presentation meaning in oxford

Words and phrases

Personal account.

• Access or purchase personal subscriptions
• Get our newsletter
• Save searches
• Set display preferences

Institutional access

Sign in with library card

Sign in with username / password

Recommend to your librarian

Institutional account management

Sign in as administrator on Oxford Academic

presentation noun

• Hide all quotations

What does the noun presentation mean?

There are 20 meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun presentation , four of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

presentation has developed meanings and uses in subjects including

How common is the noun presentation ?

How is the noun presentation pronounced, british english, u.s. english, where does the noun presentation come from.

Earliest known use

Middle English

The earliest known use of the noun presentation is in the Middle English period (1150—1500).

OED's earliest evidence for presentation is from before 1325, in Statutes of the Realm .

presentation is of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin.

Etymons: French presentacioun , presentacion ; Latin praesentation- , praesentatio .

Nearby entries

• present, n.² c1230–
• present, n.³ 1777–
• present, adj. & adv. 1340–
• present, v. c1300–
• presentability, n. 1823–
• presentable, adj. 1451–
• presentably, adv. 1848–
• presental, n. 1869
• presentaneous, adj. 1656–1790
• presentary, adj. ?a1425–1657
• presentation, n. a1325–
• presentational, adj. 1855–
• presentationally, adv. 1928–
• presentation copy, n. 1753–
• presentation day, n. 1843–
• presentation department, n. 1954–
• presentationism, n. a1842–
• presentationist, n. 1846–
• presentation plate, n. 1829–
• presentation silver, n. 1511–
• presentation value, n. 1889–

Thank you for visiting Oxford English Dictionary

To continue reading, please sign in below or purchase a subscription. After purchasing, please sign in below to access the content.

Meaning & use

Pronunciation, compounds & derived words, entry history for presentation, n..

presentation, n. was revised in March 2007.

presentation, n. was last modified in March 2024.

oed.com is a living text, updated every three months. Modifications may include:

• further revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
• new senses, phrases, and quotations.

Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into presentation, n. in March 2024.

Earlier versions of this entry were published in:

OED First Edition (1908)

• Find out more

OED Second Edition (1989)

• View presentation in OED Second Edition

Please submit your feedback for presentation, n.

Please include your email address if you are happy to be contacted about your feedback. OUP will not use this email address for any other purpose.

Citation details

Factsheet for presentation, n., browse entry.

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Meaning of presentation in English

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

presentation noun ( EVENT )

• talk She will give a talk on keeping kids safe on the internet.
• lecture The lecture is entitled "War and the Modern American Presidency".
• presentation We were given a presentation of progress made to date.
• speech You might have to make a speech when you accept the award.
• address He took the oath of office then delivered his inaugural address.
• oration It was to become one of the most famous orations in American history.
• The presentation was a collaborative effort by all the children in the class .
• The charity invited the press to a presentation of its plans for the future .
• The magazine asked its readers to send in their comments about the new style of presentation.
• Jenny's retiring and I think there's going to be a small presentation this afternoon .
• Graduates must be in full academic dress at the presentation of certificates .
• call for papers
• extemporize
• maiden speech
• talk at someone

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

presentation noun ( APPEARANCE )

• adverse conditions
• good/bad karma idiom
• have it in you idiom
• unaffiliated
• undercurrent

presentation | American Dictionary

Presentation | business english, examples of presentation, collocations with presentation, presentation.

These are words often used in combination with presentation .

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

Translations of presentation

Get a quick, free translation!

Word of the Day

not a living soul

Hidden in plain sight: words and phrases connected with hiding

Learn more with +Plus

• Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
• Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
• Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
• Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
• English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
• English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
• English–Dutch Dutch–English
• English–French French–English
• English–German German–English
• English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
• English–Italian Italian–English
• English–Japanese Japanese–English
• English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
• English–Polish Polish–English
• English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
• English–Spanish Spanish–English
• English–Swedish Swedish–English
• Dictionary +Plus Word Lists
• presentation (EVENT)
• presentation (APPEARANCE)
• American    Noun
• Business    Noun
• Collocations
• Translations
• All translations

To add presentation to a word list please sign up or log in.

Add presentation to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{message}}

Something went wrong.

There was a problem sending your report.

• Dictionaries home
• American English
• Collocations
• German-English
• Grammar home
• Practical English Usage
• Learn & Practise Grammar (Beta)
• Word Lists home
• My Word Lists
• Recent additions
• Resources home
• Text Checker

NEW words and meanings added: March 2024

Game on or game over ?

With the Summer Olympics coming up, the main focus for our latest release is on the world of sport.

Worrying about your team’s back four in the relegation six-pointer ? Did one of your team’s blueliners just score an empty-netter ? Or maybe you prefer T20™ , with the drama of one-dayers and super overs , or just like to pay your green fee and get started on the front nine ?

We’ve added over 170 new words and meanings from sport and other topics.

Our word lists are designed to help learners at any level focus on the most important words to learn.

Explore our general English and academic English lists.

Spread the Word

A recent addition to our online dictionary is the term culture war , which is used to describe the conflict between groups of people with different ideals and beliefs.

Topic Dictionaries

Our Topic Dictionaries are lists of topic-related words, like Animals and Health , that can help you expand your vocabulary. Each topic is divided into smaller subtopics and every word has a CEFR level.

Learn & Practise Grammar

Our grammar pages combine clear explanations with interactive exercises to test your understanding.

Learn more with these dictionary and grammar resources

We offer a number of premium products on this website to help you improve your english..

JOIN our community of language learners!

Connect with us TODAY to start receiving the language learning and assessment resources you need directly to your newsfeed and inbox.

In this lesson, you can learn how to make presentations in English.

Do you have to make presentations in english in your job imagine you have to give an important presentation in english tomorrow. how would you feel about it, this business english lesson will help you learn useful phrases and techniques to introduce yourself and your topic, keep your ideas organised, deal with problems, and respond to questions from audience members., quiz: presentations in english.

Now, test your knowledge of what you learned in the lesson by trying this quiz.

There are 20 questions, following the same order as the lesson.

You will get your score at the end, when you can click on ‘View Questions’ to see all the correct answers.

Quiz Summary

0 of 20 Questions completed

Information

You have already completed the quiz before. Hence you can not start it again.

Quiz is loading…

You must sign in or sign up to start the quiz.

You must first complete the following:

0 of 20 Questions answered correctly

Time has elapsed

You have reached 0 of 0 point(s), ( 0 )

Earned Point(s): 0 of 0 , ( 0 ) 0 Essay(s) Pending (Possible Point(s): 0 )

• Not categorized 0%

Well done! You’ve finished!

That’s an excellent score! Congratulations!

A perfect score! Congratulations!

1 . Question

For those who don’t ________ me, my name’s Elaine, and I work in the HR department.

Choose the missing word.

2 . Question

Write the words in the correct gaps. There is one word you don’t need to use.

Before we , let me myself : I’m Jenny and I’m the head of purchasing.

3 . Question

Put the words in order to create something you might say at the start of a presentation.

View Answers:

4 . Question

Put these sentences in order to create the introduction to a presentation.

• Then I’ll explain what we believe are our greatest challenges.
• I’ll begin by highlighting some of the issues that have faced the retail sector during the pandemic.
• Finally, I’ll suggest some solutions for how we might tackle them in the coming year.

5 . Question

I’ll begin by lining out the policies, and then I’ll go on to highlight what they mean for you and your working habits.

The highlighted words are not used correctly; there should be one word (an -ing verb) instead. Write the correct word below.

6 . Question

Write the missing word to complete a common phrase used to introduce an interesting fact.

Did you that the average office worker in London spends more than two hours commuting to and from work?

7 . Question

Complete the gaps in Dale Carnegie’s famous quote about making presentations, using the verbs ‘say’ and ‘tell’ in the correct form.

“ the audience what you’re going to ; it, and then them what you’ve .”

8 . Question

Next, I’d like to talk about the new marketing drive to attract teens.

The highlighted words are an example of what?

• signposting language
• getting the audience’s attention
• inviting questions
• introducing yourself

9 . Question

Let’s move ________ and discuss the latest customer feedback report.

Choose the correct word.

10 . Question

At this , I’d to to the company’s performance on punctuality.

11 . Question

Put the words in order to create an example of signposting language.

12 . Question

Let’s examine this in more ________.

Choose the two words that are possible.

13 . Question

14 . question.

Write a two-word phrasal verb that’s used as signposting language at the end of a presentation. (You use the same phrasal verb to mean put paper around an item before giving it as a present).

To , let’s remind ourselves of why this should matter to everyone here.

15 . Question

So, you’ve heard what I have to say. What conclusions can you take ________ from this?

16 . Question

Which question is not an example of a filler phrase, which you might say if you need some thinking time?

• Where was I?
• So, what was I saying?
• What’s the word in English again?
• What’s your take on this?

The odd one out – in other words, the answer you’re looking for – is a question that asks for someone’s opinion.

17 . Question

Complete this signposting language with a seven-letter word that means ‘make something clear’. You might say this if you realise you need to explain something in a different way.

To , I wanted to say that …

18 . Question

Write the words in the correct gaps to create a sentence you might say to delay answering a question. There is one word you don’t need to use.

I’ve time for questions at the end of this session, so we’ll your idea later.

19 . Question

• You’ve raised an important point there. What does everyone else think about this?

What technique is this an example of?

• delaying the answer to a question
• deflecting the answer to a question
• dismissing a question

20 . Question

Thanks for your putting in , but I don’t see how that’s connected to what I’m saying.

The highlighted words are not used correctly; there should be a one-word noun instead. Write the correct word below.

1. How to Introduce Yourself and Your Topic

If some people in the audience don’t know who you are, you should introduce yourself and your position.

In a more formal setting, you could say something like this:

• Good morning everyone. For those who don’t know me, my name’s Simon, and I work in the marketing department.
• Hello everybody. Before we begin, let me introduce myself briefly: I’m Reese and I’m the head of HR.

If you work in a more informal company, you could say:

• Hi guys; if you don’t know me, I’m Sylvia and I work in digital marketing.
• Hello! I see some new faces, so I’ll introduce myself first: I’m Julia and I’m one of our customer service team.

Next, you need to introduce your topic.

If your presentation topic is simpler, you could just say one sentence, like this:

• Today, I’m going to be talking about our new HR policies and how they affect you.
• I’d like to talk to you today about quality control and why we’re all responsible for quality control, whichever department you work in.

If your topic is more complex, you might add more detail to break your idea into stages. For example:

• Today, I’m going to be talking about our new HR policies and how they affect you. I’ll begin by outlining the policies, and then I’ll go on to highlight what they mean for you and your working habits. Finally, I’ll briefly discuss why we feel these new policies are necessary and beneficial for us all.

Here’s another example:

• I’d like to talk to you today about quality control and why we’re all responsible for quality control, whichever department you work in. First of all, I’ll explain why ‘quality control’ has a broader meaning than you might expect. I’ll continue by giving examples of real quality control, and why this matters for all of us. To finish, I’ll be asking you to think of ways you can incorporate quality control into your working habits.

Here, you saw two examples. You can use these as templates to begin your presentation:

• I’ll begin by… and then I’ll… Finally, I’ll…
• First of all, I’ll… I’ll continue by… To finish, I’ll…

Okay, now you can practice! We’d like you to do two things.

First, practice introducing yourself informally, and explaining your topic in a simple way, with one sentence.

Then, practice introducing yourself formally, and explaining your topic in a more detailed way.

Pause the video and practice speaking. All the language you need is in this section.

Learn more about this topic with another free English video lesson from Oxford Online English: Greetings and Introductions .

Ready? Let’s move on!

2. How to Make a Strong Start

I’m sure that in your life, you’ve heard good speakers and bad speakers.

Good speakers grab your attention and don’t let go. You want to hear what they have to say. You feel interested and energised by listening to them.

Bad speakers are the opposite. Even if you try to make yourself listen, you find that your attention drifts away. Your eyelids feel heavy, and you have to struggle to stay awake.

So, here’s a question: what’s the difference between good speakers and bad speakers? And, how can you make sure you speak effectively when you make your presentation in English?

Here’s one way to think about it: bad speakers don’t think they have to earn your attention. Good speakers understand that no one has to listen to them, so they work hard to make you want to pay attention.

What does this mean for you, and your presentation?

Getting people’s attention starts from the beginning. You need to make it clear what people should expect from your presentation, and why they should care about what you have to say.

Sounds like a nice idea, but how do you do this?

Here are three techniques you can use.

One: establish a problem which many people in your audience have. Then, establish that you have a solution to their problem.

For example:

• Have you ever felt unfairly treated at work, or felt that the work you do isn’t appreciated? We’ve been working to design new HR policies that will make sure all staff get fair recognition for their contribution to the company.

In this way, you take a boring-sounding topic like HR policies, and you make it more relevant to your audience. How? By connecting it with their experiences and feelings.

The second technique? Mention an interesting fact, or a surprising statistic to get people’s attention.

• Did you know that the average office worker spends eight hours a day at work, but only does four hours of productive, useful work? I’m here to tell you about ‘quality control’, and how you can use this idea to make better use of your time.

Finally, you can engage people by telling a short story and connecting it to your topic. Stories are powerful, and they can add an emotional dimension to your topic if you do it well. For example:

• I once met a young salesman—I won’t mention his name. He spent several weeks building a relationship with a potential client. He worked overtime, and he was working so hard that he was under severe stress, which started to affect his personal life. In the end, he didn’t close the deal—the clients signed with another firm. Today, I’m going to talk about confidence as a sales tool, and how you can avoid the traps that this young man fell into.

Use one of these three techniques in your introduction to connect with your audience and show them why they should be interested in what you have to say.

Here’s a question for you: which technique would you prefer to use, and why?

Okay, now you’ve introduced your topic and you have everyone’s attention. What next?

3. Using Signposting Language

There’s a famous quote about making presentations:

• “Tell the audience what you’re going to say; say it, and then tell them what you’ve said.”

Have you heard this before? Do you know who said it?

This comes from Dale Carnegie , a very successful American salesman and writer. He lived a long time ago, but his advice is still relevant today.

So, here’s a question: what does the quote mean?

It means that your presentation shouldn’t just give information. You also need to show people how your information is organized.

To do this, you need signposting language.

Let me give you an example to explain.

Imagine you go to a website. The website is full of really useful, interesting information. But, the information is all on one page. There’s no organization, and you have to scroll up and down, up and down this huge page, trying to find what you need. Would you stay on that website?

Probably not. You’ll find a website which makes it easier for you to find the information you need.

What’s the point here?

The point is that having interesting or relevant information is not enough. How you structure and organize your information is equally important.

If you don’t structure your presentation clearly, people won’t pay attention, just like you won’t stay on a website if you can’t find the information you want.

So, how can you do this?

You use signposting language. This means using words and phrases to show the audience where your points begin and end, to show what’s coming next, and to remind them about things you talked about before.

• Okay, that covers the new policies. Next, I’d like to move on and discuss what these policies mean for you.
• Now that you’ve heard a bit about what not to do, let’s focus on positive advice to help you be more effective salespeople and close more of your leads.

When you say something like this, you aren’t giving people information about the topic of your presentation. Instead, you’re showing people where you are, and where you’re going next.

It’s a kind of signpost. You don’t need signposts to travel from one place to another, but they can make it easier.

What else can you use signposting language for?

You can use signposting language to move from one point to the next. For example:

• Next, I’d like to talk about…
• Let’s move on and discuss…
• At this point, I’d like to turn to…

You can use signposting language to add detail to an idea:

• Let me go into some more detail about…
• Let’s examine … in more depth.
• I’d like to elaborate on…

You can use signposting language to show that you’ve finished your main points, and you’ve reached your conclusion:

• To wrap up, let’s remind ourselves of why this should matter to everyone here.
• Let’s review the key points from this session.
• So, you’ve heard what I have to say. What conclusions can you take away from this?

If you have an important presentation in English, practice using signposting language.

Use signposting language to move between points, to show when you’re giving a summary or going into more detail, and to signal that you’ve reached your conclusion.

Okay, but things don’t always go so smoothly in real life. We know that! Let’s look at some advice and language for dealing with problems during your presentation.

4. Dealing With Problems

Imagine you’re making your presentation in English. What could go wrong? What problems could you have?

There are many common problems:

You might forget where you were, or forget an important word. You might realise that you said something wrong, or you didn’t explain something clearly. You might forget to mention something important. Or, someone might ask you an awkward question, which you have no idea how to answer.

Of course, there are other possibilities!

Let’s think about these problems. What can you do, and more importantly, what can you say in these situations?

First of all, it’s a good idea to make a cue card with key points, as well as any important vocabulary you need. If you lose your place, or you forget a word, it could help.

However, you can’t prepare for everything. So, it’s useful to learn some phrases to deal with problems smoothly.

If you lose your place, and can’t remember what to say next, you can use a filler phrase like:

If you still can’t remember, look at your cue card with your main points.

Of course, forgetting something isn’t ideal. But, if you do, it’s better to keep talking, rather than just standing there in silence.

What if you make a mistake, or you realise that you didn’t explain something well?

You could say:

• Let me rephrase that.
• Actually, what I meant to say is…
• To clarify, I wanted to say that…

In this way, you can correct yourself without admitting that you made a mistake!

What if you realise that you forgot to mention something important?

Use a phrase like this:

• Let me just add one more thing:…
• I’d like to add something to a point we discussed earlier.
• Let me return to an earlier point briefly.

Again, this allows you to correct your mistake in a confident way, so you look like you’re in control.

Finally, what do you do if someone asks you a difficult question, which you can’t answer?

You have a few options. First, you can delay giving an answer. For example:

• I’ve allocated time for questions at the end of this session, so we’ll address your idea later.
• I’m not in a position to answer that right now, but I’ll get back to you later this week.

This gives you time to think of an answer and do some research if you have to!

Next, you can deflect the question, by asking a question back, or maybe by asking other audience members what they think. For example:

• That’s an interesting question. Before I answer, I’d like to know: what’s your take on this?

Finally, if the question is irrelevant, you can dismiss the question and move on. For example:

• Thanks for your input, but I don’t see how that’s connected to what I’m saying.
• I don’t mean to be blunt, but I don’t think that’s relevant to today’s discussion.

Notice how you can use phrases like thanks for your input, but… or I don’t mean to be blunt, but… to make your language more indirect and polite.

So, for dealing with difficult questions, just remember the three d’s: delay, deflect, dismiss!

Thanks for watching!

We Offer Video Licensing and Production

Use our videos in your own materials or corporate training, videos edited to your specifications, scripts written to reflect your training needs, bulk pricing available.

Interested?

More English Lessons

Business english lessons.

• Facebook 111
• Odnoklassniki icon Odnoklassniki 0
• VKontakte 0
• Pinterest 0
• LinkedIn 26

Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

• Researcher Training & Development
• Self-Access Resources
• Communication Skills

Making a Presentation

The most important thing about presenting is to remember it is about communication, so always make conveying your message a priority. The following sections are designed to help you think about how to do that.

This guide is intended to work alongside and complement the division's face to face course on  Introduction to Presentation Skills . The slides from the course are available and, among lots of valuable information, include some very useful advice on presenting virtually. 

• Download the Presentation Skills course slides as a PDF . If you require the slides in a different format, please contact [email protected]

If you are going to present virtually, make sure you are comfortable with the software you are going to use, and that you practise - not just delivering your presentation, but also practised with the technology.

See also some hints and tips for virtual presentations , and this course on online presentations  from IT Services.

Introduction

Giving a talk – making a presentation – is such a practical activity that it seems strange to be writing an online guide. Nevertheless there are many useful hints and tips, and exercises, that we can include here to help you prepare for and practice your presentations.

Please don’t fall into the trap of thinking that just reading about making presentations will make you a good presenter. It won’t! Learning to make effective presentations is an entirely practical process. So if you are unable to attend a face to face course, make sure you engage with the practical suggestions included in the course slides (see link above) and these webpages. Get together with friends / colleagues to carry out the exercises and discuss the questions included here.

The Good and the Bad

Making presentations is a day to day part of working in academia. It is very easy to fall into the trap of believing that because you know your stuff, you do not need to think about how to go about presenting it effectively. The content – your knowledge – will speak for itself.

Take a moment to think about that. Can you think of a talk you attended where the speaker clearly knew their topic but did not present it well? How much of the subject matter did you absorb / retain?

Answer the same questions about the really effective presentations you have experienced.

With those presentations in mind, make a note of what made them awful / effective / memorable (memorable in both good and bad ways). Think about:

• What aspects of the content did the presenter focus on?
• How well was the content tailored and structured for the audience?
• How was it presented – All talk? All powerpoint? Other audio-visual tools? Involving the audience?  What else?
• How was the timing?
• How did the presenter come across? Confident? Knowledgeable? Engaging?
• What did the presenter do? Look at the audience or elsewhere? Speak clearly? How was their body language?

Preparation

‘By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.’ Benjamin Franklin.

So make sure you prepare thoroughly. Poor preparation makes a poor presentation. Try using this framework for your preparation: 

Setting objectives for your talk - download as a PDF

Selecting and structuring your content - download as a PDF

Getting it off the page / screen - download as a PDF

View the Framework for Presentations as a webpage

THE MOST IMPORTANT thing you must do in preparation for your talk is to rehearse it . The commonest mistake people make is to think that because they know in their head what they are going to say, they don’t need to practice the talk.

In fact you will find that once you start saying the words out loud, it is very different to the way it sounded in your head.

So rehearse , rehearse, rehearse .

Start by doing it by yourself, then get a friend or friends to listen and give you constructive feedback.

Then time your talk . How many talks have you attended that have overrun? How is that? In very few cases is it ok for a talk to overrun its allotted time. Far better to finish a little ahead of time, so as part of your rehearsing make sure you know how long your talk will take.

Delivering your talk and managing nerves

The slides from the division's face to face Presentations Course include a really valuable section on delivering your talk and managing nerves (see link above). See too these Delivery hints and tips - download as a PDF , or view delivery hints and tips as a webpage .

You might also find it interesting to have a look at Amy Cuddy’s TED talk and research on how our posture influences our confidence. 

Other Resources

LinkedIn Courses:

Overcoming your Fear of Public Speaking

Own your Voice: Improve Public Speaking Skills

Communicating with Confidence

Public Speaking: Energize and engage your Audience

Master Confident Presentations

On this page

Presentation Definition: A Comprehensive Guide

Table of contents, unraveling the presentation definition.

Presentation – a word frequently used in English, Spanish, Latin, French, and Arabic contexts, but what does it exactly mean? In this article, we delve into the definition of presentation , exploring its various facets and applications in different fields.

The Essence of Presentation: A Definition

What is a presentation.

A presentation is the act of presenting information or ideas to a group of people in a structured and deliberate manner, often with the aid of visual aids like PowerPoint, Keynote, or multimedia tools.

Presentations are a ubiquitous part of the professional, educational, and social landscape. The act of presenting, essentially communicating information and ideas to a group of people, has evolved significantly over time. This article explores the definition of a presentation, its various formats, the skills required to make it effective, and the nuances of a great presentation, all while weaving in an eclectic mix of keywords.

Historical Roots: From Latin to Modern Day

The Evolution from ‘Praesentātiō’ to ‘Presentation’

In its essence, a presentation is the act of presenting or displaying information or ideas to an audience. The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as “the action or process of presenting something to someone.” In Latin, the term stems from ‘praesentātiō’, denoting the action of placing before or showing. This definition has broadened in modern English to encompass various methods of showcasing information, whether it’s a business pitch, an academic lecture, or introducing a new product.

The term has its origins in Latin (‘praesentātiō’), evolving through various languages like French and British English, symbolizing the act of presenting, displaying, or giving something to others.

Types and Formats of Presentations

Diverse Formats for Different Needs

Presentations can vary in formats – from formal PowerPoint presentations to informal Prez (an informal abbreviation of presentation) discussions, each tailored to suit specific requirements.

Enhancing Presentation Skills: A Guide

Mastering the Art of Presentation

Presentations come in various formats, from the traditional speech to more contemporary multimedia showcases. PowerPoint, a widely used tool, allows the integration of text, images, and graphs to create visually appealing slides. Similarly, Apple’s Keynote offers tools for creating impactful multimedia presentations. The inclusion of visual aids, like graphs and charts, enhances comprehension and retention. For those interested in learning Spanish, Arabic, or French, incorporating these languages in presentations can broaden audience reach.

Effective presentation skills involve a blend of clear communication, eye contact , engaging visual aids , and a confident delivery. These skills are crucial in both business and educational settings.

Presentation in the Digital Age: Multimedia and Keynote

Embracing Technology for Impactful Presentations

In the era of digital communication, tools like multimedia presentations and Apple’s Keynote software have become indispensable for creating dynamic and interactive presentations.

The Art of Visual Aids: Graphs and More

Using Graphs and Visuals Effectively

Effective presentations often include graphs and other visual aids to convey complex information in an easily digestible format, enhancing the audience’s understanding.

Presentation in Different Languages

A Multilingual Perspective

The concept of presentation transcends languages, from English to Arabic , each offering unique nuances in the art of presenting.

Presentation in Literature and Culture

Presentation Copy and Beyond

The term also appears in literary contexts, such as a “presentation copy” of a book, and in cultural scenarios like a “breech presentation” in childbirth, where the baby is positioned to exit the birth canal feet first.

Effective Presentation: Tips and Techniques

Crafting an Impactful Presentation

An effective presentation is more than just delivering facts; it involves engaging storytelling, structured key points , and the ability to connect with the audience.

To deliver an effective presentation, certain skills are paramount. English, being a global lingua franca, is often the preferred language for presentations. However, the ability to present in multiple languages, like Spanish or French, can be a significant advantage.

Eye contact is a crucial skill, establishing a connection with the audience and making the presentation more engaging. Additionally, the ability to read the room and adjust the presentation accordingly is vital.

Incorporating Quizzes and Group Activities

Interactive elements like quizzes can transform a presentation from a monologue into a dynamic group activity. They encourage participation and can be especially effective in educational settings. Quizzes can also be used in business presentations to gauge audience understanding or to introduce a new product.

Presentation in Educational Contexts

Learning Through Presentations

In educational settings, presentations are used as a tool for teaching and assessment, often involving quizzes and interactive sessions to enhance learning.

Synonyms and Related Terms

Exploring Synonyms and the Thesaurus

The thesaurus offers a range of synonyms for ‘presentation,’ such as exhibition, demonstration, and display, each with slightly different connotations.

The Thesaurus and Vocabulary Expansion

Utilizing a thesaurus can enrich presentation language, offering synonyms and example sentences to clarify points. The ‘word of the day’ concept, often found in English learning resources, can be an interesting addition to presentations, especially in multilingual contexts.

Historical and Specialized Types of Presentations

The term ‘presentation’ also has specialized meanings. In historical contexts, a ‘presentation copy’ refers to a book or manuscript gifted by the author. In obstetrics, ‘breech presentation’ denotes a situation where the baby is positioned to exit the birth canal feet or buttocks first. Understanding these specialized definitions enriches the overall grasp of the term.

Presentation in Business: Introducing a New Product

The Role of Presentation in Business

In business contexts, presentations are crucial for scenarios like introducing a new product , persuading investors, or communicating with stakeholders.

Word of the Day: Presentation

Expanding Vocabulary with ‘Presentation’

In language learning, ‘presentation’ can be a word of the day , helping learners understand its usage through example sentences and pronunciation (notated as /ˌprez.ənˈteɪ.ʃən/ in English).

Key Points and Summarization

An effective presentation distills complex information into key points, making it easier for the audience to remember the most important takeaways. Summarization skills are critical in achieving this clarity.

Cultural Influences and Adaptations

The concept of presentations varies across cultures. In Arabic-speaking countries, the style of presentation might differ significantly from that in English-speaking contexts. The benefice of understanding cultural nuances cannot be overstated, as it can significantly impact the effectiveness of a presentation.

The Role of Technology

Technology, particularly multimedia, plays a pivotal role in modern presentations. From PowerPoint slides to advanced software like Keynote, the use of technology has revolutionized the way information is presented. The integration of videos, sound, and interactive elements makes presentations more engaging and memorable.

Eye Contact and Body Language

In delivering a presentation, non-verbal cues like eye contact and body language are as important as the spoken content. Maintaining eye contact with the audience establishes a connection and keeps them engaged. Similarly, confident body language can convey authority and enthusiasm.

The Art of Storytelling

A great presentation often resembles storytelling. It’s not just about relaying facts; it’s about weaving a narrative that resonates with the audience. This involves understanding the audience’s needs and interests and tailoring the content accordingly.

Innovation and New Products

Presentations are often the first introduction of a new product to the market. The effectiveness of these presentations can make or break the product’s success. Highlighting the unique features and benefits in a clear, compelling manner is crucial.

The Power of Presentation

Presentations are a powerful tool for communication and education. Whether in a formal business setting or an informal educational environment, mastering the art of presentation can lead to more effective and impactful communication.

1. Oxford English Dictionary

2. Merriam-Webster Thesaurus

3. Apple Keynote User Guide

4. Presentation Techniques in Educational Literature

Speechify Studio

Pricing: Free to try

Speechify Studio is a comprehensive creative AI suite for individuals and teams. Create stunning AI videos from text prompts, add voice overs, create AI avatars, dub videos into multiple languages, slides, and more! All projects can be used for personal or commercial content.

Top Features : Templates, text to video, real-time editing, resizing, transcription, video marketing tools.

Speechify is clearly the best option for your generated avatar videos. With seamless integration with all the products, Speechify Studio is perfect for teams of all sizes.

## Frequently Asked Questions About Presentations

### What is in a presentation?

A presentation typically includes a combination of spoken words and visual aids such as PowerPoint slides, graphs, or multimedia elements. It’s an organized way to convey information or ideas to a group of people.

### What is meant by giving a presentation?

Giving a presentation refers to the act of presenting information or ideas to an audience. This act, known in various languages including English, Spanish, and French as ‘presentation’ (or ‘praesentātiō’ in Latin), involves communication skills, visual aids, and sometimes interactive elements like quizzes.

### What makes a good presentation?

A good presentation effectively communicates key points, engages the audience through eye contact and clear speech (often practiced as a ‘word of the day’ in English classes), uses visual aids like graphs, and is well-structured. Effective presentation skills are crucial for this.

### What are the types of presentation?

There are various types of presentations, including formal business presentations (often using PowerPoint or Keynote), educational lectures, sales pitches for a new product, and informal talks. Each type uses different formats and approaches.

### What are the 4 parts of a presentation?

The four main parts of a presentation are the introduction, the main body, the conclusion, and the Q&A session. Each part plays a vital role in delivering an effective presentation.

### What are the three things that a good presentation should do?

A good presentation should inform, engage, and persuade or inspire the audience. It’s about more than just delivering facts; it’s an act of communication that can change perspectives or encourage action.

### How is a presentation linked with multimedia?

Presentations often use multimedia elements like videos, audio clips, and animated graphs to enhance the viewer’s understanding and engagement. Multimedia tools like PowerPoint and Keynote are widely used in creating dynamic presentations.

### How long should a presentation be?

The length of a presentation can vary, but it’s typically between 15 to 30 minutes. The duration depends on the context and the amount of information to be covered. It’s important to keep presentations concise to maintain the audience’s attention.

These answers incorporate various aspects of presentations, including their definition, formats, and the skills required, in multiple languages and contexts, as seen in resources like Oxford dictionaries and thesaurus.

• Previous The 10 best read aloud books for kids
• Next Avatar Slideshow: Engaging Visuals in the Digital Age

Cliff Weitzman

Cliff Weitzman is a dyslexia advocate and the CEO and founder of Speechify, the #1 text-to-speech app in the world, totaling over 100,000 5-star reviews and ranking first place in the App Store for the News & Magazines category. In 2017, Weitzman was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list for his work making the internet more accessible to people with learning disabilities. Cliff Weitzman has been featured in EdSurge, Inc., PC Mag, Entrepreneur, Mashable, among other leading outlets.

Recent Blogs

AI Speech Recognition: Everything You Should Know

AI Speech to Text: Revolutionizing Transcription

Real-Time AI Dubbing with Voice Preservation

How to Add Voice Over to Video: A Step-by-Step Guide

Voice Simulator & Content Creation with AI-Generated Voices

Convert Audio and Video to Text: Transcription Has Never Been Easier.

How to Record Voice Overs Properly Over Gameplay: Everything You Need to Know

Voicemail Greeting Generator: The New Way to Engage Callers

How to Avoid AI Voice Scams

Character AI Voices: Revolutionizing Audio Content with Advanced Technology

Best AI Voices for Video Games

How to Monetize YouTube Channels with AI Voices

Multilingual Voice API: Bridging Communication Gaps in a Diverse World

Resemble.AI vs ElevenLabs: A Comprehensive Comparison

Apps to Read PDFs on Mobile and Desktop

How to Convert a PDF to an Audiobook: A Step-by-Step Guide

AI for Translation: Bridging Language Barriers

IVR Conversion Tool: A Comprehensive Guide for Healthcare Providers

Best AI Speech to Speech Tools

AI Voice Recorder: Everything You Need to Know

The Best Multilingual AI Speech Models

Program that will Read PDF Aloud: Yes it Exists

How to Convert Your Emails to an Audiobook: A Step-by-Step Tutorial

How to Convert iOS Files to an Audiobook

How to Convert Google Docs to an Audiobook

How to Convert Word Docs to an Audiobook

Alternatives to Deepgram Text to Speech API

Is Text to Speech HSA Eligible?

Can You Use an HSA for Speech Therapy?

Surprising HSA-Eligible Items

Speechify text to speech helps you save time

Popular blogs.

The Best Celebrity Voice Generators in 2024

Youtube text to speech: elevating your video content with speechify.

The 7 best alternatives to Synthesia.io

Everything you need to know about text to speech on TikTok

The 10 best text-to-speech apps for Android

How to convert a PDF to speech

The top girl voice changers

How to use siri text to speech, obama text to speech, robot voice generators: the futuristic frontier of audio creation, pdf read aloud: free & paid options.

Alternatives to FakeYou text to speech

All about deepfake voices, tiktok voice generator, text to speech goanimate, the best celebrity text to speech voice generators, pdf audio reader.

Only available on iPhone and iPad

To access our catalog of 100,000+ audiobooks, you need to use an iOS device.

Coming to Android soon...

Join the waitlist

Enter your email and we will notify you as soon as Speechify Audiobooks is available for you.

You’ve been added to the waitlist. We will notify you as soon as Speechify Audiobooks is available for you.

• Facebook Profile

Learning English with Oxford

The latest language learning tips, resources, and content from oxford university press., useful phrases for giving a presentation in english.

• by Oxford University Press ELT
• Posted on April 21, 2023 February 2, 2024

Giving a presentation in English can be challenging, but with these helpful phrases, you can feel confident and ready to make a good presentation in English. 

Starting your presentation

So how to start a presentation in English? Begin by saying hello and welcoming everyone. You can also thank the audience for being there with you. 

The beginning of the presentation is one of the most important parts because you need to make sure your audience is interested from the start. 

You could tell a short story, give a fact, or simply tell the audience a little bit about yourself, e.g. ‘ Let me start by telling you a little bit about myself …’ 

Then, introduce what your presentation is about by giving an opening statement or an overview of your session. For example, ‘Today, I am going to talk to you about …’ or, ‘Today, we’ll be looking at/focusing on …’. 

You can also tell the audience, ‘ If you have any questions, please raise your hand and I’ll be happy to answer them’ … or ‘ We’ll have time at the end for questions.’

Presenting the topic

When you get into the main part of giving your presentation in English, remember that what you’re saying to your audience is new information. Speak slowly, organise your ideas, and make sure your pronunciation is clear. You can learn more about boosting your pronunciation here . 

Use expressions to order your ideas and introduce new ones. You can use words and phrases to sequence like, firstly/first of all, secondly, then, next, following this, and lastly/finally. 

If you want to introduce the opposite point of view, you can use language like however, on the other hand, contrary to this and then again. 

It’s a good idea to link what you are saying back to previous things you have said. This shows you have a well-organised presentation and also helps keep people engaged. For example, ‘as I said previously/at the beginning …’, ‘as you may remember’ and ‘this relates to what I said about ….’

Highlighting information during your talk 

When you are giving a presentation in English, you might want to highlight a particular piece of information or something that’s important. You can use phrases such as ‘Let’s focus on …’, ‘I want to highlight …’,   ‘Pay attention to …’, ‘Let’s look at …’, ‘I want to briefly address …’, or ‘Now, let’s discuss ….’ You can use these phrases after your sequencing words to help you with your structure. 

You can also highlight information by asking your audience their opinion of what you are saying or having them engage with the presentation in some way. For example, you could ask a question and have the audience raise their hands if they agree, or disagree, or if you want to find out how many of them have experience with the situation you’re discussing. Asking questions is a good way to make sure you still have the audience’s attention after you’ve been speaking for a while.

You can also highlight information on your visuals if you’re using them. Use bright, impactful pictures and colours, and don’t include too much writing on your slides.  

Finalising the talk 

At the end of the presentation, you should summarise your talk and remind the audience of the things you have discussed, and the new information you have given them. You can say things like ‘In summary, we have looked at …’, ‘I’d like to finish by …’, and ‘We’re coming to the end of the presentation. We’ve discussed …’. 

You can then ask the audience for any questions you haven’t already answered. 

What are your experiences of giving a presentation in English? Do you have any other tips to add? Share below!

Billie Jago is an ELT writer and teacher trainer, specialising in digital & assessments. She is the founder of the professional development podcast ELTcpd and co-founder of the digital ELT content agency, otterelt .

Share this:

Author: Oxford University Press ELT

Every year we help millions of people around the world to learn English. As a department of the University of Oxford, we further the University’s objective of excellence in education by publishing proven and tested language learning books, eBooks, learning materials, and educational technologies. View all posts by Oxford University Press ELT

before You start your presentation ,try please to mention the time duration . sometimes people should be informed so that we can take a coffe break or cigarettes break in order to make evry one happy with the topics

Here is the tip I would add according to my experience :

end your presentation on a positive note, for example with a funny sentence /image /meme / an inspirational quote, in short something that will make your talk pleasant to remember.

Valentina T.

You need to chill out and show calmness and confidence. You should rehearse your presentation on the stage some time before its previously stated time.

Clear, cogent & commanding. Thanks.

I think to get better respond to presentation you can do some mistakes in it and then explain it the end or in the next presentation. Because if anyone would like to learn something also should show involvement.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Discover more from learning english with oxford.

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Type your email…

Continue reading

• Subscriber Services
• For Authors
• Publications
• Archaeology
• Art & Architecture
• Bilingual dictionaries
• Classical studies
• Encyclopedias
• English Dictionaries and Thesauri
• Language reference
• Linguistics
• Media studies
• Medicine and health
• Names studies
• Performing arts
• Science and technology
• Social sciences
• Society and culture
• Overview Pages
• Subject Reference
• English Dictionaries
• Bilingual Dictionaries

Recently viewed (0)

• Save Search
• Share This Facebook LinkedIn Twitter

Related Content

Related overviews.

self-monitoring

impression management

performance

Erving Goffman (1922—1982)

See all related overviews in Oxford Reference »

More Like This

Show all results sharing these subjects:

self-presentation

Quick reference.

The conscious or unconscious control of the impression that one creates in social interactions or situations. It is one of the important forms of impression management, namely management of one's own impression on others through role playing. The phenomenon is encapsulated in Shakespeare's famous observation in As You Like It: ‘All the world's a stage, / And all the men and women merely players: / They have their exits and their entrances; / And one man in his time plays many parts’ (II.vii.139–42). It was popularized by the Canadian-born US sociologist Erving Goffman (1922–82) in his influential book The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (1959). See also ingratiation, self-monitoring, social constructionist psychology.

From:   self-presentation   in  A Dictionary of Psychology »

Subjects: Science and technology — Psychology

Related content in Oxford Reference

Reference entries, self-presentation n..

View all related items in Oxford Reference »

Search for: 'self-presentation' in Oxford Reference »

• Oxford University Press

PRINTED FROM OXFORD REFERENCE (www.oxfordreference.com). (c) Copyright Oxford University Press, 2023. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single entry from a reference work in OR for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice ).

date: 01 May 2024

• Cookie Policy
• Privacy Policy
• Legal Notice
• Accessibility
• [66.249.64.20|193.7.198.129]
• 193.7.198.129

Character limit 500 /500

Creating accessible PowerPoint presentations

Create accessible powerpoint presentations that benefit all students.

This resource explains how to create accessible PowerPoint presentations for use in lectures and sharing electronically, so benefiting all students, not just those with identified needs.

Making text and structure accessible

• To ensure text is visible to all students in a lecture theatre, use a sans-serif font (eg Arial or Verdana) in 20-28 point size for main text and 30-44 point size for headings (note some font sizes appear bigger than others). Avoid italics, which can be difficult to read.
• Minimise the amount of text on each slide and keep the layout simple (using bullet points, for instance). If you find yourself putting a lot of text on a slide, then provide this as a separate file instead.
• Use the layout options in PowerPoint rather than adding text boxes to a blank slide as this ensures screen readers can recognise titles. Give each slide a different title and number so students can navigate using assistive technology.
• When linking to other resources, avoid using the phrase ‘Click here’. Instead, give hyperlinks descriptive text such as ‘Find resources by searching the University’s Library listings ’. This allows students using assistive technology such as screen readers to follow the link.
• Ensure that there is a strong contrast between text and background, for example, dark text on a pastel or cream background (not white). Try to avoid contrasting red and green as these colours can be difficult for those with colour blindness to differentiate.
• Ensure that colours are not the only means of conveying information: use headings to help students distinguish between content.

Sharing slides in advance of teaching

Make slides available online 24 hours in advance of teaching, as well as at the start of the presentation or lecture. This allows time for students using assistive technologies to access materials and will give all students the opportunity to prepare. Sharing documents in advance, including glossaries of new terms or acronyms, is particularly helpful for those with disabilities (eg dyslexia) or those whose first language is not English. It may be vital for a deaf student to receive lists of new words before the lecture so they can work out a sign for those words with the interpreter.

Making images accessible

Adding descriptions to images or charts using the ‘alternative text’ feature ensures the information you want to convey is available to all students, including those using screen readers. To add ‘Alt text’ use the steps outlined in the Microsoft Office guidelines and follow these points:

• A short sentence describing the image is likely to be sufficient. Try to identify the key information that the image is intended to convey to students. In charts and graphs, this is often the data. If interpretation of the image is subjective or intended to teach a visual discretion skill, think carefully about which information you should include.
• If possible, avoid using terms that describe visual concepts such as ‘foreground’ or ‘background’.
• If the image is purely decorative, add ‘decorative’ to the ‘Alt text’ field.

Displaying data accessibly

Try to avoid using tables simply for formatting purposes. If you do need to display data in a tabular format, use the table function rather than formatting using the space bar. This will allow assistive technology to recognise the format. If you decide to use a table:

• Try to keep the table as simple as possible (avoid splitting or merging cells)
• Use column headings (found in ‘Table Tools’) to indicate which information is needed to interpret the cells in the table
• Keep table headings short and specific

Using audio-visual content

• Ensure that videos or audio content are accessible to all by enabling subtitles for videos and audio content and/or providing a transcript. Further guidelines on using videos in PowerPoint are available.
• View the Example PowerPoint Slides resource for two different samples of accessible slides.
• Check the accessibility of your presentation using the Accessibility Checker . More details can be found via Microsoft Office’s Rules for the Accessibility Checker .

  Download this guidance as a Word document  

If you have a query, please contact us at

[email protected]

  @CTLOxford

Teaching & Learning Newsletter

Subscribe to our termly Teaching & Learning Newsletter

SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER

Related links

• Accessibility
• An Introduction to Inclusive Teaching at Oxford
• Teaching remotely: support for disabled students

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

• Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

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

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

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

Partner Center

Teach and learn English

With interactive e-books from Oxford

Use an access code

Already have an access code? Register or sign in using your Oxford ID and choose Add books to get started.

Free samples

Try sample Oxford University Press e‑books any time you want, for free. Thousands of English language teachers, learners and institutions trust Oxford’s leading e‑book platform.

Choose from hundreds of e‑books for all ages and levels, including award‑winning Graded Readers, Course Student book and Workbooks, Grammar and Reference, and Professional Development for teachers. Our courses are also available as complete digital packs that include e‑books and Online Practice.

Download the app

Use e-books and Classroom Presentation Tools offline. Save your work in the cloud so that you can access it across different devices.

New! Track students’ progress in the gradebook

• Get everyone ready for the first day of school.
• Enrol students into classes and assign e-books and Classroom Presentation Tools to students and teachers
• Track students’ progress in the class gradebook and be confident their learning is on track (available for some courses only)

Find these tools under My Account after signing in.

How can Oxford Learner’s Bookshelf help you?

• Tools for teachers Teachers
• Tools for students Students

Classroom Presentation Tools for delivering engaging lessons on screen

You can use your Classroom Presentation Tool offline to prepare your lessons anywhere and access your synced notes in your classroom.

NEW! Track students’ progress in the class gradebook

(available for some courses only)

• Save time and be confident your students’ learning is on track
• View scores in a variety of different ways, for the whole class or individual students
• See students’ answers to individual activities
• Download the class gradebook score reports and save them offline

Interactive Learning:

• watch video straight from the page
• complete interactive activities with automated marking
• listen to audio for authentic listening practice
• voice record to practice speaking and pronunciation
• add notes and use the pen and highlighter tool to annotate the page
• easily navigate using bookmarks, jump to page, and the search tool
• track your progress in the gradebook and keep your learning on target (available for some courses only)

A world‑famous dictionary

Look up Oxford Learner’s Dictionary definitions with pronunciation guidance, at the right level for you.

Reading Diary

Specially designed for our Graded Readers, students can track how many words they have read, for how long and collect awards. They can share their Reading Diary with their teacher, parents or friends.

Definition of a Powerpoint Presentation

When you want to make a slideshow complete with text and multimedia content, Microsoft PowerPoint can handle whatever you throw at it. A PowerPoint presentation can share important information such as a business plan or educational lesson, or it can be useful for entertainment purposes.

Advertisement

You have a lot of control over customizing a PowerPoint presentation and can start quickly with templates and a variety of useful tools. Microsoft offers a free basic web version of PowerPoint but requires an Office 365 subscription to get the most from the powerful program.

Video of the Day

PowerPoint Presentation Description

The basic purpose of a PowerPoint presentation is to communicate information or media through a series of slides. Along with regular text, your slides can contain numerous types of content such as tables, images, drawings, charts, links, word art, videos, audio and even embedded add-ins from Microsoft. The software also has built-in editing tools that you can use to resize, position and update content without needing to open items in other applications.

Using PowerPoint

Often, you narrate a presentation when you give it live or record audio for viewers when you're sharing your presentation to a group remotely. However, you can also include all the important information in the slides themselves or in the speaker notes found below each slide. The program comes with presentation planning tools that can help you both with the narration and timing of the presentation.

PowerPoint also gives you flexibility with presentation styles. You can share your presentation online and let other users view or even edit the content. You can also use the slideshow format that you can configure to show slides at a specified time interval, set up a custom display format or add extras such as subtitles.

Popular PowerPoint Features

Some of PowerPoint's most popular features include the built-in slide designer and templates that can help you make presentations quickly without needing much knowledge of the process. For example, by opening the program's template library, you can generate a starter file with a title slide with your preferred background, layout and color scheme. You can then use the program's duplication option to generate more formatted slides easily. Even if you make a presentation from scratch, you can use a Design Ideas button that generates a list of ready-to-use slide styles to select.

Other helpful PowerPoint features include the built-in transitions and animations, text highlighter and drawing tools. The transitions and animations make your presentation look professional and interesting with effects like fading, growing and shrinking, morphing and zooming. The text highlighter and drawing tools make it easier to point out information as you give presentations. The latest PowerPoint also lets you insert 3D models that users can interact with.

Common Uses of PowerPoint

Whether you use one slide or many, you can find uses for PowerPoint in many professions and areas. Some examples of PowerPoint projects include:

• Work portfolios
• Business meetings
• Tutorials for students and workers
• Photo slideshows
• Mailing labels
• Timelines and flowcharts
• Family trees

How to Get PowerPoint

If you're comfortable with a limited version of PowerPoint that you access through your web browser or mobile device, you can use your free Microsoft account to sign in to the OneDrive version of all the Office products. This version allows for collaboration and gives you access to some templates like the paid versions do. However, you can expect some advanced editing options and features – like live narration recording – not to work.

Otherwise, you can purchase the Office 365 Personal or Office 365 Home version of Office that gives you access to the software on all platforms. You pay either monthly or yearly and gain access to all of PowerPoint's premium features along with perks such as a large amount of storage on OneDrive, technical support and access to other popular Office apps. Office 365 Home allows up to six users versus just one for Office 365 Personal, so your whole family can benefit.

• Microsoft: What Is PowerPoint?
• Microsoft: Microsoft PowerPoint
• Finepoint Design: Top 5 Uses of MS Powerpoint in Our Daily Life
• Brandon Gaille: 10 Pros and Cons of Powerpoint Presentations
• Microsoft: Buy Office

Report an Issue

Screenshot loading...

Places on our 2024 summer school are filling fast. Don’t miss out. Enrol now to avoid disappointment

• 12 Ways to Give an Outstanding Presentation

Learning how to give a presentation well is a significant life skill.

It’s valuable at school, where you may often be called upon to give presentations on something you’ve been learning about. The same is true at university. And almost any office job requires giving presentations, whether that’s to pitch to prospective clients or partners, or simply to keep your colleagues up-to-date with what’s going on it your team. Giving a presentation is frequently part of job applications as well, because it demonstrates a transferable skill without requiring you to know more of the ins and outs of the job itself than might be reasonably expected. For all these reasons, it’s worth learning how to give a really good presentation – not just one that conveys all the necessary information, but one that keeps your audience engaged, rather than counting down the minutes until lunch. Unfortunately, the number of people giving bad presentations far outnumber the good ones – though this does give you an opportunity to shine if you hone your skills. Here are our top tips.

1. Check the technology

There’s nothing worse than showing up for a 15-minute presentation where the speaker takes ten minutes to get the projector working. Similarly, having great slides is pointless if the projector is so out of focus that everything is unreadable. No matter how confident you are in the technology you’ve got available, it’s best to have backup options just in case. That might mean bringing your own projector, or at the very least having your presentation on a memory stick in case your own laptop won’t connect to the projector. You might even want to have a printed copy of your slides available for everyone in the audience just in case, especially if the presentation is for a job interview – while it’ll be disappointing not to have the proper presentation available, they’ll be impressed by your resourcefulness. If none of these options are possible, then try to show up early so that you’re not setting up in front of your audience and you’ll have time to call for IT support if needed.

2. Focus on what the audience needs to know

In a school context, thinking about what the audience needs to know can be tricky. Chances are you’ve been assigned certain topics that your presentation has to cover, and you’ll need to include all of them even if you know that the people watching won’t care, or might have covered the same material in their presentations too. However, where it is possible, do try to select content based on what your audience needs to know and will find interesting. Hopefully these two things will overlap to a certain extent. Why are they there watching you? What are they hoping to find out? Do your best to answer any questions that you expect they might have, and do so clearly, to be rewarded with a more engaged and attentive audience.

3. Choose slides that complement what you’re saying

The biggest mistake that people make when giving presentations is creating slides that either distract from what they’re saying, or that simply repeat it. Your audience shouldn’t be sitting there wondering how on earth the photo on the slide is going to be connected to what you’re saying. They also shouldn’t be getting bored of hearing you talk because you’re just repeating the same things that they’ve already read from the screen in front of them. So what does it mean for a slide to complement what you’re saying? It could be that while you’re talking through some statistics, your slide shows a graph to present the same thing in visual form. It could be that if you’re talking about a product, or a location, your slides include photos. If what you’re talking about involves names that are hard to spell, include those details on your slides. The key thing that all of these ideas have in common is that they are useful to your audience to have available and they make what you’re saying clearer

4. Use the ‘notes’ section if you have to provide slides

The above might seem difficult if you’ve also been required to provide slides that are fully informative for anyone who couldn’t be there. This requirement defeats the point of giving a presentation – if you just wanted people to read off a page, you should be writing a report instead – but nonetheless it’s often stipulated both at school and in the workplace. The solution is to make full use of the ‘notes’ section in your presentation software. This is where you should put the text of what you’re saying in conjunction with that slide, which can then be provided as a handout or emailed to people who couldn’t attend. They can read it, without you needing to produced over-detailed slides in order to take them into account.

5. Concentrate on the key message

However much you might hope, the chances of everyone in your audience remembering every detail of your presentation is remote – especially if it’s only one of half a dozen that they’re going to be watching that day. But at a minimum, you do want them to remember something about what you said, and ideally not something irrelevant, such as the odd way that you pronounced a particular word, or that one of your shirt buttons was undone. The way to ensure that the audience remembers the message that you want is to focus on it ruthlessly. Whatever that message is, come back to it several times over the course of the presentation, spelling out how the rest of what you’re saying ties in to it; don’t leave too much for your audience for work out themselves if you can’t be sure they’re paying attention.

6. Use the 10/20/30 rule

Guy Kawasaki has had a distinguished career in business, but his 10/20/30 rule might be his best-known idea. This is the rule that a PowerPoint should have no more than 10 slides, last no longer than 20 minutes and contain no font size smaller than 30pt. Of course, if you’re giving a presentation in a school context, you may not have any choice – you might be required to produce 20 or more slides, or talk for half an hour. But you might at least be able to honour the rule about font sizes, ensuring that your slides won’t be crammed full of excessive text. And if you do have any choice over how long you’re speaking for, then the rest of the 10/20/30 rule is worth heeding too. It keeps you from speaking longer than your audience’s concentration will last, and trying to boil down your message to 10 slides or fewer (and there’s no rule against using fewer) obliges you to be concise and think about what really matters in what you have to say. If this feels restrictive, remember that your audience is likely only to remember 10 of your slides anyway – even if you have 50.

7. Tell stories

Facts, figures and statistics are a necessary part of most presentations, but they’re also not usually very interesting – especially if they amount to things going as usual. What can make a dull presentation more interesting is finding a story to tell. In some areas, this will be much easier than in others. If you’re in a history class, for instance, it’s easy to see how you could draw on the story of a single individual in your time period and use that to make the necessary but dull parts of your presentation more interesting. It’s rather harder if your presentation is on sales figures, but even then you might be able to say something about a customer that you’ve worked with to provide a human angle on the data. Anything that provides a break from graphs and tables can make a huge difference to your audience’s attention levels.

8. Use your voice

The illusionist Derren Brown gives the advice that if you notice that your audience isn’t paying attention – for instance, if you notice lots of fidgeting and coughing – one way to make them pay more attention is not to shout over their noise, but instead to speak more quietly. They’ll automatically become more engaged if they’re putting in the effort to hear you. Pulling off this particular technique without considerable skills in showmanship is hard work. But it does illustrate the broader point that the way we use our voices can make a big difference to how much people listen to us. A monotone will always be soporific, even if the information conveyed is fascinating, so make sure to vary the way you speak, changing speed, volume and pitch as appropriate. You might feel silly doing it, but your audience will be more engaged.

9. Don’t try to answer every possible question

Whatever the topic is that your presentation is addressing – whether that’s the theme of revenge in Hamlet or why the sales figures this month are more optimistic than they seem – there will be a variety of possible questions that it could answer. It’s natural to try to cover every single thing that your audience might want to ask, because that’s why they’re giving you their time and attention, isn’t it? In fact, your presentation will be much better if you cover what you think is important, rather than trying to cover every last thing. If you feel like some of your slides could be captioned ‘and another thing…’, that’s a hint that you might be trying to cover too many bases, and that will distract from the all-important key message we mentioned above.

10. Have a strong opening

The way most people begin a presentation goes something like this: “Hi, I’m Jane, and I’m here to talk to you about the theme of revenge in Hamlet .” It’s perfectly reasonable, but if it’s a warm room and after lunch, there’s a good chance that by the time you’ve got to the end of that introduction, some of your audience will already have fallen asleep. Why not open with something more interesting? For instance, you could begin with a blank, black opening slide, and read, “Haste me to know ‘t, that I, with wings as swift/ As meditation or the thoughts of love,/ May sweep to my revenge.” Your audience will be much more inclined to listen to the rest of what you have to say if you interest them and grab their attention from the start.

11. Use your body and the space

Some of the most interesting and inspiring examples of presentations out there are TED talks . One thing you’ll notice about them is that they very rarely stick the speaker behind a podium so that they can’t move – instead, they give them a microphone and a stage that they can walk on. This gives them much more range to express themselves through movement and body language. You may not be so lucky with your presentation set-up, but do try to use the space as much as you can. You can walk forwards when you want the audience to pay more attention to you, and back when their focus should be primarily on your slides. Don’t be afraid to use big gestures, too – if the room is large, they might be the only thing that can be seen from the back.

12. Give your audience something to take home

You can give the best presentation imaginable, and there might still be some people in the audience who won’t take all of it in. Perhaps they’re tired or preoccupied with something else – or perhaps they found an early point of yours so fascinating that they failed to pay attention to anything you said later on in the presentation. You can have a second go at engaging with these people by giving them some kind of handout to take away with them. It’s best to hand this out only after your presentation if possible, so that the audience doesn’t focus on the handout instead of on you. It could be a printout of your slides and notes, or it could be a summary page that outlines your key messages again. Either way, it gives you another shot at engaging your audience – and if they really found it fascinating, they then have something they can pass on to friends who weren’t there, as well.

Articulate 

Performance and Persuasion

Articulate Oxford provides bespoke coaching in public speaking and presentation skills.

Whether you have a one-off presentation to deliver or you would like to undertake a short course to improve your performance skills - and enjoyment of public speaking - Articulate can help you.