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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

• Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

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

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

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

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Home Blog Education Presentation Skills 101: A Guide to Presentation Success

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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How To Create Impactful Presentation Slides

Proven tips and strategies for slide success. Tailor your presentation for any audience.

Impactful Presentations Depend on Slides that Make Impact

Creating high-impact presentation slides requires an understanding of core design principles and communication techniques. This comprehensive guide will provide you with the framework for developing memorable slides that captivate viewers and convert them to your message.

You’ll learn proven tips and strategies to blueprint slide success, leverage aesthetics for maximum effect, craft concise and powerful narratives, and tailor your presentation for any audience . Whether you’re an experienced presenter or just starting out, follow this guide to gain the knowledge and tools to design presentation slides that motivate and influence .

Let’s begin the journey towards developing the skills and resources to create presentation slides that leave a lasting impact on your audience. 

The Anatomy of Impactful Presentation Slides

Crafting presentation slides that captivate audiences starts with understanding a few key elements that set impactful slides apart.

Blueprinting Slide Success

The foundation is setting clear objectives for each slide. Define specific purposes upfront – is the goal to educate, inspire, persuade or prompt action? With defined objectives, you can shape content and visuals precisely tailored to achieve maximum impact.

Be brief but brilliant. Impactful slides artfully distil the core message using succinct titles, captions and bullet points. Avoid overloading slides with walls of text or complex charts.

Sequencing your slides to progressively build on each other boosts engagement and impact . Numbering creates intuitive wayfinding. And grab attention from the start with an opening slide that encapsulates your central message .

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Captivating from the First Click

Make your opening slide shine by summarising the key message in a bold, succinct title with ample white space.

Then, introduce your topic with a high-quality visual – perhaps an infographic, photo or illustration – selected to resonate with your specific audience.

For virtual presentations, include identifying details like your name, presentation title, organisation and date. This provides context if slides are viewed later.

An impactful opening slide paves the way, mapping out key information ahead.

The Art and Science of Slide Aesthetics

Colour and contrast – the dynamic duo.

Thoughtful colour choices directly impact the look, feel and effectiveness of your slides. Vibrant accent colours like orange, green and blue attract the viewer’s eye, highlighting key text or graphical elements. Yet it’s wise to limit your palette to just 2-3 colours total to maintain overall visual clarity and focus.

Ensure high contrast between text colours and background colours for maximum readability and impact. Dark-coloured text on light backgrounds provides the clearest contrast and is easiest to read. Maintain a single muted background colour like beige, grey or white throughout all slides to provide visual cohesion. Avoid loud, distracting backgrounds.

Typography That Talks

Font style and size have a big influence on the tone and clarity of your message. For slide titles, use large, bold sans-serif fonts like Arial or Verdana set in 44 points or higher to grab attention.

For body text, standard sans-serif fonts like Arial, Calibri or Helvetica remain crisp and readable even on screens. Use a minimum font size of 30 points for easy viewing by audience members. Allow ample white space around text blocks to reduce crowding and increase emphasis.

Visuals with a Vision

Relevant images, infographics, and illustrations make your presentation slides much more visually impactful while also conveying or emphasising key information. High-quality stock photos should look authentic , not staged or generic. Infographics neatly synthesise data, statistics, relationships, processes or concepts into an easy-to-digest graphical format. Only use custom illustrations if they meaningfully contribute to your narrative – avoid bland clipart.

If you are looking for In-House Presentation Skills Training for a group or teams, please see our

Crafting Your Slide’s Story

Brevity with brilliance.

Being concise is vital when crafting your slide content. Carefully curate information to only the 3-5 most essential facts, statistics and concise statements that advance your central theme. Avoid lengthy paragraphs or blocks of text that will quickly overwhelm your audience.

The wise 10/20/30 rule provides helpful constraints to distil your story down to its very essence – no more than 10 slides total, 20 minutes maximum length, and minimum 30-point font size used consistently throughout. Remove any non-critical information.

Narrating with Numbers

Leverage the power of visuals to efficiently communicate vital supporting data and statistics. Well-designed charts, graphs and tables allow audiences to absorb key information and relationships at a glance.

Keep visuals as simple and clean as possible for maximum clarity – use no more than 3-5 readable data sets. Include clear, descriptive labels and legends. Only use elaborate chart designs if you know your target viewers can easily decipher them.

Crafting Action-Driving Closures

Conclude by succinctly crystallising your core message takeaway in 1-2 sentences. Then, issue a clear call-to-action, directing your audience to relevant contact details, further resources or explicit next-step instructions. This energises and equips them to act based on your presentation. A strong close ties together key elements into a cohesive, memorable package. Send them away educated and motivated.

Tailored Design for Targeted Delivery

Designing for the digital divide.

Your audience’s location will determine the optimal design for your impactful presentation slides. For in-person events, use sufficiently large text and visual elements that the entire room can see clearly. Attendees in the back need legibility too. Sans-serif fonts at 30pt and higher work well.

But for virtual presentations, even larger components are essential. On screens, go for bold sans-serif fonts sized 45pt or greater with generous whitespace. This ensures clarity even on small laptop screens. High-contrast colours also help digitally.

Shorter virtual talks, about 15-20 minutes max, tend to hold attention best. Break detailed info into bitesize chunks over more slides. Actively engage remote viewers through discussions, polls and chat interactions. Keep them focused.

Global Appeal in Slide Design

When presenting to international audiences , research any cultural references or idioms that may be inappropriate or confusing across geographic borders. Avoid locale-specific metaphors and terminology.

Instead, rely more heavily on visuals, statistics and data to transcend language barriers. Icons and images can convey universal concepts. But even colours can have different cultural meanings.

Careful customisation results in presentation slides that resonate with audiences worldwide. Do your homework to get it right.

Mastering the Slide Lifecycle

Implementing standardised templates and curating an extensive library of reusable assets can greatly amplify efficiency and consistency in the slide design process. Let’s do a deeper dive into systemising your slide creation.

Tools of the Trade: Slide Creation Simplified

Leverage time-saving capabilities built into leading presentation tools like PowerPoint, Google Slides , and Prezi . Take the time to learn keyboard shortcuts for efficiently duplicating, rearranging, and formatting slide content, images, and text boxes. This keeps you focused on content rather than mechanics.

Take full advantage of the suite of professionally designed themes and layout templates included in the software to effortlessly apply polished, branded colour schemes, font packages, and master slide frameworks. Consistent templated formatting reinforces brand identity and amplifies your core message.

The Reusable Slide Arsenal

Maintaining an extensive, well-organized library of impactful presentation slides, section templates, icons, logos, imagery, and graphs allows seamless reuse of compliant, high-quality assets across presentations.

Tag each asset with multiple descriptive keywords based on usage scenarios like “Title Slides,” “Agenda,” “Infographics,” “Company History,” or “Statistics” for easy search and retrieval later. Routinely review and add fresh material to your slide bank to keep content engaging for repeat audiences over time.

Elevate Your Presentation Skills With Impact Factory

Now that you’re armed with strategies for delivering high-impact presentations , it’s time to put these into practice. 

Impact Factory offers personalised coaching, interactive workshops and corporate training programs tailored to the specific needs of each presenter and organisation. Our experienced coaches help unlock your full potential as an impactful, engaging speaker .

Start by exploring their website for free presentation resources. Articles and tips from industry veterans provide insights on captivating storytelling techniques , enhancing your stage presence, building confidence in front of audiences and more.

When you’re ready for in-depth skill building, reach out to Impact Factory’s team via email or phone. Our experts will listen closely and devise a custom training plan suited to your individual goals as a presenter . Private coaching provides the personalised attention required to hone advanced techniques. Or gather your whole team for an immersive workshop or tailored corporate training program.

Invest in developing your presentation abilities for maximum impact. With the right training and dedication, you can inspire audiences and achieve presentation greatness .

Explore popular tools for different experience levels and budgets.

What makes an impactful presentation?

An impactful presentation is all about telling a compelling story that educates, inspires, and persuades your audience . It requires clearly defined objectives, strategic use of visuals, concise and vivid messaging, customisation for the specific audience, and smooth delivery . When all these core elements come together, you get a presentation that motivates and sticks with viewers long after it ends.

How do you start an impactful slide presentation?

Grab their attention immediately by opening with a slide that captures interest right away. Minimise text, use high-impact visuals, and have a bold but succinct title that summarises your core message. Establish the relevance to this particular audience. Set the stage for an engaging narrative to unfold. Those critical opening moments set the tone for your entire impactful presentation.

How do you give praise for a good presentation?

If someone has delivered an especially polished, engaging presentation, there are a few ways to express praise:

• “Your presentation was so well organised and professional.”
• “You made the information easy to absorb – nice work!”
• “Your slides perfectly supported your talk without being distracting.”
• “You kept me engaged from start to finish. Great job!”

A bit of authentic praise goes a long way.

What is the 5/5/5 rule for presentations?

The 5/5/5 rule provides guidance for slide text:

• No more than 5 words per line of text
• No more than 5 lines of text per slide
• No more than 5 text-heavy slides in a row without visuals

This improves readability and audience engagement.

What is the 10/20/30 rule for presentations?

The handy 10/20/30 rule recommends 10 slides maximum, 20-minute duration, and 30 points minimum font size. This keeps presentations focused, impactful, and easy to digest. The large 30-point text ensures readability.

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Would you like to learn more about growing your presentation skills? Here are resources that could help you along your journey:

• PowerPoint Presentation Course – This course is perfect for those who are ready to perfect their slides and learn how to craft a compelling story. Find out what you can expect from the course and how we can help you.
• Writing PowerPoint Presentations – Preparing your slides isn’t only about making them look pretty. You also need to think about your message and how to deliver it in the most impactful way possible.
• PowerPoint Presentation Tips And Tricks – Are you looking for immediate advice? Here are tips and tricks you can include in your next PowerPoint presentation.

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Improving PowerPoint Presentation Skills: Tips for PPT Presentation Skills

• Presentation Skills
• June 5, 2024

You’re sitting in a dimly lit conference room, eyes fixed on the screen as yet another PowerPoint presentation unfolds. Slide after slide, bullet points blur together, and your mind wanders. Sound familiar? We’ve all been there.

But what if a presentation didn’t have to be dull and uninspiring? What if they could captivate, inform, and leave a lasting impression?

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the nitty-gritty of a PowerPoint presentation skills , uncovering tips for crafting engaging slideshows that command attention and resonate with your audience.

From mastering the basics of PowerPoint’s interface to fine-tuning your delivery techniques, we’ll cover everything you need to know in your presentation to elevate it to the next level.

To make your slideshows more impactful, we will delve into how to improve various elements in the presentation process, ensuring you create compelling content that stands out in the competitive landscape.

Whether you’re a seasoned presenter looking to  refine your skills  or a novice seeking guidance, this blog is your roadmap to success.

Join us as we explore the art and science of PowerPoint presentations, unlocking the tools and techniques that will empower you to communicate confidently and clearly.

So, let’s dive in and discover the  tips to improve  your PowerPoint presentation together.

Phase 1: Understanding The Basics

Laying a robust foundation is similar to building a sturdy structure in PowerPoint presentations—it’s essential for creating compelling slideshows. In this section, we’ll discuss the fundamental elements of PowerPoint, equipping you with the knowledge needed to navigate the software seamlessly and unleash your creativity.

Familiarisation With PowerPoint Interface

To begin your journey with PowerPoint, let’s first acquaint ourselves with its interface. Upon launching the application, you’ll encounter a familiar sight – a blank canvas awaiting your creativity. At the top, you’ll find the Ribbon, a dynamic toolbar housing various tabs and commands. These tabs, including Home, Insert, Design, Transitions, Animations, and the Slide Show, serve as gateways to PowerPoint’s vast array of features and tools. Take your time to explore each tab and familiarise yourself with its offerings, from basic formatting options to advanced functionalities.

Exploring Different Slide Layouts And Designs

Now that you’re comfortable with the interface let’s dive into the realm of slide layouts and designs. Gone are the days of mundane bullet-point slides – PowerPoint offers a treasure trove of pre-designed layouts and themes to elevate your presentations. From title slides to content slides to conclusion slides, each layout serves a unique purpose and sets the tone for your presentation. Experiment with different designs, colours, and fonts to find a style that resonates with your message and captivates your audience.

Utilising Basic Formatting Tools

With your layout chosen, it’s time to populate your slides with content. Text, images, and multimedia elements are the building blocks of your presentation, and mastering basic formatting tools is key to ensuring their effectiveness. Explore font options, sizes, and colours to enhance readability and visual appeal. Likewise, leverage formatting tools for objects such as shapes, icons, and SmartArt to convey complex ideas with clarity and precision. Remember, simplicity is key – aim for clean, concise slides that convey your message effectively.

Phase 2: Structuring Your Presentation

In crafting a compelling presentation, the structure serves as the backbone that supports your message and captivates your audience.

In this section, we’ll explore two distinct approaches to structuring your presentation: leveraging pyramid principle to create impact and influence, and employing Monroe’s Motivated Sequence to tell a story and instil urgency.

Creating Impact And Influence with Pyramid Principle

The Pyramid Principle, developed by Barbara Minto, is a structured approach to presenting ideas logically, clearly, and compellingly. It involves organising your thoughts in a hierarchical structure, starting with the main idea and breaking it down into supporting arguments and evidence. This approach helps ensure that your message is coherent and impactful, making it easier for your audience to follow and understand.

1. Start with the main idea (Top of the Pyramid)

Begin your presentation with the key message or main idea you want to convey. This is the most important point you want your audience to take away. State it clearly and succinctly to grab their attention from the outset.

2. Provide Supporting Arguments (Middle of the Pyramid)

After stating your main idea, present the key arguments that support it. These arguments should be logically connected to your main idea and provide a strong rationale for why it is valid. Each supporting argument should be a separate point that contributes to the overall message.

3. Present Evidence and Examples (Base of the Pyramid)

To reinforce your supporting arguments, provide concrete evidence and real-world examples. This can include data, case studies, testimonials, or any other form of proof that lends credibility to your claims. The evidence should be relevant and compelling, helping to convince your audience of the validity of your main idea.

Telling A Story And Creating Urgency With Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

In this section, we’ll explore how to structure your presentation using Monroe’s Motivated Sequence to tell a compelling story and instil urgency in your audience. 

Capture your audience’s attention right from the start by highlighting a shocking statistic, asking a thought-provoking question, or sharing a captivating anecdote related to the challenges your organisation currently faces. Possible Elements to Include:

Start with a surprising fact or statistic

Ask a thought-provoking question

Use a story or share personal experiences

Incorporate humour or suspense

Utilise visual aids or a prop

Engage the audience with participation

By grabbing their attention with a compelling hook, you set the stage for the rest of your presentation and ensure that your audience is fully engaged from the outset.

Next, establish the need for change by outlining the specific pain points and challenges your organisation faces with its current project management system. Paint a vivid picture of the consequences of inaction and the missed opportunities for improvement. Possible elements to include:

Identify the problem

Establish the significance

Use examples and anecdotes

Provide a solution

Establish credibility

Appeal to emotion

By highlighting the urgent need for improvement, you create a sense of dissatisfaction with the status quo and lay the groundwork for your proposed solution.

Satisfaction:

Present your proposed solution – the implementation of a new project management system – as the answer to your organisation’s problems. Clearly articulate the benefits and advantages of adopting the new system, addressing the specific needs and concerns of your audience. Possible elements to include:

Clearly articulate the solution

Address potential concerns

Provide multiple solutions

Provide evidence

Show how to implement the solution

Use clear and concise language

By showcasing the benefits of your solution, you inspire hope and enthusiasm among your audience, motivating them to embrace change.

Visualisation:

Help your audience envision the positive outcomes and benefits of adopting your proposed solution by painting a vivid picture of the future state. Describe the transformative impact the new project management system will have on their daily work lives and the organisation as a whole. Possible elements to include:

Use graphics and images

Use storytelling

Use metaphors and analogies

Use real-world examples

Use interactive elements

By inspiring your audience to visualise the possibilities, you ignite their imagination and fuel their desire for change.

Conclude your presentation with a clear call to action that prompts your audience to take the next steps toward implementing the new project management system. Provide specific instructions and resources to facilitate their involvement and commitment to the initiative. Possible elements to include:

Provide a clear call-to-action

Use persuasive language

Use social proof

Provide clear instructions

Create a sense of urgency

Break it down into smaller steps

By issuing a compelling call to action, you galvanise your audience into action and create a sense of urgency around the need for change.

Phase 3: Designing Engaging Slides

From choosing the right colour scheme and fonts to incorporating multimedia elements, we’ll explore the essential components of slide design that will elevate your presentation to the next level.

Right Colour Scheme And Fonts

Colour and typography play a crucial role in conveying your message and evoking the desired emotional response from your audience. When selecting a colour scheme for your slides, opt for colours that complement your brand identity or the theme of your presentation.

Consider using contrasting colours for text and background to ensure readability, and avoid overwhelming your audience with too many vibrant hues.

Similarly, choose fonts that are easy to read and visually appealing. Stick to one or two primary fonts throughout your presentation to maintain consistency and coherence. Sans-serif fonts like Arial or Calibri are often preferred for on-screen readability, while serif fonts like Times New Roman or Georgia can lend a touch of elegance to your slides.

High-Quality Images And Graphics

Visual imagery can be enhanced with the impact of your message and make your presentation more memorable. Instead of relying solely on text, incorporate high-quality images and graphics that reinforce your key points and capture your audience’s attention.

Choose images that are relevant to your content and convey your message effectively, avoiding clichéd stock photos whenever possible.

Utilise graphics such as icons, illustrations, and charts to simplify complex concepts and add visual interest to your slides. Ensure that all images and graphics are of high resolution and properly aligned within your slides to maintain a polished and professional appearance.

Animations And Transitions

Animations and transitions can add a dynamic element to your presentation and help guide your audience’s focus from one point to the next. However, use them sparingly and purposefully to avoid distracting your audience or detracting from your message. Consider using subtle animations such as fade-ins or slide transitions to introduce new content or emphasise key points.

Be mindful of the timing and duration of animations, ensuring that they enhance rather than detract from the flow of your presentation.

Avoid excessive or gimmicky animations that may overshadow your content or come across as unprofessional.

Ensuring Consistency

Consistency is key to creating a cohesive and polished presentation that leaves a lasting impression on your audience. Maintain a consistent visual style, including colour scheme, fonts, and layout, across all slides to reinforce your branding and enhance readability.

Use slide templates or master slides to establish a uniform design framework for your presentation, ensuring that each slide adheres to the same design guidelines. Pay attention to details such as alignment, spacing, and formatting to create a visually harmonious presentation that reflects attention to detail and professionalism.

Phase 4: Enhancing Aesthetics and Interactivity

In this section, we’ll explore techniques for enhancing the aesthetics of your presentation and incorporating interactive elements to engage your audience effectively. 

Utilising Bullet Points Effectively

Bullet points are a versatile tool for organising information and improving the readability of your slides. Follow these guidelines to use the bullet points effectively:

Keep it Concise: Use bullet points to convey key ideas or supporting details in a concise and digestible format. Limit each bullet point to one idea or concept to avoid overwhelming your audience with too much information.

Maintain Consistency: Use consistent formatting for bullet points throughout your presentation to create a sense of coherence and professionalism. Align bullet points consistently, and ensure that spacing and indentation are uniform across slides.

Prioritise Information: Arrange bullet points in order of importance or logical sequence to guide your audience’s attention and understanding. Use bullet points to highlight key takeaways or action items, ensuring that your message is clear and easy to follow.

Keeping Slides Clutter Free

Clean and clutter-free slides are essential for maintaining audience engagement and conveying your message effectively. Follow these principles to keep your slides clean and visually appealing:

Limit Text: Avoid overcrowding slides with excessive text or information. Keep text blocks concise and use visuals, such as images or icons, to complement and reinforce key points.

Embrace White Space: Use white space strategically to create a sense of balance and focus on your slides. Leave ample space between text, images, and other elements to improve readability and visual clarity.

Choose a Cohesive Design: Select a consistent design theme or template for your presentation to ensure visual cohesion. Use complementary colours, fonts, and layouts to create a professional and polished appearance.

Adding Interactive Elements

Interactive elements can enhance audience engagement and make your presentation more dynamic and memorable. Consider incorporating the following interactive features into your PowerPoint presentation:

Hyperlinks: Include hyperlinks to external websites, documents, or resources related to your presentation topic. Encourage audience members to explore additional information or resources at their own pace.

Clickable Buttons: Create clickable buttons or icons that trigger actions such as advancing to the next slide, revealing hidden content, or launching multimedia elements. Use buttons strategically to prompt audience interaction and guide the flow of your presentation.

Polls and Surveys: Integrate polls or surveys into your presentation to gather feedback, gauge audience opinions, or spark discussions. Use polling software or built-in PowerPoint features to create interactive polls that encourage audience participation.

Conclusion: P owerpoint Presentation Skills

Mastering PowerPoint presentation skills can transform mundane slideshows into captivating, impactful experiences that resonate with your audience.

By understanding the basics, structuring your content effectively using techniques, and enhancing your slides with engaging designs and interactive elements, you can elevate your presentations to new heights. Whether you’re persuading stakeholders, training a team, or delivering a keynote address, the ability to craft and deliver powerful presentations is an invaluable asset.

Embrace these strategies and tools to communicate with confidence, clarity, and creativity, leaving a lasting impression every time you present.

Rishabh Bhandari

Rishabh Bhandari is the Content Strategist at Kapable. Rishabh likes to transform complex ideas into captivating narratives relatable to the target audience. He loves telling stories through his content. He believes that stories have the power to shift mindsets and move mountains. He has 3 years of experience in educational blog writing and copywriting.

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Anete Ezera March 23, 2023

Presentation skills are a crucial aspect of communication in today’s world. Whether you’re delivering a pitch to potential investors, giving a lecture in front of a class, or trying to make a point at a meeting, your ability to effectively present your ideas can greatly impact your success. However, not everyone is a natural-born speaker. Many struggle with nerves and self-doubt when it comes to presenting in front of an audience. But don’t worry! Improving your presentation skills is possible with practice and dedication. In this blog post, we’ll provide you with practical tips that will help you become a confident and engaging speaker. From preparing your material to engaging with your audience, we’ll cover everything you need to know to take your presentation skills to the next level. So whether you’re just starting out or looking to refine your existing presentation skills, read on for all the advice and inspiration you need to succeed.

Types of Presentations

Before we dive into specific presentation skills, it’s important to define the different types of presentations that may require different skills in how they’re presented. There are several types of presentations you can choose from, each with its own distinct format and style. Let’s take a look at some of the most common types of presentations:

Narrative presentations

In these types of presentations, the speaker focuses on telling a story that engages the audience and reinforces the main message. This type of presentation is perfect for engaging and entertaining an audience. It helps to keep the audience interested and focused and can be a great way to reinforce the main message. However, it can also be time-consuming to prepare a well-structured narrative.

Informative presentations

These types of presentations are designed to provide information on a specific topic. The speaker focuses on delivering accurate and relevant information to the audience in an organized and straightforward manner. This type of presentation is great for providing accurate and relevant information to the audience. The organized and straightforward delivery makes it easy for the audience to understand and retain the information. However, it can be difficult to keep the audience engaged and interested if the presentation is too dry or lacks excitement.

Persuasive presentations 

In persuasive presentations, the speaker aims to convince the audience to take a specific action or adopt a particular point of view. This type of presentation often includes arguments, statistics, and other persuasive techniques. However, if the arguments are weak or the persuasive techniques are ineffective, the presentation can fall flat and fail to achieve its intended outcome.

Demonstrative Presentations

These types of presentations focus on demonstrating a product or service to the audience. The speaker often includes visual aids, such as slides or videos, to help illustrate the key features and benefits of the product or service. However, it can be difficult to keep the audience engaged if the demonstration is too lengthy or repetitive.

Instructional Presentations

Instructional presentations are designed to teach the audience a specific skill or provide them with step-by-step instructions. The speaker often uses visual aids, such as diagrams or slides, to make the instructions clear and easy to follow. It’s perfect for teaching the audience how to perform a specific task. The use of visual aids, such as diagrams or slides, makes it easy for the audience to understand and follow the instructions. In this type of presentation, it’s important to present the instructions in a highly engaging way so the audience doesn’t lose interest.

Choosing the right type of presentation format can greatly impact the success of your presentation. Consider the audience, the message you want to convey, and the resources available to you, when deciding on the best presentation format for your needs. Once you’ve decided on a presentation format, you can move on to developing certain presentation skills that are most important for the specific case. 

Presentation delivery methods

The way you deliver your presentation is crucial. Therefore, we want to highlight this aspect before we dive into other effective presentation skills. A delivery method can make or break a presentation, regardless of the quality of the content. There are various methods of presentation delivery. The choice of method depends on the type of audience, the topic of the presentation, and the desired outcome. Discover 4 ways you can deliver a presentation and what kind of skills and approach they require. 

Traditional delivery

One of the most common presentation delivery methods is the traditional method of standing in front of an audience and delivering a speech. This method is suitable for formal presentations, such as keynote speeches, lectures, and corporate presentations. This method requires the speaker to have excellent public speaking skills, including voice modulation, body language, and eye contact. A traditional presentation delivery usually follows a classical presentation outline that has a clear beginning, middle, and end. 

Visually-focused presentation delivery

Another method of presentation delivery is the use of visual aids. This method involves using multimedia tools, such as images, videos, and infographics. Visual aids are effective because they can help the audience to better understand complex information, and they can also serve as a reference for the audience to refer to after the presentation. However, visuals should not be the sole focus of the presentation, as they can distract the audience from the message. 

If you want to create a visually-focused presentation, discover different Prezi presentation templates, and be sure to add images, videos, data visualizations, GIFs, stickers, and other visuals that you can find in Prezi’s content library and Prezi Design.  

If you want to learn more about the use of visuals in a presentation, and what are the best design practices, watch this video:

Interactive presentation delivery

Another way to deliver a presentation is by using interactive methods such as group discussions, role-plays, and simulations. This method is suitable for presentations that require the audience to actively participate in the presentation. Interactive presentations can be useful for training sessions, team-building exercises, and workshops. 

On Prezi, you can create highly interactive presentations where your audience can be active participants. Prezi’s non-linear format allows you to jump between topics instead of flipping through slides, so your presentation feels more like a conversation than a speech.

Storyteller delivery

The last method of presentation delivery is storytelling. It involves the use of anecdotes, personal experiences, and stories to deliver a message. Storytelling is a highly effective tool because it can help the audience to relate to the message on a personal level. 

Storytelling can also be used to make a presentation more engaging and entertaining. 

If you want to visually showcase a relation between two aspects and capture the transitional movement in a timeline, use motion, zoom, and spatial relationships in a Prezi presentation to showcase the nuances of your story world. 

Regardless of the presentation delivery method, make sure to follow the best presentation practices:

• Be well-prepared and knowledgeable about the topic. This can be achieved through research, practice, and rehearsal.
• Use clear and concise language that is easy for the audience to understand. You should avoid using jargon and technical terms, or you can take time to explain them to the audience. 
• Work on engaging the audience using eye contact, body language, and humor. This can help you establish a connection with the audience and make the presentation more engaging. 
• Be mindful of the time and ensure that the presentation is delivered within the allotted time frame.  
• Use effective visuals, if applicable, to support your message without overpowering it.

Effective presentation skills

There are numerous skills that you can develop to improve your presentations. In this article, we’ve summoned the following 8 presentation skills that are essential to any presenter that wants to make an impact with their message.

1. Effective communication

Effective communication skills are critical when it comes to presenting information to others. Presentations require a clear and concise message, and communication skills are key in delivering this message to your audience. Good communication skills allow you to connect with your audience, build rapport, and maintain engagement throughout the presentation. In addition, communication skills allow you to articulate your ideas and arguments clearly, and to respond to questions or challenges effectively. 

To improve this skill, practice speaking in front of a mirror or recording yourself to identify areas where you may need improvement. Also, consider using vocal techniques such as varying your tone and volume to keep your audience engaged.

2. Confident body language

Confident body language is an essential presentation skill as it communicates to the audience that the speaker is credible, knowledgeable, and in control. A confident posture, eye contact, and gestures can help you establish a strong presence and build rapport with the audience. It also helps you to convey your message more effectively. 

To practice confident body language, start by standing tall with shoulders back and head held high. Also, make eye contact with the audience and use natural hand gestures to emphasize key points. It’s also important to practice speaking clearly and with conviction, as this can further enhance the impact of confident body language during a presentation. 

If you’re interested in learning more about body language, read our article on 9 secrets to a confident body language . 

3. Audience engagement

Being able to engage your audience is a crucial presentation skill because it ensures that your message is well-received and understood. When you engage your audience, you capture their attention and maintain their interest throughout your presentation. This can make the difference between a successful presentation and one that falls flat. Holding the attention of your audience requires a combination of factors, such as having a clear message, being confident and comfortable in your delivery, using visual aids effectively, and connecting with your audience on a personal level. 

To improve this skill, you can practice rehearsing your presentation in front of friends or colleagues and seeking feedback. You can also try studying successful public speakers and their techniques and incorporating audience participation activities into your presentation to keep them engaged and interested. 

Additionally, you can engage your audience by opting for a motion-based presentation. It’ll enhance the impact of your content and ideas, making it more captivating for your audience to watch than a slide-based presentation. On Prezi, you can use motion, spatial relationships, and zooming effects to create highly impactful presentations. 

4. Time management

Time management is an essential presentation skill as it helps to ensure that you deliver your message effectively and efficiently within the allotted time. Poor time management can lead to an unprofessional and unprepared presentation, leaving the audience disinterested or confused.

To practice good time management, begin by planning and rehearsing your presentation in advance. It’s important to allocate sufficient time to each section and consider factors such as audience engagement and potential interruptions. You can also use time-tracking tools and practice pacing yourself during rehearsals to ensure you stay on schedule. By mastering time management, you can deliver a polished and engaging presentation, leaving a positive and lasting impression on your audience.

5. Content organization

Effective organization of presentation content is crucial for any presenter, as it determines the clarity and impact of the message. Organized content can help you convey your ideas in a logical and coherent manner, which aids in maintaining the audience’s attention and retention of information. 

To ensure that your presentation’s content is well-organized, it’s important to follow a few key steps. 

• Identify the main points you want to convey and arrange them in a logical order.
• Create a clear outline that includes an introduction, main body, and conclusion.
• Use transition words or phrases to smoothly connect each point to the next. 
• Ensure that your presentation has a consistent flow and that each point supports your overall message. 

By following these steps, you can effectively organize your presentation’s content and create a memorable and impactful experience for the viewers.

If you’re creating a sales presentation, be sure to read our step-by-step guide on crafting a winning sales presentation .

Also, discover how to best structure your presentation based on your presentation goal in this video:

6. Storytelling 

Storytelling is a powerful presentation skill that can captivate your audience’s attention and enhance the impact of your message. Stories allow us to connect with people on a deeper emotional level, and help us convey complex ideas in an easy-to-understand way. When we tell a story, we engage our audience, evoke their imagination, and inspire them to take action. 

To develop strong storytelling skills, you should practice telling stories with a clear beginning, middle, and end that convey a message or lesson. It’s also important to incorporate sensory details, such as sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste, to help the audience visualize the story. Also, make sure to focus on the tone of your delivery, including voice inflection, body language, and facial expressions, to effectively convey the emotions and dynamics of the story. Finally, use one of Prezi’s presentation templates like the one visualized below, or create your own story presentation on Prezi and visualize relations between topics, events, and characters using spatial relationships and visual hierarchy. 

By mastering the art of storytelling, you can deliver a powerful presentation that resonates with the audience and creates a lasting impression.

7. Adaptability

Adaptability is a crucial presentation skill – it allows you to adjust and respond to unexpected situations, changes, and challenges during the presentation. The key is to be properly prepared. This means researching your topic and practicing your presentation speech enough so that you’re prepared for any changes or questions that may arise. When you’re prepared, you’ll feel more present and be able to read the room and adjust to your audience’s needs and interests. Also, be flexible and open-minded to new information, feedback, and audience reactions. This skill will enable you to think on your feet and modify your content or delivery style accordingly. 

And lastly, you want to uphold the quality of your presentation no matter where you’re presenting, online or offline. If you need to adapt your presentation to an online experience, use Prezi Video and simply import your already-existing Prezi, Powerpoint, or Google slides, and deliver the same level of presence and quality as offline. With Prezi Video, you can showcase your slides next to you on-screen as you present, keeping that face-to-face interaction. 

Make sure to check out Prezi Video templates that you can find in Prezi’s template gallery .

8. Confidence

Last but definitely not least, one of the key presentation skills a great presenter possesses is confidence . Presenting with confidence can help you engage your audience and convince them of your authority and knowledge on the topic at hand. When you exude confidence, the audience is more likely to trust you and your message, leading to better communication and understanding. 

Developing confidence can be achieved through several methods. Practicing your speech multiple times, visualizing a successful presentation, and focusing on positive self-talk are all techniques that can help boost your confidence. Additionally, learning to control body language and voice tone can also have a positive effect on confidence levels during your time in the spotlight. 

By implementing these strategies, you can build your confidence and improve your presentation skills each time you’re speaking in front of an audience. 

Discover more about effective presentation skills in this video:

How to improve public speaking and presentation skills

While working on the effective presentation skills we listed above, you may feel nervous about public speaking in general. It’s no secret that public speaking can be a daunting task for many people. However, if you want to be a powerful, confident, and impactful presenter, you need to overcome your fear of anxiety of public speaking and improve the way you feel and appear when presenting. 

If you want to learn more about different techniques that can help you calm down before a presentation, here’s a helpful video for you to watch:

To help you become better at public speaking, we summoned 20 tips you can follow:

1. Practice, practice, practice

One of the most effective ways to become more comfortable with public speaking is to practice your speech as much as possible. When you practice, you can work out any kinks or rough spots that you may encounter when giving your speech in front of an audience. Additionally, practicing allows you to become more familiar with the material, making it easier to remember and deliver with confidence. While it may be tempting to simply read your speech from a script or cue cards, practicing your speech will allow you to internalize the material and deliver it with greater ease, flow, and naturalness. Therefore, it’s highly recommended that you take the time to practice your speech as much as possible before giving it in front of an audience, whether that be your friends, family, or colleagues.

2. Use presenter notes 

Preparing for a presentation can be a lengthy endeavor, particularly if you aim to memorize the entire script. Trying to remember every point can be challenging. Plus, the stress of public speaking can cause you to overlook crucial details. Jotting down your talking points can help you stay organized and avoid forgetting any essential information. However, relying solely on flashcards or paper notes may not be ideal. Constantly glancing at sticky notes or looking away from your audience can disrupt the flow of your presentation and disconnect you from your listeners. Instead, try using presenter notes on Prezi , where you can easily add notes to each slide. While presenting, you’ll be the only one that sees them, helping you deliver an impressive presentation with maximum confidence. 

3. Know your audience

When delivering a speech, it’s important to analyze and understand the audience you’ll be speaking to. By doing so, you can tailor your speech to their interests and needs. This means that you should take into account factors such as their age range, educational background, and cultural or professional affiliations. Additionally, it’s important to research the topic you’ll be discussing thoroughly and provide examples that are relevant to your audience. By doing this, you can ensure that your message will resonate with your listeners and leave a lasting impact.

4. Start with a strong opening

To really captivate your audience, it’s important to start with a strong opening that grabs their attention and sets the tone for the rest of your speech. One approach could be to start with a thought-provoking question or a powerful anecdote that relates to your topic. Alternatively, you could begin with a surprising fact or statistic that shocks and intrigues your listeners. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s attention-grabbing and relevant to the message you want to convey. Remember, the opening of your speech is your chance to make a lasting impression, so make it count!

Discover other ways to start your presentation speech and watch this video for more tips on starting a virtual presentation: 

5. Use humor

Using humor can be a great way to start off a presentation. It can help to reduce the tension in the room and make your audience feel more at ease. For example, you could start off with a joke or a funny story that relates to your topic. Alternatively, you could use a humorous image or meme to grab your audience’s attention. Just be sure not to overdo it – too many jokes can detract from your message and make you seem unprofessional. Remember that the ultimate goal of your presentation is to communicate information and ideas effectively, so use humor wisely.

6. Incorporate stories

Using stories in your speech can be an incredibly powerful tool. Personal stories, in particular, can help illustrate your points and make your message more memorable. By sharing a personal experience, you can connect with your audience on a deeper level and create an emotional bond. This can help them better understand your message and remember it long after your speech is over.

One way to incorporate personal stories into your speech is to draw from your own life experiences. Think about a time when you faced a challenge or overcame an obstacle, and how that experience taught you something valuable. Share that story with your audience and explain how the lessons you learned can be applied to their lives as well.

You can also use stories to illustrate more abstract concepts. For example, if you’re giving a talk about the importance of perseverance, you could share a story about someone who faced numerous setbacks but refused to give up. By sharing that story, you can make the concept of perseverance more concrete and relatable to your audience.

7. Use pauses

Using pauses is a great way to enhance your communication skills. In fact, when you take breaks in your speech, can help you gather your thoughts and think more clearly. Pausing also allows you to emphasize key points you want to make in your speech. Additionally, by using pauses strategically, you give your audience time to process the information you’re sharing with them, which can help ensure that they understand and retain it better. All in all, incorporating pauses into your speaking style can be incredibly effective in making your message more impactful and memorable.

8. Speak clearly and loudly

When delivering a speech or presentation, it’s important to speak in a manner that is clear and easy to understand. However, it’s equally important to ensure that your voice is projected loudly enough for your audience to hear you. Speaking too softly can make it difficult for people in the back of the room or in larger spaces to hear what you’re saying, which can lead to confusion and a lack of engagement. To avoid this, try to practice projecting your voice and enunciating your words clearly before you give your speech. You can also use tools like microphones or audio amplifiers to help ensure that your message is heard loud and clear by everyone in the room.

9. Take deep breaths

Taking deep breaths is a great way to help you relax and calm your nerves, but there are other things you can do too. For example, you might want to try some light yoga or stretching exercises to loosen up your muscles and release tension. Also, you could take a warm bath or shower to soothe your body and mind. Another option is to listen to some calming music or read a book that you enjoy. By taking the time to find what works best for you, you can develop a personalized relaxation routine that you can turn to whenever you need it.

10. Use repetition

Repetition is a powerful tool that can help you drive the point home in your speech. By repeating key points, you can reinforce your message and increase your chances of being remembered. In addition, repetition can help you emphasize important ideas and create a sense of rhythm in your speech. It can also be used to build suspense and create a sense of anticipation in your listeners. With these benefits in mind, it’s clear that repetition is an essential aspect of effective public speaking.

11. Use active verbs

One way to improve the effectiveness of your speech is to use active verbs. Active verbs help to create a more engaging and dynamic presentation, as they convey a sense of action and energy. By using active verbs, you can help to capture your audience’s attention and hold their interest throughout your speech.

In addition to using active verbs, it’s also important to consider the pace and rhythm of your speech. Varying the speed and tone of your delivery can help to keep your audience engaged and prevent them from becoming bored or disinterested.

Another way to enhance the impact of your speech is to use vivid language and descriptive imagery. By painting a vivid picture with your words, you can help to create a more memorable and impactful presentation. For example, instead of simply saying “the sky was blue,” you could describe it as “a brilliant shade of deep blues, like the ocean on a clear summer day.”

By focusing on these key elements of effective speechwriting, you can help to create a more engaging and impactful presentation that will leave a lasting impression on your audience.

12. Ask rhetorical questions

Rhetorical questions are a powerful tool that can help make your speech more engaging and interactive. They can be used to stimulate critical thinking, provoke curiosity, and encourage the audience to reflect on the topic at hand. By asking a thought-provoking question, you can capture the audience’s attention and encourage them to think about the subject matter in a new and different way. Furthermore, rhetorical questions can be used to create a sense of anticipation and excitement, as the audience eagerly anticipates the answer to the question you have posed. 

13. Use metaphors and similes

Metaphors and similes are powerful tools that can help individuals better understand complex concepts. They are like a flashlight that illuminates the dark corners of the mind, providing clarity and insight. By comparing two seemingly different things, metaphors and similes can create a bridge between the familiar and the unfamiliar, allowing individuals to grasp difficult ideas with ease. In our fast-paced world, where information overload is a common issue, the use of metaphors and similes can help cut through the noise and deliver a clear message. So, the next time you encounter a challenging concept, remember to use these techniques to shed light on the subject matter.

14. Prepare handouts

When giving a speech, it’s important to remember that your audience needs to be able to follow along with what you’re saying. One way to help them do this is by using handouts. Handouts can be a great way to enhance your presentation because they allow you to provide additional information that may not be covered in your speech. For example, you can use handouts to provide graphs, charts, or other visuals that illustrate your points. Additionally, handouts can be a useful tool for your audience to take notes and refer back to later. By providing handouts, you can ensure that your audience is engaged and able to fully understand the information you’re presenting.

15. Incorporate props

Using props during your speech is a great way to enhance your delivery and keep your audience engaged. By incorporating visual aids such as props, you can help to illustrate your points and add depth to your content. Additionally, props can be used to make abstract concepts more concrete and easier for your audience to understand. For example, if you’re delivering a speech on the importance of recycling, you could bring in a visual prop such as a bin of recyclable materials to help drive home your message. Overall, the use of props can help take your speech to the next level while making it more memorable and impactful for your audience.

16. Practice in front of a mirror

Another useful tip for improving your presentation skills is to practice in front of a mirror. Not only can this help you perfect your body language and delivery, but it can also give you a better sense of how you come across to others. Additionally, practicing in front of a mirror can help you identify any nervous habits or tics that you may have, allowing you to work on eliminating them before your actual presentation. Overall, incorporating mirror practice into your preparation routine can be a simple yet effective way to boost your confidence and improve your presentation skills.

17. Join a public speaking group

Joining a public speaking group is a great way to improve your public speaking skills. Not only will you have the opportunity to practice speaking in front of others, but you’ll also receive valuable feedback that can help you improve. Additionally, by joining a group, you’ll have the chance to meet and network with other like-minded individuals who share a passion for public speaking. This can lead to new opportunities and connections that can benefit you both personally and professionally. Finally, being part of a public speaking group can also provide a sense of community and support, as you work together with others to achieve your goals and improve your skills.

18. Record yourself 

Another way to enhance your public speaking skills is to record yourself. By doing this, you can identify areas where you need to improve and refine your delivery. When you listen to yourself speak, you can pay attention to your pitch, pacing, and tone. You can also identify filler words or phrases, such as “um” or “like,” that you might use unconsciously. Additionally, recording yourself can help you become more comfortable with the sound of your voice. This can be especially helpful if you’re not used to hearing yourself speak for extended periods of time. Overall, recording yourself is a simple yet effective way to become a more confident and polished public speaker.

19. Learn to handle interruptions

One of the most common challenges that speakers face is handling interruptions. These interruptions can come in many different forms, such as unexpected questions, technical difficulties, or distractions in the environment. It’s important to learn how to handle these interruptions gracefully, as they can often derail a speech and throw off the speaker’s focus and confidence.

One key strategy for handling interruptions is to remain calm and composed. It’s natural to feel frustrated or flustered when faced with an interruption, but it’s important to take a deep breath and stay focused. Remember that interruptions are a normal part of public speaking, and they don’t have to ruin your presentation. If you need a moment to collect your thoughts, don’t be afraid to pause and take a few seconds to regroup.

By learning to handle interruptions with grace and composure, you can become a more effective and confident speaker. With practice and preparation, you can manage interruptions and keep your presentation on track, even in challenging situations.

20. End on a strong note

When giving a speech, it’s important to not only focus on what you say during the body of your presentation, but also on the way in which you conclude. A strong presentation should summarize the main points of your speech and leave a lasting impression on your audience. This can be achieved by reiterating your main points in a memorable way, making a call to action, or leaving your audience with a thought-provoking question. By doing so, you’ll ensure that your message resonates with your audience long after your speech has ended.

Another useful technique is to anticipate potential interruptions and plan how to address them in advance. For example, if you’re giving a presentation with a Q&A session at the end, be prepared for questions that might challenge your ideas or require additional information. It can be helpful to practice your responses to common questions ahead of time so that you feel more confident and prepared.

Discover other memorable ways how to end a presentation.

Effective presentation skills are key. While not everyone may be a natural-born speaker, with practice and dedication, anyone can improve their abilities to become a confident and engaging presenter. Whether you’re pitching to investors, delivering a lecture, or presenting in a meeting, being able to effectively present your ideas can greatly impact your success.

Remember, becoming a great presenter is a journey that requires patience, perseverance, and constant improvement. Don’t be afraid to seek feedback from others, practice regularly, and try out new techniques. With time, you’ll become more comfortable and confident in your abilities to deliver engaging and impactful presentations.

In conclusion, improving your presentation skills is a worthwhile investment that can pay dividends in both your personal and professional life. So take the time to hone your abilities, put in the effort, and embrace the opportunities that come your way. With the tips and techniques we’ve provided in this blog post, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a confident presenter.

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PowerPoint: Create and Deliver High-Impact Presentations

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Learn how to quickly and efficiently create beautiful PowerPoint presentations for engaging delivery of high-impact communication without wasting time -- even if you are not a professional designer.

Microsoft PowerPoint is an essential tool of choice for a wide spectrum of professional communicators -- from university professors and consultants to salespeople and office administrators.

This class will help you learn the ins and outs of Microsoft PowerPoint so you can efficiently use its power to communicate with your audience. Discover how you can design, create, maintain and deliver beautiful presentations that tell a story and help you get your point across.

Here's a small fraction of what you will be learning in this class:

• Step-by-step presentation-creation process.
• How to choose the presentation design theme.
• Two ways to fill your presentation with verbal content.
• Anatomy of a PowerPoint presentation.
• Effective techniques to work with slide screen objects to quickly control the formatting, size, position, alignment and other characteristics.
• How to work with slide layouts and object placeholders.
• Working with Text Boxes, WordArt, Shapes, Images, Videos, Tables, SmartArt, Charts and Screenshots.
• How to control your presentation design using Slide Masters and the background.
• How to create your own presentation template or where to get one if you don't have time to do it.
• Smooth the flow of your presentation with slide transitions.
• Use animations for a higher impact and more engaging presentation flow.
• How to create multiple presentations for different audiences and maintain your slide deck from a single file -- without making multiple copies.
• Create navigation buttons for your audience for self-paced presentations.
• How to create timings for automatically run slideshows and when it's not a good idea to use them.
• Tips to avoid the "death by PowerPoint" syndrome and deliver a high-impact presentation.

This class will not only give you the best overview of PowerPoint but also help you get great ideas on how you can enhance your presentation skills and become a better communicator.

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The beginners guide to high impact presenting – 4 top tips

Aug 07, 2021 by maurice decastro in presentation skills , presentation tips , public speaking.

High impact presenting and public speaking has a very clear blueprint.

Anyone can present with varying levels of confidence, clarity and impact but high impact presenting is a skill. We are more than half way through the year and very gifted and talented business professionals are still reading slides or notes to each other. That’s not presenting; it’s simply reading slides or notes, which anyone can do.

Whether you are trying to influence or persuade colleagues, sell to a client, or simply update your team, the key to success is impact; personal impact.

Mindful presenting offers the pathway to the art of persuasion, influencing and human connection. It is the strategic key to communicating effectively and the route to high impact presenting and public speaking.

If you’re just about to begin your journey into the world of presenting and public speaking, this guide will serve you extremely well.

If you’re an experienced presenter looking to explore high impact presenting a little further, you’ll find many of these tips very helpful too.

Here are the first four.

1. Become your audience

You’ve been asked to present because you have a level of knowledge, insight or expertise that would benefit others. Knowing what you’re speaking about is one thing, doing so effectively is another. If you haven’t made the effort to know your audience you will struggle.

– Who are they really? Put yourself in their shoes. How much do they know about your topic already, how much do they want/need to know and why should they care?

– What’s so important to them? What do they need from you to make their lives better, easier, happier or positively different? What’s in it for them if they listen to you?

– Find out their current level of interest, support or resistance for what you have to share. What could stop them from embracing your message?

– Be very clear on exactly what you want them to do with your message, information and insights?

– What do you want them to feel emotionally about your message, information and insights. How do they feel right now?

– How do they like to be presented to. Do they prefer lots of data, headlines or simple visuals? Do they need much information from you before you present? What are there expectations after you present?

How do you achieve all of this?

You have to ask them long before you begin to craft your presentation.

2. Leave your laptop alone

The foolproof route to a lackluster presentation is opening your laptop to begin populating slides with everything you know on the topic.

The canvass of high impact presenting looks very different; it starts with going analogue rather than digital.

Imagine creating 4 mindful levels of post it notes instead.

Absolute clarity of purpose:

– What’s your message? (written in a clear sentence)

– What do you want your audience to think about it? ( written in a sentence)

– What do you want your audience to feel about it? ( written in a word other than informed, interested or engaged)

– What do you want your audience to do with it? (in the form of an action or behaviour which will enhance their professional or personal life)

Supporting your message factually with highly relevant and compelling:

– Features

– Benefits

– Data

– Examples

– Case studies

Bringing your message to life emotionally with appropriate:

– Stories

– Metaphors, anecdotes

– Thought provoking questions

– Suspense

– Shock

– Contrast

– Humour

– Surprise

– Interaction

Create a clear image in their minds of what the future will look like for them if they embrace and act on your ideas.

3. Think like a ‘Tweet’

I wrote about this several years ago in an article called 5 things your audience want from you. The sentiment is just as important today as it was then.

‘The jewel in the crown of high impact presenting is a simple, clear and compelling message. Without a clear and powerful message, a presentation will quickly be forgotten. If it’s simply information which could easily be sent out in the form of an email it’s doing your audience a huge disservice calling them all together in the same room.

What would you like them to ‘tweet’ to the rest of their department, the company, or even the world when they leave your presentation?

If you don’t know, you can be certain they won’t either. A presentation without a clear, personal and powerful message is like a sandwich without any filling; its dry, boring and you are highly unlikely to want another.

Whilst they aren’t business presentations of course as I looked at my Twitter feed whilst writing this article the top 5 messages were:

‘Our Lloyds scholars programme offers unique financial and support packages for young people’ – LBG News

‘Today’s key question – how well do you separate the person from the performance?’ – Tony Richards

‘Facts in speeches must be correct. Mistakes will destroy your credibility’ – Andy O’Sullivan

‘It’s time to stop making excuses and start bringing in-person social skills to the digital world’ – Ted Rubin

‘ One reason diversity is a divider? We don’t see beyond the obvious. Asking deeper questions brings a more human experience’ – Shainul Kassam’

4. Keep it simple

High impact presenting starts with a very straightforward principle; simplicity is the key to getting your point across.

We have all sat through long winded, jargon based, rambling presentations. Not only do we find such presentations difficult to follow, they leave us dreading future presentations.

– Strip your idea to its core

– Keep your language simple

– Keep your slides simple

– Have a clear and simple aim

– Follow a simple outline

– Make it easy for your audience to follow you

– Don’t make them work too hard

– Keep it short

If you need help with high impact presenting’:

– Book yourself onto a powerful  public speaking course .

– Invest in some really good one to one  public speaking coaching .

– Get yourself some excellent  presentation training

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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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What will i learn from this course, understand the presentation concepts, create cover slide, text slides, graphs, organization chart, insert picture/clipart, animation, movies and sounds to enhance presentations, use wordart to create creative text, create speaker’s notes, setup, run and control slides for presentation, print audience handouts, add your own presentation to the auto content wizard, customise slide master layout, import text and table from word, import charts and data from excel, use pack and go features, create hyperlinks, create summary slides, pre-requisite.

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Day 1: high impact power point basic & intermediate.

1. Module: The Basics • Getting Started • Signing In • Saving a Presentation • Opening a Presentation • Creating a New Presentation

2. Module: Your First Presentation • Adding Content • Adding Notes • Selecting Text and Objects • Using Cut, Copy, and Paste • Using Undo and Redo • Checking Your Spelling

3. Module: Creating Slides • Adding Slides to a Presentation • Selecting, Moving, and Deleting Slides • Changing and Resetting the Layout • Working with Sections • Viewing the Slide Show

4. Module: Formatting Text • Changing the Font Face, Size, and Colour • Changing Character Spacing • Applying Text Effects • Working with the Font Dialog • Using the Format Painter • Clearing Formatting

5. Module: Working with Text • Using Find and Replace • Applying Bullets and Numbers • Changing Text Alignment • Formatting Text as Columns • Changing Line Spacing • Changing Text Direction

6. Module: Formatting the Presentation • Choosing a Theme • Choosing a Variant • Changing the Slide Size • Formatting the Slide Background • Adding Headers and Footers to Slides

7. Module: Inserting Art and Objects, Part One • Inserting Tables • Inserting Charts • Inserting SmartArt • Inserting Equations • Drawing Shapes • Inserting Text Boxes

8. Module: Inserting Art and Objects, Part Two • Creating Photo Albums • Inserting Pictures • Inserting Videos • Inserting Screenshots • Inserting Audio

9. Module: Advanced Slide Tasks • Creating a Basic Animation • Customizing Animations • Using the Animation Painter • Adding a Transition • Customizing Transitions

10. Module: Viewing and Printing Your Presentation • Viewing the Slide Show • Using Views • Using Zoom • Using Presenter View • Printing a Presentation • Printing Notes and Handouts

11. Module: Saving and Sharing Your Presentation • Saving a Presentation as PDF or XPS • Packaging a Presentation for CD • 3E-Mailing a Presentation • Sharing Your Presentation on SkyDrive • Publishing Your Slides to a SharePoint Site • Presenting Online

12. Module: Customizing the Interface • Changing Ribbon Display Options • Customizing the Quick Access Toolbar • Hiding and Showing Ribbon Tabs • Creating Custom Ribbon Tabs • Resetting Interface Changes

Day 2: High Impact Power Point Advanced

1. Module: Using Slide Masters, Part One • Opening Slide Master View • Creating Slide Layouts • Working with Placeholders • Changing the Slide Layout

2. Module: Using Slide Masters, Part Two • Preserving Slide Masters • Updating Master Slides • Using Multiple Slide Masters in a Presentation • Removing Masters from a Presentation

3. Module: Working with Templates • Creating a Template • Saving a Template • Using a Template • Editing a Template

4. Module: Using Handout Masters • Opening Handout Master View • Editing the Handout Master • Setting Layout Options • Creating Handouts in Microsoft Word

5. Module: Using Notes Masters • Opening Notes Master View • Editing the Notes Master • Setting Layout Options • Printing Notes Pages

6. Module: Working with Comments • Inserting Comments • Viewing Comments • Navigating Through Comments • Replying to Comments • Deleting Comments

7. Module: Reviewing a Presentation • Sending a Presentation for Review • Comparing Presentations • Navigating Through Markup • Accepting and Rejecting Markup • Ending the Review

8. Module: Advanced Animation Techniques, Part One • Choosing a Basic Effect • Setting Effect Options • Customizing the Trigger • Editing the Motion Path • Setting Start Options • Modifying Duration and Delay

9. Module: Advanced Animation Techniques, Part Two • Setting Animation Options • Changing the Order of Animations • Using the Animation Painter • Using the Animation Pane

10. Module: Advanced Presentation Techniques • Recording and Narrating a Show • Setting Narration Options • Using Presenter View • Creating a Video from a Presentation • Creating a Show-Only File • Presenting Your Slides Online

11. Module: Creating a Custom Show • Hiding a Single Slide • Creating a Custom Show • Editing a Custom Show • Presenting a Custom Show • Deleting a Custom Show

12. Module: Managing PowerPoint Files • Optimizing Media Compatibility • Compressing Media • Working with Versions • Recovering Unsaved Files • Protecting a Presentation with a Password

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High Impact Presentations

A presentation is a critical business tool. Whether your communication goal is to persuade, sell or inspire, your presentation is what will differentiate you from your competitors. Think of it as the jewel in your crown. When properly executed, your presentation will make you stand out. Your audience will view you as prepared, informed, and confident.Since 1912, Dale Carnegie Training has been giving business people the tools to successfully navigate complex business environs. This course provides the skills that empower professionals to communicate confidently and competently to all types of audiences. Attendees receive proven methods and techniques that enable them to develop compelling presentations with universal appeal --yielding consistent, positive results.

What You’ll Learn

Learn How To: •Persuade your audience using indisputable data •Communicate with clarity and certainty•Interact with a natural and composed demeanor •Convey complex material directly and simply •Demonstrate unfamiliar information expertly•Project confidence and enthusiasm while building credibility•Overcome adverse situations•Lead effective Q&A sessions •Invigorate people to embrace change and take action!

Why You Want To Learn It

Who Should AttendAll professionals needing to inspire large audiences, motivate sales executives, address the media, or simply control a meeting. As this seminar focuses on more advanced presentation skills, it’s recommended that all participants have some prior experience in public speaking.

How It Will Help You

The High Impact Presentation course focuses on structuring an effective presentation that builds credibility, enhances the client relationship and clearly conveys the concept. Participants explore the optimum use of voice and gesture to create a lasting impression – as well as a variety of presentation styles, ranging from a formal speech to a casual meeting or contentious conversation.Participants are given multiple opportunities to develop and practice innovative presentations. You will be videotaped, evaluated and mentored until you have achieved the ultimate goal, the ability to deliver a masterful presentation. The class is small. The environment is supportive. The work is intense. And the results are outstanding. It’s an experience that makes a marked difference in business results. You’ll see measurable gains in communication, personal and corporate image, and ultimately, your bottom line.

How to Create a High-Impact PowerPoint Slide

Perhaps you’ve seen one recently: a great PowerPoint presentation that was both content-rich and visually interesting. As a B2B marketing professional, you may have wondered what makes a truly great slide. One that’s as concise as it is visually compelling. One that’s copied, pasted, and passed around for use in multiple decks throughout your company. At the Content Bureau, we’re routinely hired to help our clients craft great presentations, and we’ve identified three best practices for the perfect slide.

1. When it comes to copy, less is more.

PowerPoint is not designed to be text-heavy. In fact, nothing puts your audience to sleep faster than slides that feature paragraphs of copy and no visuals. Whether you’re presenting internally or prepping for a conference keynote, you want your B2B presentation to be spot-on. For a great slide, whittle down your text to the bare minimum. Don’t even think about using complete sentences! Use high-level messages or phrases—save the details for the speaker notes. And be certain the text conveys the precise message you want your audience to take away.

For the most impactful headlines, ensure they make a point. For example, instead of “2011-2016 Revenue,” try “Five Years of Steady Revenue Growth.” If you’re using labels, aim for consistency in label length. For example, stick with one- or two-word labels that are structured the same way—such as all nouns, all adjectives, or adjectives then nouns. The brain is wired to seek out repetition, so it will naturally assimilate a list of “easy, fast, affordable” or “lower cost, faster implementation, better service.”

Make a complicated point with minimal words.

2. Balance is key.

The great thing about PowerPoint is that it is a visual tool, so you want to make sure each slide is carefully designed for maximize impact. This requires an eye attuned to balance and layout. Things to consider: right-left, top-bottom, and text-graphics balance. Where do you place a graphic relative to the text? Can you pair each bullet with a simple icon? If you have a series of three points, do you stack them top to bottom or left to right? All of this depends on the amount of copy and the size of the icons or illustrations—and what will be most intuitive for the person reading the slide. Hero images behind copy can work well, but you need to balance the copy on top of a photograph that isn’t too busy or distracting. White space around the edges of a slide are also important. Just like with a layout design, you don’t want the text to run right up to the edge of your slide.

Top-to-bottom, side-to-side balance.

3. Pay attention to design details.

Sometimes the element(s) that makes a slide really great is so subtle it’s hard to put a finger on it. We think of this as design detail, and slides with professional attention to design detail really make a difference. If you’ve picked the perfect, evocative hero image, your message will be crystal clear. We recently worked on a presentation for a company that had an overtly circular logo—and just using a circular shape for photo treatment was a particularly nice, subtle touch. [For a company with a logo that consists of a series of squares, consider using square bullets or square-shaped photos for an effective design echo.] Ensure a consistent design within a slide—same font, same visual treatment—as well as throughout your entire presentation.

It’s all in the details.

Whether you need to make an internal pitch for a new marketing campaign, or you want to freshen up the go-to sales deck, the perfect PowerPoint slide can be a compelling medium for your message. The content and design experts at the Content Bureau can help you identify great content and design a series of compelling, visually balanced slides that vividly tell your story.

RELATED POSTS

Give High Impact Presentations and Talks – 6 Expert Tips

January 13, 2023

Do you want to give high impact presentations and talks?

Do you want to engage your audience and do you want to present with impact when speaking if your answer to any of these is ‘yes’, then these techniques are for you..

We’ve been coaching business leaders to become impressive public speakers for more than ten years. We can transform a nervous presenter into a high impact public speaker in just a few hours with public speaking training . We use these tools from our public speaking toolbox to transform dull performances into impressive, high impact talks and presentations:

How To Give High Impact Presentations Use short phrases in your talk Include many more personal pronouns Introduce more and longer pauses Use rhetorical tools Connect with the audience within 10 seconds Avoid metatalk in your presentation

Presenting with Impact Tip #1. Use short phrases

Spoken language works best when delivered in snackable bites, using short, simple words and phrases .

• Speak a few words at a time.
• One idea per phrase.
• Cut long sentences into chunks.
• Take out sub clauses and complex constructions.

High Impact Presentation Tip #2. Include many more personal pronouns

You will find that personal pronouns are more compelling when you use them in your presentations. When you use I, We , Us and You, it means that you are speaking directly to your audience. You’ll find this technique works well. And you’ll find your words easier to say.

Learn how we can help – schedule a free consultation now

High Impact Talks Tip #3. Introduce more and longer pauses

Say this phrase out loud,{pause] with long pauses. {pause] You would be amazed how long you can pause. {pause] Pauses are so important. {pause] Learn how to use pauses when presenting.

• Pauses give your audience time to think.
• They give you time to compose your next line.
• Pauses also make you look more impressive.

High Impact Presentation Tip #4. Use rhetorical tools

Rhetorical tools are often forgotten, but critical in high impact talks. For example:

• repetition ,
• alliteration ,
• sets of three ,
• and personal stories.

These are some of the most useful and important tools you can adopt. Used well, they will transform your performance.

High Impact Talks Tip #5. Connect with your audience within 10 seconds

Never start your talk with “Hello, my name is… I am here today to talk to you about….”

Instead, give a high impact start to your presentation and grab their attention immediately. Use one of the many tried and tested ways to hook your audience and lead them straight into your subject.

High Impact Presentations Tip #6. Avoid metatalk

The biggest presentation secret to presenting with impact is not a secret at all., in a conversation you would never say: “in this sentence you will hear that i am saying…..” or “in my next paragraph i will outline my argument.” this would be “meta-talk”: talk about talking, and it sounds very odd, that’s the presentation secret. so why do we see so many presenters start their presentation with: “in this presentation i will show you….” or “i will take you through this presentation….” that sort of meta-talk is annoying because it distances you from your audience. you distance yourself at exactly the time when you need to connect., to avoid this presentation mistake , our presentation skills coaching shows you how to speak directly to your audience rather than narrate the mechanics of your presentation., presentation secret: great presenters avoid metatalk..

What does this mean in practice? Avoid referring to your presentation as a separate entity. Instead, talk to your audience as if to a person – one to one. And only refer to your visual aids as needed.

For example:

You SHOULD NOT say: “Now turn to page 3. Here are the quarterly sales figures. As shown on the presentation, sales this quarter are up 3% and the graph shows the positive trend.” You SHOULD say: “ Sales this quarter are up 3%. That is a good result. This means we have now been increasing sales for the last 6 quarters. It’s a trend we would love to see continue.”

Can you see the difference?

In the second example you don’t mention the slide or the graph. You aren’t narrating a slide, you are talking to the audience and the slide/graph visually supports your argument. It’s a subtle change, but completely changes how effectively you communicate.

If you want to learn more about this and many other techniques for better presentations, please get in touch and find out how we can support you to become a world-class presenter .

You may also be interested in Five techniques to make a boring presentation more interesting .

Start your journey to world-class communication skills now

Download our  free ebook : Powerful Presenting:  Transform your Leadership Talks . It’s full of practical tips and insight to help you make high impact presentations:

• Increased confidence
• Improved persuasion
• Greater engagement

Click here to download your free copy of the ebook now.

Have you got an upcoming talk or presentation do you want to become an even more impressive public speaker if so, talk to us..

We have developed a robust toolbox of techniques to help you deliver clear, confident talks and presentations.

We’ll help you look, sound and feel impressive so that you grab your audience’s attention.  In just a few short hours we’ll transform you to deliver clearly, confidently and with impact. You can prepare a specific speech with us, or learn skills that will benefit you all your life.

Speak to Louise on +44 20 7018 0922 or email [email protected] to discuss how we can help you become an impressive public speaker.

Transform your presentation skills with tailored coaching.

We can help you present brilliantly. Thousands of people have benefitted from our tailored in-house coaching and advice – and we can help you too .

“I honestly thought it was the most valuable 3 hours I’ve spent with anyone in a long time.” Mick May, CEO, Blue Sky

For 15+ years we’ve been the trusted choice of leading businesses and executives throughout the UK, Europe and the Middle East to improve corporate presentations through presentation coaching, public speaking training and expert advice on pitching to investors.

Unlock your full potential and take your presentations to the next level with Benjamin Ball Associates.

Speak to Louise on +44 20 7018 0922 or email [email protected] to transform your speeches, pitches and presentations.

Or read another article..., how to write a speech that matters – 10 top tips.

To write a speech that works, you need to know the tricks of…

Brilliant Presentation Skills Training for Business – 8 Top Tips

Great presenters stand out. They have had training in presentation skills.  You too…

How to Improve Your Executive Presence

Learn how coaching can help you develop executive presence To succeed in business,…

How to Scale your Business – 8 Low Cost Ways

How do you scale a business?  This is one of the big questions…

Contact us for a chat about how we can help you with your presenting.

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Presenting with Impact: How to Level up Your PowerPoint Skills in the Tech Industry

• Jul 4, 2023

Creating engaging presentations is one of the most powerful skills in the tech industry as it is very flexible. Regardless if you’re climbing the corporate ladder or an entrepreneur, a good presentation ensures that you’ll take a step up in your career. Also, you'll be seen as an authority in the field you're presenting on.

In this article, we're going to explore ways to enhance your PowerPoint skills in the tech industry.

PowerPoint Slides: An Overview

PowerPoint presentations are digital, slide-based presentations. To convey what you wish to tell to your audience, you have to break it down into many slides. You must treat each slide like a blank canvas for you to place words and images that aid in telling your story. Its functionalities are easy to grasp, making it user-friendly for beginners.

PowerPoint Slides also have advanced features that are used in high-end presentations. However, you’d want to educate yourself on those features through a PowerPoint course from Acuity Training to understand them better.

How to Elevate Your PowerPoint Skills?

Elevating the quality of your PowerPoint slides requires a set of methods to ensure that your presentation is of high quality. Aside from that, it will make your slides look very appealing to the viewer’s eyes, ensuring that they’ll be hooked on what you’ll present to them.

Here are the ways to elevate your PowerPoint skills to make quality presentations:

1. Form the Goal of Your Presentation

All engaging presentations require a foundation and that’s done by forming the objective of what you’ll present. What is your intent behind the presentation? Is it to inform? Is it to persuade them to try something new or is it a call to action?

2. Set up a Structure for Your PowerPoint Presentation

Once you have settled on a goal, the next way to level up your PowerPoint presentation skills is to use a structure. Your presentation must have a format from the start of the slideshow up to the end. Create an outline of your PowerPoint slideshow so you can have a solid foundation for its flow before moving on to the visuals & product presentation demos .

3. Use Slide Colors With High Contrast

For visuals, the first thing you’ll need to consider is how your slides will look. The ideal color combinations incline towards PowerPoint slides with high contrasts. Examples are slides with dark backgrounds such as a dark purple or a deep maroon color. Whereas the text is a bright or light color such as gold, yellow and white to make the text more visible.

To ensure that you’ll have an easier time coming up with unique contrasting color combinations, you can use a Contrast Calculator .

4. Utilize Fonts That Are Big Enough

The usual rule in engaging presentations is that the text must not be too large or too small. The text you’ll use must be around the range of 24 to 32-point size. Headings and titles use around 36 to 44-point size fonts. Take note that if your text is too small, your audience will have trouble reading and lose track of what you’re trying to convey.

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Take note that the sizes presented here are the baseline, it would work in a smaller or medium room. But, if you are going to present inside a larger room, you would want to experiment with larger font sizes outside of what’s prescribed here.

5. Utilize Bullet Point Lists

Instead of using full sentences, you’d want to list down items through bullet points to present key ideas. Make sure not to overload bullets with information otherwise the message you’re trying to convey gets lost. Ideally, you’d want to follow the six-by-six guideline which is using no more than six words per bullet point and slides must not exceed six bullet points.

6. Lessen the Use of Animations

Stick to basic effects such as “Appear” where the text will just show up on the exact spot you’ve typed it at. Even though moving text and graphics may add a layer of personality to your presentation, at times they can be very distracting to the audience as well. Avoid animation effects that are too over-the-top.

7. Utilize Visual Aids Instead of Text if Possible

When necessary, you can use visual aids such as graphs and pie charts if you are presenting statistical data instead of text. It makes for very engaging presentations. People are more likely to get hooked to your presentation whenever they see a interactive presentation of the data you’re conveying.

Another form of visual aid that can increase audience engagement is illustrations. You can place images in your slides provided that they’re relevant to the topic.

Other Notes to Consider

When you plan to make engaging presentations, you will need to consider a few additional notes so they can leave an impact. You’d want to ensure that your audience’s eyes and attention are glued to you and your presentation. Moreover, these points can help ensure that your message resonates with your audience.

1. Practice Coherence

Brand coherence is a very good way to keep your audience’s attention glued to you. You’d want to create a presentation that’s thematic and relevant to the industry you are affiliated with. The main advantage of this is that it builds trust and people will see you as an authority on the subject.

2. Use Brand Colors and Elements

To ensure your audience's awareness of what or whom you’re representing, integrate brand colors and elements in your slides. The slides can be a color scheme that’s based on your brand’s logo, etc.

You will need to consider brand guidelines when doing this, but when pulled off properly it fosters brand awareness among many people.

3. Try to Reduce the Fluff Present in your Presentation

Don’t lump too many words in your presentation because that’s an ingredient for the audience to get bored. Say too much and your viewer’s likely reaction is going to be a yawn. Declutter what’s presented in your PowerPoint presentation. Check and remove unnecessary images, excess bullet points, and fluff in the presentation.

Benefits of Powerpoint skills in Tech industry

1. effective communication.

PowerPoint allows you to effectively communicate complex technical concepts, ideas, and project details to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. You can use visual aids, diagrams, and illustrations to simplify and clarify information, making it easier for your audience to understand.

2.Technical Presentations

In the tech industry, presentations are often crucial for showcasing software solutions, product demos, or explaining technical processes. PowerPoint, with the SlideBazaar PowerPoint plugin , lets you create visually appealing slideshows with screenshots, code snippets, and diagrams, so you can deliver engaging and impressive presentations.

3. Collaboration and Teamwork

PowerPoint supports collaborative work within tech teams. You can collaborate with colleagues, engineers, and designers to create presentations, share ideas, and gather feedback. This collaboration helps in aligning the team's vision and achieving project goals effectively

4. Training and Documentation

PowerPoint is a valuable tool for creating training materials and documentation in the tech industry business. Whether you need to train employees on new software, document technical processes for onboarding, or create user manuals for clients, PowerPoint allows you to present information in a structured and visually engaging manner, enhancing the effectiveness of your training initiatives.

5. Project Proposals and Reporting

PowerPoint is useful for creating project proposals, showcasing technical specifications, and reporting on project progress in the context of business. You can present project timelines, milestones, budgets, and deliverables to stakeholders, helping them understand the technical aspects and make informed decisions that align with business objectives.

6. Job Interviews and Career Advancement

Strong PowerPoint skills can be advantageous during job interviews and career advancement opportunities within the tech industry business. You can use PowerPoint to create a visually appealing portfolio, showcase your technical expertise, and effectively communicate your achievements and ideas to potential employers or clients, demonstrating your business acumen along with your technical proficiency.

7. Technical Sales and Marketing:

In the tech industry business, PowerPoint is often utilized for sales and marketing purposes. Whether you are presenting a software solution to a client or showcasing technical features to a potential customer, PowerPoint can help you create persuasive presentations that highlight the business value and benefits of your product, ultimately driving sales and business growth

Tune up your Presentation and Present with Skill!

Creating and presenting PowerPoint slides are a great way to level up your career. To ensure that you’ll reap the benefits, you will need to use the methods to elevate the quality of your presentation. You’d want to ensure that your audience will keep their eyes on your slides and realize their value.

They'll regard you as an authority in your field, enhancing your brand's reputation.

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High Impact Presentations

Effective communication is critical in any role. Whether you are persuading colleagues, selling to a client, or energizing a team, the power of your presentation makes the difference between success and failure. This course teaches how to properly refine your presentation for maximum influence, credibility, and impact.

What You’ll Learn

Learn to communicate with clarity and certainty, interact with a natural and composed demeanor, and convey complex material directly and simply. Discover ways to project confidence and enthusiasm while building credibility. Explore techniques to overcome adverse situations and invigorate people to embrace change and take action!

Why You Want To Learn It

Since 1912, Dale Carnegie has been giving business people the tools to successfully navigate complex business environments. This course provides the skills that empower you to communicate confidently and capably to any audience. You’ll receive proven methods and techniques to develop compelling presentations with universal appeal --yielding consistent, positive results.

How It Will Help You

It’s an experience that makes a marked difference in business results. The program features several recorded presentation opportunities, individual coaching and review. Your audience will view you as prepared, informed, and confident. You’ll see measurable gains in communication, personal and corporate image, and ultimately, your bottom line.

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The definitive guide to creating a high impact business presentation (with examples)

How to give a business presentation

Have you ever watched a presentation and been blown away by the presence or charisma of the speaker?

The truth is that the best speakers included,use a set of specific skills which they have learned and developed over time. It’s not a fluke that they have taken you on a journey, made you feel like the only person in the room, and inspired you to take action on what they say. They are following a process and using a set of tactics that elicit this reaction. And our goal here is helping you achieve that.

Each component of their presentations is still deliberate and learned. Even the very best comedians, who appear to display the epitome of “off-the-cuff” commentary, meticulously plan and practice every aspect of their shows so that they come across as natural and witty.

Jerry Seinfeld, for instance, is renowned for being one of the most well-prepared speakers in the world.

‍ Seinfeld says , “Every comedian, like every athlete, has a little routine… I never vary it. It just feels comfortable.” ‍ From pitching a potential client to persuading your CEO to ramp up the marketing budget, each presentation has subtle differences which determine whether or not they are effective in achieving the desired outcome.

With that said, there are a few universal guidelines when it comes to delivering an effective business presentation. This guide will provide an overview of the different types and delve deeper into the elements that work together to deliver impact. 

Here are some of the most important business presentation skills you should learn and improve over time:

Practice and prepare

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking “I know this stuff” and “winging it” when it’s time to present. Some may even think that an delivering an excellent business presentation is as easy as speaking. However, the best presenters prepare meticulously.

For important presentations, plan on a minimum of 10 run-throughs . By doing so, you increase your chances of the presentation going off without a hitch and your ability to ability to engage with the audience in the moment.

When presenting, it’s easy to get lost in your slides, caught reading notes or worried about what you will say next. But if you prepare appropriately, you can truly be present during the presentation–the most effective way to engage an audience and maintain their attention. 

However, we know that is easier said than done. Here’s a quick but effective guide to help you give killer presentations without notes:

Tell a great story

Studies suggest that stories are up to 22 times more memorable than facts. Stories connect with us on a personal level, tapping into emotion–just one reason they have been a crucial foundation of human society, passing on knowledge for generations.

Storytelling, however, isn’t as easy as it sounds. It’s a skill and a formula that the best presenters use to capture an audience.

This TED Talk by Nancy Duarte showcases not only an impactful presentation, but highlights the power of storytelling in conveying a message.

The 10-20-30 rule

Helping others understand a complex topic in simple language is perhaps the greatest skill of an effective presenter. If you overload a presentation with information, the people watching are more likely to leave being confused or simply disengage during the presentation. Guy Kawasaki’s 10-20-30 rule is a good structure to follow: ‍

Inexperienced presenters have a tendency to overload their slide deck with information and run out of time right before they get to the juicy part of their message. Using the 10-20-30 rule is a good way to condense a presentation and reduce the chance of running out of time.

Physical awareness, eye contact, and voice projection

Did you know that 55% of the way someone interprets your communication is attributed to body language, and 38% attributed to your tone of voice? That leaves only 7% of interpretation based on the actual words said.

Given these statistics, the way we prepare for presentations should be weighted towards understanding how what our body language and tone of voice says, rather than obsessing over simply the words we say. 

As with any new skills, these presentation skills won’t develop overnight. To truly become an excellent presenter and communicator in the workplace, you need to practice and refine your skillset habitually.

Now let’s talk about how to create the presentation deck itself.

How to make a business presentation slide deck

What is the audience looking at when you are presenting? Your slides.

There will be moments when you engage one-to-one in eye contact with people, but for the most part, they are using their visual senses and looking at your slides to better understand what you are talking about.

Given this behavior, the look and feel of your slides can either help or hinder the consumption and retention of your message. As a result, the way you design your slide deck is critical. If you’re short on time or resources, SketchDeck just might be the perfect solution to get high-quality, on brand presentation design.

Here are some best practices to follow when it comes to presentation design:

Types of business presentations

There is a fairly broad spectrum of pitches, speeches, and meetings that business professionals both encounter and carry out in their day-to-day work. As a result, it is important that before we talk about how to create one, we define what it is.

A business presentation is the delivery of a message to a group or individual with the purpose of influencing their perception of a topic so that it aligns with a desired set of outcomes. While these presentations take several forms, we can group them into three primary categories: ‍

• Sales presentation : A sales presentation or sales pitch refers to a structured message which attempts to persuade someone to buy a product or service. ‍
• Marketing presentation : Unlike a sales pitch, a marketing presentation is typically delivered to other representatives within a business. The purpose of this business meeting presentation is to educate and influence internal decision-makers or budget holders to buy into a plan for promoting a product or service. ‍
• Other business presentations : ‍ On top of marketing and sales presentations, there are any number of professional presentations that could be categorized as business presentations. These include information sessions, training initiatives, reporting on results, innovation brainstorms, problem-solving collectives, and much more.

Use brand guidelines

Your business should have a set of design guidelines in place which all collateral, including presentations, abide by. Things such as primary colors, secondary colors, layout, fonts, style, and flow should all be itemized and described in this document.

For an example, check out the SketchDeck Brandbook.

Business presentation templates are your friends

In addition to using your brand’s set of design guidelines, it’s helpful to create a series of themed templates for each type of business presentation. This way, whenever someone in your organization is conducting a presentation they have an on-brand framework to work from.

Have a design library

To ensure consistency across your brand, develop a design library for employees that is hosted in the cloud. This library will provide quick and easy access to your guidelines, templates, and a set of pre-approved images and graphics. 

PowerPoint best practices

For our next step, let’s check a few PowerPoint best practices (works for Google Slides and pretty much any other presentation software, too):

Adopt the KISS approach

Say it with us–keep it short and simple and you’ll keep your viewers happy. Limit yourself to one key idea per slide:

Not only will this allow you to inform your audience without overwhelming them, but it will also keep you from diluting the importance of each piece of information with tangents.

This doesn’t apply to only text, though–crowding every corner with graphs, animations and even logos prevent the key points from being communicated. As posited by Edward Tufte, “ PowerPointPhluff ” is a trap many presenters fall prey to, replacing serious analysis with chart junk, over-produced layouts, cheerleader logotypes, and branding, not to mention corny clip art.

As a general rule, you should aim to include no more than three pieces of information on one slide–all of which contribute to one idea.

Draw attention to key points

Use contrasting colors, font variations, and moving graphics to draw people’s attention to the most important points in your presentation.

In the example below, you can see how a simple variation in fonts can have a powerful visual impact on the way someone interprets a slide:

Additional business presentation tips

Once you’ve practiced your presentation skills and refined your design, you may ask: what else can you do to deliver a powerful presentation? Here are some additional tips, ideas and best practices:

Seek feedback

As with anything, if you want to get better at presenting, the best way to do so is to seek constructive feedback and use that feedback to improve.

For best results, go beyond asking a friend or colleague “how it went” or “how you did.” Instead, enlist a coach, mentor, or accountability partner who can provide structured and meaningful feedback.

‍ Even though you are conducting a business presentation, don’t neglect the entertainment factor.

People like to feel –whether it be laughing, crying, being held in suspense, and/or drawn to the edge of their seat. Entertainment and emotion are components that grab attention and will inevitably help you convey your message. 

Make it visual

Research suggests that a staggering 65% of people are visual learners. Not only that, but studies show that the retention of knowledge is significantly increased when visuals are used rather than text, so keep this in mind when creating your slide deck.

This presentation from Andreas von der Heydt shows off the power of visuals in presentations with only minimal text on each slide. 

Now let’s get visual and check a few great business presentation decks available online!

Here is a collection of 15 of the best business presentations, including key insights and takeaways for your next deck.

Sample business presentations

1. how google works.

Putting together a presentation like this one is no easy task. It is lighthearted but extremely professional and relevant at the same time. Each slide makes you curious to see what’s next, and they keep it fun without fluff. Bravo!

2. Zuora Sales Deck

Some say this is the best sales deck ever . For us, it’s hard to say this is the best business presentation we’ve seen, seeing as we’ve designed over 4,000 presentations for amazing clients–but it is surely one of the more powerful presentations out there. 

We like how Zuora’s deck tells a compelling story through great visuals and a perfectly structured narrative. They press the right buttons throughout to make their target audience uncomfortable enough to pay attention, yet hopeful enough to crave for their solution.

And while finding good business pictures for presentations can be challenging, Zuora takes it to the next level by using on-brand visual aids to support their message on each slide. 

PowerPoint is not boring–dull slides and corny animations are. 

With creativity and skill, you can make wonderful presentations in PowerPoint. This presentation we made for Dialpad was a big hit thanks to the engaging animations that both embodied the brand’s exceptional quality and displayed in-depth service details in a clean, dynamic way. (Again, all in PowerPoint!) 

In order to resonate with your audience, you must know your audience–something Reddit excels at.

Not only is this deck 100% on-brand, it’s also funny and interesting in a relevant way for their audience. They did a great job with their company presentation, showing how Reddit works and their strong policies against spammers and attempts to “game” the platform.

The deck also excelled at showing success cases, using both creative and down-to-earth ads to show that their platform brings a good ROI if you follow their guidelines, whether you have a brilliant marketing campaign or a set of simple, on-point ads.

5. Hiperdist ‍

This deck is living proof you don’t need to toot your own horn in a professional business presentation.

In this 9 slide deck about key reasons to move your clients to Microsoft Office 365, Hiperdist remained laser focused on the solution that was relevant to their audience. They only mentioned their own brand in the final slides, with contact information and a one-sentence description.

Perhaps the only area that they could’ve done better in is following the golden rule–one key point per slide! To ensure you are concise and not wordy in your own presentation, create a business presentation outline before designing your deck. 

6. Snapchat

This deck does a magnificent job by cutting to the chase quickly and presenting relevant data without clutter. Simple, on-brand, to the point and well-designed–a great example of how business presentation slides should look and feel.

7. Adgibbon

After providing top-notch business presentation services for years, we’ve developed a sixth sense when it comes to great presentations. We can usually tell if a deck is good or bad from the first slides.

Adgibbon was a hit from head to tail, dynamically showcasing their product, one feature per slide and keeping things light, fun, and 100% on-brand. 

8. Launchrock ‍

With a clean, on-brand look and feel, Launchrock showcases everything they need in 16 crisp slides. 

And the best thing about their clean design? If they need new business presentations, all they need to do is use this one as a template and they’re ready to go!

That’s one of the major benefits of a professional business presentation PPT template: you can easily streamline outstanding decks, keeping guesswork out of the equation.

9. Schmidt Ocean Institute

Giving a presentation about something as complex as marine science and conservation could be considered overwhelming. That didn’t stop Schmidt Ocean Institute, however, from killing it with their 2018 Visions to Reality deck.

This deck is a masterclass on how to make a business PowerPoint presentation look great by harmonizing beautiful photography, illustrations, data points, blockquotes, technical knowledge and company achievements without clutter, fluff or dullness.

10. Greylock Partners

With major companies like Dropbox and Okta on their portfolio, Greylock Partners has in-depth knowledge and experience in their field. They also know how to show their expertise in a digestible and compelling manner. 

If you’re stuck and need some tips on how to give a powerful presentation, take a deep dive into this deck. They use subtle background authoritative images to build trust with their audience…  

And not only do they ask the billion dollar question…

But they also answer it with uncanny precision and great visual aids.

Finally, they use data-driven graphs to back up their answer and simultaneously show the audience their expertise.

Pitching investors demands your A-game. And since 91% of professionals feel more confident when they have a beautifully designed presentation, design plays a major role in prepping for success.

When Air was preparing for an important presentation for a group of investors, they decided they needed a new look. Within two weeks, we had worked together to create a beautiful final presentation. The presentation was a hit, and they wowed their investors!

Remember: beautiful design is not only an aesthetic need, but also a profitable decision that can make or break huge opportunities.

12. Office Vibe

With vibrant colors and fun illustrations, each slide from Office Vibe’s deck is delightful and informative. It’s captivating enough to make you want to flip through the entire deck more than once–a good marker of a winning PowerPoint business presentation deck.

13. Degreed

Degreed’s takeaway slides are just what every audience needs–a breakdown of data-heavy slides into digestible tidbits. 

Their capacity to illustrate data is also worth mentioning, as it increases information retention.

14. Hubspot

Hubspot presentations are on-brand, fun, and engaging, and their Zero to IPO deck is no different.

And of course, full of memes.

Disclaimer: we’re not saying you should use memes, but they can help engage the audience if on-brand (assuming your audience is as fond of memes as many marketers are!)

15. Thrive Savings

Have a tight timeline for an important business presentation, but not confident your current deck is good enough to make a stand for your brand?

That’s why we exist! Thrive Savings was a young startup without firm brand guidelines, but that didn’t stop us from creating a pitch deck that personified their brand. Taking inspiration from their social media marketing, we worked together to create a fresh and dynamic deck design in under a week, from start to finish. 

Aislinn Barry

• Originally published on September 11, 2019

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