATION SKILLS

Search SkillsYouNeed:

Presentation Skills:

• A - Z List of Presentation Skills
• Top Tips for Effective Presentations
• General Presentation Skills
• What is a Presentation?
• Preparing for a Presentation
• Organising the Material
• Writing Your Presentation
• Deciding the Presentation Method
• Managing your Presentation Notes
• Working with Visual Aids
• Presenting Data
• Managing the Event
• Coping with Presentation Nerves
• Dealing with Questions
• How to Build Presentations Like a Consultant
• Self-Presentation in Presentations
• Specific Presentation Events
• Remote Meetings and Presentations
• Giving a Speech
• Presentations in Interviews
• Presenting to Large Groups and Conferences
• Giving Lectures and Seminars
• Managing a Press Conference
• Attending Public Consultation Meetings
• Managing a Public Consultation Meeting
• Crisis Communications
• Elsewhere on Skills You Need:
• Communication Skills
• Facilitation Skills
• Teams, Groups and Meetings
• Effective Speaking
• Question Types

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Presentation Skills

Presenting information clearly and effectively is a key skill in getting your message across. Today, presentation skills are required in almost every field, and most of us are required to give presentations on occasions. While some people take this in their stride, others find it much more challenging.

It is, however, possible to improve your presentation skills with a bit of work. This section of SkillsYouNeed is designed to help.

Many people feel terrified when asked to talk in public, especially to bigger groups. However, these fears can be reduced by good preparation, which will also lay the groundwork for making an effective presentation.

There are Different Types of Presentations, but They’re All Presentations

There are any number of occasions when you may be asked to speak in public or to a group of people. They include:

• Presenting or making a speech at a conference or event.
• Objecting to a planning proposal at a council meeting.
• Making a speech at a wedding.
• Proposing a vote of thanks to someone at a club or society.
• On behalf of a team, saying goodbye and presenting a gift to a colleague who is leaving.
• Seeking investment or a loan to help you set up a new business.

These can all be considered presentations.

They do not, however, all require the same approach. You would not, for example, use PowerPoint to thank a colleague who was leaving. It would be unusual (though it has been done) to use it in a speech at a wedding. However, a conference audience would be somewhat surprised NOT to see slides projected onto a screen.

It follows, therefore, that there is no single set of rules that apply to all presentations. There are, however, some things that every presentation opportunity has in common. These include:

You will present better if you have prepared effectively . This does NOT necessarily mean that you have written out your speech verbatim and rehearsed it until you know it off by heart—although that might work for some people. It does, however, mean that you have to be confident that you are saying the right thing, in the right way, to the right people.

You need to be clear about your audience and your message . Every presentation will be better if you have clearly considered the message that you want or need to convey, and how best to convey it to your audience. These two pieces of information drive your style, structure, content, and use of visual aids.

You must never overrun your allocated time .  In other words, don’t outstay your welcome. Almost every speech or presentation is better if it is shorter. Nobody minds going for coffee early or finishing before they expected to do so. Everybody minds being held up.

Generally speaking, your audience starts on your side. As a rule, your audience is there (more or less) voluntarily. They have chosen to listen to you, and they want to enjoy your presentation. The occasion is yours to lose.

An Important Point

There is one very important point to remember: if what you’re doing or saying is not working, do something else.

One of the worst feelings as a presenter is that you have lost your audience. You know that’s happened, but you continue to stumble through your remaining PowerPoint slides for the next 15 minutes, as your audience checks their phones and wishes it was coffee time. You think you have no choice, but that’s not actually true.

When you present, you are in charge of the room . The audience has effectively handed you control and is sitting back waiting for you to do something. You may have prepared a specific talk, but if you see that isn’t working, you can always change it. You are, after all, the expert.

You can, for example:

• Skip through some slides to a section that they may find more interesting;
• Ask your audience whether there is particular information that they were expecting that you are not providing;
• Suggest that everyone looks a bit sleepy, and maybe it would be better to start questions early, or have a discussion; or
• Ask the audience at the start of the presentation what they are expecting and what they want you to cover. That way, you can tailor the presentation to fit their expectations.

Just as when you are facilitating, you want to help your audience get the most out of your presentation. The best way to do that is to accept feedback—which may include smiles, nods of interest, or people getting their phones out.

Quick Guide to Effective Presentations

If you need to improve your presentation skills quickly, then a really good place to start is with our Top Tips for Effective Presentations .

This will give you some ‘quick wins’ that will help you improve your presentations. If you’re already an experienced presenter, this page should be a useful refresher, or even take your skills from good to great.

Our tips include general ideas about connecting with your audience, information about the importance of voice and body language, and detailed tips about preparing slide-shows.

The most important tip of all, however, is to remember that it's all about your audience.

Keep that in mind, and your presentation skills will almost instantly improve.

If you have more time to develop your presentation skills…

…then the Presentation Skills section of SkillsYouNeed is designed to help.

Our Presentation Skills section is split into two parts.

• The first gives you a step-by-step guide to putting together and delivering a professional and effective presentation .
• The second provides more detailed information about presenting and communicating in particular circumstances .

You can either use our step-by-step guide to walk you through the presentation preparation and delivery process, or you can focus on particular areas that are an issue for you.

Preparing for Your Presentation

The guide starts by explaining What is a Presentation?

We define a presentation as a means of communication that can be adapted to various speaking situations, such as talking to a group, addressing a meeting or briefing a team. Effective presentations usually require careful thought and preparation—although this preparation need not take very long.

Preparation is the most important part of making a successful presentation.  Our page on Preparing For A Presentation explains what information you need before you can really start to plan your presentation and decide what you are going to say. The most important aspects include the objective of the presentation, the subject, and the audience.

Irrespective of whether the occasion is formal or informal, you should always aim to give a clear, well-structured delivery. To do so, you need to organise your presentation material . You can either do this in your head, or use a technique like mind-mapping to help you identify links and good flow.

By the time you come to write your presentation , you should know exactly what you want to say and the order in which you want to say it. You may want to use one of the standard presentation structures, such as ‘What, Why, How?’. You will also find it helpful to consider how to tell your story most effectively, and to use stories in your presentation to illustrate points. There is more about this in our page on writing your presentation .

You also need to decide on your presentation method . Presentations range from the formal to the informal. Your choice of presentation method will depend on many factors, including the audience, the venue, the facilities, and your own preferences.

Visual aids can add another dimension to your presentation, helping to hold your audience’s attention, and also act as a reminder of what you wanted to say. However, they need handling with care. Only use visual aids if they are necessary to maintain interest and assist comprehension . If visual aids are not used well, they can ruin a presentation.

See Working with Visual Aids to avoid falling into the trap of the dreaded ‘ Death by PowerPoint’ .

A particular case of visual aids is the use of data in a presentation.

There are times when using data in a presentation can really help you to tell the story better. It is, however, important not to blind your audience with statistics. You also need to remember that many people find numbers difficult to understand. Our page on Presenting Data gives some hints and tips about using data effectively in a presentation situation.

On the Day of the Presentation

There are a number of aspects to delivering your presentation on the day.

The practicalities of how you manage your presentation can make a significant difference to its success, and to your nerves! For example, turning up early means that you have will have a chance to see the room, and ensure that you can operate all the necessary equipment. There is more about how to cope, including managing sound systems, audio-visual equipment and lecterns in our page on Managing the Presentation Event .

Many people also feel very nervous before and during a presentation. This is entirely normal, and can even be helpful if you can channel it in the right way. There are some tried and tested strategies and techniques to manage your nerves so that you can concentrate on delivering an effective and engaging presentation.

See Coping with Presentation Nerves for some ideas that will help.

How you present yourself can also affect how your audience responds to your presentation.

You need to fit with your audience's expectations if they are not going to spend quite a large chunk of your presentation dealing with the differences between expectations and reality.

For more about aspects of self-presentation, see our page on Self-Presentation in Presentations .

You also need to consider how to manage your presentation notes .

Few people are able to give a presentation without notes. You will need to know your own abilities and decide how best to make the presentation. You might manage your talk by using full text, notes on cue cards, keywords on cue cards, or mind maps. There is more about this in our page on Managing your Presentation Notes .

After the presentation, you may be faced with a question-and-answer session. For many people, this is the worst part of the event.

Decide in advance how and when you wish to handle questions. Some speakers prefer questions to be raised as they arise during the presentation whilst others prefer to deal with questions at the end. At the start of your presentation, you should make clear your preferences to the audience. See our page on Dealing with Questions for more ideas about how to make the question session pleasant and productive, rather than something to dread.

Presenting Under Particular Circumstances

You may find that you need to give a presentation under certain circumstances, where your previous experience is less helpful.

Circumstances that may be new to you include:

• Giving a Speech , for example, at a wedding.

One particular special case is attending public consultation meetings.

Our pages on Attending Public Consultation Meetings , and Managing Public Consultation Meetings provide information to help whether you are a concerned member of the public, or responsible for organising a public meeting.

You may also find yourself required to organise or manage a press conference.

Although this may not strictly be what you would describe as a ‘presentation’, it is nonetheless an event at which you are required to present your organisation in a particular light.

Our page on Managing a Press Conference gives some ideas about how best to do that.

Finally, should you be unlucky enough to be involved in a serious crisis or disaster that affects your organisation, our page on Crisis Communications gives some ideas about how to manage press and public relations on these occasions.

Start with: What is a Presentation? Top Tips for Effective Presentations

See also: Personal Appearance Interpersonal Communication Skills

How-To Geek

8 tips to make the best powerpoint presentations.

Want to make your PowerPoint presentations really shine? Here's how to impress and engage your audience.

Quick Links

Table of contents, start with a goal, less is more, consider your typeface, make bullet points count, limit the use of transitions, skip text where possible, think in color, take a look from the top down, bonus: start with templates.

Slideshows are an intuitive way to share complex ideas with an audience, although they're dull and frustrating when poorly executed. Here are some tips to make your Microsoft PowerPoint presentations sing while avoiding common pitfalls.

It all starts with identifying what we're trying to achieve with the presentation. Is it informative, a showcase of data in an easy-to-understand medium? Or is it more of a pitch, something meant to persuade and convince an audience and lead them to a particular outcome?

It's here where the majority of these presentations go wrong with the inability to identify the talking points that best support our goal. Always start with a goal in mind: to entertain, to inform, or to share data in a way that's easy to understand. Use facts, figures, and images to support your conclusion while keeping structure in mind (Where are we now and where are we going?).

I've found that it's helpful to start with the ending. Once I know how to end a presentation, I know how best to get to that point. I start by identifying the takeaway---that one nugget that I want to implant before thanking everyone for their time---and I work in reverse to figure out how best to get there.

Your mileage, of course, may vary. But it's always going to be a good idea to put in the time in the beginning stages so that you aren't reworking large portions of the presentation later. And that starts with a defined goal.

A slideshow isn't supposed to include everything. It's an introduction to a topic, one that we can elaborate on with speech. Anything unnecessary is a distraction. It makes the presentation less visually appealing and less interesting, and it makes you look bad as a presenter.

This goes for text as well as images. There's nothing worse, in fact, than a series of slides where the presenter just reads them as they appear. Your audience is capable of reading, and chances are they'll be done with the slide, and browsing Reddit, long before you finish. Avoid putting the literal text on the screen, and your audience will thank you.

Related: How to Burn Your PowerPoint to DVD

Right off the bat, we're just going to come out and say that Papyrus and Comic Sans should be banned from all PowerPoint presentations, permanently. Beyond that, it's worth considering the typeface you're using and what it's saying about you, the presenter, and the presentation itself.

Consider choosing readability over aesthetics, and avoid fancy fonts that could prove to be more of a distraction than anything else. A good presentation needs two fonts: a serif and sans-serif. Use one for the headlines and one for body text, lists, and the like. Keep it simple. Veranda, Helvetica, Arial, and even Times New Roman are safe choices. Stick with the classics and it's hard to botch this one too badly.

There reaches a point where bullet points become less of a visual aid and more of a visual examination.

Bullet points should support the speaker, not overwhelm his audience. The best slides have little or no text at all, in fact. As a presenter, it's our job to talk through complex issues, but that doesn't mean that we need to highlight every talking point.

Instead, think about how you can break up large lists into three or four bullet points. Carefully consider whether you need to use more bullet points, or if you can combine multiple topics into a single point instead. And if you can't, remember that there's no one limiting the number of slides you can have in a presentation. It's always possible to break a list of 12 points down into three pages of four points each.

Animation, when used correctly, is a good idea. It breaks up slow-moving parts of a presentation and adds action to elements that require it. But it should be used judiciously.

Adding a transition that wipes left to right between every slide or that animates each bullet point in a list, for example, starts to grow taxing on those forced to endure the presentation. Viewers get bored quickly, and animations that are meant to highlight specific elements quickly become taxing.

That's not to say that you can't use animations and transitions, just that you need to pick your spots. Aim for no more than a handful of these transitions for each presentation. And use them in spots where they'll add to the demonstration, not detract from it.

Sometimes images tell a better story than text can. And as a presenter, your goal is to describe points in detail without making users do a lot of reading. In these cases, a well-designed visual, like a chart, might better convey the information you're trying to share.

The right image adds visual appeal and serves to break up longer, text-heavy sections of the presentation---but only if you're using the right images. A single high-quality image can make all the difference between a success and a dud when you're driving a specific point home.

When considering text, don't think solely in terms of bullet points and paragraphs. Tables, for example, are often unnecessary. Ask yourself whether you could present the same data in a bar or line chart instead.

Color is interesting. It evokes certain feelings and adds visual appeal to your presentation as a whole. Studies show that color also improves interest, comprehension, and retention. It should be a careful consideration, not an afterthought.

You don't have to be a graphic designer to use color well in a presentation. What I do is look for palettes I like, and then find ways to use them in the presentation. There are a number of tools for this, like Adobe Color , Coolors , and ColorHunt , just to name a few. After finding a palette you enjoy, consider how it works with the presentation you're about to give. Pastels, for example, evoke feelings of freedom and light, so they probably aren't the best choice when you're presenting quarterly earnings that missed the mark.

It's also worth mentioning that you don't need to use every color in the palette. Often, you can get by with just two or three, though you should really think through how they all work together and how readable they'll be when layered. A simple rule of thumb here is that contrast is your friend. Dark colors work well on light backgrounds, and light colors work best on dark backgrounds.

Spend some time in the Slide Sorter before you finish your presentation. By clicking the four squares at the bottom left of the presentation, you can take a look at multiple slides at once and consider how each works together. Alternatively, you can click "View" on the ribbon and select "Slide Sorter."

Are you presenting too much text at once? Move an image in. Could a series of slides benefit from a chart or summary before you move on to another point?

It's here that we have the opportunity to view the presentation from beyond the single-slide viewpoint and think in terms of how each slide fits, or if it fits at all. From this view, you can rearrange slides, add additional ones, or delete them entirely if you find that they don't advance the presentation.

The difference between a good presentation and a bad one is really all about preparation and execution. Those that respect the process and plan carefully---not only the presentation as a whole, but each slide within it---are the ones who will succeed.

This brings me to my last (half) point: When in doubt, just buy a template and use it. You can find these all over the web, though Creative Market and GraphicRiver are probably the two most popular marketplaces for this kind of thing. Not all of us are blessed with the skills needed to design and deliver an effective presentation. And while a pre-made PowerPoint template isn't going to make you a better presenter, it will ease the anxiety of creating a visually appealing slide deck.

5 Tips to Boost Your Presentation Skills and Wow Your Audience

• The Speaker Lab
• May 24, 2024

Table of Contents

Crafting an unforgettable presentation requires more than just compelling content. The way you deliver your message is just as important. No matter your role—CEO, entrepreneur, author, professor, coach, or consultant—honing your presentation skills is key to effectively communicating your ideas and making a memorable impact on your audience. It may not always be easy, but we’re here to help. To help you nail it every time, we’ve compiled 10 essential tips for honing your presentation skills . From knowing your audience to practicing confident body language, we have the guidance you need to give a presentation that’s effective and memorable.

5 Essential Tips for Delivering a Killer Presentation

You’ve probably sat through your fair share of presentations—some good, some not so good. The difference between an effective presentation and one that falls flat often comes down to a few key factors. If you want to improve your skills and deliver a presentation that engages your audience, here are some essential tips you need to keep in mind.

1. Understand Your Audience

Before you even start putting together your presentation, you need to take some time to understand who you’ll be speaking to. What are their needs, interests, and expectations? What level of knowledge do they have about your topic?

Tailoring your content and delivery style to your specific audience is crucial for making a real connection and delivering value. For instance, if you’re giving a presentation to a group of executives who are pressed for time, you’ll probably want to give them key takeaways upfront. By adapting your approach and leading with the most important points, you would be able to better hold your audience’s attention and make a strong impact.

2. Practice Makes Perfect

If you only go away with one tip today, then know that having the discipline to practice is an essential presentation skill. Rehearsing your talk multiple times helps you build confidence, refine your delivery, and ensure a smooth flow. Make sure to practice out loud, as if you’re in front of the actual audience. You can even record yourself and watch the video back to identify areas for improvement. It might feel awkward at first, but it can make a huge difference in your final delivery.

3. Engage with Eye Contact

Making eye contact with your audience is one of the most powerful ways to connect with them and keep them engaged. When you look people in the eye, it builds trust and shows that you’re confident in what you’re saying.

During your presentation, make a point to scan the room and make brief eye contact with individuals in different sections. It creates a sense of intimacy and makes people feel like you’re speaking directly to them. Just be sure to keep it natural and avoid staring anyone down.

4. Use Compelling Visuals

Visuals can be a game-changer when it comes to delivering an effective presentation. Well-designed slides, images, and videos help reinforce your message, break up text-heavy content, and keep your audience interested.

The key is to use visuals strategically, not just for the sake of having them. Every visual element should serve a clear purpose and enhance your overall message. And don’t forget about quality—blurry images or cluttered slides can be more distracting than helpful.

5. Tell a Story

Humans are wired to respond to stories. Integrating storytelling into your presentation is a fantastic way to make your content more engaging, memorable, and relatable.

Think about how you can structure your presentation as a narrative arc, with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Use anecdotes, case studies, and examples to illustrate your points and create an emotional connection with your audience. Some of the best presentations are the ones that take the audience on a journey and leave them feeling inspired.

Find Out Exactly How Much You Could Make As a Paid Speaker

Use The Official Speaker Fee Calculator to tell you what you should charge for your first (or next) speaking gig — virtual or in-person! 

Master Your Body Language for Maximum Impact

Your body language can speak volumes during a presentation, often conveying just as much as your words. Mastering non-verbal communication is key to delivering a killer presentation that commands attention and leaves a lasting impression. Below are our tips for improving this presentation skill.

Maintain Confident Posture

How you carry yourself on stage can instantly impact your perceived confidence and credibility. Stand tall, keep your shoulders back, and maintain a stable, grounded stance. Avoid slouching, fidgeting, or shifting your weight from side to side, as these habits can make you appear nervous or unsure.

In addition, make a conscious effort to take up space and own the room. It’s not about being arrogant, but about projecting self-assurance and authority. Practice power poses beforehand to get in the right headspace and boost your confidence.

Use Gestures Purposefully

Incorporating hand gestures can add emphasis, clarity, and visual interest to your presentation. However, it’s important to use them purposefully and avoid overdoing it.

What’s our tip for improving this presentation skill? Use open, expansive gestures to convey confidence and inclusivity. Pointing can be effective for directing attention or making a strong point, but use it sparingly. Avoid crossing your arms or putting your hands in your pockets, as these positions can make you seem closed off or disengaged.

Vary Your Tone and Pace

Your voice is a powerful tool for engaging your audience and keeping them interested. Vary your tone, pitch, and pacing throughout your presentation to add dynamic energy and prevent monotony.

Speak with enthusiasm and conviction, allowing your passion for the topic to shine through. Use strategic pauses for emphasis or to give the audience a moment to process a key point. Adjust your volume and speed based on the room size and acoustics.

Avoid Distracting Mannerisms

Distracting mannerisms can quickly derail an otherwise great presentation. Be aware of any nervous tics or habits you might have, such as playing with your hair, clicking a pen, or saying “um” or “like” excessively.

Practice self-awareness and work on minimizing these behaviors. It can be helpful to video record yourself and watch it back to identify any distracting mannerisms you might not realize you have. Remember, the goal is to keep the focus on your message, not your quirks.

Overcoming Stage Fright and Nerves

Even the most seasoned presenters can experience stage fright and nerves. The key is to have strategies in place to manage those feelings and deliver a confident, impactful presentation.

Prepare Thoroughly

One of the best ways to combat stage fright is to be thoroughly prepared. When you know your material inside and out, it gives you a solid foundation to fall back on, even if nerves start to creep in.

For instance, you might create a detailed outline of your presentation, including key points, transitions, and any important data or examples. Using the outline, practice delivering the content out loud multiple times until it feels natural and conversational. When it’s time to actually present, you can fall back on the outline if you feel yourself start to get nervous.

Visualize Success

Visualization is a powerful tool for boosting confidence and calming nerves. In the days leading up to your presentation, take some time to close your eyes and imagine yourself delivering your talk with ease and conviction. Picture the audience responding positively, nodding along, and applauding at the end. Envision yourself feeling calm, confident, and in control. The more vividly you can imagine a successful outcome, the more likely you are to achieve it.

Breathe Deeply

Although tips on breathing exercises might seem unrelated, they’re actually an invaluable presentation skill. Think about it. When we’re nervous, our breathing tends to become shallow and rapid. This can exacerbate feelings of anxiety and make it harder to think clearly.

Before and during your presentation, focus on taking slow, deep breaths from your diaphragm. Inhale through your nose for a count of four, hold for four, then exhale through your mouth for a count of four. This simple technique can help calm your nerves and center your mind.

Focus on Your Message

When stage fright starts to take hold, it’s easy to get caught up in worries about how you’re coming across or what the audience might be thinking. Instead, try to shift your focus to your message and the value you’re providing.

Remind yourself of why your topic matters and how it can benefit your audience. Concentrate on delivering your content with clarity, conviction, and enthusiasm. When you’re passionate about what you’re saying, it shines through and connects with your listeners.

Crafting Memorable and Engaging Content

No matter how polished your delivery is, the foundation of a killer presentation is always the content itself. Crafting a memorable and engaging message is essential for making a lasting impact on your audience.

Start Strong

The opening moments of your presentation are crucial for capturing your audience’s attention and setting the tone for what’s to come. Don’t waste this opportunity with a generic introduction or a long-winded anecdote.

Instead, start with a bang. Use a surprising statistic, a thought-provoking question, or a bold statement that immediately grabs people’s interest. Make it clear why your topic matters and what your audience stands to gain from listening to you. Practice these tips and you’ll have this presentation skill mastered in no time.

Use Examples and Anecdotes

Abstract concepts and dry data can be difficult for audiences to grasp and remember. That’s where examples and anecdotes come in. These concrete illustrations help bring your ideas to life and make them more relatable.

When crafting your presentation, always look for opportunities to weave in real-world examples, case studies, or personal stories that reinforce your key points. Not only do these elements make the content more engaging, but they also help the audience see how the information applies to their own lives and experiences.

Incorporate Humor

Injecting humor into your presentation can be a great way to break the ice, lighten the mood, and keep your audience engaged. A well-timed joke or a witty observation can make your message more memorable and help you connect with your listeners on a human level.

Of course, it’s important to use humor judiciously and appropriately. Make sure your jokes are relevant to your topic and won’t offend or alienate anyone in the audience.

End with a Call to Action

Your presentation shouldn’t just be informative—it should also be actionable. As you near the end of your talk, be sure to include a clear and compelling call to action.

What do you want your audience to do with the information you’ve shared? Is there a specific step they can take to apply your ideas or further their learning? Make it explicit and easy for them to follow through.

You can also end your presentation with a challenge or a question that encourages the audience to reflect on how they can put the content into practice. It’s a powerful way to drive home your message and ensure that your words have a lasting impact.

Handling Questions and Audience Interaction

One of the most daunting aspects of giving a presentation can be handling questions from the audience. But with the right approach, this interaction can actually be an opportunity to reinforce your message and build credibility. Below are some tips on how to improve this presentation skill and close out your speech with confidence.

Anticipate Common Questions

Before your presentation, take some time to brainstorm the questions your audience is likely to ask. Consider their background, their level of knowledge on the topic, and any potential objections or concerns they might have.

Once you have a list of anticipated questions, practice answering them out loud. This will help you feel more prepared and confident when the time comes to address them in real-time.

Listen Attentively

When an audience member asks a question, give them your full attention. Make eye contact, nod to show you’re listening, and avoid interrupting or rushing to respond. If the question is lengthy or convoluted, don’t be afraid to ask for clarification. Paraphrasing the question back to the asker can also help ensure that you’ve understood it correctly and give you a moment to gather your thoughts.

Respond Concisely

When answering questions, aim to be concise and to the point. Avoid rambling or getting sidetracked by tangential information. Stick to the key facts and insights that directly address the question at hand.

If a question requires a more in-depth response than time allows, offer to follow up with the individual after the presentation. You can also direct them to additional resources or materials that provide more detail on the topic.

Redirect Off-topic Queries

Occasionally, you may receive a question that is off-topic or not directly relevant to your presentation. In these cases, it’s important to acknowledge the question while gently redirecting the conversation back to your main points.

You might say something like, “That’s an interesting question, but it’s a bit outside the scope of what we’re focusing on today. Let’s talk more about [relevant topic] and how it relates to [your key message].”

Remember, your goal is to keep the discussion focused and productive, while still making the audience feel heard and valued.

Leveraging Technology for Impactful Presentations

In today’s digital age, technology can be a powerful tool for enhancing your presentations and engaging your audience. However, knowing how to use technology isn’t always straightforward. That’s why we’re offering you some tips on how to level up this presentation skill. Below are some insights on how to use technology strategically and not let it overshadow your message.

Keep Slides Simple

When it comes to presentation slides, less is often more. Avoid cluttering your slides with too much text, busy graphics, or distracting animations. Instead, keep them clean, concise, and visually appealing.

Use a consistent color scheme and font throughout your presentation to create a cohesive look. Stick to one main idea per slide, and use bullet points or short phrases rather than full sentences.

Remember, your slides should support and enhance your message, not compete with it. They’re meant to be a visual aid , not a crutch or a substitute for your own knowledge and expertise.

Use High-Quality Images

Incorporating relevant, high-quality images into your presentation can help illustrate your points, break up text, and keep your audience engaged. But be selective about the images you choose. Avoid generic stock photos or low-resolution graphics that can make your presentation look amateurish. Instead, opt for images that are clear, compelling, and directly related to your content.

If you’re using graphs or charts to present data, make sure they’re easy to read and interpret. Use colors and labels strategically to highlight key insights and trends.

Embed Videos Strategically

Videos can be a great way to add variety and interest to your presentation. They can help illustrate complex concepts, provide real-world examples, or evoke an emotional response from your audience.

However, it’s important to use videos judiciously and strategically. Avoid relying on them too heavily or using them as a crutch for weak content. Make sure any videos you include are high-quality, relevant, and add value to your overall message.

It’s also a good idea to test your videos beforehand to ensure they play smoothly and without technical glitches. Nothing derails a presentation faster than a video that won’t load or has poor audio quality.

Ensure Smooth Transitions

Smooth transitions between slides and sections of your presentation are key to maintaining a professional and polished look. Abrupt or jarring transitions can be distracting and disrupt the flow of your message.

Practice navigating through your slides beforehand to ensure that everything flows logically and seamlessly. Use consistent transition effects throughout your presentation, but avoid overusing flashy or gimmicky animations.

It’s also a good idea to have a backup plan in case of technical difficulties. Bring a printed copy of your slides or have them saved on a USB drive in case the technology fails. The show must go on, even if your fancy transitions don’t.

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Avoiding Common Presentation Mistakes

Even the most well-crafted presentation can fall flat if you make some common mistakes. Here are a few pitfalls to avoid to ensure your message lands with maximum impact.

Over-Reliance on Notes

While it’s fine to have some notes or a general outline to guide your presentation, relying too heavily on them can be a major distraction. Reading directly from your notes or slides can make you seem unprepared or disengaged from your audience.

Instead, aim to internalize your content so that you can deliver it naturally and conversationally. Use your notes as a gentle reminder of key points, but don’t let them become a crutch. If you do need to reference your notes, try to do so subtly and sparingly. Glance down briefly, then look back up and make eye contact with your audience as you speak.

Reading Slides Verbatim

One of the biggest mistakes presenters make is simply reading their slides word-for-word. Not only is this boring for your audience, but it also makes your slides redundant. If you’re just going to read them aloud, why bother having them at all?

Your slides should be a visual aid, not a script. Use them to highlight key points, provide visual examples, or reinforce your message with data or graphics. And remember that the bulk of your content should come from your own knowledge and expertise.

If you find yourself tempted to read directly from your slides, it’s a sign that you either have too much text on them or you haven’t practiced enough to feel confident delivering the content on your own.

Rushing Through Content

When you’re nervous or pressed for time, it can be tempting to rush through your presentation at breakneck speed. However, this can leave your audience feeling overwhelmed, confused, and disconnected from your message.

Remember, your audience needs time to process and absorb the information you’re sharing. Speak at a measured pace, pausing occasionally to let key points sink in or to allow for questions.

If you find yourself running short on time, resist the urge to speed up. Instead, prioritize your most important points and cut out any extraneous information.

With a few tips, anyone can improve their presentation skills. By understanding your audience, crafting compelling content, and mastering your delivery, you’ll be well on your way to giving presentations that truly resonate.

Remember, it’s not about being perfect. It’s about being authentic, engaging, and delivering value to your audience. So take these tips, make them your own, and go out there and wow your audience. You’ve got this!

• Last Updated: May 24, 2024

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