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make/give/do a presentation

  • Thread starter Cecilio
  • Start date Oct 18, 2006

Cecilio

Senior Member

  • Oct 18, 2006

Hello. One question: What verbs can I use with "presentation"? "Make" and "give" are ok, but is it possible to say "do a presentation"? Would it sound too strange?  

Hi Deliver is used a lot. Provide Perform (if you're pretty enthusiastic about your subject) Make wouldn't be used. Give however is used a lot. Do would be used - but only informally. Cheers Neal Mc  

"Prepare and give a presentation" is all I hear.  

In all the reference material that I'm using it seems that "make" is the most usual verb for "presentation". Is this maybe the American usage?  

panjandrum

What kind of presentation are you talking about? If this is the presentation of a gift to someone in a formal context then I would expect make . If this is a powerpoint presentation of information to an audience, I would expect give .  

panjandrum said: What kind of presentation are you talking about? If this is the presentation of a gift to someone in a formal context then I would expect make . If this is a powerpoint presentation of information to an audience, I would expect give . Click to expand...

aqueoushumour

I would say either give a presentation or do a presentation although the latter is more informal. I've got to do a presentation. Using 'give' is better english but the use of 'do' is fine.  

  • Oct 19, 2006

Thank you all for your help!  

sweet caramels

  • Mar 18, 2011

Make a presenation or give a presentation. Both are correct but I'm just wondering which one you say. I say to give a presentation  

envie de voyager

I agree with you that give sounds better, but I would not correct someone who said make . To me, make a presentation sounds like what you would do to prepare the presentation. Then you would give the presentation .  

By "give a presentation" I assume you mean give an expose (possibly using Powerpoint or something similar). If you were presenting somebody with a gold watch upon his retirement, you would say "make a presentation".  

post mod (English Only / Latin)

  • Mar 19, 2011
Cagey said: Yes, I suspect most of us feel we know which meaning of presentation you have in mind. However, it would be good for you to say which you mean, so we can be certain. Click to expand...
  • Feb 7, 2012
NealMc said: Hi Deliver is used a lot. Provide Perform (if you're pretty enthusiastic about your subject) Make wouldn't be used. Give however is used a lot. Do would be used - but only informally. Cheers Neal Mc Click to expand...
  • Feb 14, 2012
Cecilio said: When I asked the question (for than 4 and a half years ago!), I had in mind a presentation with the meaning of a lecture, or a public talk on a subject. Click to expand...

Lib' et Lule

Lib' et Lule

  • Nov 15, 2016

To be honest I'm a bit confused, I thought we could say "to make a presentation" when we talk about Powerpoint presentations and that kind of things. Look here: How to make presentations , it comes from a British university and the title on the tab says "how to make presentations"...and they're not talking about gifts. Any thoughts?  

Keith Bradford

Keith Bradford

...And the first sentence of the article reads: As part of an extended interview/selection centre you may be asked to give a short presentation . Both are possible; give is better for all the reasons stated above.  

  • Nov 6, 2017

My understanding is that "make a presentation" refers to "creating" a presentation (although we wouldn´t use the word "create") and that "give a presentation" refers to the actual talking.  

Gisellee

  • Sep 22, 2020
Keith Bradford said: ...And the first sentence of the article reads: As part of an extended interview/selection centre you may be asked to give a short presentation . Both are possible; give is better for all the reasons stated above. Click to expand...

Aguas Claras

Aguas Claras

  • Jan 11, 2024
Emy_nasser said: Is there a difference between give presentation and give 'a' presentation? I mean with the article and without it... Click to expand...

Emy_nasser

Aguas Claras said: I can't think of any examples where you wouldn't use the article. Click to expand...
Emy_nasser said: I tried searching for it in dictionaries and all i found was it with the article. However, i saw some people writing it without the article and some were speaking without using it too. So i wanted to make sure... is it correct to write it without the article? Click to expand...
Aguas Claras said: Can you give a couple of examples where the article is not used? I would say it is wrong not to use it, but I may be missing something. Click to expand...

Roxxxannne

Were the people who said "make presentation" native English speakers?  

Emy_nasser said: Give Presentation synonyms - 186 Words and Phrases for Give Presentation Here is a website i was just reading and its title says: " Give Presentation synonyms" Click to expand...
Aguas Claras said: That looks as if they've just abbreviated it. Have you got any examples of full sentences where the article is omitted? Obviously, you can use it without an article in the plural: "The human resources department gave presentations on a variety of subjects". But, if it's singular, it needs an article: "The human resources department gave a presentation on the code of ethics". Click to expand...
Emy_nasser said: Yes, it's obvious thay we remove the article in the plural form. But here is an example i found: "I feel you should give presentation on soft skills". And i found it here👉 On which topic should I give presentation in communication skill class? So, it's like i thought, right? That it's wrong to write it without the article in the singular form. I guess people right it like that like... in an informal way? But looks like it's grammatically incorrect🤷‍♀️ Click to expand...

Myridon

  • Jan 12, 2024
Emy_nasser said: And i found it here👉 On which topic should I give presentation in communication skill class? Click to expand...
Myridon said: I suspect that Ashu Kaul (the author of that post) is not a native speaker of English. In another of her posts, she suggests buying a weighing machine to an overweight person. We generally call that a scale in English. Click to expand...
Aguas Claras said: Just looked him up in Google. He's Indian so would speak Indian English, which differs from AE and BE. Click to expand...

give or make presentation

Myridon said: View attachment 91352 Click to expand...

Così fan tutte

  • Jan 20, 2024
Cecilio said: Hello. One question: What verbs can I use with "presentation"? "Make" and "give" are ok, but is it possible to say "do a presentation"? Would it sound too strange? Click to expand...

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Blog Beginner Guides How To Make a Good Presentation [A Complete Guide]

How To Make a Good Presentation [A Complete Guide]

Written by: Krystle Wong Jul 20, 2023

How to make a good presentation

A top-notch presentation possesses the power to drive action. From winning stakeholders over and conveying a powerful message to securing funding — your secret weapon lies within the realm of creating an effective presentation .  

Being an excellent presenter isn’t confined to the boardroom. Whether you’re delivering a presentation at work, pursuing an academic career, involved in a non-profit organization or even a student, nailing the presentation game is a game-changer.

In this article, I’ll cover the top qualities of compelling presentations and walk you through a step-by-step guide on how to give a good presentation. Here’s a little tip to kick things off: for a headstart, check out Venngage’s collection of free presentation templates . They are fully customizable, and the best part is you don’t need professional design skills to make them shine!

These valuable presentation tips cater to individuals from diverse professional backgrounds, encompassing business professionals, sales and marketing teams, educators, trainers, students, researchers, non-profit organizations, public speakers and presenters. 

No matter your field or role, these tips for presenting will equip you with the skills to deliver effective presentations that leave a lasting impression on any audience.

Click to jump ahead:

What are the 10 qualities of a good presentation?

Step-by-step guide on how to prepare an effective presentation, 9 effective techniques to deliver a memorable presentation, faqs on making a good presentation, how to create a presentation with venngage in 5 steps.

When it comes to giving an engaging presentation that leaves a lasting impression, it’s not just about the content — it’s also about how you deliver it. Wondering what makes a good presentation? Well, the best presentations I’ve seen consistently exhibit these 10 qualities:

1. Clear structure

No one likes to get lost in a maze of information. Organize your thoughts into a logical flow, complete with an introduction, main points and a solid conclusion. A structured presentation helps your audience follow along effortlessly, leaving them with a sense of satisfaction at the end.

Regardless of your presentation style , a quality presentation starts with a clear roadmap. Browse through Venngage’s template library and select a presentation template that aligns with your content and presentation goals. Here’s a good presentation example template with a logical layout that includes sections for the introduction, main points, supporting information and a conclusion: 

give or make presentation

2. Engaging opening

Hook your audience right from the start with an attention-grabbing statement, a fascinating question or maybe even a captivating anecdote. Set the stage for a killer presentation!

The opening moments of your presentation hold immense power – check out these 15 ways to start a presentation to set the stage and captivate your audience.

3. Relevant content

Make sure your content aligns with their interests and needs. Your audience is there for a reason, and that’s to get valuable insights. Avoid fluff and get straight to the point, your audience will be genuinely excited.

4. Effective visual aids

Picture this: a slide with walls of text and tiny charts, yawn! Visual aids should be just that—aiding your presentation. Opt for clear and visually appealing slides, engaging images and informative charts that add value and help reinforce your message.

With Venngage, visualizing data takes no effort at all. You can import data from CSV or Google Sheets seamlessly and create stunning charts, graphs and icon stories effortlessly to showcase your data in a captivating and impactful way.

give or make presentation

5. Clear and concise communication

Keep your language simple, and avoid jargon or complicated terms. Communicate your ideas clearly, so your audience can easily grasp and retain the information being conveyed. This can prevent confusion and enhance the overall effectiveness of the message. 

6. Engaging delivery

Spice up your presentation with a sprinkle of enthusiasm! Maintain eye contact, use expressive gestures and vary your tone of voice to keep your audience glued to the edge of their seats. A touch of charisma goes a long way!

7. Interaction and audience engagement

Turn your presentation into an interactive experience — encourage questions, foster discussions and maybe even throw in a fun activity. Engaged audiences are more likely to remember and embrace your message.

Transform your slides into an interactive presentation with Venngage’s dynamic features like pop-ups, clickable icons and animated elements. Engage your audience with interactive content that lets them explore and interact with your presentation for a truly immersive experience.

give or make presentation

8. Effective storytelling

Who doesn’t love a good story? Weaving relevant anecdotes, case studies or even a personal story into your presentation can captivate your audience and create a lasting impact. Stories build connections and make your message memorable.

A great presentation background is also essential as it sets the tone, creates visual interest and reinforces your message. Enhance the overall aesthetics of your presentation with these 15 presentation background examples and captivate your audience’s attention.

9. Well-timed pacing

Pace your presentation thoughtfully with well-designed presentation slides, neither rushing through nor dragging it out. Respect your audience’s time and ensure you cover all the essential points without losing their interest.

10. Strong conclusion

Last impressions linger! Summarize your main points and leave your audience with a clear takeaway. End your presentation with a bang , a call to action or an inspiring thought that resonates long after the conclusion.

In-person presentations aside, acing a virtual presentation is of paramount importance in today’s digital world. Check out this guide to learn how you can adapt your in-person presentations into virtual presentations . 

Peloton Pitch Deck - Conclusion

Preparing an effective presentation starts with laying a strong foundation that goes beyond just creating slides and notes. One of the quickest and best ways to make a presentation would be with the help of a good presentation software . 

Otherwise, let me walk you to how to prepare for a presentation step by step and unlock the secrets of crafting a professional presentation that sets you apart.

1. Understand the audience and their needs

Before you dive into preparing your masterpiece, take a moment to get to know your target audience. Tailor your presentation to meet their needs and expectations , and you’ll have them hooked from the start!

2. Conduct thorough research on the topic

Time to hit the books (or the internet)! Don’t skimp on the research with your presentation materials — dive deep into the subject matter and gather valuable insights . The more you know, the more confident you’ll feel in delivering your presentation.

3. Organize the content with a clear structure

No one wants to stumble through a chaotic mess of information. Outline your presentation with a clear and logical flow. Start with a captivating introduction, follow up with main points that build on each other and wrap it up with a powerful conclusion that leaves a lasting impression.

Delivering an effective business presentation hinges on captivating your audience, and Venngage’s professionally designed business presentation templates are tailor-made for this purpose. With thoughtfully structured layouts, these templates enhance your message’s clarity and coherence, ensuring a memorable and engaging experience for your audience members.

Don’t want to build your presentation layout from scratch? pick from these 5 foolproof presentation layout ideas that won’t go wrong. 

give or make presentation

4. Develop visually appealing and supportive visual aids

Spice up your presentation with eye-catching visuals! Create slides that complement your message, not overshadow it. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words, but that doesn’t mean you need to overload your slides with text.

Well-chosen designs create a cohesive and professional look, capturing your audience’s attention and enhancing the overall effectiveness of your message. Here’s a list of carefully curated PowerPoint presentation templates and great background graphics that will significantly influence the visual appeal and engagement of your presentation.

5. Practice, practice and practice

Practice makes perfect — rehearse your presentation and arrive early to your presentation to help overcome stage fright. Familiarity with your material will boost your presentation skills and help you handle curveballs with ease.

6. Seek feedback and make necessary adjustments

Don’t be afraid to ask for help and seek feedback from friends and colleagues. Constructive criticism can help you identify blind spots and fine-tune your presentation to perfection.

With Venngage’s real-time collaboration feature , receiving feedback and editing your presentation is a seamless process. Group members can access and work on the presentation simultaneously and edit content side by side in real-time. Changes will be reflected immediately to the entire team, promoting seamless teamwork.

Venngage Real Time Collaboration

7. Prepare for potential technical or logistical issues

Prepare for the unexpected by checking your equipment, internet connection and any other potential hiccups. If you’re worried that you’ll miss out on any important points, you could always have note cards prepared. Remember to remain focused and rehearse potential answers to anticipated questions.

8. Fine-tune and polish your presentation

As the big day approaches, give your presentation one last shine. Review your talking points, practice how to present a presentation and make any final tweaks. Deep breaths — you’re on the brink of delivering a successful presentation!

In competitive environments, persuasive presentations set individuals and organizations apart. To brush up on your presentation skills, read these guides on how to make a persuasive presentation and tips to presenting effectively . 

give or make presentation

Whether you’re an experienced presenter or a novice, the right techniques will let your presentation skills soar to new heights!

From public speaking hacks to interactive elements and storytelling prowess, these 9 effective presentation techniques will empower you to leave a lasting impression on your audience and make your presentations unforgettable.

1. Confidence and positive body language

Positive body language instantly captivates your audience, making them believe in your message as much as you do. Strengthen your stage presence and own that stage like it’s your second home! Stand tall, shoulders back and exude confidence. 

2. Eye contact with the audience

Break down that invisible barrier and connect with your audience through their eyes. Maintaining eye contact when giving a presentation builds trust and shows that you’re present and engaged with them.

3. Effective use of hand gestures and movement

A little movement goes a long way! Emphasize key points with purposeful gestures and don’t be afraid to walk around the stage. Your energy will be contagious!

4. Utilize storytelling techniques

Weave the magic of storytelling into your presentation. Share relatable anecdotes, inspiring success stories or even personal experiences that tug at the heartstrings of your audience. Adjust your pitch, pace and volume to match the emotions and intensity of the story. Varying your speaking voice adds depth and enhances your stage presence.

give or make presentation

5. Incorporate multimedia elements

Spice up your presentation with a dash of visual pizzazz! Use slides, images and video clips to add depth and clarity to your message. Just remember, less is more—don’t overwhelm them with information overload. 

Turn your presentations into an interactive party! Involve your audience with questions, polls or group activities. When they actively participate, they become invested in your presentation’s success. Bring your design to life with animated elements. Venngage allows you to apply animations to icons, images and text to create dynamic and engaging visual content.

6. Utilize humor strategically

Laughter is the best medicine—and a fantastic presentation enhancer! A well-placed joke or lighthearted moment can break the ice and create a warm atmosphere , making your audience more receptive to your message.

7. Practice active listening and respond to feedback

Be attentive to your audience’s reactions and feedback. If they have questions or concerns, address them with genuine interest and respect. Your responsiveness builds rapport and shows that you genuinely care about their experience.

give or make presentation

8. Apply the 10-20-30 rule

Apply the 10-20-30 presentation rule and keep it short, sweet and impactful! Stick to ten slides, deliver your presentation within 20 minutes and use a 30-point font to ensure clarity and focus. Less is more, and your audience will thank you for it!

9. Implement the 5-5-5 rule

Simplicity is key. Limit each slide to five bullet points, with only five words per bullet point and allow each slide to remain visible for about five seconds. This rule keeps your presentation concise and prevents information overload.

Simple presentations are more engaging because they are easier to follow. Summarize your presentations and keep them simple with Venngage’s gallery of simple presentation templates and ensure that your message is delivered effectively across your audience.

give or make presentation

1. How to start a presentation?

To kick off your presentation effectively, begin with an attention-grabbing statement or a powerful quote. Introduce yourself, establish credibility and clearly state the purpose and relevance of your presentation.

2. How to end a presentation?

For a strong conclusion, summarize your talking points and key takeaways. End with a compelling call to action or a thought-provoking question and remember to thank your audience and invite any final questions or interactions.

3. How to make a presentation interactive?

To make your presentation interactive, encourage questions and discussion throughout your talk. Utilize multimedia elements like videos or images and consider including polls, quizzes or group activities to actively involve your audience.

In need of inspiration for your next presentation? I’ve got your back! Pick from these 120+ presentation ideas, topics and examples to get started. 

Creating a stunning presentation with Venngage is a breeze with our user-friendly drag-and-drop editor and professionally designed templates for all your communication needs. 

Here’s how to make a presentation in just 5 simple steps with the help of Venngage:

Step 1: Sign up for Venngage for free using your email, Gmail or Facebook account or simply log in to access your account. 

Step 2: Pick a design from our selection of free presentation templates (they’re all created by our expert in-house designers).

Step 3: Make the template your own by customizing it to fit your content and branding. With Venngage’s intuitive drag-and-drop editor, you can easily modify text, change colors and adjust the layout to create a unique and eye-catching design.

Step 4: Elevate your presentation by incorporating captivating visuals. You can upload your images or choose from Venngage’s vast library of high-quality photos, icons and illustrations. 

Step 5: Upgrade to a premium or business account to export your presentation in PDF and print it for in-person presentations or share it digitally for free!

By following these five simple steps, you’ll have a professionally designed and visually engaging presentation ready in no time. With Venngage’s user-friendly platform, your presentation is sure to make a lasting impression. So, let your creativity flow and get ready to shine in your next presentation!

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Make A Presentation Or Do A Presentation – Which Is Correct?

give or make presentation

When it comes to giving presentations, there is a lot of confusion about whether you should “make” a presentation or “do” a presentation. Both are correct, but they have different meanings.

The terms “make” and “do” have different meanings based on context. Generally, “make” is used to create something new, and “do” is used for performing an action.

Definition Of Terms

In presentations, “make” refers to creating a presentation from scratch, whereas “do” means delivering a presentation someone else prepared.

Here is an example:

You’ll need to prepare a presentation for your sales team tomorrow, which involves creating it from scratch.

If your boss asks you to do a presentation, it means he or she has already created it and wants you to deliver it.

Using “make” or “do” when giving a presentation has different implications.

  • Make: create from scratch
  • Do: deliver created presentation
  • Different implications

Which Is Correct?

Both terms work if used in the right context. Interchanging them can cause confusion. Understand their meanings before using them.

If you want to avoid confusion, stick to using “deliver” when referring to giving a presentation. This term applies whether you created the presentation or not.

Related Posts:

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What are the main difficulties when giving presentations?

How to create an effective presentation, after that, how do i give a memorable presentation, how to connect with the audience when presenting.

If you’ve ever heard someone give a powerful presentation, you probably remember how it made you feel. Much like a composer, a good speaker knows precisely when each note should strike to captivate their audience’s attention and leave them with a lasting impression.

No one becomes a great public speaker or presenter without practice. And almost everyone can recall a time one of their presentations went badly — that’s a painful part of the learning process.

Whether you’re working within a small creative team or a large organization, public speaking and presentation skills are vital to communicating your ideas. Knowing how to present your vision can help you pitch concepts to clients, present ideas to your team, and develop the confidence to participate in team meetings.

If you have an upcoming presentation on the horizon and feel nervous, that’s normal. Around 15-30% of the general population experience a fear of public speaking . And, unfortunately, social anxiety is on the rise, with a 12% increase in adults over the last 20 years . 

Learning how to give a good presentation can dismantle your fears and break down these barriers, ensuring you’re ready to confidently share your point of view. 

It’s the week before your presentation, and you’re already feeling nervous . Maybe there’ll be an important mentor in the room you need to impress, or you’re looking for an opportunity to show your boss your value. Regardless of your countless past presentations, you still feel nervous. 

Sharing your vision and ideas with any sized group is intimidating. You’re likely worrying about how you’ll perform as a presenter and whether the audience will be interested in what you offer. But nerves aren’t inherently negative — you can actually use this feeling to fuel your preparation.

businesswoman-speaking-from-a-podium-to-an-audience-in-a-conference-room-how-to-give-a-good-presentation

It’s helpful to identify where your worries are coming from and address your fears. Here are some common concerns when preparing for an upcoming presentation:

Fear of public speaking: When you share your ideas in front of a group, you’re placing yourself in a vulnerable position to be critiqued on your knowledge and communication skills . Maybe you feel confident in your content, but when you think about standing in front of an audience, you feel anxious and your mind goes blank.

It’s also not uncommon to have physical symptoms when presenting . Some people experience nausea and dizziness as the brain releases adrenaline to cope with the potentially stressful situation . Remember to take deep breaths to recenter yourself and be patient, even if you make a mistake.

Losing the audience’s attention: As a presenter, your main focus is to keep your audience engaged. They should feel like they’re learning valuable information or following a story that will improve them in life or business.

Highlight the most exciting pieces of knowledge and ensure you emphasize those points in your presentation. If you feel passionate about your content, it’s more likely that your audience will experience this excitement for themselves and become invested in what you have to say.

Not knowing what content to place on presentation slides: Overloading presentation slides is a fast way to lose your audience’s attention. Your slides should contain only the main talking points and limited text to ensure your audience focuses on what you have to say rather than becoming distracted by the content on your slides.

Discomfort incorporating nonverbal communication: It’s natural to feel stiff and frozen when you’re nervous. But maintaining effective body language helps your audience stay focused on you as you speak and encourages you to relax.

If you struggle to incorporate body language into your presentations, try starting small by making hand gestures toward your slides. If you’re working with a large audience, use different parts of the stage to ensure everyone feels included. 

Each presenter has their own personal brand and style. Some may use humor to break the ice, while others might appeal to the audience’s emotional side through inspiring storytelling. 

Watching online presentations, such as TED talks, is an excellent way to expose yourself to various presentation styles and develop your own. While observing others, you can note how they carry themselves on stage and learn new ways to keep your audience engaged.

Once you’ve addressed what’s causing your fears, it’s time to prepare for a great presentation. Use your past experience as inspiration and aim to outshine your former self by learning from your mistakes and employing new techniques. Here are five presentation tips to help you create a strong presentation and wow your audience:

1. Keep it simple

Simple means something different to everyone.

Before creating your presentation, take note of your intended audience and their knowledge level of your subject. You’ll want your content to be easy for your intended audience to follow.

Say you’re giving a presentation on improving your company’s operational structure. Entry-level workers will likely need a more straightforward overview of the content than C-suite leaders, who have significantly more experience. 

Ask yourself what you want your audience to take away from your presentation and emphasize those important points. Doing this ensures they remember the most vital information rather than less important supporting ideas. Try organizing these concepts into bullet points so viewers can quickly identify critical takeaways.

2. Create a compelling structure

Put yourself in your audience member’s shoes and determine the most compelling way to organize your information. Your presentation should be articulate , cohesive, and logical, and you must be sure to include all necessary supporting evidence to strengthen your main points.

If you give away all of your answers too quickly, your audience could lose interest. And if there isn’t enough supporting information, they could hit a roadblock of confusion. Try developing a compelling story that leads your audience through your thought processes so they can experience the ups and downs alongside you. 

By structuring your presentation to lead up to a final conclusion, you’re more likely to keep listeners’ attention. Once you’ve reached that conclusion, you can offer a Q&A period to put any of their questions or concerns to rest. 

3. Use visual aids

Appealing to various learning styles is a great way to keep everyone on the same page and ensure they absorb your content. Visual aids are necessary for visual learners and make it easier for people to picture your ideas.

Aim to incorporate a mixture of photos, videos, and props to engage your audience and convey your key points. For instance, if you’re giving a presentation on anthropology subject matter, you could show your audience an artifact to help them understand how exciting a discovery must have been. 

If your presentation is long, including a video for your audience to watch is an excellent way to give yourself a break and create new jumping-off points for your speech.

4. Be aware of design techniques and trends

Thanks to cutting-edge technology and tools, you have numerous platforms at your disposal to create a good presentation. But keep in mind that although color, images, and graphics liven things up, they can cause distraction when misused.

  Here are a few standard pointers for incorporating visuals on your slides: 

  • Don’t place blocks of small text on a single slide
  • Use a minimalistic background instead of a busy one
  • Ensure text stands out against the background color
  • Only use high-resolution photos
  • Maintain a consistent font style and size throughout the presentation
  • Don’t overuse transitions and effects

5. Try 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 at most 20 minutes, and use a font size of 30. Following this strategy can help you condense your information, eliminate unnecessary ideas, and maintain your audience’s focus more efficiently.

Once you’re confident in creating a memorable presentation, it’s time to learn how to give one. Here are some valuable tips for keeping your audience invested during your talk: 

Tip #1: Tell stories

Sharing an anecdote from your life can improve your credibility and increase your relatability. And when an audience relates to you, they’re more likely to feel connected to who you are as a person and encouraged to give you their full attention, as they would want others to do the same.

Gill Hicks utilized this strategy well when she shared her powerful story, “ I survived a terrorist attack. Here’s what I learned .” In her harrowing tale, Hicks highlights the importance of compassion, unconditional love, and helping those in need.

If you feel uncomfortable sharing personal stories, that’s okay. You can use examples from famous individuals or create a fictional account to demonstrate your ideas.

Tip #2: Make eye contact with the audience

Maintaining eye contact is less intimidating than it sounds. In fact, you don’t have to look your audience members directly in their eyes — you can focus on their foreheads or noses if that’s easier.

Try making eye contact with as many people as possible for 3–5 seconds each. This timing ensures you don’t look away too quickly, making the audience member feel unimportant, or linger too long, making them feel uncomfortable.

If you’re presenting to a large group, direct your focus to each part of the room to ensure no section of the audience feels ignored. 

Group-of-a-business-people-having-meeting-in-a-conference-room-how-to-give-a-good-presentation

Tip #3: Work on your stage presence

Although your tone and words are the most impactful part of your presentation, recall that body language keeps your audience engaged. Use these tips to master a professional stage presence:

  • Speak with open arms and avoid crossing them
  • Keep a reasonable pace and try not to stand still
  • Use hand gestures to highlight important information

Tip #4: Start strong

Like watching a movie trailer, the first seconds of your talk are critical for capturing your audience’s attention. How you start your speech sets the tone for the rest of your presentation and tells your audience whether or not they should pay attention. Here are some ways to start your presentation to leave a lasting impression:

  • Use a quote from a well-known and likable influential person 
  • Ask a rhetorical question to create intrigue
  • Start with an anecdote to add context to your talk 
  • Spark your audience’s curiosity by involving them in an interactive problem-solving puzzle or riddle

Tip #5: Show your passion

Don’t be afraid of being too enthusiastic. Everyone appreciates a speaker who’s genuinely excited about their field of expertise. 

In “ Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance ,” Angela Lee Duckworth discusses the importance of passion in research and delivery. She delivers her presentation excitedly to show the audience how excitement piques interest. 

Tip #6: Plan your delivery

How you decide to deliver your speech will shape your presentation. Will you be preparing a PowerPoint presentation and using a teleprompter? Or are you working within the constraints of the digital world and presenting over Zoom?

The best presentations are conducted by speakers who know their stuff and memorize their content. However, if you find this challenging, try creating notes to use as a safety net in case you lose track.

If you’re presenting online, you can keep notes beside your computer for each slide, highlighting your key points. This ensures you include all the necessary information and follow a logical order.

Woman-presenting-charts-and-data-to-work-team-how-to-give-a-good-presentation

Tip #7: Practice

Practice doesn’t make perfect — it makes progress. There’s no way of preparing for unforeseen circumstances, but thorough practice means you’ve done everything you can to succeed.

Rehearse your speech in front of a mirror or to a trusted friend or family member. Take any feedback and use it as an opportunity to fine-tune your speech. But remember: who you practice your presentation in front of may differ from your intended audience. Consider their opinions through the lens of them occupying this different position.

Tip #8: Read the room

Whether you’re a keynote speaker at an event or presenting to a small group of clients, knowing how to read the room is vital for keeping your audience happy. Stay flexible and be willing to move on from topics quickly if your listeners are uninterested or displeased with a particular part of your speech.

Tip #9: Breathe

Try taking deep breaths before your presentation to calm your nerves. If you feel rushed, you’re more likely to feel nervous and stumble on your words.

The most important thing to consider when presenting is your audience’s feelings. When you approach your next presentation calmly, you’ll put your audience at ease and encourage them to feel comfortable in your presence.

Tip #10: Provide a call-to-action

When you end your presentation, your audience should feel compelled to take a specific action, whether that’s changing their habits or contacting you for your services.

If you’re presenting to clients, create a handout with key points and contact information so they can get in touch. You should provide your LinkedIn information, email address, and phone number so they have a variety of ways to reach you. 

There’s no one-size-fits-all template for an effective presentation, as your unique audience and subject matter play a role in shaping your speech. As a general rule, though, you should aim to connect with your audience through passion and excitement. Use strong eye contact and body language. Capture their interest through storytelling and their trust through relatability.

Learning how to give a good presentation can feel overwhelming — but remember, practice makes progress. Rehearse your presentation for someone you trust, collect their feedback , and revise. Practicing your presentation skills is helpful for any job, and every challenge is a chance to grow.

Enhance your presentation skills

Discover coaching that transforms your public speaking and boosts your confidence in presenting.

Elizabeth Perry, ACC

Elizabeth Perry is a Coach Community Manager at BetterUp. She uses strategic engagement strategies to cultivate a learning community across a global network of Coaches through in-person and virtual experiences, technology-enabled platforms, and strategic coaching industry partnerships. With over 3 years of coaching experience and a certification in transformative leadership and life coaching from Sofia University, Elizabeth leverages transpersonal psychology expertise to help coaches and clients gain awareness of their behavioral and thought patterns, discover their purpose and passions, and elevate their potential. She is a lifelong student of psychology, personal growth, and human potential as well as an ICF-certified ACC transpersonal life and leadership Coach.

6 presentation skills and how to improve them

How to write a speech that your audience remembers, 3 stand-out professional bio examples to inspire your own, tell a story they can't ignore these 10 tips will teach you how, reading the room gives you an edge — no matter who you're talking to, how to make a presentation interactive and exciting, your guide to what storytelling is and how to be a good storyteller, writing an elevator pitch about yourself: a how-to plus tips, 18 effective strategies to improve your communication skills, your guide to individual development plans (with examples), inspire others and support their growth. 10 ways to make it happen, how to develop critical thinking skills, goal-setting theory: why it’s important, and how to use it at work, how to set short-term professional goals, how to give and take constructive criticism, how remote work will redefine future careers, according to gen z, the self presentation theory and how to present your best self, are you being passed over for a promotion here’s what to do, stay connected with betterup, get our newsletter, event invites, plus product insights and research..

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How to Make a “Good” Presentation “Great”

  • Guy Kawasaki

give or make presentation

Remember: Less is more.

A strong presentation is so much more than information pasted onto a series of slides with fancy backgrounds. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others. Here are some unique elements that make a presentation stand out.

  • Fonts: Sans Serif fonts such as Helvetica or Arial are preferred for their clean lines, which make them easy to digest at various sizes and distances. Limit the number of font styles to two: one for headings and another for body text, to avoid visual confusion or distractions.
  • Colors: Colors can evoke emotions and highlight critical points, but their overuse can lead to a cluttered and confusing presentation. A limited palette of two to three main colors, complemented by a simple background, can help you draw attention to key elements without overwhelming the audience.
  • Pictures: Pictures can communicate complex ideas quickly and memorably but choosing the right images is key. Images or pictures should be big (perhaps 20-25% of the page), bold, and have a clear purpose that complements the slide’s text.
  • Layout: Don’t overcrowd your slides with too much information. When in doubt, adhere to the principle of simplicity, and aim for a clean and uncluttered layout with plenty of white space around text and images. Think phrases and bullets, not sentences.

As an intern or early career professional, chances are that you’ll be tasked with making or giving a presentation in the near future. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others.

give or make presentation

  • Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist at Canva and was the former chief evangelist at Apple. Guy is the author of 16 books including Think Remarkable : 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference.

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Home Blog Business How to Make a Presentation: A Guide for Memorable Presentations

How to Make a Presentation: A Guide for Memorable Presentations

Cover for How to Make a Presentation by SlideModel

A presentation goes beyond the idea of crafting a catchy document to present in front of an audience. It is an art in which a person relies on communication skills to introduce a topic relevant to a group of people, regardless of its size. Different elements participate in this communication process, such as body language, presentation skills, visual tools, etc. and are key in delivering an effective presentation.

In this article, we shall present a detailed guide on how to make a presentation, intended both for newcomers in this subject but also for professional presenters who seek to improve the performance of their presentations. Let’s get started.

Table of Contents

What is a presentation?

What is a powerpoint presentation.

  • The Importance of a good PowerPoint presentation
  • Choosing a topic

Consider the audience & presentation goals

Gather data, references, and source.

  • Define the storyline
  • Define the outline  

Using one idea per slide

Choose the presentation format, colors & styles, determine the use of metaphors and visual slides, proofreading and polishing process, prepare your speech, rehearse, rehearse and rehearse.

  • How to give a memorable presentation

Start strong

Hook your audience, close your presentation.

  • Selecting a PowerPoint template
  • Add or delete slides in PowerPoint
  • Adding images to slide templates
  • Adding notes to your slides
  • Adding animations to your slides
  • Adding transitions to your slides
  • Adding audio narration to your slides
  • Ideal typeface and size

Color scheme

Printing your powerpoint presentation, powerpoint presentations tips, closing thoughts.

What is a presentation, and what is a PowerPoint presentation?

It is essential to highlight the difference between Presentation and PowerPoint Presentation, often interchangeable terms. One thing is a presentation, an audiovisual form of communication to present information. A PowerPoint presentation is a subset of a presentation. Since PowerPoint remains the leading tool in the market for creating presentations, the term was coined by both spectators and presenters. Let’s begin by checking the main differences between the two terms.

A presentation is any situation in which a person or group has to transmit a message in front of an audience. The format by which the audience attends can answer the following categories:

  • Live crowd: A presentation in which the average number of spectators exceeds 100 people. 
  • Massive event: Similar to the format above, but we speak about thousands of spectators. This format has specific requirements regarding scenario setup and logistics, and the usual presenters are influencers in worldwide conferences or corporate events (like All-Hands meetings).
  • Private event : A selected number of attendants can listen to the presenter. Coaching sessions are the leading kind of private event for presenters, but multiple other categories can fit into this format.
  • Online event: Following the trends of remote working and what the pandemic has left us in terms of digital immersion, multiple events shifted their large attendance numbers in favor of online settings. This has the advantage of a narrowed setting, as the area in which the presenter has to stand is considerably reduced – with simpler A/V inputs. Attendees are given a link to the event and watch from their computers or mobile devices.
  • Offline event: This medium is what we consume via YouTube videos. Behind each and every YouTube video is countless hours of content development, editing, rehearsing a presentation, and so forth. We call it offline because attendees can browse the content at any time, replaying as desired, unlike Online Events in which the attendees must be logged in to a specific platform. No interaction with the presenter.
  • Hybrid event: This is a format coined by large tech companies, the automobile industry, and even fashion brands. The idea is to create an event where a selected number of attendees are allowed to participate (using the Private Event model). Still, at the same time, the event is streamed for users worldwide (Online Event) and/or available on the official social media networks of the brand (Offline Event).

Each one of these formats exposed above has specific requirements in terms of interaction with the audience. For example, in-company presentations will differ from common presentations that seek to capture the interest of new consumers. It is vital to establish the presentation’s intent from the very first moment and then narrow it down according to the topic to present, as well as the knowledge level of your target audience.

A presentation does not necessarily requires to create a slide deck . It is a tool presenters use to make the content more interesting for the audience and also memorable. However, it is well-known that influencer speakers such as Tony Robbins or Warren Buffet ignore PPT documents altogether, preferring to articulate their narrative on the go.

A PowerPoint presentation is a specific type of presentation, which involves the usage of a slide deck crafted with Microsoft PowerPoint. This kind of tool allows presenters to communicate a message through a vast range of mediums, such as images, graphs & charts, audio, and video for a better impact.

Technology Company Capabilities PowerPoint Template

Creating a PowerPoint presentation is an easy process, and there are two routes for it: working from a blank slide or using PowerPoint templates .

Some of the advantages of building a PowerPoint presentation:

  • Better information retention by the audience, thanks to visual cues.
  • Improves the audience’s focus.
  • Easy to create powerful graphics.
  • Templates are editable, meaning you can repurpose the original designs to meet your standards.
  • Saves time to create presentations thanks to its user-friendly UI.
  • Encourages teaching and learning processes.

The Importance of a Good PowerPoint presentation

There are some elements that presenters must take into account when making a PowerPoint presentation . It’s not just drag-and-drop, then magic happens. Creating a PowerPoint presentation involves a process of generating the graphic content to display and the narrative around it. The purpose of PowerPoint is to serve as a tool to enhance communication, not to make it overly complex.

Example of a Dashboard Template by SlideModel

We emphasize the relevance of working the speech and graphic content together since the speech itself gives the timeframes for each slide, what elements it contains, or whether it is relevant to use a slide or not to speak about a topic. 

Some points to highlight when preparing a presentation:

  • Presenters often use the element of surprise. This means a presentation can start without a slide, use a video, or involve a discussion between two parties, then jump to the slide deck presentation. More on this topic later on.
  • A good PowerPoint presentation can be your introduction card in multiple professional settings. The effort you put in terms of design and content shall pay back over time in contacts or business deals.
  • Having a spare copy of your presentation, preferably in Google Slides presentation format, is a safe-proof technique in case the PPT file gets corrupted. The aesthetic remains the same and can be browsed by any computer with internet access.

How to Make a Presentation (5 Essential Points)

1. planning your presentation.

The first step in making a presentation is to plan the content according to our personal/business goals and the audience’s interest. Let’s break down each part in more detail.

Choosing the topic of your presentation

There are two situations for this. The first one is that you are open to presenting any topic of your preference. This usually happens in business presentations, inspirational presentations, product releases, etc. The second scenario is restricted, by which you have to pick a topic among a selected number of references. That’s the typical situation in which presenters see themselves when taking part in significant events – as not all topics are suitable for the main content of the event, and this is where creativity comes to play.

How to choose a topic, you may ask. Brainstorming is a good technique as long as you remain within the boundaries of this formula:

What you know and feel confident about + What is relevant to the current moment + What can resonate with your audience = Quality Content.

Again, if you experience restrictions due to the nature of an event, but your objective is to share specific information about your business, here are some tactics that can come to play:

  • Do keyword research about the topics your business is involved. See the common patterns in your activity compared with the keywords. Then research the 15 articles on the 5 biggest volume keywords. Narrowing the possibilities in your business is a different take.
  • Research whether there’s room for sponsored advertisement. That’s an alternative when directly speaking about your business is a no-no in a presentation.
  • Turn your presentation into an inspirational story. That works in most events and brings the audience’s interest.

Another vital point to consider is how passionate you can be about the topic of your choice. Nothing speaks more about professionalism than a presenter being deeply involved with the topic in discussion. It sparks curiosity and gives validation as a reliable authority on the content. On the other hand, when a presenter delivers a talk about a topic they don’t connect with, body language usually betrays the presenter. Spectators feel that the speaker wished to be elsewhere, hence dooming the presentation’s performance (and badly impacting the presenter’s reputation).

Consider the purpose of the content to present. Is it going to be informative? Educational? Inspirational? That shall set the tone of your speech later on.

Like with any project, you can estimate the ROI of your presentation with two verifiable metrics: the behavior of the audience and how many contacts did you build after delivering an effective presentation .

Making a presentation has the implicit purpose of helping you construct your network of professional contacts. Even when the presentation has no explicit financial purpose – as in the case of non-profitable organizations, there is still the acknowledgment component. People want to feel validated for the work they do. People want to build long-lasting contacts that can later on turn to be part of a new project.

Considering the audience is imperative, and often one of the pitfalls many presenters fall prey to. You must be aware of the following:

  • The knowledgeability of your audience about the topic to discuss. This filters the option of using technical jargon during a presentation.
  • The age range and demographics of your audience. It is not the same to discuss a methodology to reduce financial risk to a group of corporate workers in their 40s than to a group of students in their early 20s. The language is different, the intention behind the message is different, and so is the information retention span.

On regards to presentation goals, they can be classified as professional goals (those who seek conversions or valuable business contacts), influential (to establish a brand in the market), educational (to inform a group of people about a topic you researched), etc. Depending on the presentation goals, you can then structure the content to list and the tone in which you speak to your audience.

2. Preparing content for your presentation

No presentation can be made without reference material. Even when you believe you are the most prominent authority about a topic – you have to prove it with valuable, referenceable material. For some niches, this is critical, such as scientific poster presentations, educational presentations, and other areas in which copyright might be an issue.

References for the material you used can be listed in different formats:

  • If you are citing a book/article, you can do a bibliography slide, or screenshot the excerpt you want to cite, then include a proper source format below the image.
  • You have to credit the author for images/videos that are subject to intellectual property rights. Depending on the context where the image is presented, you may even have to inquire the author about using the image. If the photo in question is yours, no citation is required. Learn more about how to cite pictures in PowerPoint .
  • Graphs and charts should include a reference to what they mean, explaining in a short sentence their context. Cite the source if the graph is extracted from a book or article.

Example of a motivational slide designed using a PowerPoint template by SlideModel

As a tip, prepare a document in which you jot down the references used to create the presentation. They can serve whenever a question is asked about your presentation and you must research extra material. 

Define the presentation storyline

We interpret the storyline as what is the connecting thread of your presentation. What do you wish to discuss? What motivated you to present this topic in this particular setting and in front of an audience? What can your message deliver in terms of new information and quality to your spectators?

All those questions are worth asking since they shape the narrative you build around your presentation. The storyline is the step before building an actual outline of your presentation.

Define the presentation outline

Now that you have a clear idea of your reference material and the story to tell behind your presentation , it is time to list down your presentation structure in a Table of Contents format. Keep in mind this is for internal reference, as the outline is a tool for writing the speech and creating the slides. You don’t have to list the outline in a presentation; if you desire, you can do a simplistic version with an agenda slide.

Example of an Agenda Slide PowerPoint Template

Be specific. Don’t let any topic be broad enough to lead to confusion. Sometimes, it is best to list many elements in a presentation outline, then trim them down in a second iteration.

This is perhaps the biggest mistake presenters make in the professional context when creating a new presentation. Slides are free; you don’t have to jam everything in, wishing people get an instant idea about EVERYTHING you will discuss in one slide. Not only does it become overwhelming for the audience, but it is also a faux pas in terms of design: when you use too many elements, the hierarchy does not seem clear enough.

Opt for the “one-idea-per-slide” technique, which, as the term refers, implies using one slide per concept to introduce. Work with as many slides as required, but just one main idea by slide. Your presentation becomes clearer, easy to digest for a non-knowledgeable audience, and also serves as reference material on how to pace your presentation.

3. Designing your presentation

The following section contains guidelines about the different aspects that shape a presentation structure . If you are looking for an all-in-one solution that implements these teachings into presentation design, try SlideModel’s AI Presentation Maker . A time-saver AI-generation tool for presenters powered by Artificial Intelligence.

Event organizers have a saying in the presentation format, which can be online or a live event. Depending on which, users have to structure the elements of their presentation to match the final output. An example of this: it’s not the same to create a PPT slide deck for an event in which you stand on a stage, in front of a live audience, than when you present via Zoom call, using your computer screen to cast the presentation. 

The format is different because text usage and images are perceived differently. For starters, an online presentation is most likely to draw users to read the entire content of your slides than a live presentation. The audience may not get your body language in an online presentation, merely watching slide after slide with the presenter’s voiceover. In some conditions, it can be incredibly dull and hard to follow. 

Do your research with the event organizers about which format shall be used. When it comes to in-company presentations or educational presentations, the format is usually live, as the audience is selected and part of the same organization (that being a company or a school/university). If a webinar is required for an in-company format, ask the organizers about the length of the presentation, if it is possible to interact with the audience, deliverable requirements, etc.

The aspect ratio for a presentation format usually follows the 16:9 format or 4:3 format. Presentations built in 16:9 aspect ratio are the standard , rectangular format PPT templates, which also serve to be printed without many distortions in regular A4 files. As we work with a rectangular format, there are two axes – horizontal and vertical, in which presenters can arrange the content according to its importance (building a hierarchy). Working with a 4:3 format is more challenging as it resembles a square. Remember, in a square there are no visible tensions, so all areas have the same importance. 

16:9 format slide template for PowerPoint

As a recommendation, the 4:3 aspect ratio is a safe bet for all projectors & beamers. When working with a 16:9 slide and the projector is 4:3, the content gets squeezed to fit the required ratio, and for that very reason, it is advised to increase the font size if you use a 16:9 slide on a 4:3 projector. Be mindful about logos or photographs getting distorted when this conversion happens.

The 16:9 ratio looks more visually appealing these days as we get used to TVs and mobile devices for browsing content. New projectors are usually intended for 16:9 format, so you won’t experience any inconvenience in this regard.

4:3 format slide template for PowerPoint

No, not every color works harmonically with other colors. Colors have a psychology behind their usage and impact, and to not make this guide extensive, we highly recommend you visit our article on color theory for presentations . You can find suggestions about which colors you should use for different kinds of messages to deliver and what each color represents in terms of color psychology.

The color you use in your presentations must be in accordance with your branding. For example: you should definitely not build a presentation with a bright, bold magenta neon tone when your logo contains green neon-like hues. If you work with a PPT presentation template that doesn’t match the color of your branding, we recommend you check our guide on how to change color themes in PowerPoint .

Regarding typefaces, do never use more than 3 different typefaces per design. It is best to stick to 1 or 2 typefaces, using the variations each font offers in terms of weight.

An example of this:

You create the heading title (H1 size) with Open Sans bold. Subtitles should be done in H2 size using Open Sans regular. Body text in paragraph size, using either Open Sans Regular or Light. Words to emphasize shall be bolded for important terms and italics for foreign terms to be explained.

An example of a slide using a font weight hierarchy for Title and Paragraph

Use a cohesive color scheme that fits the background, graphics (such as charts and bar graphs), text, and even images. It helps the audience to understand concepts more naturally and gives a pleasant experience to the sight.

Just as badly a slide deck filled with text is felt by the audience, the exact impact can be attributed to a slide deck that only contains images. The audience may feel disconnected, not understanding the purpose of the presentation. A second side-effect is when the spectators wish to browse the slides to study, as in the context of an educational presentation. If the presenter does not include any text guidance, the slide deck is a mere collection of images without any reference that helps remember the presentation.

Work in balance, like a 3:1 ratio between graphic elements and text. For every 3 graphic elements, a text box must be included.

Using metaphors in presentations is a great idea to introduce complex topics or to tell a story. Say, you want to make the audience aware of your company’s challenges to reach its current standing in the industry. Using a roadmap template that depicts a mountain is an excellent idea as it reinforces the ideas of “challenge” and “teamwork.” 

Using a mountain metaphor to express a roadmap in goal setting

4. Final touches and polishing your presentation

Before giving any presentation, you should dedicate at least one day to this polishing process. Let’s break down the process for easier understanding.

  • Do a first iteration of your slides. The objective here is to grasp how everything looks in terms of design. Check the alignment of images and text, any color inconsistencies, typos, etc.
  • Rehearse your presentation one time, tracking how much time it takes to perform the presentation.
  • If any information is missing that’s worth adding to the slides, proceed to add it. If there are elements that can be reduced, trim them.
  • For time-restricted presentations, get a clear idea about how much time it takes to complete your presentation, plus 5 extra minutes for a Q&A session.
  • The second iteration should check the tone of your writing, and double-proof any spelling, punctuation and grammar errors. 

After two complete iterations, your presentation is ready to go to the next stage.

Even though we believe the speech is partially built as you prepare your presentation slides, you should dedicate an extra section of time to prepare your speech correctly. This process involves the following steps:

  • Identifying the purpose of your presentation. The core element of why you are speaking to this audience.
  • Get to know your audience, their interests, their challenges, and what can they possibly wish to overcome.
  • Adding value. This is vital – your presentation has to leave a lasting message to your audience on what they are interested.
  • A strong start and a strong finish. Don’t neglect any of these elements.

Writing down your speech in notes is a must. It is the tool you can use to rehearse your presentation, and -in case you feel anxious- you can include some speaker notes in your presentation (which won’t be visible to your audience) to help you structure the speech.

Practice makes perfect. Rehearsing does not imply memorizing the entire presentation, as that would make your speech robotic, and prone to errors. How? Imagine a person asking you a question in the middle of your presentation, a question you didn’t expect. A prepared presenter can easily manage the situation because of the background built around the topic. A presenter that memorized a speech and robotically repeated its content can feel unease, losing focus for the remainder of the presentation.

Some valuable tips on the rehearsing process:

  • Record your rehearsing sessions. You can use tools like Presenter View in PowerPoint to track your time. 
  • Make it a memorable event. Creating an engaging presentation requires creativity, so consider brainstorming for new takes on adding exciting elements to your presentation for attention retention.
  • An exercise recommended by Tim Ferris is to mimic the conditions as closely as possible. This helps to reduce presentation anxiety, and also to get used to cameras and spotlights or evaluate your body language.
  • If possible, ask a friend for feedback on your presentation performance. This is particularly helpful for new presenters to get used to interacting with the audience.

5. Presenting (your presentation)

Now it’s time to talk about the presentation and your performance when delivering it in front of an audience. Giving a presentation has many aspects to discuss, from start to end, the techniques to keep your audience interested in the topic, and also recommendations to make a memorable event. Let’s get started.

How to give a Memorable Presentation – Delivering an Impactful Presentation

There are multiple methods to approach a presentation and deliver an impactful presentation. Let’s be honest, not everyone feels comfortable when standing in front of an audience. For that reason, we want to lay out some fresh ideas to help you bring your best to your spectators.

The first element you ought to be aware of is body language . It has to feel natural, not overly acted but also not stiff. Think of a presentation as a similar scenario in which you have a deep conversation with a group of people about a topic you are passionate about. That mindset helps to ease anxiety out of the equation. Avoid crossing arms or constantly pacing across the stage – that only shows impatience and lack of interest.

Keep the concepts simple. Don’t overload your presentation with unnecessary jargon; if you feel something cannot be easily explained, go break down concept by concept until the whole idea is understandable. Graphics are a fantastic asset to help you in this process and boost your performance as a presenter. 

Be mindful of not doing any of these common pitfalls:

  • Including large chunks of text on a single slide.
  • Using intense background colors that make it difficult to understand the contents of the slide.
  • Don’t read every single element in your slides – this is perceived as boring by your audience.

One particularly interesting approach is by Guy Kawasaki, author of the book “The Art of the Start.” He considers the best presentations to be handled using 10 slides, lasting no longer than 20 minutes, and using a 30pt font size. That’s known as the 10-20-30 rule in presentations . It helps you to condense the content for the sake of information clarity.

In case you don’t use a PowerPoint presentation, there are multiple ways to make a presentation memorable:

  • Tell a story, but connect with your audience in terms of body language. Play with the elements on the stage (much like TED presenters do), and let the audience feel the experience of your story by being as detailed as possible within the time frame.
  • Using a video is an incredibly engaging tool, as it lets you introduce a topic you will discuss in more detail later.
  • Use a visual impact in the form of an image with a dramatic element (i.e., climate change consequences, technological advancements, children engaging with technology or studying, etc.). This allows to hook the audience into what’s due to come next.

Knowing how to start a presentation is a critical skill all presenters ought to master. There are several approaches for this behalf, but for the sake of this guide, let’s stick to the following ones.

Using the Link-Back formula

This consists of throwing a story in front of your audience that explains who you are, what your background is, and why your speech should make a difference in the life of the spectators.

The Link-Back formula is beneficial for creating an emotional connection with the audience.

Using a Hook

Asking a rhetorical question, using a powerful fact, or other well-known hook techniques is a plus when starting a presentation. We shall talk about hook techniques for presenters in the next section.

Using a captivating visual

Much like the power of storytelling , visuals impact the audience’s psyche, especially if the presentation is about a trendy topic. Create a quality graphic with any of our designs at SlideModel, a graphic designer’s help, an AI Image Generator, or work with a video.

A hook is a tactic used by presenters as an opening statement but can be used in different areas of the presentation if it has an ample length. Much like the metaphor suggests, they serve to attract the audience to what you are communicating.

Research on attention span during lectures suggests a gradual decline in the audience’s interest in the presentation. That’s exponentially increased if you miss the chance to give a powerful first impression. Check this list of hook techniques to enhance the performance of your presentation skills:

  • Asking rhetorical questions – better if a series of them on the topic to discuss.
  • Using catchy phrases.
  • Using a contrarian position, explain why such thinking harms the topic you wish to introduce.
  • Historical event referencing.
  • Making a powerful statement, best if data related. (i.e., “Every year, 8 million tons of plastic gets into the ocean, which equals to a truckload being dumped every minute” )
  • Using the word “imagine”. It’s one of the powerful words in you can use in presentations .
  • Add the comedy element – NB: be careful not to overdo it.
  • Apply a “what if” scenario – this hook is similar to the “imagine” but with more data added.
  • Tell a story.
  • Spark curiosity.
  • Smartly use quotations. Do not stick to text-book quotations but give your insight on why the quote is relevant for your speech.

Photo 9: Slide using a hook

Most people assume that ending a presentation equals doing a recap. It is a bad idea since your audience feels as if you haven’t planned a conclusion for your presentation. 

Another bad practice is to end with a Q&A format. Although questions and answers are often a required part of any presentation, they shouldn’t be the end of your presentation. You can include questions during your presentation or opt for a proper closure of the presentation past the Q&A session.

There are some powerful strategies to give a memorable ending to a presentation:

  • Include a CTA on the lines like “Join our journey!” or similar that make the audience part of a bigger story.
  • Close using a relevant quote. The idea is to deliver something that can linger, so the audience remembers your content.
  • Use a story to close your presentation, as long as you avoid using a case study. The idea is to close with a meaningful thought, not with boredom.

We recommend you check our article on how to end a presentation for more ideas before reaching this stage of your presentation.

How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation (Quick Steps)

In this section, we will see how to use PowerPoint to make a presentation . Starting from creating a blank presentation or choosing a pre-defined PowerPoint template to preparing the presentation structure by adding PowerPoint slides and then working on the design of the presentation, we will explain how to make a visually-appealing and eye-catching PowerPoint presentation and how to create a slideshow in PowerPoint.

1. Selecting a PowerPoint template

When making a PowerPoint presentation, Professional PowerPoint Templates bring the advantage of not needing to think about complex graphic design decisions. However, there are certain aspects worth considering prior to picking the perfect PowerPoint template.

  • Color aesthetic : If your presentation has to be done quickly, stick to PowerPoint templates that resemble your company’s branding palette. Although color can be changed, it is best not to lose time with extra adjustments.
  • Opt for minimalistic designs : It is one of the most suitable ways to remain elegant in the professional world. You won’t be signaled for using a template that speaks seriousness on its design – and take for granted everyone shall badly remember the presentation that overdid color or graphics (or even worse, typeface effects).
  • Avoid using heavy transition effects : Not all computers are as powerful as the ones you own. The simpler you make your presentation, the best it shall play on any PC.

As in life, there are advantages and disadvantages of using Premium or Free PowerPoint Templates vs. starting from a blank slate.

Advantages of PowerPoint templates when making a presentation

  • Speed up the presentation design process.
  • Reusable designs, ready for any situation.
  • Helps to present data in an understandable format.
  • Complex design decisions are made for users.
  • Color pairing and font pairing are done for users.
  • Helps to reduce the usage of text in slides.

Disadvantages of PowerPoint templates

  • We are not learning to use advanced PowerPoint tools, as designs come pre-made for users.
  • It can hinder creativity.
  • Not every presentation template for PowerPoint is suitable for any topic.
  • A professional team of PowerPoint template designers must be behind those templates to ensure quality.

2. Add or delete slides in PowerPoint

When we create PowerPoint Design ideas , not every slide makes the cut for the final presentation. Users then feel overwhelmed about those slides: will they be visible in the final presentation? Should you make a new PPT file without those extra templates? How to clone the “good” slides into a new file?

Instead of worrying about that process, we have here a guide on how to add, delete and rearrange slides in PowerPoint that explains, step by step, how to get rid of the unwanted slides or add more content to your presentation.

3. Adding images to slide templates

Some presentation templates and slide decks include entirely editable placeholder areas, and those boxes do not imply text only – they can include images, graphs, videos, etc. Say you want to add more images to your slides – it is as easy as replicating one of those placeholder areas with CTRL+C / CTRL+V (CMD for Mac users) or going to Insert on the Ribbon’s menu, then Picture . 

If you plan to move elements in your slide design, we recommend you get familiarized with how to lock an image in PowerPoint , so the images that shouldn’t be altered remain in position. This technique is ideal when your images are surrounded by plenty of editable graphics.

4. Adding notes to your slides

Presenters often struggle to remember key pieces of information due to performance anxiety or because they were moved from focus by an unexpected question. Using speaker notes in PowerPoint is the answer to prevent becoming stuck, since those notes won’t be available to the viewers – they remain visible only on the computer where the presentation is being streamed.

Keep in mind this technique works when the presenter is sitting next to the computer. If you have to stand in front of a crowd, opt to use different memory-recalling techniques when you feel out of focus.

5. Adding animations to your slides

Another technique presenters use adding animated objects or effects. This is as easy as following these steps:

  • Select the object/text you desire to animate.
  • Go to Animations in the Ribbon and select Add Animation .
  • You can stack animations on a simple object to make unique effects.

Using animated presentation templates is an alternative when you don’t feel confident about adding animations. 

6. Adding transitions to your slides

Transitions are animated effects that happen when you change between slides during a presentation. Some people love them, while others prefer to stay away from them. 

If you want to add transitions to your slides, follow these steps:

  • Select the slide you want to add the transition effect.
  • Go to Transitions in the Ribbon, and choose a transition.
  • If the transition allows the Effect Options menu, you can alter that transition’s direction and behavior.
  • Click on Preview to visualize the effect.
  • To remove a transition, select Transitions > None .

7. Adding audio narration to your slides

Sometimes, presenters opt to add audio narrations to the slides. The advantage of using this medium is to increase accessibility for visually impaired users. We created a guide on how to add audio narrations in PowerPoint that explains the procedure in detail.

Considerations for your PowerPoint presentation

Ideal typeface and font size.

There are multiple opinions on which typeface is ideal for presentations. Experience tells us the ideal typeface to work with is one that is system-available, meaning you don’t have to install a new font in the computer used to present. Why? You may ask. Simple: If the font used is not available on a computer, PowerPoint will automatically render a different font (sometimes even a different typeface) to replace and display the text appropriately. That action, which is replicated by other software such as Google Slides, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Apple Keynote, etc., can drastically change your design. 

Font size for titles should be between 36-44 pt. Paragraph font size between 24-28 pt. Use bold to emphasize concepts, and italics to insert foreign terms or quotations. Alternatively, you can make quotations to be displayed on a single slide, using 36 pt size, in italics.

Remember, these recommendations about size are intended for presentations in a live format. If the presentation is streamed through Zoom, using screen sharing, reduce the font size by 10-15% to avoid incredibly large texts. Test your presentation beforehand to be on the safe side.

The color scheme used is a primary part of your presentation design. When defining the presentation color palette , we recommend working within the colors that make part of your branding scheme. 

If we speak about a personal presentation or a presentation with no logo, then opt for pastel tones that don’t create harsh contrast between text and background.

Above all things, avoid these conflictive color combinations:

  • Yellow and green
  • Brown and orange
  • Red and green
  • Neon colors combined
  • Purple and yellow
  • Red and purple
  • Black and navy
  • Navy and red (unless you use a muted red tone or control the amount of red used)

Sometimes, printables are a requirement by event organizers, which represents a challenge to many presenters. We want to give a helping hand on this behalf, offering tips that can improve your printing experience:

  • Always work within margins when adding content. It helps not to downsize the presentation, which often renders the text illegible. 
  • If you have to print a presentation that uses intense background colors, opt for laser printing instead of inkjet. Laser printing won’t make the paper look odd when it is full-color print. The extra price is worth it when presenting a quality product.
  • On the same lines about color-heavy presentations, ask for thicker printer paper than the average. This option is often advised when opting for laser printing.
  • Run a print proof before ordering a large printing order. Colors can significantly change due to the RGB to CMYK conversion.

In this section, we want to list valuable tips to power up your presentations for their best performance. Some of these tips are tailored to presentation skills, others to design ideas, but ultimately, you can take in mind these tips the next time you need to make a powerful presentation in PowerPoint.

Tip #1. Using Video Presentations

An alternative to conventional presentations is to work with video presentations . These are particularly useful in academic and educational environments since they can convey large chunks of information in a memorable, easy-to-digest format. 

If we consider that social media platforms like YouTube and TikTok are transitioning into professional content for creatives, you should consider using video presentations when the situation arises. As a plus, you can repurpose that presentation on your website or other official social media channels for your company.

Tip #2. Drop Shadows and Text Shadows

When we intend to create interesting contrasts between elements, color isn’t the only option to try. Learn how to work with drop shadows in PowerPoint to make images and objects stand out from the presentation. It is an effect that boosts a tri-dimensional feeling in the presentation.

Using text shadows in PowerPoint – with extreme caution – is an excellent method to highlight titles instead of using fancy colors or other 3D effects. Do not overdo the text shadow, as it makes the text illegible. 

Tip #3. Working on your Presentation Skills

Giving presentations in front of an audience is, as we have seen, a process that involves many factors. One of those is the human element and the speaker’s ability to resonate with the audience. Therefore, we advise presenters to work on their presentation skills early, especially for mastering different kinds of presentation approaches, such as persuasive presentations (used in sales).

Tip #4. Editing Background Graphics in PowerPoint

Sometimes, PPT presentation templates include quality backgrounds that make the design pop from the screen. Yet, some of those backgrounds may not be suitable for all brands in terms of color, textures, etc.

Learn today how to edit background graphics in PowerPoint and create outstanding presentations in just minutes.

Tip #5. Google Slides compatibility

Finally, we want to remind users that almost every PowerPoint template has compatibility with Google Slides – if you intend to upload the presentation into the Cloud. Google Slides is an online tool for creating slideshow presentations, and one of its features is that we can convert PowerPoint presentations into Google Slides format. The converted slides are entirely editable, allowing presenters to count with a backup plan in case the PPT file doesn’t work or the computer to use doesn’t count with PowerPoint.

This is not an exhaustive list of presentation tips, but they offer a starting point for those who want to create attractive and effective PowerPoint presentations. You can also create presentations in other ways, and leveraging AI, for example. Check out the article how to create a PowerPoint presentation with ChatGPT to learn how to use Large Language Models to prepare presentations.

As we have seen, making a presentation is a complex process involving different skills, from knowing how to deliver a speech to having essential graphic design criteria. 

While it is true that PowerPoint presentation templates make the process far more manageable, we shouldn’t entirely rely on them. A PowerPoint presentation isn’t a presentation on its own. It is a medium by which presenters showcase their ideas and structure the speech, but one cannot live without the other.

We hope this guide can give you a better understanding of how to create a successful presentation. See you next time!

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How to Give a Presentation

Last Updated: May 19, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Patrick Muñoz . Patrick is an internationally recognized Voice & Speech Coach, focusing on public speaking, vocal power, accent and dialects, accent reduction, voiceover, acting and speech therapy. He has worked with clients such as Penelope Cruz, Eva Longoria, and Roselyn Sanchez. He was voted LA's Favorite Voice and Dialect Coach by BACKSTAGE, is the voice and speech coach for Disney and Turner Classic Movies, and is a member of Voice and Speech Trainers Association. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 529,089 times.

Giving a presentation terrifies most of us, especially when talking before a crowd of people about an unfamiliar topic. Never fear! There are ways to make a good presentation. The more presentations you do, the easier they will become!

Preparing For the Presentation

Step 1 Focus your presentation.

  • It's best to have 1 main thesis statement or overarching theme and 3 main points that back-up or flesh-out your main theme. Any more than that and your audience is going to start losing interest. This means that any facts and information that are a part of your presentation should back up these 3 main points and overarching theme.
  • For example: If you're giving a presentation about 17th century alchemy, bringing up the history of alchemy is fine (and probably necessary), but don't mire your audience in its history instead of focusing alchemy in the 17th century. Your 3 points could be something like "alchemy in public opinion," "famous 17th century alchemists," and "the legacy of 17th century alchemy."

Step 2 Less is more.

  • Pick your very best supporting facts, information, or quotes for your presentation. Don't bury your audience in information.

Step 3 Decide whether to use media or not.

  • Make sure you're using media to enhance your presentation and not to drown it out. The presentation is key. Anything else is just accessorizing.
  • For example: to get back to 17th century alchemy, to back up your information about alchemy in the public opinion, you might want to show images from public pamphlets about the dangers of alchemy and see what people of the time period had to say about it and see what the more famous alchemists had to say about it.
  • Also, you want to make sure that you pick a medium that you are comfortable in and thorough in knowledge. If you don't know a thing about PowerPoint, maybe consider writing your main points on a white board, or passing out handouts with your main points and evidence on them. [3] X Research source

Step 4 Practice.

  • A good tip is to film yourself or audiotape of yourself giving your practice presentation so you can see what distracting verbal and physical tics you have, so that you can work on eliminating them before the presentation itself. (Verbs tics would be things like "um..." and "uh..." and using "like" inappropriately; physical tics are things like shifting your weight from foot to foot or messing with your hair.) To stop yourself from saying "um" or other unwanted tics, be aware you're doing it first, then speak more slowly and deliberately. Breathe deeply and feel free to pause and appreciate the silence. These will all help you to have mastery over your tics.
  • Just remember that rehearsals usually run about 20% shorter than your actual presentation, so take that into account if you're running on a time limit.

Step 5 Visualize success.

  • For example, if you aren't comfortable wearing heels, don't wear them just for the presentation. You'll be distracted by your discomfort and that will come across in the presentation. There are plenty of good shoe choices that have no or a low heel.
  • Clean, nice slacks or a skirt and nice, button-down shirt in neutral colors are always good choices for presentation wear. You also don't particularly want your clothing choice to distract from the presentation, so perhaps avoid that brilliant hot pink shirt.

Giving the Presentation

Step 1 Deal with the jitters.

  • Before the presentation, clench and unclench your hands several times to deal with the adrenaline and then take 3 deep, slow breaths.
  • Call up a smile, even if you feel like hurling. You can trick your brain into thinking that you're less anxious than you actually are and you'll also be able to hide your nervousness from your audience.

Step 2 Engage the audience.

  • Make eye contact with your audience. Don't stare at one particular person, but section up the room and make eye contact with someone in each section on a rotational basis.
  • Have a big, welcoming smile on your face, with lots of energy, so you start out from a strong and engaging place.
  • Ask questions of your audience and take questions during your presentation. This will make it more of a conversation and therefore more interesting.
  • Tell an amusing anecdote to illustrate your point. From the above examples about 17th century alchemy, you could find an amusing alchemical anecdote from the time period, or you could talk about your own forays into alchemy.

Step 3 Give an engaging performance.

  • Move around, but make your movements deliberate. Don't nervously shift your feet (in fact, it's a good idea to imagine that your feet are nailed to the floor except for those times you deliberately choose to move).
  • Use your vocal inflections to create a more dynamic presentation. Vary your voice as you're talking. Nobody ( ever ) wants to sit there and listen to someone drone on and on in dull monotone, no matter how interesting the material (think Professor Binns from Harry Potter; that's what you don't want).
  • Try to create a balance between rehearsed and spontaneous. Spontaneous, on the spot, movement and asides can be great as long as you are really comfortable, otherwise they can sidetrack your presentation and make it rambling. Mess around with spontaneous and rehearsed when you're practicing and you'll get a feel for it.

Step 4 Treat your presentation as a story.

  • Quickly introduce your topic and don't assume that your audience is familiar with all the terms, especially if your topic is one that isn't widely known.
  • Figuring out why you want (or have to) give this presentation will help you work with an overarching story/theme. Maybe you want to pass the class. Maybe you're convincing people to give you money or join you in a philanthropic endeavor or act for a social or political reason. Channel that desire into your presentation. You're answering the question of why they would want to pass you or why they would want to fund you. That's the story you're telling.

Step 5 Talk more slowly.

  • Make use of pauses, and learn to be comfortable with silences. Silence can be a powerful presentation tool and gives you a chance to take a moment to recompose. By taking pauses, you can slow down your breathing and be more deliberate in your speech, avoiding speaking too quickly.
  • Have water with you and take a sip when you feel you're going too fast.
  • If you have a friend in the class or meeting, arrange with them beforehand that they will let you know with a signal whether you're talking too quickly. Look over their way occasionally and check your progress.
  • If you find that you're running out of time and you haven't finished, simply drop or summarize your leftover material. Acknowledge the leftover material as something that can be discussed later or in the Q&A.

Step 6 Have a killer closing.

  • Make it clear what the listeners now know and why it is important that they have this new information.
  • Conclude with examples or stories about your main point and take home message. You might want a slide which summarizes your presentation. For example, you might conclude with a story about the nature of alchemy in the modern era (perhaps in a film) to show its malleable nature.

What Is The Best Way To Start a Presentation?

Community Q&A

Community Answer

  • Have a short Q&A session at the end of each subtopic. Q&A sessions will improve audience engagement. It also acts as a welcome break for audience in case of long presentation. For this though, you will need to know the subject you choose well. Make sure you understand and have more than just the basic knowledge about the topic you choose. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
  • Use pictures or visuals. Pictures and visuals show that you know what you're talking about, and it gives the audience a picture of what you're talking about. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
  • Try to have a "leave behind" message, something that your audience can take away that reminds them about your presentation, like a flyer or a book, for example. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Tips from our Readers

  • Use pictures! A good way to use pictures is through PowerPoint. If you don't have PowerPoint, you can print the pictures onto a board (paper, card board, or larger paper).
  • Don't be nervous. Practice and do just like you did in practice. If you are nervous, the audience will know.
  • Try to do some hand jesters. Speak loud and clear. Make eye contact with them. Be confident.
  • Let the audience have an opportunity to interact with you.

give or make presentation

  • Don't make your speech too long, unless it is really good, and you have to have done speeches for a long time to have them be that good and long. Stick to short and sweet. Thanks Helpful 50 Not Helpful 11
  • Don't put off work to the last minute. Then your work will be most likely sloppy. If you do well under pressure, do your project a bit at a time and maybe it will get done. Or, try doing it all at the beginning, so then you have the whole rest of the time to play or check your assignment. Thanks Helpful 36 Not Helpful 16
  • Jokes are usually not okay, especially in a professional setting. A light hearted comment is fine, but don't make it seem like a comedy show. Thanks Helpful 12 Not Helpful 3
  • If you speak in a too fast/slow or monotone voice, people will not want to hear you! Aim for a conversation voice (but slightly louder) with natural pauses (commas and periods). Develop a tone depending on what you're talking about. It's more interesting and engaging to hear someone speak in a serious tone rather than a monotone when speaking about world hunger. Thanks Helpful 9 Not Helpful 2
  • If you suffer from twitchy fingers, be mindful to move your hands during your presentation only when necessary, or the audience may notice and feel you are unprepared. Thanks Helpful 8 Not Helpful 3

You Might Also Like

Be a Good Writer

  • ↑ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/young-entrepreneur-council/13-tips-for-giving-a-kill_b_3728093.html
  • ↑ https://www.niu.edu/presentations/prepare/index.shtml
  • ↑ https://algonquincollege.libguides.com/studyskills/creating-presentations
  • ↑ https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-prepare-the-presentation
  • ↑ http://www.washington.edu/doit/TeamN/present_tips.html
  • ↑ https://counseling.uiowa.edu/self-help/30-ways-to-manage-speaking-anxiety/
  • ↑ https://www.hamilton.edu/academics/centers/oralcommunication/guides/how-to-engage-your-audience-and-keep-them-with-you
  • ↑ http://hbr.org/2013/06/how-to-give-a-killer-presentation/ar/1
  • ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-slow-down-your-speech-when-presenting-sharon-maree-jurd-cfe/
  • ↑ https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-conclude-a-presentation

About This Article

Patrick Muñoz

Before you give a presentation, spend some time crafting what you will say. Most presentations should center on a thesis, or main idea, and contain about 3 supporting points. Cutting unnecessary content will ensure your presentation is impactful. Once your presentation is done, practice delivering it in front of a mirror or while recording yourself so you can identify and correct any issues. To calm your nerves before you present, try clenching your fists a few times and taking several deep breaths. For more advice about giving presentations, like whether to use visual aides, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Free English Lessons

Presentations in english – video.

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

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

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

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

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

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1 . Question

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

Choose the missing word.

2 . Question

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

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

3 . Question

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

View Answers:

4 . Question

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

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

5 . Question

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

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

6 . Question

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

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

7 . Question

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

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

8 . Question

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

The highlighted words are an example of what?

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

9 . Question

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

Choose the correct word.

10 . Question

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

11 . Question

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

12 . Question

Let’s examine this in more ________.

Choose the two words that are possible.

13 . Question

14 . question.

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

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

15 . Question

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

16 . Question

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

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

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

17 . Question

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

To , I wanted to say that …

18 . Question

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

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

19 . Question

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

What technique is this an example of?

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

20 . Question

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

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

1. How to Introduce Yourself and Your Topic

Presentations in English - woman speaking image

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

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

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

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

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

Next, you need to introduce your topic.

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

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

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

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

Here’s another example:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ready? Let’s move on!

2. How to Make a Strong Start

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

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

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

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

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

What does this mean for you, and your presentation?

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

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

Here are three techniques you can use.

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

For example:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3. Using Signposting Language

Presentations in English - signpost image

There’s a famous quote about making presentations:

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

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

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

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

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

To do this, you need signposting language.

Let me give you an example to explain.

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

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

What’s the point here?

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

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

So, how can you do this?

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

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

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

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

What else can you use signposting language for?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

4. Dealing With Problems

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

There are many common problems:

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

Of course, there are other possibilities!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You could say:

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

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

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

Use a phrase like this:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for watching!

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Vocabulary and Phrases for Making Presentations in English

Here’s a step-by-step guide for making presentations in English. You’ll find the phrases you need for each step of your presentation.

After you give your opening statement, give a brief overview of your presentation. Say what your presentation is about, how long you will take and how you are going to handle questions.

For example, a presentation to sales staff could start like this: “Welcome / “Hello everyone.”

(Opening statement) “As you all know, this company is losing its market share. But we are being asked to increase sales by 20 – 25%. How can we possibly increase sales in a shrinking market?”

(Overview) “Today I am going to talk to you about how we can do this. My presentation will be in three parts. Firstly I am going to look at the market and the background. Then I am going to talk to you about our new products and how they fit in. Finally, I’m going to examine some selling strategies that will help us increase our sales by 20%. The presentation will probably take around 20 minutes. There will be time for questions at the end of my talk.”

Useful language for overviews

“My presentation is in three parts.” “My presentation is divided into three main sections.” “Firstly, secondly, thirdly, finally…” “I’m going to… take a look at… talk about… examine… tell you something about the background… give you some facts and figures… fill you in on the history of… concentrate on… limit myself to the question of…

“Please feel free to interrupt me if you have questions.” “There will be time for questions at the end of the presentation.” “I’d be grateful if you could ask your questions after the presentation.”

The main body of the presentation

During your presentation, it’s a good idea to occasionally remind your audience why your presentation and ideas are important or relevant.

“As I said at the beginning…” “This, of course, will help you (to achieve the 20% increase).” “As you remember, we are concerned with…” “This ties in with my original statement…” “This relates directly to the question I put to you before…”

Keeping your audience with you

Remember that what you are saying is new to your audience. You are clear about the structure of your talk, but let your audience know when you are moving on to a new point. You can do this by saying something like “right”, or “OK”. You can also use some of the following expressions:

“I’d now like to move on to…” “I’d like to turn to…” “That’s all I have to say about…” “Now I’d like to look at…” “This leads me to my next point…”

If you are using index cards, putting the link on the cards will help you remember to keep the audience with you. In addition, by glancing at your index cards you will be pausing – this will also help your audience to realise that you are moving on to something new.

Phrases for introducing visuals

It’s important to introduce your visual to the audience. You can use the following phrases:

“This graph shows you…” “Take a look at this…” “If you look at this, you will see…” “I’d like you to look at this…” “This chart illustrates the figures…” “This graph gives you a break down of…”

Give your audience enough time to absorb the information on the visual. Pause to allow them to look at the information and then explain why the visual is important:

“As you can see…” “This clearly shows …” “From this, we can understand how / why…” “This area of the chart is interesting…”

Summarising

At the end of your presentation, you should summarise your talk and remind the audience of what you have told them:

“That brings me to the end of my presentation. I’ve talked about…” “Well, that’s about it for now. We’ve covered…” “So, that was our marketing strategy. In brief, we…” “To summarise, I…”

Relate the end of your presentation to your opening statement:

“So I hope that you’re a little clearer on how we can achieve sales growth of 20%.” “To return to the original question, we can achieve…” “So just to round the talk off, I want to go back to the beginning when I asked you…” “I hope that my presentation today will help you with what I said at the beginning…”

Handling questions

Thank the audience for their attention and invite questions.

“Thank you for listening – and now if there are any questions, I would be pleased to answer them.” “That brings me to the end of my presentation. Thank you for your attention. I’d be glad to answer any questions you might have.”

It’s useful to re-word the question, as you can check that you have understood the question and you can give yourself some time to think of an answer. By asking the question again you also make sure that other people in the audience understand the question.

“Thank you. So you would like further clarification on our strategy?” “That’s an interesting question. How are we going to get voluntary redundancy?” “Thank you for asking. What is our plan for next year?”

After you have answered your question, check that the person who asked you is happy with the answer.

“Does this answer your question?” “Do you follow what I am saying?” “I hope this explains the situation for you.” “I hope this was what you wanted to hear!”

If you don’t know the answer to a question, say you don’t know. It’s better to admit to not knowing something than to guess and maybe get it wrong. You can say something like:

“That’s an interesting question. I don’t actually know off the top of my head, but I’ll try to get back to you later with an answer.” “I’m afraid I’m unable to answer that at the moment. Perhaps I can get back to you later.” “Good question. I really don’t know! What do you think?” “That’s a very good question. However, we don’t have any figures on that, so I can’t give you an accurate answer.” “Unfortunately, I’m not the best person to answer that.”

What to say if things go wrong during your presentation

You think you’ve lost your audience? Rephrase what you have said:

“Let me just say that in another way.” “Perhaps I can rephrase that.” “Put another way, this means…” “What I mean to say is…”

Can’t remember the word?

If it’s a difficult word for you – one that you often forget, or one that you have difficulty pronouncing – you should write it on your index card. Pause briefly, look down at your index card and say the word.

Using your voice when making presentations

Don’t speak in a flat monotone – this will bore your audience. By varying your speed and tone, you will be able to keep your audience’s attention. Practise emphasising key words and pause in the right places – usually in between ideas in a sentence. For example “The first strategy involves getting to know our market (pause) and finding out what they want. (pause) Customer surveys (pause) as well as staff training (pause) will help us do this.”

Don’t forget – if you speak too fast you will lose your audience!

Making Presentations

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How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation (Step-by-Step)

  • PowerPoint Tutorials
  • Presentation Design
  • January 22, 2024

In this beginner’s guide, you will learn step-by-step how to make a PowerPoint presentation from scratch.

While PowerPoint is designed to be intuitive and accessible, it can be overwhelming if you’ve never gotten any training on it before. As you progress through this guide, you’ll will learn how to move from blank slides to PowerPoint slides that look like these.

Example of the six slides you'll learn how to create in this tutorial

Table of Contents

Additionally, as you create your presentation, you’ll also learn tricks for working more efficiently in PowerPoint, including how to:

  • Change the slide order
  • Reset your layout
  • Change the slide dimensions
  • Use PowerPoint Designer
  • Format text
  • Format objects
  • Play a presentation (slide show)

With this knowledge under your belt, you’ll be ready to start creating PowerPoint presentations. Moreover, you’ll have taken your skills from beginner to proficient in no time at all. I will also include links to more advanced PowerPoint topics.

Ready to start learning how to make a PowerPoint presentation?

Take your PPT skills to the next level

Start with a blank presentation.

Note: Before you open PowerPoint and start creating your presentation, make sure you’ve collected your thoughts. If you’re going to make your slides compelling, you need to spend some time brainstorming.

For help with this, see our article with tips for nailing your business presentation  here .

The first thing you’ll need to do is to open PowerPoint. When you do, you are shown the Start Menu , with the Home tab open.

This is where you can choose either a blank theme (1) or a pre-built theme (2). You can also choose to open an existing presentation (3).

For now, go ahead and click on the  Blank Presentation (1)  thumbnail.

In the backstage view of PowerPoint you can create a new blank presentation, use a template, or open a recent file

Doing so launches a brand new and blank presentation for you to work with. Before you start adding content to your presentation, let’s first familiarize ourselves with the PowerPoint interface.

The PowerPoint interface

Picture of the different parts of the PowerPoint layout, including the Ribbon, thumbnail view, quick access toolbar, notes pane, etc.

Here is how the program is laid out:

  • The Application Header
  • The Ribbon (including the Ribbon tabs)
  • The Quick Access Toolbar (either above or below the Ribbon)
  • The Slides Pane (slide thumbnails)

The Slide Area

The notes pane.

  • The Status Bar (including the View Buttons)

Each one of these areas has options for viewing certain parts of the PowerPoint environment and formatting your presentation.

Below are the important things to know about certain elements of the PowerPoint interface.

The PowerPoint Ribbon

The PowerPoint Ribbon in the Microsoft Office Suite

The Ribbon is contextual. That means that it will adapt to what you’re doing in the program.

For example, the Font, Paragraph and Drawing options are greyed out until you select something that has text in it, as in the example below (A).

Example of the Shape Format tab in PowerPoint and all of the subsequent commands assoicated with that tab

Furthermore, if you start manipulating certain objects, the Ribbon will display additional tabs, as seen above (B), with more commands and features to help you work with those objects. The following objects have their own additional tabs in the Ribbon which are hidden until you select them:

  • Online Pictures
  • Screenshots
  • Screen Recording

The Slides Pane

The slides pane in PowerPoint is on the left side of your workspace

This is where you can preview and rearrange all the slides in your presentation.

Right-clicking on a slide  in the pane gives you additional options on the slide level that you won’t find on the Ribbon, such as  Duplicate Slide ,  Delete Slide , and  Hide Slide .

Right clicking a PowerPoint slide in the thumbnail view gives you a variety of options like adding new slides, adding sections, changing the layout, etc.

In addition, you can add sections to your presentation by  right-clicking anywhere in this Pane  and selecting  Add Section . Sections are extremely helpful in large presentations, as they allow you to organize your slides into chunks that you can then rearrange, print or display differently from other slides.

Content added to your PowerPoint slides will only display if it's on the slide area, marked here by the letter A

The Slide Area (A) is where you will build out your slides. Anything within the bounds of this area will be visible when you present or print your presentation.

Anything outside of this area (B) will be hidden from view. This means that you can place things here, such as instructions for each slide, without worrying about them being shown to your audience.

The notes pane in PowerPoint is located at the bottom of your screen and is where you can type your speaker notes

The  Notes Pane  is the space beneath the Slide Area where you can type in the speaker notes for each slide. It’s designed as a fast way to add and edit your slides’ talking points.

To expand your knowledge and learn more about adding, printing, and exporting your PowerPoint speaker notes, read our guide here .

Your speaker notes are visible when you print your slides using the Notes Pages option and when you use the Presenter View . To expand your knowledge and learn the ins and outs of using the Presenter View , read our guide here .

You can click and drag to resize the notes pane at the bottom of your PowerPoint screen

You can resize the  Notes Pane  by clicking on its edge and dragging it up or down (A). You can also minimize or reopen it by clicking on the Notes button in the Status Bar (B).

Note:  Not all text formatting displays in the Notes Pane, even though it will show up when printing your speaker notes. To learn more about printing PowerPoint with notes, read our guide here .

Now that you have a basic grasp of the PowerPoint interface at your disposal, it’s time to make your presentation.

Adding Content to Your PowerPoint Presentation

Notice that in the Slide Area , there are two rectangles with dotted outlines. These are called  Placeholders  and they’re set on the template in the Slide Master View .

To expand your knowledge and learn how to create a PowerPoint template of your own (which is no small task), read our guide here .

Click into your content placeholders and start typing text, just as the prompt suggests

As the prompt text suggests, you can click into each placeholder and start typing text. These types of placeholder prompts are customizable too. That means that if you are using a company template, it might say something different, but the functionality is the same.

Example of typing text into a content placeholder in PowerPoint

Note:  For the purposes of this example, I will create a presentation based on the content in the Starbucks 2018 Global Social Impact Report, which is available to the public on their website.

If you type in more text than there is room for, PowerPoint will automatically reduce its font size. You can stop this behavior by clicking on the  Autofit Options  icon to the left of the placeholder and selecting  Stop Fitting Text to this Placeholder .

Next, you can make formatting adjustments to your text by selecting the commands in the Font area and the  Paragraph area  of the  Home  tab of the Ribbon.

Use the formatting options on the Home tab to choose the formatting of your text

The Reset Command:  If you make any changes to your title and decide you want to go back to how it was originally, you can use the Reset button up in the Home tab .

Hitting the reset command on the home tab resets your slide formatting to match your template

Insert More Slides into Your Presentation

Now that you have your title slide filled in, it’s time to add more slides. To do that, simply go up to the  Home tab  and click on  New Slide . This inserts a new slide in your presentation right after the one you were on.

To insert a new slide in PowerPoint, on the home tab click the New Slide command

You can alternatively hit Ctrl+M on your keyboard to insert a new blank slide in PowerPoint. To learn more about this shortcut, see my guide on using Ctrl+M in PowerPoint .

Instead of clicking the New Slide command, you can also open the New Slide dropdown to see all the slide layouts in your PowerPoint template. Depending on who created your template, your layouts in this dropdown can be radically different.

Opening the new slide dropdown you can see all the slide layouts in your PowerPoint template

If you insert a layout and later want to change it to a different layout, you can use the Layout dropdown instead of the New Slide dropdown.

After inserting a few different slide layouts, your presentation might look like the following picture. Don’t worry that it looks blank, next we will start adding content to your presentation.

Example of a number of different blank slide layouts inserting in a PowerPoint presentation

If you want to follow along exactly with me, your five slides should be as follows:

  • Title Slide
  • Title and Content
  • Section Header
  • Two Content
  • Picture with Caption

Adding Content to Your Slides

Now let’s go into each slide and start adding our content. You’ll notice some new types of placeholders.

Use the icons within a content placeholder to insert things like tables, charts, SmartArt, Pictures, etc.

On slide 2 we have a  Content Placeholder , which allows you to add any kind of content. That includes:

  • A SmartArt graphic,
  • A 3D object,
  • A picture from the web,
  • Or an icon.

To insert text, simply type it in or hit  Ctrl+C to Copy  and Ctrl+V to Paste  from elsewhere. To insert any of the other objects, click on the appropriate icon and follow the steps to insert it.

For my example, I’ll simply type in some text as you can see in the picture below.

Example typing bulleted text in a content placeholder in PowerPoint

Slides 3 and 4 only have text placeholders, so I’ll go ahead and add in my text into each one.

Examples of text typed into a divider slide and a title and content slide in PowerPoint

On slide 5 we have a Picture Placeholder . That means that the only elements that can go into it are:

  • A picture from the web

A picture placeholder in PowerPoint can only take an image or an icon

To insert a picture into the picture placeholder, simply:

  • Click on the  Picture  icon
  • Find  a picture on your computer and select it
  • Click on  Insert

Alternatively, if you already have a picture open somewhere else, you can select the placeholder and paste in (shortcut: Ctrl+V ) the picture. You can also drag the picture in from a file explorer window.

To insert a picture into a picture placeholder, click the picture icon, find your picture on your computer and click insert

If you do not like the background of the picture you inserted onto your slide, you can remove the background here in PowerPoint. To see how to do this, read my guide here .

Placeholders aren’t the only way to add content to your slides. At any point, you can use the Insert tab to add elements to your slides.

You can use either the Title Only  or the  Blank  slide layout to create slides for content that’s different. For example, a three-layout content slide, or a single picture divider slide, as shown below.

Example slides using PowerPoint icons and background pictures

In the first example above, I’ve inserted 6 text boxes, 3 icons, and 3 circles to create this layout. In the second example, I’ve inserted a full-sized picture and then 2 shapes and 2 text boxes.

The Reset Command:  Because these slides are built with shapes and text boxes (and not placeholders), hitting the  Reset button up in the  Home tab  won’t do anything.

That is a good thing if you don’t want your layouts to adjust. However, it does mean that it falls on you to make sure everything is aligned and positioned correctly.

For more on how to add and manipulate the different objects in PowerPoint, check out our step-by-step articles here:

  • Using graphics in PowerPoint
  • Inserting icons onto slides
  • Adding pictures to your PowerPoint
  • How to embed a video in PowerPoint
  • How to add music to your presentation

Using Designer to generate more layouts ideas

If you have Office 365, your version of PowerPoint comes with a new feature called Designer (or Design Ideas). This is a feature that generates slide layout ideas for you. The coolest thing about this feature is that it uses the content you already have.

To use Designer , simply navigate to the  Design tab  in your Ribbon, and click on  Design Ideas .

To use Designer on your slides, click the

NOTE: If the PowerPoint Designer is not working for you (it is grey out), see my troubleshooting guide for Designer .

Change the Overall Design (optional)

When you make a PowerPoint presentation, you’ll want to think about the overall design. Now that you have some content in your presentation, you can use the Design tab to change the look and feel of your slides.

For additional help thinking through the design of your presentation,  read my guide here .

A. Picking your PowerPoint slide size

If you have PowerPoint 2013 or later, when you create a blank document in PowerPoint, you automatically start with a widescreen layout with a 16:9 ratio. These dimensions are suitable for most presentations as they match the screens of most computers and projectors.

However, you do have the option to change the dimensions.

For example, your presentation might not be presented, but instead converted into a PDF or printed and distributed. In that case, you can easily switch to the standard dimensions with a 4:3 ratio by selecting from the dropdown (A).

You can also choose a custom slide size or change the slide orientation from landscape to portrait in the Custom Slide Size dialog box (B).

To change your slide size, click the Design tab, open the slide size dropdown and choose a size or custom slide size

To learn all about the different PowerPoint slide sizes, and some of the issues you will face when changing the slide size of a non-blank presentation,  read my guide here .

 B. Selecting a PowerPoint theme

The next thing you can do is change the theme of your presentation to a pre-built one. For a detailed explanation of what a PowerPoint theme is, and how to best use it,  read my article here .

In the beginning of this tutorial, we started with a blank presentation, which uses the default Office theme as you can see in the picture below.

All PowerPoint presentations start with the default Microsoft Office theme

That gives you the most flexibility because it has a blank background and quite simple layouts that work for most presentations. However, it also means that it’s your responsibility to enhance the design.

If you’re comfortable with this, you can stay with the default theme or create your own custom theme ( read my guide here ). But if you would rather not have to think about design, then you can choose a pre-designed theme.

Microsoft provides 46 other pre-built themes, which include slide layouts, color variants and palettes, and fonts. Each one varies quite significantly, so make sure you look through them carefully.

To select a different theme, go to the  Design tab  in the Ribbon, and click on the  dropdown arrow  in the  Themes section .

On the Design tab you will find all of the default PowerPoint templates that come with the Microsoft Office Suite

For this tutorial, let’s select the  Frame  theme and then choose the third Variant in the theme. Doing so changes the layout, colors, and fonts of your presentation.

Example choosing the Frame PowerPoint theme and the third variant of this powerpoint presentation

Note: The theme dropdown area is also where you can import or save custom themes. To see my favorite places to find professional PowerPoint templates and themes (and recommendations for why I like them), read my guide here .

C. How to change a slide background in PowerPoint

The next thing to decide is how you want your background to look for the entire presentation. In the  Variants area, you can see four background options.

To change the background style of your presentation, on the Design tab, find the Background Styles options and choose a style

For this example, we want our presentation to have a dark background, so let’s select Style 3. When you do so, you’ll notice that:

  • The background color automatically changes across all slides
  • The color of the text on most of the slides automatically changes to white so that it’s visible on the dark background
  • The colors of the objects on slides #6 and #7 also adjust, in a way we may not want (we’ll likely have to make some manual adjustments to these slides)

What our PowerPoint presentation looks like now that we have selected a theme, a variant, and a background style

Note: If you want to change the slide background for just that one slide, don’t left-click the style. Instead, right-click it and select Apply to Selected Slides .

After you change the background for your entire presentation, you can easily adjust the background for an individual slide.

You can either right-click a PowerPoint slide and select format background or navigate to the design tab and click the format background command

Inside the Format Background pane, you can see you have the following options:

  • Gradient fill
  • Picture or texture fill
  • Pattern fill
  • Hide background

You can explore these options to find the PowerPoint background that best fits your presentation.

D. How to change your color palette in PowerPoint

Another thing you may want to adjust in your presentation, is the color scheme. In the picture below you can see the Theme Colors we are currently using for this presentation.

Example of the theme colors we are currently using with this presentation

Each PowerPoint theme comes with its own color palette. By default, the Office theme includes the Office color palette. This affects the colors you are presented with when you format any element within your presentation (text, shapes, SmartArt, etc.).

To change the theme color for your presentation, select the Design tab, open the Colors options and choose the colors you want to use

The good news is that the colors here are easy to change. To switch color palettes, simply:

  • Go to the  Design tab in the Ribbon
  • In the Variants area, click on the  dropdown arrow  and select  Colors
  • Select  the color palette (or theme colors) you want

You can choose among the pre-built color palettes from Office, or you can customize them to create your own.

As you build your presentation, make sure you use the colors from your theme to format objects. That way, changing the color palette adjusts all the colors in your presentation automatically.

E. How to change your fonts in PowerPoint

Just as we changed the color palette, you can do the same for the fonts.

Example of custom theme fonts that might come with a powerpoint template

Each PowerPoint theme comes with its own font combination. By default, the Office theme includes the Office font pairing. This affects the fonts that are automatically assigned to all text in your presentation.

To change the default fonts for your presentation, from the design tab, find the fonts dropdown and select the pair of fonts you want to use

The good news is that the font pairings are easy to change. To switch your Theme Fonts, simply:

  • Go to the  Design tab  in the Ribbon
  • Click on the  dropdown arrow  in the  Variants  area
  • Select  Fonts
  • Select  the font pairing you want

You can choose among the pre-built fonts from Office, or you can customize them to create your own.

If you are working with PowerPoint presentations on both Mac and PC computers, make sure you choose a safe PowerPoint font. To see a list of the safest PowerPoint fonts, read our guide here .

If you receive a PowerPoint presentation and the wrong fonts were used, you can use the Replace Fonts dialog box to change the fonts across your entire presentation. For details, read our guide here .

Adding Animations & Transitions (optional)

The final step to make a PowerPoint presentation compelling, is to consider using animations and transitions. These are by no means necessary to a good presentation, but they may be helpful in your situation.

A. Adding PowerPoint animations

PowerPoint has an incredibly robust animations engine designed to power your creativity. That being said, it’s also easy to get started with basic animations.

Animations are movements that you can apply to individual objects on your slide.

To add an animation to an object in PowerPoint, first select the object and then use the Animations tab to select an animation type

To add a PowerPoint animation to an element of your slide, simply:

  • Select the  element
  • Go to the  Animations tab in the Ribbon
  • Click on the  dropdown arrow  to view your options
  • Select the  animation  you want

You can add animations to multiple objects at one time by selecting them all first and then applying the animation.

B. How to preview a PowerPoint animation

There are three ways to preview a PowerPoint animation

There are three ways to preview a PowerPoint animation:

  • Click on the Preview button in the Animations tab
  • Click on the little star  next to the slide
  • Play the slide in Slide Show Mode

To learn other ways to run your slide show, see our guide on presenting a PowerPoint slide show with shortcuts .

To adjust the settings of your animations, explore the options in the  Effect Options ,  Advanced Animation  and the  Timing  areas of the  Animation tab .

The Animations tab allows you to adjust the effects and timings of your animations in PowerPoint

Note:  To see how to make objects appear and disappear in your slides by clicking a button,  read our guide here .

C. How to manage your animations in PowerPoint

You can see the animations applied to your objects by the little numbers in the upper right-hand corner of the objects

The best way to manage lots of animations on your slide is with the Animation Pane . To open it, simply:

  • Navigate to the  Animations tab
  • Select the  Animation Pane

Inside the Animation Pane, you’ll see all of the different animations that have been applied to objects on your slide, with their numbers marked as pictured above.

Note: To see examples of PowerPoint animations that can use in PowerPoint, see our list of PowerPoint animation tutorials here .

D. How to add transitions to your PowerPoint presentation

PowerPoint has an incredibly robust transition engine so that you can dictate how your slides change from one to the other. It is also extremely easy to add transitions to your slides.

In PowerPoint, transitions are the movements (or effects) you see as you move between two slides.

To add a transition to a slide, select the slide, navigate to the transitions tab in PowerPoint and select your transition

To add a transition to a PowerPoint slide, simply:

  • Select the  slide
  • Go to the  Transitions tab in the Ribbon
  • In the Transitions to This Slide area, click on the  dropdown arrow  to view your options
  • Select the  transition  you want

To adjust the settings of the transition, explore the options in the  Timing  area of the Transitions tab.

You can also add the same transition to multiple slides. To do that, select them in the  Slides Pane  and apply the transition.

E. How to preview a transition in PowerPoint

There are three ways to preview a transition in PowerPoint

There are three ways to preview your PowerPoint transitions (just like your animations):

  • Click on the Preview  button in the Transitions tab
  • Click on the little star  beneath the slide number in the thumbnail view

Note:  In 2016, PowerPoint added a cool new transition, called Morph. It operates a bit differently from other transitions. For a detailed tutorial on how to use the cool Morph transition,  see our step-by-step article here .

Save Your PowerPoint Presentation

After you’ve built your presentation and made all the adjustments to your slides, you’ll want to save your presentation. YOu can do this several different ways.

Click the file tab, select Save As, choose where you want to save your presentation and then click save

To save a PowerPoint presentation using your Ribbon, simply:

  • Navigate to the  File tab
  •  Select  Save As  on the left
  • Choose  where you want to save your presentation
  • Name  your presentation and/or adjust your file type settings
  • Click  Save

You can alternatively use the  Ctrl+S keyboard shortcut to save your presentation. I recommend using this shortcut frequently as you build your presentation to make sure you don’t lose any of your work.

The save shortcut is control plus s in PowerPoint

This is the standard way to save a presentation. However, there may be a situation where you want to save your presentation as a different file type.

To learn how to save your presentation as a PDF, see our guide on converting PowerPoint to a PDF .

How to save your PowerPoint presentation as a template

Once you’ve created a presentation that you like, you may want to turn it into a template. The easiest – but not technically correct – way, is to simply create a copy of your current presentation and then change the content.

But be careful! A PowerPoint template is a special type of document and it has its own parameters and behaviors.

If you’re interested in learning about how to create your own PowerPoint template from scratch, see our guide on how to create a PowerPoint template .

Printing Your PowerPoint Presentation

After finishing your PowerPoint presentation, you may want to print it out on paper. Printing your slides is relatively easy.

The print shortcut is control plus P in PowerPoint

To open the Print dialog box, you can either:

  • Hit Ctrl+P on your keyboard
  • Or go to the Ribbon and click on File and then Print

In the Print dialog box, make your selections for how you want to print your PowerPoint presentation, then click print

Inside the Print dialog box, you can choose from the various printing settings:

  • Printer: Select a printer to use (or print to PDF or OneNote)
  • Slides: Choose which slides you want to print
  • Layout: Determine how many slides you want per page (this is where you can print the notes, outline, and handouts)
  • Collated or uncollated (learn what collated printing means here )
  • Color: Choose to print in color, grayscale or black & white

There are many more options for printing your PowerPoint presentations. Here are links to more in-depth articles:

  • How to print multiple slides per page
  • How to print your speaker notes in PowerPoint
  • How to save PowerPoint as a picture presentation

So that’s how to create a PowerPoint presentation if you are brand new to it. We’ve also included a ton of links to helpful resources to boost your PowerPoint skills further.

When you are creating your presentation, it is critical to first focus on the content (what you are trying to say) before getting lost inserting and playing with elements. The clearer you are on what you want to present, the easier it will be to build it out in PowerPoint.

If you enjoyed this article, you can learn more about our PowerPoint training courses and other presentation resources by  visiting us here .

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120 Presentation Topic Ideas Help You Hook Your Audience

Jenny Romanchuk

Updated: January 15, 2024

Published: August 09, 2023

Cooking is easy. The puzzle is figuring out what to eat. As soon as you know that, you can get started. The same holds for presentations. The sooner you can whip up a good, informative, and catchy topic, the easier the rest of the process becomes.

 man presents presentation topics to a group

Pick a good topic that resonates with you and your audience to set a strong foundation. But select the wrong topic, and it becomes difficult to connect with your audience, find mutual interests, or hold their attention.

So, let’s learn how to develop thought-provoking and relevant topics for your presentations. You’ll also find some best practices to make your presentation memorable.

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How to Choose a Great Presentation Topic in 5 Steps

120 presentation topic ideas, 5 presentation tips.

How to Choose a Great Presentation Topic. Be novel. Begin with the end in mind.

4. Choose an appropriate presentation style.

There are many ways to present a topic. Your personality, the topic at hand, and your audience’s personas will help you determine which style would best fit you and your audience.

Select a presentation style that will communicate the main idea clearly and have a lasting impact on your audience.

For instance, explore a freeform style presenter by Sir Ken Robinson.

5. Engage with your audience.

Work on your presentation skills to make a strong connection with your audience, get through to them and leave a mark.

Think of the presenter as the link between the topic and the audience. A strong or a weak presenter can make a difference between a presentation being a thriving success or a boring failure.

Hone your skills by engaging and interacting with your audience. Make them feel like a part of the presentation and not just spectators. 70% of marketers have found presentations with interactive content to be more effective than those without.

Here are a few ways you can make your presentation interactive:

  • Start your speech with uncommon questions to your audience. Involve them from the get-go, like ask to raise their hands if X.
  • Make eye contact to build credibility and show confidence. Don’t stare at your slides or notes. Smile occasionally and talk to the audience directly.
  • Have an active and confident body language. Don’t stand in the same place the entire time. Move around the stage.
  • Don’t be monotonous. Speak as you would to a colleague — with enthusiasm.
  • Ask close-ended questions in between to keep the audience engaged without losing time. Address them using their names to keep things interesting.
  • Share personal experiences and stories that your audience will find fascinating and relatable.
  • Practice thoroughly before you present so you’re fluent with the material and delivery.
  • Energy and excitement can be quite contagious. Make sure you exude enough to spread some to your audience.

Feeling Inspired Yet?

Now you have all the right ingredients for choosing amazing topics and a hundred ideas to drive inspiration from. So, go ahead and start cooking presentations that will blow your audience away.

Don’t forget to choose a super-relevant topic and add meaty information. Do it with excitement to make it enjoyable for you and your audience. Best of luck!

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Make or Do a Presentation?

English Usage , The ICAL TEFL Blog

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I was asked this question the other day by a learner of English; quite simply, do we MAKE or DO a presentation?

If you go online there are different stories, but as usual I went along to Google n-grams and checked out what they had to say.

It’s interesting. Prior to 1960 nobody really did anything with presentations. They didn’t often make, do, or give them. But soon after everyone was desperate to present something!

But check out the results below. In general, people MAKE a presentation or, slightly less often, GIVE a presentation. Whilst some people will DO a presentation, the number is pretty small compared to the other two options.

Since English teaching is all about teaching what people will need to know in order to make themselves understood, I confidently told the questioner that we MAKE a presentation.

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Roberto Lucena

Interesting point, but I would suggest taking a look at google trends as well.

Jenny Scott

I got unexpected results when I just checked there; plus one can narrow it down by country and then things tend to go all over the place! What were your conclusions from Trends?

Glauco Padula

I wouldn’t be so peremptory about it. Check it out:

http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/make-give-do-a-presentation.265531/

Pete West

HI Glauco, the writer based his advice on usage data. So, nothing prescriptive but pure observation of how language is used in the real world. One can hardly argue with hard facts? 😉

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Learning English with Oxford

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

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

give or make presentation

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

Starting your presentation

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

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

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

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

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

Presenting the topic

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

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

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

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

Highlighting information during your talk 

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

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

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

Finalising the talk 

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

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

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

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

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Author: Oxford University Press ELT

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

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

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

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

Valentina T.

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

Clear, cogent & commanding. Thanks.

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

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give or make presentation

Cambridge Dictionary

  • Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Meaning of presentation in English

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presentation noun ( EVENT )

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

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

presentation noun ( APPEARANCE )

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

presentation | American Dictionary

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

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Translations of presentation

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give or make presentation

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give a presentation

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

  • She will give a presentation on the new marketing strategy.
  • He gave a presentation at the conference last week.

Alternatives:

  • deliver a presentation
  • present a presentation
  • offer a presentation
  • provide a presentation
  • conduct a presentation

make a presentation

  • She is making a presentation for the board meeting.
  • He made a presentation on the company's financial performance.
  • prepare a presentation
  • create a presentation
  • develop a presentation
  • construct a presentation
  • put together a presentation

Last updated: March 25, 2024

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More From Forbes

How to make your presentation sound more like a conversation.

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The main difference between strong, confident speakers and speakers who seem nervous in front of the room is in how relaxed and conversational they appear. Here are some basic pointers that will help you create a conversational tone when speaking, regardless of the size of your audience.

1. Avoid using the word, “presentation.” Every time you say, “I’m here to give you a presentation on X,” or, “In this presentation, you’ll see…,” you are emphasizing the formal, structured, sometimes artificial nature of the interaction. No one wants to be “presented” to. Instead, use language that emphasizes a natural, conversational exchange. “We’re here today to talk about X,” or “Today I’ll be sharing some ideas regarding Y.” You can even go so far as to say, “I’m glad we have time together today to discuss Z.” Even if your talk is not going to truly be a dialogue, you can use language that suggests engagement with the audience.

2. If you are using PowerPoint, avoid using the word “slide.” Instead of talking about the medium, talk about the concepts. Swap out, “This slide shows you…,” for, “Here we see….” Instead of saying, “On that slide I showed you a moment ago,” say, “A moment ago we were discussing X. Here’s how that issue will impact Y and Z.” Casual conversations don’t usually involve slide decks. Just because your complicated presentation on tax exposure, supply chain issues, or new health care regulations requires you to use slides, doesn’t mean you have to draw attention to that fact that the setting is formal and structured.

3. For many large-group events, speakers are provided with what’s called a “confidence monitor,” a computer screen that sits on the floor at the speaker’s feet showing the slide that appears on the large screen above the speaker’s head. Avoid using confidence monitors. Our natural inclination when using a confidence monitor is to gesture at the bullet point we’re discussing at the moment. However, we are pointing to a bullet point on the screen at our feet, which the audience can’t see, so it creates a disconnect between us and the audience. Instead, stand to the side of the large screen and gesture at the bullet point you’re talking about so that the audience knows which point you are discussing at the moment.

4. Don’t tell your audience, “I want this to be interactive.” It’s your job to make it interactive. If you are delivering the type of presentation where your audience size allows you to create true engagement with your listeners, create that connecting in stages to “warm up” the audience. Stage One engagement is to ask the audience a question relevant to your topic that you know most of the audience members can respond to affirmatively. “Who here has ever bought a new car?” or, “How many of you have ever waited more than 5 minutes on hold on a customer service line?” Raise your hand as you ask the question to indicate to the audience how to respond. Whoever has raised their hand has now participated in the discussion. They have indicated a willingness to engage. Stage Two engagement is calling on one of the people who raised their hand and asking a specific, perfunctory question. Again, it needs to be a question they can answer easily. If your first questions is, “Who here has bought a new car?” you can then call on someone and ask, “How long ago,” or “What kind of car did you buy most recently?” If your first question was, “Have you ever waited on hold for more than 5 minutes,” you can’t ask, “What company were you calling at the time?” The people who raised their hands weren’t thinking of a specific instance; they were just thinking broadly about that type of experience. You could, however, call on someone and ask, “Do you prefer when they play music or ads for the company’s products?” Anyone can answer that question. At that point, you are in an actual dialogue with that person. Stage Three engagement is asking them a question where they need to reveal something more personal. “How does that make you feel when you hear those ads?” You’ve warmed up your audience and drawn them in with baby steps. Now you have actual, meaningful audience participation.

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5. Use gestures. When we’re speaking in an informal setting, we all use hand gestures; some people use more than others, but we all use them. When we try to rein in our gestures, two things happen that diminish our speaking style. First, we look stiff and unnatural. We look like we are presenting a guarded or cautious version of ourselves; we look less genuine. Second, hand gestures burn up the nervous energy we all have when speaking in front of a large group. That’s good. When we try to minimize our hand gestures, we tie up that nervous energy and it starts to leak out on odd ways, where we start to tap our foot, fidget with our notes or microphone, or tilt our head side to side to emphasize key points. Just let the gestures fly. It’s unlikely they will be too large or distracting. I have coached people on their presentation skills for 26 years. In that time, I have met three people who gestured too much. Everyone else would benefit from using their gestures more freely.

The impact we have as communicators is based on the cumulative effect of many different elements of our delivery. These suggestions alone won’t make you a terrific presenter. They will, however, add to the overall package your present of yourself when speaking to large audiences.

Jay Sullivan

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give or make presentation

Microsoft 365 Life Hacks > Presentations > How to work on a group presentation

How to work on a group presentation

Working in a group can be a great way to tackle complicated tasks or share unique knowledge. When it comes to illustrating your team’s results to an audience, it can be tricky to navigate how to pace your presentation and who gets to speak, among other factors. Check out these tips for how to start a presentation speech, how to conclude a group presentation, and everything in between.

A group of women working on computers at a table

How to do a group presentation

Some people thrive working in groups , while others prefer to tackle projects by themselves. Balancing all these differing personalities is one of the key skills to ensuring that your presentation goes smoothly:

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Tell your story with captivating presentations

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Designate roles and presenting order to team strengths

The clearest way to do set presentation roles, and the order of these roles, is to set them early in the process and based upon the strengths of your group members. Designate roles based on certain skillsets and to keep from duplicating efforts. For example, having one or two people work exclusively on designing your PowerPoint presentation can streamline the process. Depending on how long your presentation is, you can assign everyone on your team three to five slides to discuss.

The importance of practicing

In addition, it helps to rehearse your presentation multiple times to iron out any kinks and build confidence. Practice your presentation together as a group so everyone can be prepared in front of your audience. Here, communication is key, scheduling regular meetings and clearly delegating tasks ensure everyone is on the same page.

How to start a group presentation speech

Just like the rest of your presentation, it helps to have just one person speak at a time. Assign the role of introducer to someone on your team. You can also choose to designate someone as the narrator who can both start the presentation, introduce team members, and finish in the conclusion.

Ensure that they clearly state the purpose of your presentation and provide an overview of what you’ll cover. You can also start with a compelling hook or an intriguing question to grab the audience’s attention. Introduce each member of your group and their roles and expertise to establish credibility and cohesion.

How to conclude a group presentation

At the end of your presentation, it helps to summarize the key points of your presentation and reiterate your main message so that your audience can retain as much information as possible. End with a strong closing statement or call to action to leave a lasting impression on your audience. Thank them for their time and invite further discussion or questions.

Mastering the art of group presentations requires effective collaboration, enough time for preparation, and a confident delivery. Play to your group’s strengths, give everyone plenty of time to speak, and value everyone’s contributions equally. Check out more tips for how to create an effective presentation , how to make group projects go smoother , or how to connect with virtual audiences .

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Copilot tutorial: Create a branded presentation from a file

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39 Best Infographic PowerPoint Presentation Templates for 2024 (Giant List)

Find the best infographic slide templates to use for your PowerPoint presentations, and get some useful tips on how to use them.

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Do you need to add lots of information to create a great infographic template for PowerPoint? Are you wondering how to make an infographic-rich presentation to capture your audience?

Make the first step in the right direction. It begins with getting quality data presentation templates to work with. Don’t worry—we’ve got you covered with some of the best for 2024.

5 Best Infographic PowerPoint Templates (Video Overview)

Here’s a video preview of some of our best infographic presentation templates. Use it for a closer look at top infographic PowerPoints.

For more information on PowerPoint infographic template PPTs, keep reading the article below for some helpful templates and tips.

Best New Infographic PowerPoint Presentation Templates From Envato for 2024

These are some of the best PowerPoint infographic templates trending now on Envato Elements.

1. Infographic PowerPoint PPT Presentation Template

Infographic Powerpoint

This infographic PPT presentation template set has 170 professional slide designs. It also comes with creative PowerPoint infographics. The custom vector icons and visual slide designs are ready for you to edit.

2. PPTx Infographics PowerPoint Slides

PPTx Infographics

This modern PowerPoint graphics presentation template set has beautiful slides. Make the most of creative PPT charts, timelines, and icons. Scale and recolor the vector graphics and customize the slide setup.

3. Tech Multipurpose PowerPoint Presentation Deck

Tech - Multipurpose PowerPoint Presentation

With 100 dynamic slides and handmade PPT infographics, this template is ready to rock. It’s made with Slide Master, which makes customization easy. Change colors, edit graphics, or quickly drag and drop your images with just one click.

If you’ve got a presentation soon, grab a PPT template that has everything you need.

4. Sante Infographic Template PowerPoint

Sante - Powerpoint Template

If you have no time to learn how to make an infographic in PowerPoint, here’s one of the best PPTs to help you turn ideas into persuasive presentations. This creative infographic template for PowerPoint comes with:

  • easy to edit icons
  • slide transition animation
  • company profile slides
  • portfolio slides

5. Eargo Infographic Template PowerPoint

Eargo - Infographics PowerPoint Template

You’ll have all the PowerPoint graphics every startup and business planner needs. Present to investors, key employees, and other stakeholders with confidence thanks to Eargo. This infographic template for PowerPoint comes with:

  • over 250 slides
  • 30 color themes
  • 2000 vector icons
  • light and dark backgrounds

Take your business to the next level with this PowerPoint graphics template.

6. Quantum Education Infographic PPT

Quantum Education Presentation PowerPoint Template

This infographic template for PPT is fun and easy on the eye. It packs 30 unique slides and loads of useful graphics. You’ll get charts, maps, and device mockups in this infographics PowerPoint template.

You can resize and customize every infographic slide.

7. Infonova Infographic PowerPoint Template

Infonova - Infographic PowerPoint Template

The best PowerPoint presentation templates offer you creative control. This option is no exception. You’ll get a host of customizable infographic slide designs with this download.

This infographic template for PowerPoint is ideal for creative agencies and creators. It comes with free web fonts and it’s based on Master Slides. Just drag and drop your images, it’s that simple!

8. Water Infographic in PowerPoint

Water Infographic Presentation PowerPoint

Here’s a leading choice for presentation graphics that works for some topics. It comes with minimal white backgrounds and blue, editable charts and graphs. There are 20 infographic slide designs you can customize to suit your presentation.

This infographic template for PowerPoint also has free fonts and so much more.

9. Gets Travel Infographic Template for PowerPoint

Gets Travel Creative PowerPoint Template

This infographic slide template for PowerPoint is great for travel-related presentations. It features stunning graphics with editable colors.

Each of the 50 unique slides in this creative infographic PPT theme is fully editable. Moreover, it comes in both light and dark backgrounds.

10. Foodism Infographics PowerPoint Template

Foodism Modern PowerPoint Template

Pitching an idea for a new restaurant? This infographic PowerPoint template is your go-to choice. There are many PPT graphics in this download.

Find 35 infographic slide designs inside. This infographic in PowerPoint also includes two versions with light and dark backgrounds. Few free presentation graphics can say the same.

11. 3D Finance Infographic Template PPT

3D Finance Modern PowerPoint Template

Deliver dynamic presentations with these great-looking 3D infographics for PowerPoint. This modern template has many PowerPoint infographic examples for financial pitches. Enjoy 35 unique slides in both dark and light versions.

12. Portfolio Infographic Template for PowerPoint

Portfolio PowerPoint Presentation Template

Use this infographic template for PowerPoint to design your next portfolio. It contains 34 well-made, unique infographic slide options. It also features:

  • 20+ color themes
  • over 4,000 infographics for PowerPoint
  • fully editable elements
  • drag & drop picture placeholders
  • help file and free support service

Play with it and make it your own!

13. Headline PowerPoint Infographic Template

Headline - PowerPoint Presentation Template

This flat infographic style PPT theme is set up for multi-purpose business presentations. Each infographic slide includes over 4,000 customizable icons. Choose from more than 20 color themes with free fonts used.

14. A New Infographics PowerPoint Template

A New - PowerPoint Presentation Template

A New is a great choice if you need an infographic template for PowerPoint. There are over 30 infographic slide designs to put to use. Scroll through the charts and icons, and see what your slideshow needs.

Each of the PowerPoint graphics is customizable and resizable. Instead of free presentation graphics, try out A New.

15. Project Management Infographic PowerPoint Template

Project Management Powerpoint Template

PowerPoint infographic templates like this are designed for project managers. Your audience is sure to appreciate your use of infographic slide designs. This set of PowerPoint graphics offers:

  • editable graphics
  • drag and drop image placeholders
  • a help file

16. Pitch-Deck Infographic Template for PowerPoint

Pitch-Deck  Presentation Template

Infographic slide designs can help bring ideas to life. PowerPoint infographic templates like this are tools to deliver professional pitches. Change the colors to match your brand and use:

  • and so much more!

With a layout based on master slides, this template is easy to edit. You can change the photos by easily drag-and-dropping. Few free presentation graphics for PowerPoint can do that.

17. Business Plan Infographic PowerPoint Template

Business Plan Infographic PowerPoint Template

PowerPoint infographic templates like this help you pitch a business plan. Use this fully customizable, well-organized PPT to show what keeps your team moving. It has loads of features, including:

  • 665+ unique layouts
  • 4,000+ vector icons
  • over 60 premade color themes
  • drag and drop image placeholder
  • smart object layout & texts

Moreover, it’s regularly updated so you can use it many times and for different purposes!

18. Flanify Infographics PowerPoint Template

Flanify - Multipurpose PowerPoint Template

Flanify is one of the best new PowerPoint infographic templates available today. It’s got a minimalist design that helps you emphasize your content. There are three dozen unique slides featuring all types of graphics.

You’ll find charts, device mockups, and other icons. This infographic PPT is based on master slides, so it’s super easy to edit.

19. Kopikoe Foodie Infographic Template PPT

Kopikoe - Foodie Presentation PowerPoint Template

This infographic template for PowerPoint has everything you’ll need for a foodie PPT. Audiences react well to infographics because they make advanced concepts easy to understand. This pack includes 30 infographic slide designs for your next project.

With loads of vector icons, you have virtually unlimited creative options. Unlike some free presentation graphics found online, these are professionally designed.

20. Imperial Multipurpose Infographics for PowerPoint

Health - Education PowerPoint Template

These PowerPoint infographic examples revolve around the health industry. This template includes a full collection of infographics and 30 slides. It features free fronts, a help file, and many other useful tools. You can fully and easily customize every vector icon and image.

21. Juici Foodie Infographic Template PPT

Juici - Foodie Presentation PowerPoint Template

When searching for an infographic template for PowerPoint, aim for high-quality elements. This infographic template PPT gives you that. You’ll also get:

  • 100% resizable and editable icons
  • drag and drop picture placeholders
  • device mockups

If you want a template to pitch about food and drinks, look no further!

22. Inventive Infographic Template for PowerPoint

Inventive - Business PowerPoint Template

Premium tech layouts like this go beyond any free presentation graphics online. This creative infographic template PPT bundle includes 35 infographic slide designs. Customize every icon and use the master slides – which help you make bulk edits across the deck in a flash.

23. Osprey Education Infographic PowerPoint Template

Osprey - Education PowerPoint Template

Get amazing PowerPoint infographics for your creative business presentation. PowerPoint infographic templates like this give you an array of functional icons. With 30 clean master slide-based layouts, easily edit this PPT as much as you’d like.

24. Edulacti Multipurpose Infographic PPT

Edulacti - Multipurpose PowerPoint Template

This is a creative PowerPoint template for multipurpose business presentation or personal use. This PowerPoint includes 30 infographic slide designs and several icons, such as:

  • flow chart infographics

All the included PowerPoint infographic examples are fully editable.

25. Gatzruts Infographics PowerPoint Template

GATZRUTS Presentation Template

This minimalistic PPT theme is ready to use for many types of presentations. It features a ton of creative, clean infographic slide designs. All these business graphics PowerPoint elements are editable.

As it’s based on master slides, it’s easy to quickly adapt to your needs. Try out this premium choice instead of free presentation graphics for PowerPoint.

26. Mental Concept PowerPoint Infographic Templates

Mental Concept - PowerPoint Infographics Slides

Check out these PowerPoint infographic templates to give a powerful mental concept pitch. These are designed by creative pros with you in mind. It’ll stand out from free infographic templates for PowerPoint.

Make sure to use the various features, including:

  • 204 total slides, with 17 unique mental concept slides
  • 12 color variations
  • 280 fully editable vector icons
  • master slides for easy editing

27. Realth Business Infographic PowerPoint Template

Realth - Business Presentation PowerPoint Template

It’s important to make a solid first impression right out of the gate. An infographic template for PPT like Realth helps you do just that. In fact, it’s got 30 multipurpose slides built in.

From these, pick and choose to suit your message. The PowerPoint infographic examples help you present:

  • growth stats
  • pricing packages
  • app layouts
  • team members
  • and so much more

All the graphics are editable, and the used fonts are free.

28. Maps: Set of Infographics for PowerPoint

Maps Infographic Set PowerPoint Template

These PowerPoint infographic templates have a wide variety of clean map designs. Use them to pitch about locations, migration plans, growth stats per region, and so much more. Find 25 unique slides inside, picture placeholders, and over 90 color themes.

29. Puckup Brand Guidelines Infographic PPT

PUCKUP/Brand Guidelines Template

Not sure how to make a branded presentation? Don’t worry, because the PUCKUP infographic template PPT is surprisingly easy to use. All elements are editable with a couple of clicks.

This infographic template for PowerPoint is great for presenting your brand. Easily add your logo, your company’s color palette and typography, and voila! It’s way better than free presentation graphics.

30. Brand Guidelines Infographic PowerPoint Template

Brand Guidelines Presentation Template

Here’s an elegant choice for presenting your brand. Not all infographic PPT options have to be bright in order to be eye-catching. This template is the go-to download for 2024.

This infographic PowerPoint has everything you need to crush your branding proposal:

  • 34 unique slides
  • picture placeholders

Free presentation graphics may fall short for your brand needs. Choose this one instead!

31. Funnel Infographic Template for PowerPoint

Funnel Infographic Kit Powerpoint

Logistics rule the world in 2024. Are you trying to show the strength of your business’s processes? An infographic template PPT like this is a top choice.

Use each of the professional infographic slide designs to explain things like:

  • case studies
  • business and marketing plans

32. Nursing PowerPoint Infographic Template

Nursing Medical PowerPoint Template

This colorful, creative presentation theme showcases your information and crafts a visual story. It’s an impressive tool for presenting medical-related topics. Unlike most free presentation graphics, it has many unique slides and color schemes.

This infographic in PowerPoint offers:

  • light and dark background options
  • editable elements
  • an icons pack file

33. Mental Health PowerPoint Infographic Templates

Mental Health PowerPoint Template

This template has several color scheme options and PowerPoint infographic examples. Present with clarity, show your process and progress, and more.

There are easy-to-customize layout options, in both light and dark backgrounds. It also features tons of icons and picture placeholders.

34. Market Research Infographic PowerPoint Template

Market Research - Power Point template

In need of top PowerPoint presentation graphics for your market research pitch? This one will do. It’s a great pack that includes:

  • 15 unique infographic slide designs
  • drag-and-drop image placeholders
  • easy to change colors
  • shapes and other elements

This doesn’t include the images, but everything else is right there. Try this one instead of free infographic templates for PowerPoint.

35. Hot Pitch Deck Infographic PPT

Pitch - Pitch Deck Smooth Animated Template (PPT)

Next up is this stylish and modern infographic slide design. There are over 100 fully animated slides. Moreover, you’ll find:

  • 2,000+ vector icons
  • 100+ device mockups
  • 50+ theme files
  • and lifetime updates!

Use the master slides to quickly add a personal touch to this infographic template PPT.

36. Environment Infographic PowerPoint Examples

Environment Infographic for Powerpoint

This infographic PowerPoint template comes with everything you need to create an environmental impact presentation. It comes packed with premium features like:

  • 20 education and science slide designs
  • .PPT and PPTX. files
  • Fully editable and easy to use
  • Documentation

37. PowerPoint Infographics Solutions

Infographic Solutions. P1. Powerpoint Template

Work with a PowerPoint infographic template that offers everything you need right out of the box. These infographic PowerPoint examples feature:

  • 50 ready-to-use slides
  • Over 200 icons (PSD+EPS+AI+JPG+PNG+SVG+PPTX Vector)
  • Color themes
  • Objects are organized and grouped

38. ECO Infographic Template for PowerPoint

ECO - PowerPoint Infographics Slides

These infographic PowerPoint examples are great for putting together a sustainability infographic presentation. Use the high-quality illustrations and other great features:

  • 33 unique slides
  • Includes opening and closing slides
  • 11 color variations
  • Simple line vector icons
  • Handmade infographics

39. Infographic PowerPoint Examples

Infographic - Infographic Presentation Powerpoint

No need to learn how to make an infographic in PowerPoint when you have access to this clean PowerPoint infographics template. Take advantage of its amazing features:

  • 80+ unique slides
  • 80+ fully animated infographics
  • Resizable and editable graphics
  • 16:9 widescreen ratio

5 Popular PowerPoint Infographic Slide Design Types

We’ve already established that infographics in PowerPoint are powerful storytelling tools. But let’s go one step further and look at specific examples of the best infographics. We’ll also see how to use them to explain concepts.

1. The Brain Infographic

Some dedicate their whole lives to studying the human mind, and yet there’s always something to learn! The value of a brain infographic is that it’s an intuitive way to show thoughts and ideas and how they connect.

Use an infographic and this tutorial to create a brain graphic that shows the pieces of a thought.

2. The SWOT Infographic

Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats: every business situation has them. You need a way to show them in your presentation. That’s where the classic SWOT infographic makes its impact.

When you lay out all four components, you’re likely to find insight while creating a strategy.

SWOT infographic

3. The Puzzle Piece Infographic

You’re probably familiar with putting together puzzle pieces in the real world. Don’t miss out on using this concept as an infographic! As a PowerPoint visual, puzzle pieces can show how the parts of an idea join into a cohesive whole.

Use this article to see how to use puzzle pieces. The best graphic PPTs often use them to tell a story of how everything fits together.

4. The Gantt Infographic

When you’re running a project, you need a way to show that many tasks are running side-by-side. That’s the purpose of a Gantt chart. It’s a special infographic that’s beloved by the best project managers.

gantt chart inforgraphics

Use our tutorial to see Gantt infographics in action . You’ll learn how to use them to plan a project and the resources you need to succeed.

5. The Funnel Infographic

A funnel is yet another infographic you can leverage in PowerPoint to explain a concept. Funnels show inputs, how they progress, and what they ultimately lead to.

Funnel infographics are common in explaining sales processes. They’re easy to build in PowerPoint with templates. Make sure to check out our tutorial on how you can use PowerPoint funnel infographics .

How to Customize an Infographic PowerPoint Template (Fast!)

So far, we’ve looked at powerful PowerPoint infographic templates. But you might be wondering how to use them to design infographic slides of your own.

Let’s learn how to customize three separate slides to build excellent infographics. We’ll use the PPTx Infographics template to rapidly build our infographic slides.

Let’s look at five example slides. These show how easy it is to customize a PowerPoint infographic:

1. Performance Gears

performance gear infographic

The best PowerPoint templates include abstract designs to build infographics for PPT. Use a little imagination, and there it is! These infographic PowerPoint slides might be perfect for expressing your idea.

Take this turning gear icon slide. In the updated version below, I’ve shifted the elements to show how teams at my company work together.

Simple drag-and-drop actions and grabbing icons from other slides brought this slide to life. Then, I updated the text to match my intent in this infographic template for PowerPoint.

continuous improvement slide

2. Hierarchy Charts

hierarchy chart

If you work in a corporate environment, I’m certain that you’ve seen org charts before. These exist to show off the company’s reporting structure.

In this case, it’s as simple as typing in the placeholder boxes to update the names and titles. I’ve also added a photo in my example to really “put a face with a name” in my organization. This chart uses SmartArt, a built-in PowerPoint feature that’ll adjust the graphic as you adjust the text.

team slide

Learn more about SmartArt PPT infographics .

3. Brain Infographic

brain infographic

Brain charts are infographics that you’ll find in the best PowerPoint templates. They can show how you divide your thinking and showcase the “parts of the whole” that make up your strategy.

In the example below, I’ve left the same basic structure intact. I just updated the descriptions and some of the colors and icons. It’s a simple tweak that shows what my creative agency spends its time on.

core competencies

Brain infographics are very popular, so we created a resource to teach you how to customize them. Check out our screencast to learn more.

4. Sales Report

sales report slide

PowerPoint infographic templates help you tell stories with your data. Slide 15 in our template is a great choice for creating a data-focused slide.

To edit a PowerPoint chart, edit the data that feeds it. Right-click on the chart and choose Edit Data. You’ll see an embedded version of Excel, Microsoft’s data powerhouse. Just type over the data placeholders, and your chart will update in real time.

sales trends slide

Learn more about working with data in this PowerPoint tutorial .

5. The Conclusion Slide

thanks for watching slide

It’s a mistake to think that the last slide is the end of your presentation. Instead, it helps to see it as the start of a conversation with your audience.

You know what’s the best part of PowerPoint infographic templates? Yes, that they include other useful slides. Slide 50, the conclusion slide, is perfect for every presentation. That’s because it can help you continue the conversation by sharing your details.

To update this slide, type over the placeholders. That adapts the slide to your brand-specific details.

get in touch slide

For even more ideas and to learn how to create a conclusion side, don’t miss out on our tutorial .

Common PowerPoint Template Questions Answered (FAQ)

You’ve already seen infographic templates for PowerPoint. But you might still have questions about how to use PowerPoint to your advantage.

PowerPoint is an advanced app. It’s easy to use, but there are many professional-grade features. Let’s look at five common questions you might have as you level up your presentation skills:

1. Does PowerPoint Support Custom Fonts?

Every graphic designer is trying to gain an audience’s attention when presenting. It helps to use custom design options in PowerPoint. That sets the presentation apart from those who only use the built-in, standard fonts.

Try out custom fonts with the help of this tutorial .

2. What Size Should I Choose for My Infographic Slide?

The goal for your PowerPoint presentation is to use the full-screen space. You’ve got to set your infographic template PPT to the proper dimensions. Don’t waste any pixels!

Using pre-built PowerPoint infographic templates gives you several size options.

3. How Much Does PowerPoint Cost?

Microsoft has pivoted its business models in recent years. Once upon a time, businesses and power users would buy a license for the latest version of the app every few years. Now, it’s all about subscriptions.

Many users choose Office 365, a monthly subscription package to keep apps up to date. Another option is the free, browser-based version of the app.

4. Can You Create PowerPoint Infographics From Scratch?

Infographic templates for PowerPoint are perfect for creating interactive visuals. But you can also create PowerPoint graphics with the help of a feature called SmartArt.

5. What’s the Best Way to Present Data in PowerPoint?

Presentation graphics can include data. It’s far better to use a chart than to show data in a table or a wall of numbers that are hard to interpret. With the help of presentation graphics and charts, it’s much easier to explain trends and data.

Grab a Fresh PowerPoint Template With Great Infographic Slide Designs

Any of the best PowerPoint presentation templates from Envato Elements will help make your points clear. Choose the best format for your info. Put together just the right PowerPoint infographic slides that tell your compelling story.

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Trump Amplifies Calls to Jail Top Elected Officials, Invokes Military Tribunals

A post that Mr. Trump circulated on Sunday called for Liz Cheney to be prosecuted by a military court reserved for enemy combatants and war criminals.

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Liz Cheney sitting at a graduation ceremony while wearing academic regalia.

By Chris Cameron

Former President Donald J. Trump over the weekend escalated his vows to prosecute his political opponents , circulating posts on his social media website invoking “televised military tribunals” and calling for the jailing of President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Senators Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer and former Vice President Mike Pence, among other high-profile politicians.

Mr. Trump, using his account on Truth Social on Sunday, promoted two posts from other users of the site that called for the jailing of his perceived political enemies.

One post that he circulated on Sunday singled out Liz Cheney, the former Wyoming congresswoman who is a Republican critic of Mr. Trump’s, and called for her to be prosecuted by a type of military court reserved for enemy combatants and war criminals.

“Elizabeth Lynne Cheney is guilty of treason,” the post said. “Retruth if you want televised military tribunals.”

A separate post included photos of 15 former and current elected officials that said, in all-capital letters, “they should be going to jail on Monday not Steve Bannon! ” Those officials included Mr. Biden, Ms. Harris, Mr. Pence, Mr. Schumer and Mr. McConnell — the top leaders in the Senate — and Representative Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker.

The list in the second post also had members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, including Ms. Cheney and the former Illinois congressman Adam Kinzinger, another Republican, and the Democratic Representatives Adam Schiff, Jamie Raskin, Pete Aguilar, Zoe Lofgren and Bennie Thompson, who chaired the committee.

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When is Joe Biden's ABC interview? How to watch president's sitdown with George Stephanopoulos

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President Joe Biden's first television interview following the presidential debate will air Friday, as some call for him to step down as the Democratic candidate for president.

Biden will sit down with "Good Morning America" and "This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos in Wisconsin on Friday for the interview, ABC News confirmed.

Biden has come under recent criticism and is facing pressure from Democrats following his disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump . His team previously attributed his raspy voice to a cold, but on Tuesday he blamed jet lag from recent travels overseas for his poor performance on stage.

Here's how to watch Biden's interview with ABC News.

New poll: Michelle Obama would beat Donald Trump in 2024

When is Biden's interview with ABC News? How to watch

Biden will sit down with Stephanopoulos for an interview that will air across ABC News platforms on Friday, July 5 at 8 p.m. EDT/7 p.m. CDT, the news outlet confirmed.

"A transcript of the unedited interview will be made available the same day, Friday, July 5," a press release from ABC News states.

A first look at the interview is scheduled to air on the Friday edition of "World News Tonight with David Muir," which begins at 6:30 p.m. EDT/5:30 p.m. CDT.

The interview is scheduled to air again Sunday on "This Week," which is hosted by Stephanopoulos, and showtimes vary by local listings.

Who is George Stephanopoulos?

George Stephanopoulos is the current anchor of the ABC News programs " Good Morning America " and "This Week."

He is a former Democratic Party advisor and served as the White House communications director and later a senior advisor for President Bill Clinton.

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    Presentation skills are the abilities and qualities necessary for creating and delivering a compelling presentation that effectively communicates information and ideas. They encompass what you say, how you structure it, and the materials you include to support what you say, such as slides, videos, or images. You'll make presentations at various ...

  15. 10 Tips for Giving a Great Presentation to an Audience

    Follow these tips to help you create a presentation that will engage your audience: 1. Keep your presentation simple. When putting your presentation together, remember that simpler is better. Many presenters follow the "10-20-30" rule, which is to use 10 or fewer slides, keep your presentation under 20 minutes and use at least 30-point font.

  16. Vocabulary and Phrases for Making Presentations in English

    Phrases for introducing visuals. It's important to introduce your visual to the audience. You can use the following phrases: "This graph shows you…". "Take a look at this…". "If you look at this, you will see…". "I'd like you to look at this…". "This chart illustrates the figures…". "This graph gives you a ...

  17. How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation (Step-by-Step)

    To do that, simply go up to the Home tab and click on New Slide. This inserts a new slide in your presentation right after the one you were on. You can alternatively hit Ctrl+M on your keyboard to insert a new blank slide in PowerPoint. To learn more about this shortcut, see my guide on using Ctrl+M in PowerPoint.

  18. italki

    It means 'deliver', with the emphasis on the fact that you are presenting something to an audience. September 7, 2015. 1. 1. 'Make a presentation' is correct, although you will hear 'do a presentation'. September 7, 2015. 1. 1. I would say both are acceptable as Su.Ki has stated.

  19. 120 Presentation Topic Ideas Help You Hook Your Audience

    Step 3: Be novel. Make sure you either select a new topic or bring an entirely new and unique perspective to an already covered issue. For instance, don't make a presentation on the "best lead generation strategies.". Your audience has probably heard those dozens of times already. Corny.

  20. Make or Do a Presentation? • ICAL TEFL

    But check out the results below. In general, people MAKE a presentation or, slightly less often, GIVE a presentation. Whilst some people will DO a presentation, the number is pretty small compared to the other two options. Since English teaching is all about teaching what people will need to know in order to make themselves understood, I ...

  21. Useful phrases for giving a presentation in English

    Highlighting information during your talk. When you are giving a presentation in English, you might want to highlight a particular piece of information or something that's important. You can use phrases such as 'Let's focus on …', 'I want to highlight …', 'Pay attention to …', 'Let's look at …', 'I want to ...

  22. PRESENTATION

    PRESENTATION definition: 1. a talk giving information about something: 2. an occasion when prizes, qualifications, etc. are…. Learn more.

  23. give a presentation or make a presentation?

    make a presentation. This phrase is correct and commonly used in English. Both 'give a presentation' and 'make a presentation' are commonly used phrases in English. They are interchangeable and can be used depending on personal preference or regional variations. There is no significant difference in meaning between the two phrases.

  24. How To Make Your Presentation Sound More Like A Conversation

    1. Avoid using the word, "presentation." Every time you say, "I'm here to give you a presentation on X," or, "In this presentation, you'll see…," you are emphasizing the formal ...

  25. How to work on a group presentation

    How to conclude a group presentation. At the end of your presentation, it helps to summarize the key points of your presentation and reiterate your main message so that your audience can retain as much information as possible. End with a strong closing statement or call to action to leave a lasting impression on your audience.

  26. Copilot tutorial: Create a branded presentation from a file

    See how Copilot in PowerPoint effortlessly transforms templates, files, or PDFs into sleek, branded presentations, intuitively incorporating insightful speaker notes. Try in PowerPoint. See more videos. Kickstart a presentation ... give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge. Ask the Microsoft Community. Microsoft Tech Community.

  27. 39 Best Infographic PowerPoint Presentation Templates for 2024 (Giant List)

    Get amazing PowerPoint infographics for your creative business presentation. PowerPoint infographic templates like this give you an array of functional icons. With 30 clean master slide-based layouts, easily edit this PPT as much as you'd like.

  28. What we know about the 4 House Democrats calling for Biden to drop out

    U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., became the fifth House Democrat to call for President Joe Biden to exit the 2024 race Saturday, joining Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggett, Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton ...

  29. Trump Amplifies Calls to Jail Top Elected Officials, Invokes Military

    A separate post included photos of 15 former and current elected officials that said, in all-capital letters, "they should be going to jail on Monday not Steve Bannon! " Those officials ...

  30. Biden interview with ABC's Stephanopoulos: Date, time, where to watch

    "A transcript of the unedited interview will be made available the same day, Friday, July 5," a press release from ABC News states. A first look at the interview is scheduled to air on the Friday ...