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8 tips to make the best powerpoint presentations.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Related: How to Burn Your PowerPoint to DVD

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How to make a great presentation

Stressed about an upcoming presentation? These talks are full of helpful tips on how to get up in front of an audience and make a lasting impression.

The secret structure of great talks

The beauty of data visualization

TED's secret to great public speaking

How to speak so that people want to listen

How great leaders inspire action

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How to Give a Killer Presentation

• Chris Anderson

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

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

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

Lessons from TED

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

The story was inspiring and worthy of the broader audience that our TED conference could offer, but on the surface, Richard seemed an unlikely candidate to give a TED Talk. He was painfully shy. His English was halting. When he tried to describe his invention, the sentences tumbled out incoherently. And frankly, it was hard to imagine a preteenager standing on a stage in front of 1,400 people accustomed to hearing from polished speakers such as Bill Gates, Sir Ken Robinson, and Jill Bolte Taylor.

But Richard’s story was so compelling that we invited him to speak. In the months before the 2013 conference, we worked with him to frame his story—to find the right place to begin and to develop a succinct and logical arc of events. On the back of his invention Richard had won a scholarship to one of Kenya’s best schools, and there he had the chance to practice the talk several times in front of a live audience. It was critical that he build his confidence to the point where his personality could shine through. When he finally gave his talk at TED , in Long Beach, you could tell he was nervous, but that only made him more engaging— people were hanging on his every word . The confidence was there, and every time Richard smiled, the audience melted. When he finished, the response was instantaneous: a sustained standing ovation.

Since the first TED conference, 30 years ago, speakers have run the gamut from political figures, musicians, and TV personalities who are completely at ease before a crowd to lesser-known academics, scientists, and writers—some of whom feel deeply uncomfortable giving presentations. Over the years, we’ve sought to develop a process for helping inexperienced presenters to frame, practice, and deliver talks that people enjoy watching. It typically begins six to nine months before the event, and involves cycles of devising (and revising) a script, repeated rehearsals, and plenty of fine-tuning. We’re continually tweaking our approach—because the art of public speaking is evolving in real time—but judging by public response, our basic regimen works well: Since we began putting TED Talks online, in 2006, they’ve been viewed more than one billion times.

On the basis of this experience, I’m convinced that giving a good talk is highly coachable. In a matter of hours, a speaker’s content and delivery can be transformed from muddled to mesmerizing. And while my team’s experience has focused on TED’s 18-minutes-or-shorter format, the lessons we’ve learned are surely useful to other presenters—whether it’s a CEO doing an IPO road show, a brand manager unveiling a new product, or a start-up pitching to VCs.

Frame Your Story

There’s no way you can give a good talk unless you have something worth talking about . Conceptualizing and framing what you want to say is the most vital part of preparation.

Find the Perfect Mix of Data and Narrative

by Nancy Duarte

Most presentations lie somewhere on the continuum between a report and a story. A report is data-rich, exhaustive, and informative—but not very engaging. Stories help a speaker connect with an audience, but listeners often want facts and information, too. Great presenters layer story and information like a cake and understand that different types of talks require differing ingredients.

From Report . . .

(literal, informational, factual, exhaustive).

Research findings. If your goal is to communicate information from a written report, send the full document to the audience in advance, and limit the presentation to key takeaways. Don’t do a long slide show that repeats all your findings. Anyone who’s really interested can read the report; everyone else will appreciate brevity.

Financial presentation. Financial audiences love data, and they’ll want the details. Satisfy their analytical appetite with facts, but add a thread of narrative to appeal to their emotional side. Then present the key takeaways visually, to help them find meaning in the numbers.

Product launch. Instead of covering only specs and features, focus on the value your product brings to the world. Tell stories that show how real people will use it and why it will change their lives.

VC pitch. For 30 minutes with a VC, prepare a crisp, well-structured story arc that conveys your idea compellingly in 10 minutes or less; then let Q&A drive the rest of the meeting. Anticipate questions and rehearse clear and concise answers.

Keynote address. Formal talks at big events are high-stakes, high-impact opportunities to take your listeners on a transformative journey. Use a clear story framework and aim to engage them emotionally.

. . . to Story

(dramatic, experiential, evocative, persuasive).

Nancy Duarte is the author of HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations , Slide:ology , and Resonate . She is the CEO of Duarte, Inc., which designs presentations and teaches presentation development.

We all know that humans are wired to listen to stories, and metaphors abound for the narrative structures that work best to engage people. When I think about compelling presentations, I think about taking an audience on a journey. A successful talk is a little miracle—people see the world differently afterward.

If you frame the talk as a journey, the biggest decisions are figuring out where to start and where to end. To find the right place to start, consider what people in the audience already know about your subject—and how much they care about it. If you assume they have more knowledge or interest than they do, or if you start using jargon or get too technical, you’ll lose them. The most engaging speakers do a superb job of very quickly introducing the topic, explaining why they care so deeply about it, and convincing the audience members that they should, too.

The biggest problem I see in first drafts of presentations is that they try to cover too much ground. You can’t summarize an entire career in a single talk. If you try to cram in everything you know, you won’t have time to include key details, and your talk will disappear into abstract language that may make sense if your listeners are familiar with the subject matter but will be completely opaque if they’re new to it. You need specific examples to flesh out your ideas. So limit the scope of your talk to that which can be explained, and brought to life with examples, in the available time. Much of the early feedback we give aims to correct the impulse to sweep too broadly. Instead, go deeper. Give more detail. Don’t tell us about your entire field of study—tell us about your unique contribution.

A successful talk is a little miracle—people see the world differently afterward.

Of course, it can be just as damaging to overexplain or painstakingly draw out the implications of a talk. And there the remedy is different: Remember that the people in the audience are intelligent. Let them figure some things out for themselves. Let them draw their own conclusions.

Many of the best talks have a narrative structure that loosely follows a detective story. The speaker starts out by presenting a problem and then describes the search for a solution. There’s an “aha” moment, and the audience’s perspective shifts in a meaningful way.

If a talk fails, it’s almost always because the speaker didn’t frame it correctly, misjudged the audience’s level of interest, or neglected to tell a story. Even if the topic is important, random pontification without narrative is always deeply unsatisfying. There’s no progression, and you don’t feel that you’re learning.

I was at an energy conference recently where two people—a city mayor and a former governor—gave back-to-back talks. The mayor’s talk was essentially a list of impressive projects his city had undertaken. It came off as boasting, like a report card or an advertisement for his reelection. It quickly got boring. When the governor spoke, she didn’t list achievements; instead, she shared an idea. Yes, she recounted anecdotes from her time in office, but the idea was central—and the stories explanatory or illustrative (and also funny). It was so much more interesting. The mayor’s underlying point seemed to be how great he was, while the governor’s message was “Here’s a compelling idea that would benefit us all.”

Further Reading

Storytelling That Moves People

As a general rule, people are not very interested in talks about organizations or institutions (unless they’re members of them). Ideas and stories fascinate us; organizations bore us—they’re much harder to relate to. (Businesspeople especially take note: Don’t boast about your company; rather, tell us about the problem you’re solving.)

Plan Your Delivery

Once you’ve got the framing down, it’s time to focus on your delivery . There are three main ways to deliver a talk. You can read it directly off a script or a teleprompter. You can develop a set of bullet points that map out what you’re going to say in each section rather than scripting the whole thing word for word. Or you can memorize your talk, which entails rehearsing it to the point where you internalize every word—verbatim.

My advice: Don’t read it, and don’t use a teleprompter. It’s usually just too distancing—people will know you’re reading. And as soon as they sense it, the way they receive your talk will shift. Suddenly your intimate connection evaporates, and everything feels a lot more formal. We generally outlaw reading approaches of any kind at TED, though we made an exception a few years ago for a man who insisted on using a monitor. We set up a screen at the back of the auditorium, in the hope that the audience wouldn’t notice it. At first he spoke naturally. But soon he stiffened up, and you could see this horrible sinking feeling pass through the audience as people realized, “Oh, no, he’s reading to us!” The words were great, but the talk got poor ratings.

Many of our best and most popular TED Talks have been memorized word for word. If you’re giving an important talk and you have the time to do this, it’s the best way to go. But don’t underestimate the work involved. One of our most memorable speakers was Jill Bolte Taylor , a brain researcher who had suffered a stroke. She talked about what she learned during the eight years it took her to recover. After crafting her story and undertaking many hours of solo practice, she rehearsed her talk dozens of times in front of an audience to be sure she had it down.

Obviously, not every presentation is worth that kind of investment of time. But if you do decide to memorize your talk, be aware that there’s a predictable arc to the learning curve. Most people go through what I call the “valley of awkwardness,” where they haven’t quite memorized the talk. If they give the talk while stuck in that valley, the audience will sense it. Their words will sound recited, or there will be painful moments where they stare into the middle distance, or cast their eyes upward, as they struggle to remember their lines. This creates distance between the speaker and the audience .

Getting past this point is simple, fortunately. It’s just a matter of rehearsing enough times that the flow of words becomes second nature. Then you can focus on delivering the talk with meaning and authenticity. Don’t worry—you’ll get there.

But if you don’t have time to learn a speech thoroughly and get past that awkward valley, don’t try. Go with bullet points on note cards. As long as you know what you want to say for each one, you’ll be fine. Focus on remembering the transitions from one bullet point to the next.

Also pay attention to your tone. Some speakers may want to come across as authoritative or wise or powerful or passionate, but it’s usually much better to just sound conversational. Don’t force it. Don’t orate. Just be you.

If a successful talk is a journey, make sure you don’t start to annoy your travel companions along the way. Some speakers project too much ego. They sound condescending or full of themselves, and the audience shuts down. Don’t let that happen.

Develop Stage Presence

For inexperienced speakers, the physical act of being onstage can be the most difficult part of giving a presentation—but people tend to overestimate its importance. Getting the words, story, and substance right is a much bigger determinant of success or failure than how you stand or whether you’re visibly nervous. And when it comes to stage presence, a little coaching can go a long way.

The biggest mistake we see in early rehearsals is that people move their bodies too much. They sway from side to side, or shift their weight from one leg to the other. People do this naturally when they’re nervous, but it’s distracting and makes the speaker seem weak. Simply getting a person to keep his or her lower body motionless can dramatically improve stage presence. There are some people who are able to walk around a stage during a presentation, and that’s fine if it comes naturally. But the vast majority are better off standing still and relying on hand gestures for emphasis.

How to Pitch a Brilliant Idea

Perhaps the most important physical act onstage is making eye contact. Find five or six friendly-looking people in different parts of the audience and look them in the eye as you speak. Think of them as friends you haven’t seen in a year, whom you’re bringing up to date on your work. That eye contact is incredibly powerful, and it will do more than anything else to help your talk land. Even if you don’t have time to prepare fully and have to read from a script, looking up and making eye contact will make a huge difference.

Another big hurdle for inexperienced speakers is nervousness—both in advance of the talk and while they’re onstage. People deal with this in different ways. Many speakers stay out in the audience until the moment they go on; this can work well, because keeping your mind engaged in the earlier speakers can distract you and limit nervousness. Amy Cuddy, a Harvard Business School professor who studies how certain body poses can affect power, utilized one of the more unusual preparation techniques I’ve seen. She recommends that people spend time before a talk striding around, standing tall, and extending their bodies; these poses make you feel more powerful. It’s what she did before going onstage, and she delivered a phenomenal talk. But I think the single best advice is simply to breathe deeply before you go onstage. It works.

Nerves are not a disaster. The audience expects you to be nervous.

In general, people worry too much about nervousness. Nerves are not a disaster. The audience expects you to be nervous. It’s a natural body response that can actually improve your performance: It gives you energy to perform and keeps your mind sharp. Just keep breathing, and you’ll be fine.

Acknowledging nervousness can also create engagement. Showing your vulnerability, whether through nerves or tone of voice, is one of the most powerful ways to win over an audience, provided it is authentic. Susan Cain , who wrote a book about introverts and spoke at our 2012 conference, was terrified about giving her talk. You could feel her fragility onstage, and it created this dynamic where the audience was rooting for her—everybody wanted to hug her afterward. The fact that we knew she was fighting to keep herself up there made it beautiful, and it was the most popular talk that year.

Plan the Multimedia

With so much technology at our disposal, it may feel almost mandatory to use, at a minimum, presentation slides. By now most people have heard the advice about PowerPoint: Keep it simple; don’t use a slide deck as a substitute for notes (by, say, listing the bullet points you’ll discuss—those are best put on note cards); and don’t repeat out loud words that are on the slide. Not only is reciting slides a variation of the teleprompter problem—“Oh, no, she’s reading to us, too!”—but information is interesting only once, and hearing and seeing the same words feels repetitive. That advice may seem universal by now, but go into any company and you’ll see presenters violating it every day.

Many of the best TED speakers don’t use slides at all, and many talks don’t require them. If you have photographs or illustrations that make the topic come alive, then yes, show them. If not, consider doing without, at least for some parts of the presentation. And if you’re going to use slides, it’s worth exploring alternatives to PowerPoint. For instance, TED has invested in the company Prezi, which makes presentation software that offers a camera’s-eye view of a two-dimensional landscape. Instead of a flat sequence of images, you can move around the landscape and zoom in to it if need be. Used properly, such techniques can dramatically boost the visual punch of a talk and enhance its meaning.

Artists, architects, photographers, and designers have the best opportunity to use visuals. Slides can help frame and pace a talk and help speakers avoid getting lost in jargon or overly intellectual language. (Art can be hard to talk about—better to experience it visually.) I’ve seen great presentations in which the artist or designer put slides on an automatic timer so that the image changed every 15 seconds. I’ve also seen presenters give a talk accompanied by video, speaking along to it. That can help sustain momentum. The industrial designer Ross Lovegrove’s highly visual TED Talk , for instance, used this technique to bring the audience along on a remarkable creative journey .

Another approach creative types might consider is to build silence into their talks, and just let the work speak for itself. The kinetic sculptor Reuben Margolin used that approach to powerful effect. The idea is not to think “I’m giving a talk.” Instead, think “I want to give this audience a powerful experience of my work.” The single worst thing artists and architects can do is to retreat into abstract or conceptual language.

Video has obvious uses for many speakers. In a TED Talk about the intelligence of crows, for instance, the scientist showed a clip of a crow bending a hook to fish a piece of food out of a tube—essentially creating a tool. It illustrated his point far better than anything he could have said.

Used well, video can be very effective, but there are common mistakes that should be avoided. A clip needs to be short—if it’s more than 60 seconds, you risk losing people. Don’t use videos—particularly corporate ones—that sound self-promotional or like infomercials; people are conditioned to tune those out. Anything with a soundtrack can be dangerously off-putting. And whatever you do, don’t show a clip of yourself being interviewed on, say, CNN. I’ve seen speakers do this, and it’s a really bad idea—no one wants to go along with you on your ego trip. The people in your audience are already listening to you live; why would they want to simultaneously watch your talking-head clip on a screen?

Putting It Together

We start helping speakers prepare their talks six months (or more) in advance so that they’ll have plenty of time to practice. We want people’s talks to be in final form at least a month before the event. The more practice they can do in the final weeks, the better off they’ll be. Ideally, they’ll practice the talk on their own and in front of an audience.

The tricky part about rehearsing a presentation in front of other people is that they will feel obligated to offer feedback and constructive criticism. Often the feedback from different people will vary or directly conflict. This can be confusing or even paralyzing, which is why it’s important to be choosy about the people you use as a test audience, and whom you invite to offer feedback. In general, the more experience a person has as a presenter, the better the criticism he or she can offer.

I learned many of these lessons myself in 2011. My colleague Bruno Giussani, who curates our TEDGlobal event, pointed out that although I’d worked at TED for nine years, served as the emcee at our conferences, and introduced many of the speakers, I’d never actually given a TED Talk myself. So he invited me to give one, and I accepted.

It was more stressful than I’d expected. Even though I spend time helping others frame their stories, framing my own in a way that felt compelling was difficult. I decided to memorize my presentation, which was about how web video powers global innovation, and that was really hard: Even though I was putting in a lot of hours, and getting sound advice from my colleagues, I definitely hit a point where I didn’t quite have it down and began to doubt I ever would. I really thought I might bomb. I was nervous right up until the moment I took the stage. But it ended up going fine. It’s definitely not one of the all-time great TED Talks, but it got a positive reaction—and I survived the stress of going through it.

10 Ways to Ruin a Presentation

As hard as it may be to give a great talk, it’s really easy to blow it. Here are some common mistakes that TED advises its speakers to avoid.

• Take a really long time to explain what your talk is about.
• Speak slowly and dramatically. Why talk when you can orate?
• Make sure you subtly let everyone know how important you are.
• Refer to your book repeatedly. Even better, quote yourself from it.
• Cram your slides with numerous text bullet points and multiple fonts.
• Use lots of unexplained technical jargon to make yourself sound smart.
• Speak at great length about the history of your organization and its glorious achievements.
• Don’t bother rehearsing to check how long your talk is running.
• Sound as if you’re reciting your talk from memory.
• Never, ever make eye contact with anyone in the audience.

Ultimately I learned firsthand what our speakers have been discovering for three decades: Presentations rise or fall on the quality of the idea, the narrative, and the passion of the speaker. It’s about substance, not speaking style or multimedia pyrotechnics. It’s fairly easy to “coach out” the problems in a talk, but there’s no way to “coach in” the basic story—the presenter has to have the raw material. If you have something to say, you can build a great talk. But if the central theme isn’t there, you’re better off not speaking. Decline the invitation. Go back to work, and wait until you have a compelling idea that’s really worth sharing.

The single most important thing to remember is that there is no one good way to do a talk . The most memorable talks offer something fresh, something no one has seen before. The worst ones are those that feel formulaic. So do not on any account try to emulate every piece of advice I’ve offered here. Take the bulk of it on board, sure. But make the talk your own. You know what’s distinctive about you and your idea. Play to your strengths and give a talk that is truly authentic to you.

• CA Chris Anderson is the curator of TED.

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Effective Business Presentations with Powerpoint

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This course is all about presenting the story of the data, using PowerPoint. You'll learn how to structure a presentation, to include insights and supporting data. You'll also learn some design principles for effective visuals and slides. You'll gain skills for client-facing communication - including public speaking, executive presence and compelling storytelling. Finally, you'll be given a client profile, a business problem, and a set of basic Excel charts, which you'll need to turn into a presentation - which you'll deliver with iterative peer feedback.

This course was created by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP with an address at 300 Madison Avenue, New York, New York, 10017.

Preparing a Presentation

This course is about presenting the story of the data, using PowerPoint. You'll learn how to structure a presentation and how to include insights and supporting data. You'll also learn some design principles for creating effective PowerPoint slides with visuals displaying data. Though application based exercises, you'll gain foundational communication skills - including public speaking, professional presence and compelling storytelling. Finally, you'll be given a client profile, a business problem, and a set of basic Excel charts, that you will use to create a presentation. You’ll receive peer feedback that you can use to enhance future presentations. This course was created by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP with an address at 300 Madison Avenue, New York, New York, 10017

What's included

13 videos 5 readings 1 quiz

13 videos • Total 47 minutes

• Welcome to Course 4 • 2 minutes • Preview module
• Welcome to Week 1 • 3 minutes
• The eight-step approach to prepare for a presentation • 3 minutes
• Step 1 - Know your audience and Step 2 - Know your purpose • 6 minutes
• Step 3 - Structure the body of your presentation • 7 minutes
• Step 4 - Plan how you will start your presentation • 3 minutes
• Step 5 - Plan how you will end your presentation • 2 minutes
• Step 6 - Prepare your visual aids • 3 minutes
• Step 7 - Anticipate the questions you may be asked • 6 minutes
• Step 8 - Practice your presentation • 3 minutes
• Presenting on short notice • 3 minutes
• Week 1 Closing • 1 minute
• A Message from our Chief People Officer at PwC • 0 minutes

5 readings • Total 50 minutes

• Course Overview and Syllabus • 10 minutes
• Meet the PwC Instructors • 10 minutes
• Case Study and Materials • 10 minutes
• Outlining and Wireframing • 10 minutes
• The eight-step approach to prepare for a presentation • 10 minutes

1 quiz • Total 30 minutes

• Week 1 Quiz • 30 minutes

Communication styles

This week, we will be covering the different types of communications styles. You’ll start off by gaining an understanding of your personal professional presence and learn how to maximize it. You’ll learn about verbal and nonverbal communications, and strategies to enhance your questioning and listening skills. We will also discuss how differences in culture can impact how you communicate.

9 videos 1 reading 1 quiz

9 videos • Total 67 minutes

• Introduction to Week 2 • 1 minute • Preview module
• Maximizing your professional presence • 12 minutes
• Communicating with confidence • 3 minutes
• Verbal communications • 5 minutes
• Non-verbal communications • 6 minutes
• Cultural Considerations in Communication • 7 minutes
• Culture and Presentations • 19 minutes
• Questioning and listening skills • 8 minutes
• Week 2 Closing • 1 minute

1 reading • Total 10 minutes

• Tip Sheet: Communicating with confidence • 10 minutes
• Week 2 Quiz • 30 minutes

Creating effective slides using PowerPoint

This week, we're discussing how to create effective slides using PowerPoint. You’ll learn about the tools available within PowerPoint, how to structure your storyline, create storyboards, identify primary elements of slide design, display data and finalize your slide presentation. There is a peer review activity where you will apply the skills learned and create a storyboard. Finally, you will also get a chance to identify errors in a presentation to test your knowledge of standard industry practices.

9 videos 5 readings 2 quizzes

9 videos • Total 49 minutes

• Introduction to Week 3 • 2 minutes • Preview module
• Introduction to PowerPoint (2013) • 13 minutes
• What type of deck should you use? • 3 minutes
• Structure your storyline • 9 minutes
• Creating a storyboard • 5 minutes
• Primary elements of slide design • 2 minutes
• Displaying data • 5 minutes
• Finalizing your deck • 6 minutes
• Week 3 Closing • 1 minute
• PowerPoint Practice Activity • 10 minutes
• Types of logic • 10 minutes
• Tip Sheet: Storyboarding • 10 minutes
• Slide writing guide • 10 minutes
• Tip Sheet: Displaying data • 10 minutes

2 quizzes • Total 60 minutes

• Identifying errors in a deck exercise • 30 minutes
• Week 3 Quiz • 30 minutes

Delivering a presentation

This week, you’re going to build and deliver a presentation to your peers, and receive feedback from them. You will create a presentation of about 10 slides, employing the guidelines and industry best practices that have been discussed in this course. You can use the presentation storyboard that you created last week, which your peers have reviewed and given you feedback on. Review what you’ve developed so far, and make changes or additions that you think will enhance the presentation. Once you’ve finalized your presentation, you will present it in a video using your smartphone or computer. Once you’re satisfied with the PowerPoint presentation and video, you will be submitting both for peer review. You can use this feedback for current and future presentations that you will make during your career.

2 videos 2 readings 1 quiz

2 videos • Total 4 minutes

• Introduction to Week 4 • 2 minutes • Preview module
• Week 4 and Course Wrap-Up • 1 minute

2 readings • Total 20 minutes

• Final course simulation • 10 minutes
• Best tips for recording your own video • 10 minutes
• Simulation Validation Quiz • 30 minutes

Instructor ratings

We asked all learners to give feedback on our instructors based on the quality of their teaching style.

With offices in 157 countries and more than 208,000 people, PwC is among the leading professional services networks in the world. Our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We help organisations and individuals create the value they’re looking for, by delivering quality in assurance, tax and advisory services.

Recommended if you're interested in Business Essentials

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Learner reviews

Showing 3 of 1047

1,047 reviews

Reviewed on May 18, 2020

I had an amazing experience doing this course. It brought me more clarity to my presentation approach. The course instructors are very enthusiastic and motivating.

Reviewed on Jul 7, 2020

This course was interesting to understand verbal and non verbal skills. Furthermore it helps to have an scketch to prepare a successful presentation

Reviewed on Aug 15, 2019

I really gained a lot from this course. The learning experience was great and the instructors explained all the topics clearly. Thank you PwC and Coursera!

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Frequently asked questions

When will i have access to the lectures and assignments.

Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:

The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.

The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.

What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?

When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.

What is the refund policy?

If you subscribed, you get a 7-day free trial during which you can cancel at no penalty. After that, we don’t give refunds, but you can cancel your subscription at any time. See our full refund policy Opens in a new tab .

Is financial aid available?

Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

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Microsoft 365 Life Hacks > Presentations > PowerPoint Tips: Make The Most of Your Presentation

PowerPoint Tips: Make The Most of Your Presentation

Got a presentation coming up but you’re not that familiar with PowerPoint ? We can help you get started with some easy PowerPoint tips and tricks that’ll help you create an impactful presentation , no matter what the occasion.

Our PowerPoint for beginners tips will show you how to:

• Make an outline.
• Choose a theme.
• Find a font.
• Use visuals.
• Not use too much text.
• Limit your color.
• Use a free online “speaker coach”.

Tell your story with captivating presentations

Powerpoint empowers you to develop well-designed content across all your devices

Outline your presentation before you start. Don’t spend time making unnecessary slides for your presentation. Create an outline before you start. Not only will this make it easier to put the content on the slides, but it will also let you know how many slides you need to make. Rather than winging it and making slides as you go, use your outline to make your slides efficient and organized . Working without an outline can sometimes lead to jumbled slides with more information than you need.

Choose a theme and template. Not everybody is a graphic designer, so coming up with the perfect slide theme and template can seem hard. Thanks to PowerPoint templates, it isn’t. Find a free online template that gives you the design, layout, color scheme, and aesthetic you want. Be sure to choose something that fits what you’re talking about (e.g. Don’t use a whimsical theme with bright colors and butterflies if you’re presenting a serious topic.)

Find the right font . Knowing which font to use for your presentation isn’t always easy. When it comes to the basics of selecting the best font, follow best-practice recommendations that say an easy-to-read sans-serif font is preferred. Fonts like Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, and others like it make for simple fonts that are easy to read. Although, there are some serif fonts that still look great on PowerPoint and are easy to read on high-resolution screens. When you’re building out the format of your slides, a great way to distinguish the title section from the body text is by using a different font for each or bolding your title font.

Use visuals . Words on a page aren’t nearly as engaging as visuals. Keep your audience’s attention during your presentation by using visuals like graphics, animations, photos, and videos. PowerPoint makes it easy to insert clipart, tables, graphs, and much more by using the features built into the program. You can also include gifs and YouTube videos to up the ante on your presentation.

While it’s great to use fun gifs or YouTube videos to enhance your presentation, don’t go crazy. Eventually, your audience will get tired of looking at a five-second loop on a gif as you speak, and videos don’t always have the impact you want. Videos can be distracting to your audience because they change the pace of your presentation, so it’s a good idea to limit the number of videos you include.

Tip: If you’re going to lay words over a picture, use a colored box with the opacity down around 50% to create more contrast between the image and the words.

Limit your text. Your audience doesn’t want to read; they want to listen to you. Don’t fill your slides with long sentences and complex phrasing. Instead, include only the most important points of what you want to say. The PowerPoint 6×6 rule suggests limiting your slides to six lines with a maximum of six words per line. Following this rule makes for slides that include only the most important points while avoiding information overload. Using bullet points is a great way to stick to the 6×6 rule.

Go easy on the colors. Be careful of the colors you use when making a PowerPoint presentation. Too many bright colors can be hard on the eyes and reduce the contrast between the letters, making them hard to read. It’s generally a good idea to use a black or white font with a color that makes the font pop against the background. Black on white is always easy to read, and white looks great against most solid colors. If you’re not sure how a specific font color looks against a background, sit back in your chair, and try to read it. If it’s hard to read with the font and background you have, it’s a good idea to change one or both.

Use a free online “speaker coach”. Rehearsing in front of a mirror is good, but using free speaker coaching software is even better. Do you say “um” a lot? Are you talking too fast? Did you use a culturally insensitive term? A free digital “coach” with built-in AI will catch all that stuff and more.It’s the best way to assess your strengths and weaknesses and identify areas of growth.

These PowerPoint tips are enough to get you started on your presentation. Soon, you’ll be creating and presenting a beautiful deck.

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PowerPoint Tips  - Simple Rules for Better PowerPoint Presentations

Powerpoint tips  -, simple rules for better powerpoint presentations, powerpoint tips simple rules for better powerpoint presentations.

PowerPoint Tips: Simple Rules for Better PowerPoint Presentations

Lesson 17: simple rules for better powerpoint presentations.

/en/powerpoint-tips/embed-excel-charts-in-a-slide/content/

Simple rules for better PowerPoint presentations

Have you ever given a PowerPoint presentation and noticed that something about it just seemed a little … off? If you’re unfamiliar with basic PowerPoint design principles, it can be difficult to create a slide show that presents your information in the best light.

Poorly designed presentations can leave an audience feeling confused, bored, and even irritated. Review these tips to make your next presentation more engaging.

Don't read your presentation straight from the slides

If your audience can both read and hear, it’s a waste of time for you to simply read your slides aloud. Your audience will zone out and stop listening to what you’re saying, which means they won’t hear any extra information you include.

Instead of typing out your entire presentation, include only main ideas, keywords, and talking points in your slide show text. Engage your audience by sharing the details out loud.

Follow the 5/5/5 rule

To keep your audience from feeling overwhelmed, you should keep the text on each slide short and to the point. Some experts suggest using the 5/5/5 rule : no more than five words per line of text, five lines of text per slide, or five text-heavy slides in a row.

Don't forget your audience

Who will be watching your presentation? The same goofy effects and funny clip art that would entertain a classroom full of middle-school students might make you look unprofessional in front of business colleagues and clients.

Humor can lighten up a presentation, but if you use it inappropriately your audience might think you don’t know what you’re doing. Know your audience, and tailor your presentation to their tastes and expectations.

Choose readable colors and fonts

Your text should be easy to read and pleasant to look at. Large, simple fonts and theme colors are always your best bet. The best fonts and colors can vary depending on your presentation setting. Presenting in a large room? Make your text larger than usual so people in the back can read it. Presenting with the lights on? Dark text on a light background is your best bet for visibility.

Don't overload your presentation with animations

As anyone who’s sat through a presentation while every letter of every paragraph zoomed across the screen can tell you, being inundated with complicated animations and exciting slide transitions can become irritating.

Before including effects like this in your presentation, ask yourself: Would this moment in the presentation be equally strong without an added effect? Does it unnecessarily delay information? If the answer to either question is yes—or even maybe—leave out the effect.

Use animations sparingly to enhance your presentation

Don’t take the last tip to mean you should avoid animations and other effects entirely. When used sparingly, subtle effects and animations can add to your presentation. For example, having bullet points appear as you address them rather than before can help keep your audience’s attention.

Keep these tips in mind the next time you create a presentation—your audience will thank you. For more detailed information on creating a PowerPoint presentation, visit our Office tutorials .

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Find the perfect PowerPoint presentation template

Bring your next presentation to life with customizable powerpoint design templates. whether you're wowing with stats via charts and graphs or putting your latest and greatest ideas on display, you'll find a powerpoint presentation template to make your ideas pop., presentations.

Help your data, insights, and recommendations make a statement with beautiful and easily customizable presentation templates.

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Keep track of whatever you need to in style. From personal planning to promotional calendars, find templates for every kind of project and aesthetic.

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Say more with less using helpful and easily customizable infographic templates. Add clarity to business presentations, school projects, and more with these helpful templates.

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A quick way to create beautiful, powerful PowerPoint presentations

Create captivating, informative content for PowerPoint in just a few minutes—no graphic design experience needed. Here's how:

1. Find the perfect PowerPoint template

2. Customize your creation

3. Show it off

Let's create a powerpoint design, frequently asked questions, where can i find slide templates and themes that i can customize.

To find customizable slide templates and themes, you can explore the business presentations templates or search by PowerPoint templates . Once you find a template that resonates with you, customize it by changing its color scheme, add in your own photos, and swap out the font.

How do I use pre-made PowerPoint templates?

After you've chosen a PowerPoint template to use, customize it. Explore [design tips] on how to customize a deck that resonates with your brand while putting emphasis on the topic at hand. Play with other design elements, like photo shapes, to make each slide unique.

How can I make or edit my own custom PowerPoint templates?

Start from scratch by creating your own PowerPoint template . Follow tips for designs and business presentations so that your unique template is cohesive and relevant to your brand. Incorporate your brand's color scheme and graphics so that all your slides aren't text only.

What kinds templates can I get online for PowerPoint?

You can get PowerPoint templates that have modern designs, animated ones, or even hand-drawn art in each slide. The color schemes range from bold to subtle. Each template's slides are also organized based on what you may want to include in your presentation . You can use the template as a starting point and customize its specific details from theme.

Popular categories

50 Best PowerPoint Presentations (2023 Update)

This is the most complete list of the best PowerPoint presentations on the Web. Period.

In fact, you’ll find 50 presentation slide decks on this page.

So whether you’re looking to…

✅ Learn how to create amazing presentations, step-by-step ✅ Understand the latest trends – about marketing, social media, AI and more – and grab actionable strategies to grow your business ✅ Discover the best pitch decks that have helped companies like Youtube or Airbnb raise hundred of millions of dollars…

You’ll really enjoy this list.

50 Best PowerPoint Presentations That Teach You Things

Here are the different categories in which the selected slide decks fall into:

Presentation Skills Copywriting & Sales Online Marketing Business Innovation Pitch Decks Productivity

Presentation Skills: Tips, Resources & Inspiration to Become a Real Pro

In this section, you will find a comprehensive selection of slide decks that will help you plan, structure and design irresistible presentations, step-by-step.

Let’s jump right in!

1. Quick & Dirty Tips for Better PowerPoint Presentations Faster

This deck will teach you 7 simple, effective tips to build presentations faster, from start to finish.

Now, if you’re not following any process when making your own presentations, make sure to check out tip #7 (it’s the one I personally use and if you stick to it, you’ll save a huge amount of time).

Quick & Dirty Tips for : Better PowerPoint Presentations Faster from Eugene Cheng

Quick side note : if you want to design gorgeous slides fast, you’d be crazy not to check out PPTPOP’s premium template pack. It’s a set of ready-to-use slides you can use right away to make your presentations look 10x better. See details here .

2. 8 Tips for an Awesome PowerPoint Presentation

In this deck, you’ll learn 8 simple effective slide design tips to make your presentations visually more appealing.

8 Tips for an Awesome Powerpoint Presentation from Damon Nofar

3. The Ultimate Freebies Guide for Presentations

Want to design more  creative presentations ? This deck will give you access to some of the best useful resources and tools to create better slide decks (icons, fonts, infographics and more).

The Ultimate Freebies Guide for Presentations  from Damon Nofar

4. Create Icons in PowerPoint

Icons are a great way to design presentations that are more appealing.

Wanna know the best part?

Designing your own icons.

This tutorial teaches you how to simply build your own, customized icons, step-by-step.

Create icons in PowerPoint from Presentitude

Pro Tip :  If you prefer using standard icons that ou can still customize, head over to this post where I’m sharing my favorite presentation graphics and shapes.

5. 10 Powerful Body Language Tips for Your Next Presentation

Public speaking is not only about making a corporate speech in front of your company’s board members once every six months.

In fact, we’re facing situations where we have persuade, inform, or motivate others all the time .

And guess what, each of those moments requires us to impact with our words, our voice and our posture.

So if you’ve been looking to learn how to speak with more confidence, the deck below will provide you 10 simple tips to grab – and keep – the attention of an audience (tips #1 and #5 are so simple and powerful that you’ll be glad you learnt them today).

10 Powerful Body Language Tips for your next Presentation from SOAP

6. The Art of Saying No: Kenny Nguyen at TEDxLSU

I got you…

This is not a presentation. But it’s a killer speak you must watch.

Kenny Nguyen, the CEO of Big Fish Presentations,  speaks about the power inherent in saying “no.” In this  TEDx,  he explains how “no” has affected him personally and professionally, but more importantly, how it can prepare one for the perfect time to say “yes”.

This speech will show you how to entertain an audience, grab their attention and tell powerful stories that stick.

The Art of Saying No  from Big Fish Presentations

Additional Resources

PPTPOP’s Best Templates

The Ultimate PPTPACK (35 editable, templates. FREE)

Powerful Presentation Tips (That Work FAST)

Creative Presentation Techniques You Can Use Now

How to Design Gorgeous Presentations When You Have No Time (And No Design Talent)

If you’re looking to crank out quality presentations without spending dozen of hours designing them or hiring an expensive designer, then you should consider investing in professional templates. Professional templates help busy people of all talent ranges create fantastic presentations at breakneck speed.

Top performers know that presentations can have a huge impact on their business. Because the truth is, when you start deliver top-tier business materials, you’re able to:

• Present clean slides that grab (and keep) people’s attention
• Confidently expressing ideas, concepts and messages with visual elements. Because, yes, you know that those who use visual aids are 43% more persuasive than those who don’t.
• Wow your prospects, get them to walk away knowing you’re the pros and eliminating other options.

Introducing Pre-Built Presentation Templates…

With pre-built templates , you get your hands on a massive stash of editable resources – slides, vector icons, graphics, timelines, maps and so on – to finally build result-getting presentations. At a fraction of the time it takes to others.

And the good news is, these templates cost as little as the price of a movie ticket.

So if you’ve looking to build winning presentations faster  then check out my two favorite templates below:

If you’ve been looking to create high-quality presentations faster (because you know that’s what will set you apart from everyone else), then check out one of my favorite templates below, and start saving time so you can focus on things that really matter to you.

Marketofy presentation theme is especially useful for:

Corporate presentations – for prospects, investors or stakeholders Marketing proposals or briefs Customer/data reports And more

Key Features

• Lots of unique slides (390 for  PowerPoint , 200 for  Keynote  and  Google slides ). Includes slides to present business objectives, company services, marketing strategy, product launch, process, maps, devices, apps, and much more
• 24 ready-made color themes (6 for the Keynote version)
• Dark & light versions (light background slides or dark background slides)
• Drag-and-drop photo placeholders (drag any visual from your folder, and it will take the exact shape of the placeholder)
• Dozen of graphs and charts (to concisely present data-rich information)
• 2,500 icons

See this business template

See a detailed review of my favorite templates

Copywriting & Sales: Everything You Need to Turn More Leads Into Buyers

Copywriting = getting information into someone’s brain so they want to open their wallet and give you the money.

In other words, it’s is about convincing people to buy from you  using your words .

And here we are:

What makes copywriting so powerfu l is the incredible number of things you can do with it. Write a sales page for your site, craft cold emails , presentations for prospects , or investors, or even put together  video scripts…

All of these are literally made of… words.

Those who master the power of copywriting know how to use the right words to rouse interest, crush objections, activate the purchasing triggers of their target customers.

7. 17 Copywriting Do’s and Don’ts: How To Write Persuasive Content

This great introduction to the topic lists down the most common mistakes people are making when writing sales copy.

You’ll also learn 17 great tips to start writing better sales copy right now. Every piece of advise comes with clear, real-world examples that make this presentation very practical.

How To Write Persuasive Content de Henneke Duistermaat

Did you like this deck about copywriting? Then make sure to check out this one as well (Top 10 copywriting mistakes + how to fix them)

8.  The 10 Best Copywriting Formulas for Social Media Headlines

The 10 Best Copywriting Formulas for Social Media Headlines from Buffer

Are you looking for proven advice that’ll help you turn more leads into customers? If so, I strongly recommend you to check out this course  (It’s one the best online copywriting course I’ve ever taken).

9. 125 Clickass Copywriting Tips

This practical, gigantic guide is loaded with simple tips to write better sales copy.

You’ll also learn the exact questions you need to answer to be more persuasive in front of any audience.

125 Clickass Copywriting Tips from Barry Feldman

10. 107 Mind-Blowing Sales Statistics That Will Help You Sell Smarter

17% of salespeople think they’re pushy, compared to 50% of prospects.

Ouchhh….

Even if numbers never tell you the whole story, this deck has done a great job at highlighting the most important aspects of it.

107 Mind-Blowing Sales Statistics That Will Help You Sell Smarter von Sidekick

11. Tips On Selling From Ogilvy

“You can’t bore people into buying your product. You can only interest them in buying it”.

This deck condenses some of the best selling secrets from advertising tycoon David Ogilvy . Highly recommended.

Some tips on selling from Ogilvy from OgilvyOne Worldwide

12.  Pitching Ideas: How to Sell Your Ideas to Others

This great deck explains you how to pitch ideas to others. It comes back to the fundamental questions you need to answer first – such as identifying your goal and the exact problems your idea is solving.

Pitching Ideas: How to sell your ideas to others from Jeroen van Geel

How to pitch an idea to any audience . Here are 21 research -backed strategies that’ll get you a YES! every time.

13. Your Sales Pitch Sucks!

Why most sales pitches don’t work  and what you can do to fix yours.

Your Sales Pitch Sucks! from Slides That Rock

14. How to Pitch B2B

How do you convince a prospective customer?

This slide deck will teach you 9 essential steps to crafting a winning pitch (if you want them all resumed, check out the slide 62).

How to Pitch B2B from Slides That Rock

15. Social Proof Tips to Boost Landing Page Conversions

This deck is brought to you by growth marketing advisor and speaker  Angie Schottmuller . It’s loaded with in-deep, social proof strategies you can use on your landing page.

Social Proof Tips to Boost Landing Page Conversions de Angie Schottmuller

Sugarman, Joseph. 2006. The Adweek Copywriting Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Powerful Advertising and Marketing Copy from One of America’s Top Copywriters (One of the best copywriting books out there, period).

The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Sales Page

How to Write Ads

The Anatomy of a Perfect Sales Email

How to Make Your Sales Copy 10X More Persuasive

Online Marketing: The Best Strategies and Tools to Stand Out & Grow Your Business

In this section, you will get access to top presentations that will teach you how to become a sharper business individual.

From the latest SEO trends to marketing strategies, tools and techniques, you’ll learn how to…

Better sell your products or services Stand out in a crowded market Create and distribute valuable, relevant content designed to attract customers And much more !

16.  2023 Global Marketing Trends

A must-read for all marketers. In 2023, Deloitte expects a rebalance of digital ad spending to include more brand-building and less over-targeting:

17. The SEO World in 2018

(Don’t be fooled by the 2018 publication date, this document contains pure gold.)

SEO (search engine optimization) is basically getting free Google traffic to your site. And guess what, if you want to get organic traffic to your website and stay on top of your game, you need to understand the ever-changing landscape about SEO.

This deck made by Moz will provide you a great, precise overview of the state of SEO in 2018. Yes, it’s not a latest SEO deck – but it will teach you core principles of how people actually search online, how Google is using “predictive intend” along with useful tips to better rank your content in the long run.

The SEO World in 2018 from Rand Fishkin

Interested about learning how you can get more traffic from Google?  Backlinko is one of the best blogs on SEO out there.

18. The 150 Most Powerful Marketing & Sales Tools

These are the best tools available online to grow your business (everything about SEO, email, content marketing, social media, and more).

The 150 Most Powerful Marketing & Sales Tools from Brian Downard

19. Fast Track Your Content Marketing Plan

This deck breaks down the exact steps you needs to take to drive successful content marketing  programs that’ll help you resonate in your market.

No fluff. No B.S.

Fast Track Your Content Marketing Plan de Barry Feldman

20. The Ultimate Guide to Startup Marketing

This deck wraps up what you need to do when starting a business – including the fundamental steps you should to take to kickstart your online marketing game.

The Ultimate Guide to Startup Marketing from Onboardly

21.  AI, Machine Learning, and their Application for Growth 

A great presentation done by Adelyn Zhou , previous CMO at TOPBOTS . TOPBOTS is a publication, community, and educational resource for business leaders applying AI to their companies.

In this deck, you will learn how, why and when both AI and machine learning can help your organization grow.

22.  How to Increase Your Online Presence in 30 Minutes a Day

This Slideshare was realized by Sprout Social , a social media management software. This deck will teach you how to improve your online presence with simple steps that only take a few minutes each to implement.

Use the outlined process to boost brand awareness, grow your audience, increase your influence across the web and, most importantly, track the success of your initiatives.

23. Surf Your Way To Success in E-Commerce

This white paper put together by Ogilvy outlines the key principles and strategies to help you ride the e-commerce wave and come out to the top.

You will learn what are the driving forces of e-commerce, how to create a top-notch experience online, pin-point your customer desires and expectations, how to generate demand, and much more.

24 .  2022 Social Media Trends 

HubSpot has put together a complete report that will give you useful pieces of data to understand the social media landscape today and upcoming trends, and how to tap into them to succeed for your business.

2022 Social Media Trends Report from HubSpot

25. Social Media Trends 2022

This presentation is a good complement to the #24. It outlines 7 social-led trends that will impact marketing over the next years.

Social Media Trends 2022 by Ogilvy

26. Email Marketing 101: The Welcome Email

This detailed deck explains the importance and psychology of welcome emails.

Email Marketing 101: The Welcome Email from SendGrid

Additional Email Marketing Resources

A Beginner’s Guide to Successful Email 

How to Write a Good Sales Emaiil

27. Go Viral on the Social Web: The Definitive How-To Guide!

There’s too much noise out there.

And as a brand, failing at standing out is equal to being ignored.

This deck teaches you how to craft viral content that makes you stand out and motivates people to share what you’ve got to say.

Go Viral on the Social Web: The Definitive How-To guide! from XPLAIN

28. People Don’t Care About Your Brand

Don’t move another muscle until this become part of your D.N.A:

Nobody cares about you.

They care about what you can do for them.

In this deck, you’ll learn how to engage with customers and get them to come back for more.

People Don’t Care About Your Brand from Slides That Roc k

29.  The Ultimate Guide to Conquering Content Marketing

This solid, expert-backed (and fun) guide was put together by Content Marketing Institute .

It’s jam-packed with useful tips from the top minds in content marketing and will teach you how to create epic content, amplify your message, and much more.

Whether you’re new to content marketing, need a refresher or are curious about where the trends are going to, make sure to check out this slide deck.

The best business podcasts:

Unmistakable Creative

The Smart Passive Income

Additional sales resources:

How To Write a Persuasive Sales Page

Laja, Peep. 2012. Useful Value Proposition Examples (and How to Create a Good One) . Conversion XL.

30. Growth Hacking

I am a big fan of growth hacking  and if you’re not one yet, here’s your chance.

Growth hacking is every strategy, every tactic, and every initiative that is attempted in the hopes of growing a business. In this deck you will learn what is grow hacking, what metrics you should focus on and a simple 5-step lean marketing funnel to explode your business growth.

Growth Hacking from Mattan Griffel

31. 100 Growth Hacks 100 Days

In this deck, you will get your hands on detailed, time-framed (and wicked smart) tactics you can implement right away to grow your blog, startup or your website.

100 growth hacks 100 days | 1 to 10 from Robin Yjord

Patel, Neil and Aragon, Kathryn. The Advanced Guide to Content Marketing.

Patel, Neil and Puri, Ritika. “Launch Your Social Strategy”. The Beginners Guide to Online Marketing (Chapter 12).

Neil Patel and Bronson, Taylor. The Definitive Guide to Growth Hacking .

Business Innovation: Methodologies to Actually Move the Needle in Your Business

In this section, you will get access to expert-written presentations covering ways to build a stronger business. You will learn models and strategies to tackle challenges, and design a better innovation culture in your company.

For instance:

Design thinking . How to you solve complex business problems more creatively.

The AARRR model . How applying a simple 5-step lean startup methodology can change your approach to doing business. Business model design . If you don’t know what it is yet, make sure to check out the deck !

32. Crash Course Design Thinking

This deck will teach why design thinking is important along with – in between other cool things – how to apply the 5x Why method to uncover – and understand the root causes of most business problems.

Introducing design thinking from Zaana Howard

33. Crash Course on Design Thinking

Crash Course Design Thinking  from Board of Innovation

34. Startup Metrics for Pirates: AARRR !!!

Any business serious about growing should be using this model.

Startup Metrics for Pirates de Dave McClure

35. Business Model Design and Innovation for Competitive Advantage

Put together by  Alexander Osterwalder , the author of the fantastic  Business Model Generation  , this slide deck lists down the 4 different types of innovation, their related benefits and real-world applications.

Business Model Design and Innovation for Competitive Advantage by  Alexander Osterwalder

36. Business Model Innovation Matters

How to reinvent your business model, no matter which industry you are in.

Business Model Innovation Matters  by  Alexander Osterwalder

37. 10 Disruptive Quotes for Entrepreneurs

This beautiful deck was built by Guy Kawasaki , former Chief Evangelist of Apple. It will help you see things with a different perspective and, hopefully, shift your mindset.

10 Disruptive Quotes for Enterpreneurs from Guy Kawasaki

38. The Sharing Economy

The Sharing Economy from Loic Le Meur

39. ChatGPT: What It Is and How Writers Can Use It

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you already know about ChatGPT.

This slide deck presents what this AI tool can actually do about content creation.

A virtual crash course in design thinking

AARRR startup metrics

A free business model canvas

The Best Pitch Decks

How do you deliver a winning pitch deck that actually convinces investor to give you money?

In this section, you’ll discover:

• The 10-point, step-by-step outline for crafting a winning pitch deck. This is the exact flow Silicon Valley’s most respected venture capital firm Sequoia Capital recommends startups to use.
• Successful pitch decks from Airbnb, Youtube and more…

40. Sequoia Capital Pitch Deck Template

These are the exact points VC firm Sequoia Capital recommends you to use anytime you pitch an investor.

Sequoia Capital Pitch Deck Template from PitchDeckCoach

41. Airbnb First Pitch Deck

Wondering how Airbnb raised money back when it wanted to be an air mattress rental company?

Here is their first pitch deck !

AirBnB Pitch Deck from PitchDeckCoach

42. Blablacar Pitch Deck

BlaBlaCar is a the world’s largest long-distance ride-sharing community.

Simply said, they connect drivers and passengers willing to travel together between cities and share the cost of the journey (and get a cut out of it, like Airbnb). In 2015, the startup was valued $1.6 billion .

Europas BlaBlaCar pitch from Vanina Schick

43. Buffer Pitch Deck

Buffer  helps you manage your social media accounts in one place with intuitive scheduling & analytics.

They used the deck below to raise half a million bucks .

The slide deck we used to raise half a million dollars from Buffer

44. Youtube Pitch Deck

Here is the original pitch deck of  Youtube .

Youtube pitch deck from Alexander Jarvis

This is the pitch deck of Front , a shared inbox solution for teams.

Front series A deck from Mathilde Collin

46. Mixpanel

This is the deck Mixpanel – a business analytics software – used to raise $65M.

Mixpanel – Our pitch deck that we used to raise $65M from Suhail Doshi

47. Deliveroo

The pitch deck of Deliveroo an online food delivery company.

Deliveroo – NOAH15 London de NOAH Advisors

How to Make a Pitch Deck

How to Make a Business Plan

Productivity. Work Smarter.

These presentations will teach you how to work smarter, get more done, and motivate others to do the same !

48. The 10 Timeless Productivity Hacks

This Slideshare decks reviews 10 great, timeless work habits that will make you more productive, fast.

The 10 Timeless Productivity Hacks from Bernard Marr

49. IQ Work Hacks – Productivity

A practical presentation that will show you how to be more organized and effective at work, even if you have a ton of things to do.

IQ Work Hacks – Productivity from InterQuest Group

50. Leader’s Guide to Motivate People at Work

Motivating employees seems like it should be easy.

Yet, 30% of executives say it is their toughest job.

From talking with your team members to get feedback,giving them more room to grow or providing them meaningful incentives, this deck will provide you 6 simple steps you can use to improve the morale, performance and productivity of people within your organization.

Leader’s Guide to Motivate People at Work from Weekdone.com

Lai, Lisa. 2017. Motivating Employees Is Not About Carrots or Sticks. Harvard Business Review.

Fineman, Meredith. 2013. Please Stop Complaining About How Busy You Are. Harvard Business Review

Meier, J.D. 2010. Getting Results the Agile Way: A Personal Results System for Work and Life

I hope you’ve liked and learned from this handpicked selection of the best PowerPoint presentations available online!

Recommended For You

How to Make a Stunning PowerPoint Title Slide (in 5 Minutes)

How to Pitch an Idea: 21 Powerful, Science-Backed Tips

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Basic tasks for creating a PowerPoint presentation

PowerPoint presentations work like slide shows. To convey a message or a story, you break it down into slides. Think of each slide as a blank canvas for the pictures and words that help you tell your story.

Choose a theme

When you open PowerPoint, you’ll see some built-in themes and templates . A theme is a slide design that contains matching colors, fonts, and special effects like shadows, reflections, and more.

On the File tab of the Ribbon, select New , and then choose a theme.

PowerPoint shows you a preview of the theme, with four color variations to choose from on the right side.

Click Create , or pick a color variation and then click Create .

Read more: Use or create themes in PowerPoint

Insert a new slide

On the Home tab, click the bottom half of  New Slide , and pick a slide layout.

Read more: Add, rearrange, and delete slides .

Save your presentation

On the File tab, choose Save .

Pick or browse to a folder.

In the File name box, type a name for your presentation, and then choose Save .

Note:  If you frequently save files to a certain folder, you can ‘pin’ the path so that it is always available (as shown below).

Tip:  Save your work as you go. Press Ctrl+S often or save the file to OneDrive and let AutoSave take care of it for you. 

Read more: Save your presentation file

Select a text placeholder, and begin typing.

Format your text

Select the text.

Under Drawing Tools , choose Format .

Do one of the following:

To change the color of your text, choose Text Fill , and then choose a color.

To change the outline color of your text, choose Text Outline , and then choose a color.

To apply a shadow, reflection, glow, bevel, 3-D rotation, a transform, choose Text Effects , and then choose the effect you want.

Change the fonts

Change the color of text on a slide

Add bullets or numbers to text

Format text as superscript or subscript

Add pictures

On the Insert tab, select Pictures , then do one of the following:

To insert a picture that is saved on your local drive or an internal server, choose This Device , browse for the picture, and then choose Insert .

(For Microsoft 365 subscribers) To insert a picture from our library, choose Stock Images , browse for a picture, select it and choose Insert .

To insert a picture from the web, choose Online Pictures , and use the search box to find a picture. Choose a picture, and then click Insert .

You can add shapes to illustrate your slide. 

On the Insert tab, select Shapes , and then select a shape from the menu that appears.

In the slide area, click and drag to draw the shape.

Select the Format or Shape Format tab on the ribbon. Open the Shape Styles gallery to quickly add a color and style (including shading) to the selected shape.

Add speaker notes

Slides are best when you don’t cram in too much information. You can put helpful facts and notes in the speaker notes, and refer to them as you present.

Click inside the Notes pane below the slide, and begin typing your notes.

Add speaker notes to your slides

Print slides with or without speaker notes

Give your presentation

On the Slide Show tab, do one of the following:

To start the presentation at the first slide, in the Start Slide Show group, click From Beginning .

If you’re not at the first slide and want to start from where you are, click From Current Slide .

If you need to present to people who are not where you are, click Present Online to set up a presentation on the web, and then choose one of the following options:

Broadcast your PowerPoint presentation online to a remote audience

View your speaker notes as you deliver your slide show.

Get out of Slide Show view

To get out of Slide Show view at any time, on the keyboard, press Esc .

You can quickly apply a theme when you're starting a new presentation:

On the File tab, click New .

Select a theme.

Read more:  Apply a design theme to your presentation

In the slide thumbnail pane on the left, select the slide that you want your new slide to follow.

On the Home tab, select the lower half of  New Slide .

From the menu, select the layout that you want for your new slide.

Your new slide is inserted, and you can click inside a placeholder to begin adding content.

Learn more about slide layouts

Read more: Add, rearrange, and delete slides

PowerPoint for the web automatically saves your work to your OneDrive, in the cloud.

To change the name of the automatically saved file:

In the title bar, click the file name.

In the File Name box, enter the name you want to apply to the file.

If you want to change the cloud storage location, at the right end of the Location box, click the arrow symbol, then navigate to the folder you want, then select Move here .

On the Home tab, use the Font options:

Select from other formatting options such as Bold , Italic , Underline , Strikethrough , Subscript , and Superscript .

On the  Insert  tab, select  Pictures .

From the menu, select where you want to insert the picture from:

Browse to the image you want, select it, then select Insert . 

After the image is inserted on the slide, you can select it and drag to reposition it, and you can select and drag a corner handle to resize the image. 

On the slide canvas, click and drag to draw the shape.

Select the Shape tab on the ribbon. Open the Shape Styles gallery to quickly add a color and style (including shading) to the selected shape.

A horizontal Notes pane appears at the bottom of the window, below the slide.

Click in the pane, then enter text. 

On the  Slide Show  tab, select  Play From Beginning .

To navigate through the slides, simply click the mouse or press the spacebar.

Tip:  You can also use the forward and back arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate through the slide show.

Read more:  Present your slide show

Stop a slide show

To get out of Slide Show view at any time, on the keyboard, press Esc.

The full-screen slide show will close, and you will be returned to the editing view of the file.

Tips for creating an effective presentation

Consider the following tips to keep your audience interested.

Minimize the number of slides

To maintain a clear message and to keep your audience attentive and interested, keep the number of slides in your presentation to a minimum.

Choose an audience-friendly font size

The audience must be able to read your slides from a distance. Generally speaking, a font size smaller than 30 might be too difficult for the audience to see.

Keep your slide text simple

You want your audience to listen to you present your information, instead of reading the screen. Use bullets or short sentences, and try to keep each item to one line.

Some projectors crop slides at the edges, so that long sentences might be cropped.

Use visuals to help express your message

Pictures, charts, graphs, and SmartArt graphics provide visual cues for your audience to remember. Add meaningful art to complement the text and messaging on your slides.

As with text, however, avoid including too many visual aids on your slide.

Make labels for charts and graphs understandable

Use only enough text to make label elements in a chart or graph comprehensible.

Apply subtle, consistent slide backgrounds

Choose an appealing, consistent template or theme that is not too eye-catching. You don't want the background or design to detract from your message.

However, you also want to provide a contrast between the background color and text color. The built-in themes in PowerPoint set the contrast between a light background with dark colored text or dark background with light colored text.

For more information about how to use themes, see Apply a theme to add color and style to your presentation .

Check the spelling and grammar

To earn and maintain the respect of your audience, always check the spelling and grammar in your presentation .

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Home Blog Presentation Ideas 23 PowerPoint Presentation Tips for Creating Engaging and Interactive Presentations

23 PowerPoint Presentation Tips for Creating Engaging and Interactive Presentations

PowerPoint presentations are not usually known for being engaging or interactive. That’s often because most people treat their slides as if they are notes to read off  and not a tool to help empower their message.

Your presentation slides are there to help bring to life the story you are telling. They are there to provide visuals and empower your speech.

So how do you go about avoiding a presentation “snoozefest” and instead ensure you have an engaging and interactive presentation?  By making sure that you use your slides to help YOU tell your story, instead of using them as note cards to read off of.

The key thing to remember is that your presentation is there to compliment your speech, not be its focus.

In this article, we will review several presentation tips and tricks on how to become a storytelling powerhouse by building a powerful and engaging PowerPoint presentation.

Start with writing your speech outline, not with putting together slides

Use more images and less text, use high-quality images, keep the focus on you and your presentation, not the powerpoint, your presentation should be legible from anywhere in the room, use a consistent presentation design, one topic per slide, avoid information overwhelm by using the “rule of three”.

• Display one bullet at a time

Avoid unnecessary animations

• Only add content that supports your main points

Do not use PowerPoint as a teleprompter

• Never Give Out Copies of the Presentation

Re-focus the attention on you by fading into blackness

Change the tone of your voice when presenting, host an expert discussion panel, ask questions, embed videos, use live polling to get instant feedback and engage the audience.

• He kept his slides uncluttered and always strived for simplicity
• He was known to use large font size, the bigger, the better.
• He found made the complex sound simple.

He was known to practice, practice, and keep on practicing.

Summary – how to make your presentation engaging & interactive, fundamental rules to build powerful & engaging presentation slides.

Before we go into tips and tricks on how to add flair to your presentations and create effective presentations, it’s essential to get the fundamentals of your presentation right.

Your PowerPoint presentation is there to compliment your message, and the story you are telling. Before you can even put together slides, you need to identify the goal of your speech, and the key takeaways you want your audience to remember.

YOU and your speech are the focus of this presentation, not the slides – use your PowerPoint to complement your story.

Keep in mind that your slides are there to add to your speech, not distract from it.  Using too much text in your slides can be distracting and confusing to your audience. Instead, use a relevant picture with minimal text, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

This slide is not unusual, but is not a visual aid, it is more like an “eye chart”.

Aim for something simpler, easy to remember and concise, like the slides below.

Keep in mind your audience when designing your presentation, their background and aesthetics sense. You will want to avoid the default clip art and cheesy graphics on your slides.

While presenting make sure to control the presentation and the room by walking around, drawing attention to you and what you are saying.  You should occasionally stand still when referencing a slide, but never turn your back to your audience to read your slide.

You and your speech are the presentations; the slides are just there to aid you.

Most season presenters don’t use anything less than twenty-eight point font size, and even Steve Jobs was known to use nothing smaller than forty-point text fonts.

If you can’t comfortably fit all the text on your slide using 28 font size than you’re trying to say and cram too much into the slide, remember tip #1.4 – Use relevant images instead and accompany it with bullets.

Best Practice PowerPoint Presentation Tips

The job of your presentation is to help convey information as efficiently and clearly as possible. By keeping the theme and design consistent, you’re allowing the information and pictures to stand out.

However, by varying the design from slide to slide, you will be causing confusion and distraction from the focus, which is you and the information to be conveyed on the slide.

Each slide should try to represent one topic or talking point. The goal is to keep the attention focused on your speech, and by using one slide per talking point, you make it easy for you to prepare, as well as easy for your audience to follow along with your speech.

Sometimes when creating our presentation, we can often get in our heads and try to over-explain. A simple way to avoid this is to follow the “ Rule of Three ,” a concept coined by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle.

The idea is to stick to only 3 main ideas that will help deliver your point.  Each of the ideas can be further broken into 3 parts to explain further. The best modern example of this “Rule of Three” can be derived from the great Apple presentations given by Steve Jobs – they were always structured around the “Rule of Three.”

Display one sentence at a time

If you are planning to include text in your slides, try to avoid bullet lists, and use one slide per sentence. Be short and concise. This best practice focuses on the idea that simple messages are easy to retain in memory. Also, each slide can follow your storytelling path, introducing the audience to each concept while you speak, instead of listing everything beforehand.

Presentation Blunders To Avoid

In reality, there is no need for animations or transitions in your slides.

It’s great to know how to turn your text into fires or how to create a transition with sparkle effects, but the reality is the focus should be on the message. Using basic or no transitions lets the content of your presentation stand out, rather than the graphics.

If you plan to use animations, make sure to use modern and professional animations that helps the audience follow the story you are telling, for example when explaining time series or changing events over time.

Only add engaging content that supports your main points

You might have a great chart, picture or even phrase you want to add, but when creating every slide, it’s crucial to ask yourself the following question.

“Does this slide help support my main point?”

If the answer is no, then remove it.  Remember, less is more.

A common crutch for rookie presenters is to use slides as their teleprompter.

First of all, you shouldn’t have that much text on your slides. If you have to read off something, prepare some index cards that fit in your hand but at all costs do not turn your back on your audience and read off of your PowerPoint.  The moment you do that, you make the presentation the focus, and lose the audience as the presenter.

Avoid Giving Out Copies of the Presentation

At least not before you deliver a killer presentation; providing copies of your presentation gives your audience a possible distraction where they can flip through the copy and ignore what you are saying.

It’s also easy for them to take your slides out of context without understanding the meaning behind each slide.  It’s OK to give a copy of the presentation, but generally it is better to give the copies AFTER you have delivered your speech. If you decide to share a copy of your presentation, the best way to do it is by  generating a QR code  for it and placing it at the end of your presentation. Those who want a copy can simply scan and download it onto their phones.

Tips To Making Your Presentation More Engaging

The point of your presentation is to help deliver a message.

When expanding on a particularly important topic that requires a lengthy explanation it’s best to fade the slide into black.  This removes any distraction from the screen and re-focuses it on you, the present speaker. Some presentation devices have a built-in black screen button, but if they don’t, you can always prepare for this by adding a black side to your presentation at the right moment.

“It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.”

Part of making your presentation engaging is to use all the tools at your disposal to get your point across. Changing the inflection and tone of your voice as you present helps make the content and the points more memorable and engaging.

One easy and powerful way to make your presentation interactive is experts to discuss a particular topic during your presentation. This helps create a more engaging presentation and gives you the ability to facilitate and lead a discussion around your topic.

It’s best to prepare some questions for your panel but to also field questions from the audience in a question and answer format.

How To Make Your Presentation More Interactive

What happens if I ask you to think about a pink elephant?  You probably briefly think about a pink elephant, right?

Asking questions when presenting helps engage the audience, and arouse interest and curiosity.  It also has the added benefit of making people pay closer attention, in case they get called on.

So don’t be afraid to ask questions, even if rhetorical; asking a question engages a different part of our brain. It causes us to reflect rather than merely take in the information one way. So ask many of them.

Asking questions can also be an excellent way to build suspense for the next slide.

(Steve Jobs was known to ask questions during his presentations, in this slide he built suspense by asking the audience “Is there space for a device between a cell phone and a laptop?” before revealing the iPad) Source: MacWorld SF 2018

Remember the point of your presentation is to get a message across and although you are the presenter, it is completely fine to use video in your PowerPoint to enhance your presentation.  A relevant video can give you some breathing time to prepare the next slides while equally informing the audience on a particular point.

CAUTION: Be sure to test the video beforehand, and that your audience can hear it in the room.

A trending engagement tool among presenters is to use a live polling tool to allow the audience to participate and collect immediate feedback.

Using a live polling tool is a fun and interactive way to engage your audience in real-time and allow them to participate in part of your presentation.

Google Slides has a built-in Q&A feature that allows presenters to make the slide deck more interactive by providing answers to the audience’s questions. By using the Q&A feature in Google Slides, presenters can start a live Q&A session and people can ask questions directly from their devices including mobile and smartphones.

Key Takeaways from one of the best presenters, Steve Jobs

He kept his slides uncluttered and always strove for simplicity.

In this slide, you can easily see he is talking about the battery life, and it uses a simple image and a few words. Learning from Jobs, you can also make a great presentation too. Focus on the core benefit of your product and incorporate great visuals.

Source: Macworld 2008

SlideModel.com can help to reproduce high-impact slides like these, keeping your audience engagement.

He was known to use large font sizes, the bigger, the better

A big font makes it hard to miss the message on the slide, and allows the audience to focus on the presenter while clearing the understanding what the point of the slide is.

He found made the complex sound simple

When explaining a list of features, he used a simple image and lines or simple tables to provide visual cues to his talking points.

(This particular slide is referencing the iMac features)

What made Steve Jobs the master of presentation, was the ritual of practicing with his team, and this is simple yet often overlooked by many presenters.  It’s easy to get caught in the trap of thinking you don’t need to practice because you know the material so well.

While all these tips will help you create a truly powerful presentation , it can only achieve if applied correctly.

It’s important to remember when trying to deliver an amazing experience, you should be thoroughly prepared. This way, you can elevate your content presentation, convey your message effectively and captivate your audience.

This includes having your research cited, your presentation rehearsed.  Don’t just rehearse your slides, also take time to practice your delivery, and your tone.  The more you rehearse, the more relaxed you will be when delivering. The more confident you will feel.

While we can’t help you with the practice of your next presentation, we can help you by making sure you look good, and that you have a great design and cohesiveness.

You focus on the message and content; we’ll focus on making you look good.

Have a tip you would like to include?  Be sure to mention it in the comments!

Like this article? Please share

Audience, Engaging, Feedback, Interactive, Poll, Rule of Three, Steve Jobs Filed under Presentation Ideas

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Very great advices!

Greetings ! A compact composed communication for the host to have an impact -VOICE

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Tips for creative effective powerpoint presentations.

The powerpoint presentation is ubiquitous, but just because everybody does it doesn’t mean everybody does it well. Here are some tips to help you save your audience from "death by PowerPoint." • Use the slide master feature to create a consistent and simple design template. It’s fine to vary the content of your slides (e.g., bulleted list, 2-column text, text & image), but be consistent with other elements such as font, colors and background.

• Simplify and limit the number of words on each screen. Use key phrases and include only essential information. o Generally no more than 6 words a line o Generally no more than 6 lines a slide o Avoid long sentences o Larger font indicates more important information o Font size generally ranges from 18 to 48 point • Limit punctuation and avoid putting words in all capital letters. Empty space on the slide will enhance readability.

• Use contrasting colors for text and background. Dark text on a light background is best. Patterned backgrounds can reduce readability of text. • Avoid the use of flashy transitions such as text fly-ins. These features may seem impressive at first, but are distracting and get old quickly. • Overuse of special effectssuch as animation and sounds are distracting and may make your presentation seem less than serious. • Use good quality images that reinforce and complement your message. Ensure that your images maintain their impact and resolution when projected on a largerscreen. • If you use builds, have content appear on the screen in a consistent, simple manner; from the top or left is best. Only "build" screens when necessary to make your point because they can slow your presentation. • Limit the number of slides. Presenters who constantly "flip" to the next slide are likely to lose their audience. A good rule of thumb is one slide per minute. • Learn to navigate your presentation in a nonlinear fashion. PowerPoint allows the presenter to jump ahead or back without having to page through all the interim slides. • Know how to and practice moving forward AND backward within your presentation. Students may ask to see the previous screen again. • If possible, view your slides on the screen you'll be using for your presentation. Make sure they are readable from the back row seats. Text and graphics should be large enough to read, but not so large as to appear "loud." • Have a Plan B in the event of technical difficulties. Remember that transparencies and handouts will not show animation or other special effects. • Don’t read from your slides. The content of your slides is for the audience, not for the presenter. • Don’t speak to your slides. It’s very easy to be distracted by the content on your screen. A minor exception to this guideline is a need to draw your audience’s attention to a specific part of your slide. For example, you could use a pointer to identify a trend in a graph. Otherwise, there's simply no reason to show your back.

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8+ Presentation Skills Every Marketer Needs

Published: August 29, 2023

Marketers play a crucial role in attracting customers and driving success for their brands. And today, presentation skills are a key tool in your marketing toolbox.

Strong presentations help you better communicate and make an impression on your audience.

Whether you‘re a seasoned professional or a budding marketer eager to make a lasting impact, there’s always room to improve.

We’ll explore eight essential presentation skills that allow you to stand out, tips for leveling up, and examples of some of our favorite presentations. Let’s dive in.

What are presentation skills?

8 effective presentation skills, how to improve your presentation skills, top-notch presentation examples.

Presentation skills enable marketers to effectively convey information, ideas, and messages to their audience. That may be a group of potential clients, colleagues, stakeholders, or the public.

These skills encompass techniques that help marketers engage, inspire, and influence their listeners, leaving a lasting impact.

A well-developed set of presentation skills empowers you to communicate your thoughts with clarity and conviction. It goes beyond just conveying data or facts.

Presentation skills involve artfully crafting a narrative and using various tools to captivate the audience. This keeps listeners engaged and persuades them to take the desired action.

Keep reading to see some of the most effective presentation skills you can develop.

You may not know Elizabeth Gilbert by name, but you’ve likely heard of her book Eat, Pray, Love . In this presentation, Gilbert discusses how anyone can be a genius. All you have to do is get out of your way and unlock your own creativity.

What we like: Gilbert weaves humor, lightness, and focus throughout her presentation. Viewers will enjoy her take on creativity, be able to follow her pace, and have actionable takeaways. At the end, listeners leave inspired.

2. Manoush Zomorodi: How Boredom Can Lead to Your Most Brilliant Ideas

As the host of “Ted Radio Hour,” Manoush Zomorodi is a professional presenter. During this presentation, she discusses how boredom can help you discover creativity.

Only during moments of stillness do we become restless and unlock brilliance.

What we like: The hook of the topic brings us in — everyone wants to understand how to make great ideas. However, the presenter and her dynamic energy keep us engaged. Zomorodi uses audio clips to break up the monotony.

She knows where to pause and brings in appropriate visual aids.

3. James Cameron: Before Avatar ... A Curious Boy

James Cameron, the esteemed director, knows a thing or two about storytelling. But before he created Avatar and directed Titanic , he was just a kid like everyone else.

During this presentation, Cameron discusses how his curiosity at a young age has propelled him forward.

What we like: This talk is personal, personable, and targeted for his audience to walk away with actionable steps and inspiration. Cameron also has a grasp of his body language. He moves fluidly on stage, even without visual aids.

4. Luvvie Ajayi Jones: Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable

Unsure of whether you should speak your mind? In this presentation, activist Luvvie Ajayi Jones shares three questions to ask yourself if you’re considering making waves.

She encourages us to get used to discomfort in order to move the needle and make a change.

What we like: The hook “I’m a Professional Troublemaker” brings us right into the action. The audience is left with questions and an interest in what she’s going to say next.

This talk is memorable, inspirational, and funny at times, striking the important balance we discussed earlier in this article. Audiences will hold onto “In a world that wants us to whisper, I choose to yell” for years to come.

Practice Makes Perfect

Mastering presentation skills is an essential asset for professionals in every field. Effective delivery and engagement are key factors that determine if your words make an impact.

By utilizing techniques such as clear messaging, compelling visuals, and dynamic delivery, you can captivate your audience and leave a lasting impression.

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