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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation
- Carmine Gallo
Five tips to set yourself apart.
Never underestimate the power of great communication. It can help you land the job of your dreams, attract investors to back your idea, or elevate your stature within your organization. But while there are plenty of good speakers in the world, you can set yourself apart out by being the person who can deliver something great over and over. Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired together are more memorable); don’t underestimate the power of your voice (raise and lower it for emphasis); give your audience something extra (unexpected moments will grab their attention); rehearse (the best speakers are the best because they practice — a lot).
I was sitting across the table from a Silicon Valley CEO who had pioneered a technology that touches many of our lives — the flash memory that stores data on smartphones, digital cameras, and computers. He was a frequent guest on CNBC and had been delivering business presentations for at least 20 years before we met. And yet, the CEO wanted to sharpen his public speaking skills.
“You’re very successful. You’re considered a good speaker. Why do you feel as though you need to improve?” I asked.
“I can always get better,” he responded. “Every point up or down in our share price means billions of dollars in our company’s valuation. How well I communicate makes a big difference.”
This is just one example of the many CEOs and entrepreneurs I have coached on their communication skills over the past two decades, but he serves as a valuable case in point. Often, the people who most want my help are already established and admired for their skills. Psychologists say this can be explained by a phenomenon called the Dunning-Kruger effect. Simply put, people who are mediocre at certain things often think they are better than they actually are, and therefore, fail to grow and improve. Great leaders, on the other hand, are great for a reason — they recognize their weaknesses and seek to get better.
The following tips are for business professionals who are already comfortable with giving presentations — and may even be admired for their skills — but who, nonetheless, want to excel.
1) Great presenters use fewer slides — and fewer words.
McKinsey is one of the most selective consulting companies in the world, and one I have worked with many times in this area. Senior McKinsey partners have told me that recent MBA hires often try to dazzle clients with their knowledge — and they initially do so by creating massive PowerPoint decks. New consultants quickly learn, however, that less is much more. One partner instructs his new hires to reduce PowerPoint decks considerably by replacing every 20 slides with only two slides.
This is because great writers and speakers are also great editors. It’s no coincidence that some of the most memorable speeches and documents in history are among the shortest. The Gettysburg Address is 272 words, John F. Kennedy’s inauguration speech was under 15 minutes, and the Declaration of Independence guarantees three unalienable rights — not 22.
Key takeaway: Reduce clutter where you can.
2) Great presenters don’t use bullet points.
Bullet points are the least effective way to get your point across. Take Steve Jobs , considered to be one of the most extraordinary presenters of his time. He rarely showed slides with just text and bullets. He used photos and text instead.
Experiments in memory and communication find that information delivered in pictures and images is more likely to be remembered than words alone. Scientists call it “ pictorial superiority .” According to molecular biologist John Medina, our ability to remember images is one of our greatest strengths. “We are incredible at remembering pictures,” he writes . “Hear a piece of information, and three days later you’ll remember 10% of it. Add a picture and you’ll remember 65%.”
Key takeaway: Complement text on slides with photos, videos, and images.
3) Great presenters enhance their vocal delivery.
Speakers who vary the pace, pitch, and volume of their voices are more effective, according to a new research study by Wharton marketing professor, Jonah Berger.
In summary, the research states that effective persuaders modulate their voice, and by doing so, appear to be more confident in their argument. For example, they raise their voice when emphasizing a key message, or they pause after delivering an important point.
Simply put, if you raise and lower the volume of your voice, and alternate between a high pitch and low pitch while delivering key messages, your presentation will be more influential, persuasive, and commanding.
Key takeaway: Don’t underestimate the power of your voice to make a positive impression on your audience.
4) Great presenters create “wow” moments.
People don’t remember every slide and every word of a presentation. They remember moments, as Bill Gates exemplified back in 2009 in his now famous TED talk .
While giving a presentation on the efforts of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to reduce the spread of malaria, Gates stated: “Now, malaria is, of course, transmitted by mosquitos. I brought some here just so you could experience this.” And with that, he walked out to the center of the stage, and opened the lid from a small jar containing non-infected mosquitoes.
“We’ll let those roam around the auditorium a little bit.”
This moment was so successful in capturing his audience because it was a surprise. His audience had been expecting a standard PowerPoint presentation — complete with graphs and data. But what they got instead was a visceral introduction to the subject, an immersive experience that played on their emotions.
Unexpected moments grab an audience’s attention because the human brain gets bored easily. According to neuroscientist, A.K Pradeep, whom I’ve interviewed : “Novelty recognition is a hardwired survival tool all humans share. Our brains are trained to look for something brilliant and new, something that stands out, something that looks delicious.”
Key takeaway: Give your audience something extra.
5) Great presenters rehearse.
Most speakers don’t practice nearly as much as they should. Oh, sure, they review their slides ahead of time, but they neglect to put in the hours of deliberate practice that will make them shine.
Malcolm Gladwell made the “ 10,000-hour rule ” famous as a benchmark for excellence — stating, in so many words, that 20 hours of practice a week for a decade can make anyone a master in their field. While you don’t have nearly that long to practice your next presentation, there’s no question that the world’s greatest speakers have put in the time to go from good to great.
Consider Martin Luther King, Jr. His most famous speeches came after years of practice — and it was exactly this level of mastery that gave King the awareness and flexibility to pull off an advanced speaking technique: improvisation. King improvised the memorable section of what is now known as the “Dream Speech” on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. When he launched into the “I have a dream” refrain, the press in attendance were confused. Those words were not included in the official draft of the speech they had been handed. King read the mood of his audience and, in the moment, combined words and ideas he had made in previous speeches.
It’s believed that King gave 2,500 speeches in his lifetime. If we assume two hours of writing and rehearsals for each one (and in many cases he spent much more time than that ), we arrive at the conservative estimate of 5,000 hours of practice. But those are speeches. They don’t take into account high school debates and hundreds of sermons. King had easily reached 10,000 hours of practice by August of 1963.
Key takeaway: Put in the time to make yourself great.
Never underestimate the power of great communication. It can help you land the job of your dreams, attract investors to back your idea, or elevate your stature within your organization. But while there are plenty of good speakers in the world, using the above tips to sharpen your skills is the first step to setting yourself apart. Stand out by being the person who can deliver something great over and over again.
- Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of 10 books translated into 40 languages. Gallo is the author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman (St. Martin’s Press).
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How to give a good presentation: 8 tips
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What are the main difficulties when giving presentations?
How to prepare an effective presentation, after that, how do i give a memorable presentation, how to connect with the audience when presenting.
Public speaking and presenting isn’t everyone’s forte, but it’s a valuable skill, regardless of your job. If you want your voice to be heard, you’ll need to master communicating your thoughts and opinions simply and politely.
It’s okay if you’re nervous ; that’s completely normal. Glossophobia, or the fear of public speaking, affects anywhere from 15–30% of the general population . Social anxiety is also becoming more prevalent, seen in 12% more adults in the last 20 years , and it’s a key cause of glossophobia.
But presentation jitters aren’t necessarily bad. Nerves and excitement feel the same in the body, so reframing nervousness as excitement means you’ll feel more positively about your feelings — and the upcoming presentation.
Giving a speech may seem daunting, but many industries demand learning how to be a good presenter. Luckily, you can always implement new strategies to face challenges and deliver an engaging presentation.
Whether you’re a seasoned pro or first-timer, there’s always room to improve your presentation skills. One key to preparing a presentation is to define what you’re most worried about and address these fears.
The most common of worries in school or company presentations include:
- Fear of public speaking . Having a great idea doesn’t mean we’re comfortable telling people about it. Not everyone shines in front of an audience. Some people rationally feel fine about presenting but experience physical symptoms such as nausea and dizziness as the brain releases adrenaline to cope with the potentially stressful situation . The more public speaking you do, the less you’ll experience these symptoms and the more comfortable you’ll be pushing ahead despite any physical discomfort.
- Not keeping the audience's attention . We all want to be liked, and this need for affirmation makes us worried people won’t care about what we have to say. But if you care about the topic, chances are high that others do too.
- Not knowing what content, and how much, to place on slides . Overloading PowerPoint presentations is a surefire way to lose the audience’s attention, while brevity may not communicate important information. Watch presentations and note the ones you find most effective to figure out a good balance between what to write on slides and what to say.
- Discomfort incorporating nonverbal communication . Standing still won’t engage your audience, and moving around constantly will distract them. Delivering an effective presentation means figuring out how much nonverbal communication to use.
Presenting and watching more presentations will help you know how to handle these issues.
Below are our top five tips to aid you with your next business presentation and limit associated stress.
1. Keep it simple
You want your presentation’s ideas to be accessible and easy to follow. As you prepare, ask yourself: what are the key points you want people to take away? Nothing is worse than watching a presentation that goes on and on that you hardly understand. Audiences want to understand and implement what they’ve learned.
Simplicity is vital if you’re looking to reach a broad and diverse audience. Try placing important points in bullet points. That way, your audience can identify the main takeaways instead of searching for them in a block of text. To ensure they understood, offer a Q&A at the end of the presentation. This gives audience members the opportunity to learn more by asking questions and gaining clarification on points they didn’t understand.
2. Create a compelling structure
Pretend you’re an audience member and ask yourself what the best order is for your presentation. Make sure things are cohesive and logical . To keep the presentation interesting, you may need to add more slides, cut a section, or rearrange the presentation’s structure.
Give a narrative to your business presentation. Make sure you’re telling a compelling story . Set up a problem at the beginning and lead the audience through how you discovered the solution you’re presenting (the “Aha! moment”).
3. Use visual aids
Aim to incorporate photos or videos in your slides. Props can also help reinforce your words. Incorporating props doesn’t lessen your credibility or professionalism but helps illustrate your point when added correctly.
4. Be aware of design techniques and trends
You can use an array of platforms to create a great presentation. Images, graphs, and video clips liven things up, especially if the information is dry. Here are a few standard pointers:
- Don’t put blocks of text on a single slide
- Use a minimalistic background instead of a busy one
- Don’t read everything off the slide
- Maintain a consistent font style and size
Place only your main points on the screen. Then, explain them in detail. Keep the presentation stimulating and appealing without overwhelming your audience with bright colors or too much font.
5. Follow the 10-20-30 rule
Guy Kawasaki, a prominent venture capitalist and one of the original marketing specialists for Apple, said that the best slideshow presentations are less than 10 slides , last no longer than 20 minutes, and use a font size of 30. This strategy helps condense your information and maintain the audience’s focus.
Here are some tips to keep your audience actively engaged as you’re presenting. With these strategies, the audience will leave the room thinking positively about your work.
Tip #1: Tell stories
Sharing an event from your life or another anecdote increases your relatability. It also makes the audience feel more comfortable and connected to you. This, in turn, will make you more comfortable presenting.
Gill Hicks did this well when she shared a powerful and terrifying story in “ I survived a terrorist attack. Here’s what I learned ” In her harrowing tale of explosions, disfigurement, and recovery, Hicks highlights the importance of compassion, unconditional love, and helping those in need.
Tip #2: Smile and make eye contact with the audience
Maintaining eye contact creates a connection between you and the audience and helps the space feel more intimate. It’ll help them pay attention to you and what you’re saying.
Tip #3: Work on your stage presence
Using words is only half the battle regarding good communication; body language is also critical. Avoid crossing your arms or pacing since these gestures suggest unapproachability or boredom. How you present yourself is just as crucial as how your presentation slides appear.
Amy Cuddy’s talk “ Your body language may shape who you are ” highlights the importance of paying attention to stage presence. She offers the “Wonder Woman” pose as a way to reduce public speaking stress.
Tip #4: Start strong
Like reading a book, watching a movie, or writing an essay, the beginning draws your target audience in. Kick off your presentation on a solid note. Leveraging the benefits of humor increases the chance your presentation will be well-received. Here are some ways to start strong:
- Use a quotation from an influential person. This provides subject context, situating the topic culturally.
- Ask a rhetorical question. This encourages listeners to actively participate in your presentation as they think of the answer.
- Start with an anecdote. Brief stories add context to your presentation and help the audience know more about you, in turn making them more interested in what you have to say.
- Invite your audience in. Begin your presentation by suggesting they join you on a puzzle-solving or discovery journey. If they feel involved in the talk, they’re more likely to pay attention and retain information.
Tip #5: Show your passion
Let your passion for a topic shine. The best presentations have a speaker who’s genuinely excited about the subject.
In “ Grit: The power of passion and perseverance ,” Angela Lee Duckworth discusses the importance of passion in research and delivery. She enthusiastically delivers her presentation to show — not just tell — the audience how this helps pique interest.
Tip #6: Plan your delivery
This step encompasses how you convey the information. What’s appropriate for the setting — preparing a PowerPoint presentation, using a teleprompter, delivering the presentation via Zoom? Should you memorize your notes or plan an activity to complement them?
The best TED talks are usually committed to memory, but there’s nothing wrong with bringing note cards with you as a safety net. And if your tech completely fails, you’ll have to rely on your natural charm and wit to keep your audience’s attention. Prepare backup material for worst-case scenarios.
Tim Urban, a self-proclaimed procrastinator, discusses how preparation helps us feel more capable of tackling daunting tasks in “ Inside the mind of a master procrastinator .” We often avoid preparing for scarier obligations, like a presentation, because of nerves and anxiety. Preparing removes many of the unknowns overwhelming us.
Tip #7: Practice
As the phrase goes, practice makes perfect! Practice giving your speech in front of the bathroom mirror, your spouse, or a friend. Take any feedback they give you and don’t feel discouraged if it’s critical or different than you expected. Feedback helps us continually improve. But remember, you can’t please everyone, and that’s fine.
Tip #8: Breathe
Take deep breaths. It’s better to go slow and take time to convey everything you need to instead of rushing and leaving your audience more confused.
The best leaders are often some of the best presenters, as they excel at communication and bringing together ideas and people. Every audience is different . But as a general rule, you’ll be able to connect with them if you research your topic so you’re knowledgeable and comfortable.
Practicing your presentation skills and remembering that every opportunity is a chance to grow will help you keep a positive mindset.
Don’t forget to ask for help. Chances are a coworker or family member has extensive experience delivering professional presentations and can give you pointers or look over your slides. Knowing how to give a good presentation feels overwhelming — but practice really does improve your skills.
Shonna Waters, PhD
Vice President of Alliance Solutions
The self presentation theory and how to present your best self
How to not be nervous for a presentation — 13 tips that work (really), the 11 tips that will improve your public speaking skills, reading the room gives you an edge — no matter who you're talking to, an exclusive conversation with fred kofman, coaching insider: how to own a new manager role, here and now: discover the benefits of being present, coaching insider: what your two year itch is really telling you, coaching insider: trusting your team as a new manager, stay connected with betterup, get our newsletter, event invites, plus product insights and research..
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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
Status message
Presentation tips.
"The mind is a wonderful thing. It starts working the minute you're born and never stops working until you get up to speak in public." (Unknown)
The quality of your presentation is most directly related to the quality of your preparation. Rarely will you have difficulties in your presentation due to being overprepared.
- If you are responsible for the promotion of your presentation, create an accurate, but inviting, description. Emphasize the relevance of the content to the audience.
- Include a statement in promotional materials on how participants with disabilities can obtain disability-related accommodations for the presentation. This statement will provide an example that may be adapted by participants to use in their own publications.
- Believe in the importance of your message.
- Visualize yourself giving a great speech.
- Organize your material in a way that is most comfortable to you by using a script, outline, notes, or 3 x 5 cards. Number them.
- Proofread all printed materials.
- Practice, practice, practice—by yourself or with someone. During practice sessions you can work out the bugs and add polish to your presentation. (Note: a rehearsal usually will run about 20% shorter than a live presentation; adjust your content accordingly.)
- As participants enter, consider providing them with 3 x 5 cards and asking them to write at least one question they have about the topic of the presentation. Read them silently as people settle in. Address the questions throughout the presentation and/or at the closing.
- Have a backup plan for delivering the presentation if all of your audiovisual materials become unavailable. Do not rely on technology to work.
- Test all audiovisual equipment. Practice using your presentation slides and other visual displays. If you are using a video, make sure it is set to the correct beginning point, at the appropriate volume and with captions turned on.
- Check the lighting. If you need to adjust it during your presentation, practice the adjustments before you begin. Consider showing someone else how to make the adjustments for you.
- Have a glass of water available for yourself.
- Think about questions that might be asked and rehearse brief, clear answers to each.
- Memorize the first few minutes of your presentation.
- Review your main points.
- Dress for success.
Create a Comfortable Learning Environment
"More important than the curriculum is the question of the methods of teaching and the spirit in which the teaching is given." (Bertrand Russell)
- It is important to create a learning environment that is comfortable and welcoming.
- Arrive early and get a feel for the room, including its temperature, size, and overall set-up. Re-arrange furniture as needed.
- Warmly welcome participants, use eye contact and a welcoming posture, and thank participants for coming.
- For smaller groups, ask them to introduce themselves and indicate what they hope to learn. For larger groups, poll the audience, asking them to respond to questions related to your topic. For example, ask the audience, "How many of you have had a student with a learning disability in your class?" and then ask one individual to elaborate.
- Create a safe and nonthreatening environment where participants are not afraid to ask questions. Encourage them to share experiences and ask questions of you or other participants.
- Emphasize that everyone can contribute to the learning process.
- Clearly identify the objectives at the beginning of the session.
- Keep to the time schedule, but show that you value participant input by not rushing.
- Frame questions so that they are easy to understand.
- Do not criticize or allow audience members to criticize other participants.
- Maintain confidentiality and ask the audience to respect the privacy of other participants.
Manage Your Anxiety
"There are two types of speakers. Those who get nervous and those who are liars." (Mark Twain)
Nervousness before a talk or workshop is healthy. It shows that your presentation is important to you and that you care about doing well. The best performers are nervous prior to stepping on stage. Below are suggestions for assuring that anxiety does not have a negative impact on your presentation.
- Use nervousness to your advantage—channel it into dynamic energy about the topic.
- Remind yourself that you and the audience have the same goal, and, therefore, they want you to succeed as much as you do.
- Speak about what you know. Keeping your presentation within the realm of your knowledge and experience will build confidence and minimize nervousness.
- Focus on delivering your message, not on how you feel.
- Smile. Be relaxed, poised, and at ease on the outside, regardless of how you feel internally. Acting relaxed can help make you relaxed.
- Keep presenting! Your anxieties decrease the more presentations you give.
Create a Strong Beginning
"The greatest talent is meaningless without one other vital component: passion." (Selwyn Lager)
Keep your opening simple and exciting to engage your audience in your content.
- Consider using a short icebreaker activity.
- A tasteful, humorous commentary can be effective if related to the topic.
- Explain the purpose of your presentation in one sentence that is free of professional jargon and emphasizes what participants will gain.
- Start off with a natural pace—not too fast and not too slow—to establish a strong, positive image. Make a strong ending statement that reinforces the objectives of the presentation.
Incorporate Universal Design Principles
"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." (Confucius, 451 BC)
Model accessible teaching methods that your participants can use. Incorporate universal design principles to address the needs of participants with a wide range of knowledge, abilities, disabilities, interests, and learning styles. Examples are listed below.
- Use large fonts in your visuals. Make copies of slides available for participants.
- Be prepared to provide your materials in an alternate format, which may include electronic text, audio recording, large print, or Braille.
- Show captioned videos. If not available, provide a transcription of the content upon request.
- Arrange for a sign language interpreter if requested by a participant.
- Use a clear, audible voice. Use a microphone as needed. Face the audience at all times.
- Make sure the room is well-lit.
- Use multimedia in your presentation, such as videos, visual aids, props, and handouts.
- Demonstrate how to speak the content presented on slides and other visuals. For example, verbally describe graphs and cartoons.
Create a Dynamic Presentation
"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge." (Albert Einstein)
If your audience enjoys and remembers your presentation, it is because you presented it in a dynamic or compelling manner.
- Talk to your audience, not at them.
- Project enthusiasm for the topic without preaching. The majority of communication is nonverbal, so how you look and sound are vital.
- Present your material in a well-organized manner. However, be flexible to adjust to your audience. Let participants know if you wish to field questions during or after your presentation.
- Speak to the knowledge level of your audience. Define all terms they might not be familiar with.
- Choose your major points carefully and illustrate them with examples or stories.
- Incorporate real-life experiences into your presentations. Recruit students with disabilities or faculty to share their experiences. Ask audience members to share experiences and use these examples to illustrate key points or to answer questions.
- Role-play interactions between students and professors.
- Use natural gestures and voice inflection to add interest to your presentation.
- Address different learning styles by incorporating a variety of instructional methods that use a variety of senses (e.g., visual, auditory, kinesthetic).
- Repeat questions participants pose to ensure that the entire audience hears and understands them.
- Redirect the discussion if it strays from the topic at hand.
- Postpone questions related to resolving specific or individual problems to private discussions later. Do not get locked into an extended dialogue with one person; move on to questions from other participants and offer more time to talk after the presentation.
- If people ask questions that you cannot answer, say that you will locate the answer and get back to them (and then do!), suggest appropriate resources that will provide the answer, or ask for suggestions from members of the audience.
- Give demonstrations.
- Never apologize for your credentials or your material.
- Tailor your topic to audience interests.
- Never read your presentation word for word.
- Talk clearly and in well-modulated tones. Avoid speaking too rapidly, softly, or loudly. Make sure that the ends of your sentences don't drop off.
- Maintain eye contact. It conveys confidence, openness, honesty, and interest. It also lets you know how the audience is responding to your presentation. In large groups, mentally divide up the room into sections, and then make eye contact with different people in each section on a rotational basis.
- Use hand gestures naturally, gracefully, and to emphasize points. When not gesturing, let your hands drop to your sides naturally. Keep them out of pockets, off your hips, or behind your back. Avoid fiddling with clothes, hair, or presentation materials.
- Maintain good posture, but do not be rigid.
- Occasionally move from one spot to another, stop, then continue to speak. Don't pace.
- Remember that adult learners have a wealth of experience; are goal oriented and appreciate outcomes more than process; have set habits, strong tastes, and little time to waste; have strong feelings about learning situations; are impatient in the pursuit of objectives, and appreciate getting to the point; find little use for isolated facts and prefer application of information; and have multiple responsibilities, all of which draw upon their time and energy.
Make Your Presentation Interactive
"It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers." (James Thurber)
Avoid simply lecturing to your audience. Engage your audience in an active discussion.
- Listen attentively before responding to questions.
- Encourage interactions between audience members.
- Present an accommodation challenge and ask audience members how they would address the issue.
- Respectfully reflect back to people what you observe to be their attitudes, rationalizations, and habitual ways of thinking and acting.
- Allow plenty of time for questions. Address all questions within your presentation or direct participants to appropriate resources.
- Demonstrate or provide hands-on experiences with assistive technology.
- Give useful or entertaining prizes for responses from the audience or have a drawing for a larger prize at the end of the presentation.
- If your audience is small, ask members to identify themselves and their
- experiences and interests related to the topic.
- Involve the audience in a learning activity. People remember more of what you teach them if they are able to learn it via an activity.
- Ask audience members how they have used specific accommodations or worked with students with specific disabilities. Ask questions like, "Has anyone done this? How did it work for you?"
- Stimulate group interaction and problem-solving.
- Promote discussion to help participants integrate themes and key points.
Include a Group Activity
"Real prosperity can only come when everybody prospers." (Anna Eleanor Roosevelt)
Include a short activity that makes an important point and encourages participation and discussion. Here's one to try. Announce that you're going to have a five-minute activity, then ask your participants to choose someone sitting nearby and share with each other two things:
- One thing you are very good at.
- One thing you are not very good at.
Have the instructions written on a presentation slide or write them on a flip chart. Read the instructions aloud. Give participants three to four minutes (there will be a lot of laughter and lighthearted talk), and then say you're not really interested in what they do well; ask people to share things that their partner does not do well. (This usually ends up funny—participants enjoy sharing that he can't do math, he hates public speaking, she's not good at fixing things around the house.)
After the fun, make the point that, "You have experienced, in a small way, what a person with an obvious disability experiences all the time—that people first notice something they are not particularly good at (e.g., walking, seeing, hearing) and don't take the time to learn his or her strengths. A disability may impact 10% of a person's life, yet is considered a defining characteristic by others. We need to pay attention to what everyone, including those with disabilities, can do, rather than accentuating what they can't do." To emphasize the point ask participants to reflect on how they felt when you said you weren't really interested in what they do well.
This activity is short, fun, and effective. It addresses the issue of attitudes, yet does not have some of the negative elements of traditional simulations that leave people feeling like having a disability is an impossible problem with no solution. This activity is also good to use when talking about internal and external barriers to success for students with disabilities, which can include lack of self-advocacy skills (internal barrier), and negative attitudes or low expectations on the part of individuals with whom they interact (external barrier).
Incorporate Case Studies
"Learning is an active process. We learn by doing . . . Only knowledge that is used sticks in your mind." (Dale Carnegie)
Have participants discuss case studies in small groups. At the end of this section are sample case studies that can be used in your presentation. They are all based on real experiences at postsecondary institutions. Each case study is formatted as a handout that can be duplicated for small group discussion. On the back of each activity sheet is the full description, including the solution actually employed. This version can be used for your information only or can be distributed to the group after the initial brainstorming has occurred. Participants can compare their ideas with the resolution in the actual case.
Address Key Points
"Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic, and faithful, and you will accomplish your objective. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Be sure that your presentation covers the most important content for your audience.
- Explain the legal requirements regarding accommodating students with disabilities in clear, simple terms. Make it clear that legislation, such as the ADA, provides broad statements about accessibility, but our judicial system ultimately decides what is legal or illegal in a specific situation.
- Explain the rights and responsibilities of students with disabilities, faculty, and the disabled student services office.
- Describe specific situations that have occurred on your campus, including what was successful and situations that could be improved, and how.
- Demonstrate low-tech and high-tech accommodations, including adaptive computer technology.
- Explain how accommodations that are useful to students with disabilities can also benefit all learners.
- Provide information on campus-specific resources and procedures.
Provide Resources for Participants to Keep
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it." (Karl Marx)
Make sure that you provide your audience with information on which they can follow up after your presentation.
- Provide written materials of key content for future reference.
- Provide contact information and invite participants to contact you with questions after the presentation. Distribute business cards.
- For further exploration refer participants to The Faculty Room and to the Center for Universal Design in Education .
Conclude with a Strong Ending
"The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own." (Benjamin Disraeli)
The most important and remembered words you speak are the last ones.
- Summarize key points.
- Consider concluding with examples that show the importance of providing educational opportunities for students with disabilities. One idea is to have an alumnus with a disability discuss how they navigated your campus, worked with the disability services office, received the accommodations they needed, graduated with a degree, and went on to succeed in employment.
- Empower your audience to use information you presented to improve access for and education of all students with disabilities.
Improve Each Presentation
"I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best." (Oscar Wilde)
Take steps to gain feedback about your presentation that will lead to improvements.
- Practice your presentation with colleagues or friends and ask for their feedback.
- Record your presentation for self-analysis.
- Evaluate your presentation through an anonymous written survey. Two examples of evaluation instruments are included on pages 188-190.
- Incorporate suggestions into subsequent presentations.
"When you can do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world." (George Washington Carver)
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- prepare well in advance
- incorporate universal design principles
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- promote a welcoming and non?judgmental learning environment
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29 Killer Presentation Tips to Wow Your Audience
Written by: Chloe West
Looking for the top presentation tips to help you deliver an unforgettable slideshow?
When you’re preparing to give a presentation, you have one thing on your mind. You want your audience to really love what you’re saying.
There’s no worse feeling when you’re up on stage or at the front of the board meeting presenting your information than when you can visibly watch your viewers’ eyes glaze over, see them start to get bored and antsy, and notice they’re not all that invested in what you have to say.
Here's a short selection of 8 easy-to-edit preseentation templates you can edit, share and download with Visme. View more below:
Making sure your presentation wows your audience starts at the very beginning, right after you’ve been assigned or chosen your topic .
We want to help you make sure your audience is talking about your presentation for days (and even weeks or months) to come. So we’ve put together a list of presentation tips that cover the design, performance and overall reach of your slideshow.
To really knock the socks off your audience, be sure to check off each one of the tips below.
1 Focus on one idea per slide.
You don’t want to crowd too much information into one slide. If your slide design is cluttered and ugly, your audience is immediately going to zone out of your presentation and look elsewhere.
Instead, use one slide for each thought or idea.
Check out the way this slide from one of our presentation templates was designed.
It’s a testimonial slide that includes nothing but a couple of quotes from past customers.
Whether it’s a new section heading, an about slide, a team slide, etc., you want to keep the information you include on a single slide to a minimum.
There’s no need to try to cram your entire presentation or even a whole section of it onto one slide. Your slideshow will be much more visually appealing if you break your content up into multiple slides.
2 Use two or three fonts max.
Nothing clutters up a design like too many fonts. We recommend sticking to just two fonts throughout your entire presentation, and three at the most.
It's a good idea to find one larger, bold font for your headers and a separate sans serif font for the rest of your copy. But presentations often utilize an accent font like an italicized or serif font.
Take a look at the presentation slides below. There are two different fonts being used on these slides—a thin sans serif for the quotes and a serif for the names and locations.
Choose two or three fonts and use them throughout your presentation. Consistency is key, and you want to make sure your slides look cohesive and like they belong together.
3 Pay attention to visual hierarchy.
Visual hierarchy is a design strategy for organizing elements depending on importance. This goes for font sizes, icon size, contrast and any other visual element in your presentation.
This is an important presentation tip because you want your viewers to know exactly which part of the slide they should be looking at first, second, third and so on.
It’s all about focusing on what can grab the user’s attention first, whether it’s larger font, more space between elements or creating deliberate alignment.
You can learn more about visual hierarchy and how to use it in your next presentation by watching this video.
4 Keep it to less than six lines of text.
Your slide shouldn’t be a huge wall of text. That’s what your speaking is for. Instead, be sure to keep it to less than six lines of text at a maximum. Ideally, you’ll have even less.
The content included on your slide should be limited to your main talking points (or a single point, if you really want to keep your slides minimalistic), and your voice should do the rest.
And if you’re not giving this presentation live?
You can always record your audio over your slides. Visme’s presentation maker allows users to record their own audio right in the design dashboard to create stand alone presentations and webinars.
The presentation slides below are a great example of limiting text. There’s a quick snippet of text, and the rest of the content as well as the speaker’s voice will add any context the viewer needs.
Like we mentioned in point one, don’t try to fit your entire presentation on a single slide. Let your voice do the talking and your slide include the most pertinent information.
Don’t bore your audience with a slide filled with words. Visuals are just as important.
5 Don’t use bullet points.
Here's another one of our “don’t use too much text” presentation tips. Bullet points have plagued presentations for years. But if you want yours to stand out, it’s best to stay away from them.
There are so many other more engaging and visually appealing ways to design your presentation slides. Bullets just aren’t one of them.
Consider this slide template layout below. The icon blocks help to differentiate the different points in a unique way so that you don’t have to revert to overused bullet points.
Customize this presentation template and make it your own!
- Add your own text, images, colors and more
- Add interactive buttons and animations
- Customize anything to fit your design and content needs
And to help you get even more creative with your slide layouts, Visme’s presentation themes offer hundreds of different options to choose from.
6 Create strong contrast.
In your audience, you might have people sitting in the back of the room, relatively far away from your screen. To make sure they can still see your presentation slides , you need to create strong contrast.
This means your text should easily stand out against your background. If you have a dark background, all of your text and design elements should be light in contrast, and vice versa.
Check out this slide from one of our presentation templates . The white and yellow easily pop against the dark background, giving this slide great contrast.
When putting this presentation tip to practice, make sure that your text and other elements are easy to see and don’t blend into your background, even from the back of the room.
7 Stick to two or three colors.
Just like you should use no more than two or three fonts throughout your presentation, the same goes for colors. Don't forget, there's such a thing as too much of a good thing.
We love color, but trying to fit too many colors in a single presentation can easily backfire.
When you start to get four, five, six colors into a presentation, it can start to look messy and like the slides don’t actually match or go together in the same slideshow.
A good presentation tip is to choose a color scheme with up to three different colors, or consider a monochromatic scheme of a single hue, similar to this presentation slide.
The use of different shades of blue/grey help tie the slide together and give it a cohesive color scheme.
Finding a color scheme for your presentation doesn’t have to be the hardest part of your entire design. Choose from a basic scheme like cool or warm colors, match your colors to your topic or incorporate your company colors into your presentation to communicate your brand values and identity.
8 Add audio and video.
One great way to create an interactive presentation is by adding audio and video elements to your slides. This helps you take a break from talking and can give your presentation another dimension.
Using Visme, you can easily embed videos into your presentation slides, upload audio files, choose audio clips from our free library and even record your own audio over your slides.
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9 Stick to one image per slide.
You’re probably finding a theme here. When it comes to fonts, colors, images and other design elements, you don’t want to go crazy. Simple is almost always better.
And when it comes to images and photographs, it’s best to incorporate just one in each slide. There are several different ways to use these images, like as a background, an accent photo or with a color overlay.
This presentation slide is a great example of how to use a single photo to add a little something to your slide so it’s not just text, graphics or charts.
While there are reasons and ways to use multiple images tastefully, a good rule of thumb is to stick to just one main image as a background or accent.
10 Use high-quality graphics.
You don’t want any of the photos, graphics or icons in your presentation to be low-resolution or blurry. Always use high-quality vector graphics that look great no matter how big or small they are.
Icons and graphics can be an effective way to visually represent your words and context and further help your audience understand what you’re saying.
Here’s a sample presentation slide from one of our templates. Each of these graphics are high-quality, represent different words and help to tell more of a story.
Visme’s library includes thousands of free vector icons, shapes and graphics in different styles for users to incorporate into their presentation slides.
11 Use data visualization.
Data visualization can include anything from charts and graphs to radials and icon charts.
It’s essentially taking numbers and statistics and showcasing them in a visual form so that it's easier for your audience to understand at a glance.
This presentation slide template below includes an attractive vertical bar graph illustrating the company’s revenue and funding over the years.
12 Make it interactive.
We talked briefly about how adding audio and video to your presentation slides can help make it interactive, but there are many more ways to do just that.
In fact, we’ve written a blog post with 17 different ways to make your presentation interactive. Some of these have to do with your performance, but we’re talking about design right now.
Adding in links to your presentation, whether it’s between slides or even between elements in a single slide, is a great way to create a unique slideshow that your audience will love.
Watch this quick video to learn more about linking your slides together to create a non-linear presentation.
You can also put together an interactive quiz by linking elements in a single slide to appear on your click and so much more.
13 Keep transitions and animations consistent.
When adding transitions and animations to your slides and design elements, it can be easy to get excited about all of your options and go overboard.
But it’s important to keep all transitions and animations consistent within your presentation or it can easily overwhelm your audience. In fact, we recommend sticking to a single transition and animation type throughout your entire slideshow.
You also don’t have to animate every single one of your elements. Let some of them stay static while other, more important elements are animated on the screen.
14 Be energetic.
Your audience can feel your energy, and if you’re standing up at the front of the room and speaking through each slide with an unenthusiastic and monotone voice, they’re going to quickly lose interest.
You’re on the stage, and you need to command their attention. Practice this presentation tip by being energetic. Move around the front of the room or use hand motions.
It's also a good idea to drink water or fresh juice before your presentation to energize yourself. Don't forget to keep a water bottle with you during your presentation!
Learn how to use your voice to entertain your audience through your presentation. Vocal delivery matters , so practice beforehand and get comfortable changing intonation based on your content.
15 Tell a story.
When you’re able to tell a story that resonates with your audience and grabs their attention, you’ve got them wrapped around your finger for the rest of your talk.
There are many different storytelling techniques that can make your presentation stand out. Think about how you can incorporate one or two of these while putting together your content.
16 Use strong structure.
The structure of your presentation is important. It helps give your story and your presentation depth.
There are many different ways to structure your presentation based on its messaging, and you want to make sure that the one you choose makes sense for your topic.
Learn about seven potential methods for structuring your next presentation in the video below.
17 Know your audience.
Understand who is going to be in your audience—how many people, what their backgrounds are, who else will be speaking at the event that they’d be interested to see and more.
If you’re giving a presentation at a conference or networking event, you should be able to speak with the organizers to get answers to all of these questions. Once you really know your audience, you’ll be able to determine what they want to learn and how you should present the information.
18 Make eye contact.
Another presentation tip to remember while in front of your audience is to make eye contact. It exudes confidence when you’re able to look directly at the people you’re speaking with.
It can also help to persuade them to your point of view and keep your audience focused on you and what you’re saying to them.
Maintaining good eye contact with your presentation audience can even help you to speak more slowly and clearly so they can follow along more easily.
Making eye contact can be nerve-wracking for some presenters, so make sure you keep some tips in your back pocket , like holding eye contact for just four to five seconds, looking at people’s heads or making eye contact during your most critical lines.
19 Be funny.
Want to keep your audience engaged and help them fall in love with your presentation?
Make them laugh!
Incorporating humor into a presentation is always a great way to pass the time and make your information that much more interesting.
You don’t want to force it, because that can make things awkward for all parties involved, so make sure you plan some lighthearted humor that you can easily pull off.
Also ensure the jokes you tell are actually relevant to your content. You don’t want to start off by making your audience laugh and immediately jump into, “Now let’s talk about [entirely different topic]!” That will turn them off faster than if you didn’t use any humor at all.
Avoid controversial topics and sarcasm, and try testing out a few jokes before delivering them during your presentation.
20 Use your hands.
Standing still and straight as a board throughout the duration of your presentation will seem pretty off-putting to your audience.
Even if you don’t necessarily feel confident, you want to create the illusion of confidence, and moving around the stage and using your hands to emphasize your words is a great way to fake it until you make it.
21 Summarize.
Taking time throughout your presentation to summarize what you’ve said so far is a great way to help your audience fully understand the material and remember it for the future.
Create a summary slide after every main point and/or at the end of your presentation to conclude.
You can use a slide like the example below to share your summary or key takeaways for each section.
22 Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.
While you don’t want to sound like you’ve just memorized your lines and are badly reading off a script, you do want to be completely comfortable with your material and the way you want to deliver your message.
And you get to that point by continuously rehearsing, re-reading your note cards and scrolling through your presentation slides to ensure you know what to say when and more.
You want your presentation to be a success , and you do that by being fully prepared and rehearsing plenty.
23 Don’t go over time.
Not only is rehearsing good for knowing your material, but it can also help make sure you don’t start rambling and lose track of time.
If you’re worried about going over on your time, there are apps that can help notify you of how much time you have left and help guide you through your presentation.
When you’re presenting at an event with lots of speakers, you want to make sure you’re being respectful to both the attendees and the presenters by not commandeering the show. Stick to your allotted time, and make sure you’re staying under each time you rehearse.
24 Embed your presentation.
After you’ve designed and given your presentation, what next? It’s over?
You’ve invested all of this time into creating an awesome piece of content, and you should continue to use it to your advantage. There are ways to still reach a broader audience after you’ve given your speech.
When you create a presentation in Visme, you can publish it online and easily embed it on your website.
This way, you can create a webpage or a blog surrounding your recent presentation and let people who weren’t able to see you present live still learn about your content.
Visme provides an embed code that makes it easy to share presentations online and seamlessly include all of your transitions, animations and interactivity.
Check out this example of an embedded Visme presentation below.
While there are many different ways to embed a presentation on a website, Visme’s embed is one of the most seamless and visually appealing, with no ugly outlines and slide changer messing with the design on your page. It’s also responsive and able to adapt to different screens.
25 Create a public link.
Visme also allows you to publish your presentation online so that you can get a public link to share with your audience. You can grab that link and share your content on social media, in email newsletters or even as a link in your email signature.
Plus, if you publish a presentation—or any design you create with Visme—publicly, you have access to analytics so you can view how each of your creations perform with your audience.
You’ll be able to look at how many total views your presentation received, how many people viewed the complete presentation and more.
26 Upload to SlideShare.
SlideShare is an online platform owned by LinkedIn that allows users to upload presentations.
The platform has millions of presentations, as well as powerful search features and categories, which makes it a great way to get your content found.
Create an account with SlideShare and link it to your LinkedIn account so you can easily share your presentation with your connections.
27 Regularly update and adapt.
Even if your presentation was created on an evergreen topic, information is always changing or being discovered. To keep your presentation relevant, make sure you regularly update and adapt your content to be current and accurate.
You can also include an area in the footer of your first or last slide with the creation date alongside the last date of update so your audience knows it’s being revisited often with updated information.
28 Turn it into a webinar.
Visme allows users to record audio directly in the app to add another dimension to a presentation, or even to turn it into a webinar .
Converting your presentation into a webinar can give you a way to connect with your audience on another level, and you can even have people sign up on your website to view it as a way to gather email addresses.
29 Turn it into a lead magnet.
While your webinar can also be considered a lead magnet, we’re covering something slightly different here. You don’t even have to worry about recording audio over your slides or making any changes.
Instead, you can require people to enter an email address directly in Visme before being able to view your content and generate new leads through there without setting up any other processes.
All you have to do is click Share in the top bar of your presentation maker, go to Advanced Settings, click the Social/Engagement tab and toggle Requires registration to On.
This will require your viewers to input their name and email address before they’re able to access the content. You can go into your Visme dashboard to download your form results and import them into your email software or CRM.
Get started with these presentation tips.
Ready to create a presentation that will wow your audience? Take all of these tips and use them to create a beautiful and memorable slideshow.
Try out one of our premade presentation templates and sign up for a free Visme account to create, present and promote your next presentation.
Did you find these presentation tips helpful? We'd love to know. Let us know your questions, thoughts and suggestions in the comments section below.
Create beautiful presentations faster with Visme.
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About the Author
Chloe West is the content marketing manager at Visme. Her experience in digital marketing includes everything from social media, blogging, email marketing to graphic design, strategy creation and implementation, and more. During her spare time, she enjoys exploring her home city of Charleston with her son.
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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
What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation · 1) Great presenters use fewer slides — and fewer words. · 2) Great presenters don't use bullet points
How to prepare an effective presentation · 1. Keep it simple · 2. Create a compelling structure · 3. Use visual aids · 4. Be aware of design techniques and trends.
But time and again, the great presenters say that the most important thing is to connect with your audience, and the best way to do that is to let your
How to make a great presentation · The secret structure of great talks · The beauty of data visualization · TED's secret to great public speaking · How to speak so
Knowing how to properly present can help your stage presence and your stage fright. Being able to give a good presentation will a …
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Create a Dynamic Presentation · Talk to your audience, not at them. · Project enthusiasm for the topic without preaching. · Present your material in a well-
A strong body: To write a great body for your presentation, you need to unravel your opening statement, give evidence by including all of your
Taking time throughout your presentation to summarize what you've said so far is a great way to help your audience fully understand the material