the presentation will take place

Sentence examples for presentation will take place from inspiring English sources

Login and get your AI feedback from Ludwig. Login and get your AI feedback from Ludwig.

Is your sentence correct in English?

Login and get your AI feedback from Ludwig.

The presentation will take place in the YCBA Lecture Hall.

The presentation will take place at a meeting of the American Physical Society in Boston.

"The medical, signing of his contract for the next five years and presentation will take place on Monday".

The hourlong slide presentation will take place at the Glebe House in Woodbury, where the Gertrude Jekyll Garden, installed by her in 1927, is maintained.

12/02/02 - The final presentation will take place in 34-101 on Friday, Dec. 6th 2002, starting at 7 15pm, and will be open to public.

Dr. Meyer's lecture and the medal presentation will take place on Tuesday, December 11th from 3 15-4 00pm during the ASCB|EMBO Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA (Dec 8-12 , 2018.

The presentation will take place in the auditorium of The Magnes, where high-resolution images of select collection items in the Auditorium of The Magnes present the public with an unprecedented insight in the many worlds of Arthur Szyk.

Write in English at your best, with Ludwig

Used by millions of students, scientific researchers, professional translators and editors from all over the world.

Be a smart writer

Most frequent sentences:, write in english at your best with ludwig.

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

What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

• Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

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

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

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

Partner Center

Learn to Captivate: The Ultimate Guide to Creating a Successful Presentation

Learn how to captivate your audience and deliver a powerful presentation with our ultimate guide.

A successful presentation has the power to inspire and motivate your audience. Whether you're presenting in a boardroom, at a conference, or in a classroom, your goal should be to captivate your audience and leave a lasting impression. In this guide, we will explore various strategies and techniques that will help you create a presentation that not only grabs attention but also delivers your message effectively.

1. Lead with Purpose: Inspire and Motivate Your Audience

Every successful presentation starts with a clear purpose. Before diving into the design and content creation, take the time to define your objective. What do you want your audience to take away from your presentation? Are you trying to educate, persuade, or entertain? Having a clear purpose will guide your entire presentation and ensure that your message resonates with your audience.

When crafting your presentation, consider using storytelling techniques to engage your audience emotionally. Stories have a unique power to connect with people on a personal level, making your message more memorable and impactful.

Imagine you're giving a presentation to a group of aspiring entrepreneurs. Your purpose is to inspire and motivate them to pursue their dreams and overcome challenges. You want them to leave the room feeling empowered and ready to take action. To achieve this, you decide to share a personal story of your own entrepreneurial journey.

You start by describing the initial struggles you faced when starting your own business. You talk about the sleepless nights, the doubts, and the fear of failure. As you share these challenges, you can see the audience nodding in understanding. They can relate to the obstacles you faced because they have experienced similar doubts and fears themselves.

Then, you transition into the turning point of your story. You talk about the moment when you decided to push through the challenges and pursue your dreams with unwavering determination. You describe how you sought guidance from mentors, invested in personal development, and took calculated risks. The audience listens intently, captivated by your journey.

As you continue, you share the successes and failures you encountered along the way. You highlight the lessons you learned from each experience and how they shaped you into the person you are today. The audience is inspired by your resilience and the valuable insights you gained from your journey.

Finally, you conclude your story by emphasizing the importance of perseverance, passion, and a clear purpose. You encourage the audience to embrace their own dreams and face their challenges head-on. You remind them that success is not always easy, but it is worth the effort.

By incorporating storytelling techniques into your presentation, you have successfully connected with your audience on an emotional level. They have witnessed your journey, felt your struggles, and experienced your triumphs. Your purpose of inspiring and motivating them has been achieved.

2. The Power of Storytelling: Engage and Connect with Your Audience

Storytelling is a powerful tool that can help you captivate and connect with your audience. Instead of bombarding them with facts and figures, craft a narrative that engages their emotions and draws them into your presentation. Start with a hook that grabs their attention and sets the stage for your story. Use vivid and descriptive language to paint a picture in their minds and elicit an emotional response.

Imagine standing in front of a room full of people, all waiting to hear what you have to say. You have a message that you believe in, but how do you make sure it resonates with your audience? This is where storytelling comes in. By weaving a compelling narrative, you can create a sense of connection and understanding that goes beyond mere information sharing.

Think about some of the most memorable presentations you've seen. Chances are, they included stories that made you laugh, cry, or think deeply. These stories have a way of sticking with us long after the presentation is over, because they tap into something universal - our shared human experience.

Throughout your presentation, incorporate personal anecdotes or case studies that support your main points. These stories will add depth and authenticity to your message, making it more relatable and memorable. For example, if you're giving a presentation on the importance of teamwork, you could share a personal story about a time when collaboration led to a breakthrough moment in your own life or career.

By sharing these stories, you not only engage your audience on an emotional level, but you also provide them with real-life examples that illustrate the concepts you're discussing. This helps to solidify their understanding and make your message more tangible.

Furthermore, storytelling has the power to create a sense of empathy and connection between you and your audience. When you share a personal story, you open up a window into your own experiences and vulnerabilities. This vulnerability can be incredibly powerful, as it allows your audience to see you as a relatable human being, rather than just a speaker on a stage.

As you craft your stories, remember to use vivid and descriptive language that paints a picture in your audience's minds. This will help them to visualize the events and emotions you're describing, making the story more engaging and memorable.

So, the next time you're preparing a presentation, consider incorporating the power of storytelling. By sharing personal anecdotes or case studies, you can engage your audience on an emotional level, make your message more relatable, and create a lasting impact. Remember, facts and figures may be forgotten, but a well-told story will be remembered long after the presentation is over.

3. Crafting Compelling Headlines: Grab Attention and Provide Details

One of the most effective ways to grab your audience's attention is through compelling headlines. Your presentation's title and main section headings should be clear, concise, and intriguing. They should give your audience a preview of what's to come and entice them to keep listening.

As you dive into each section of your presentation, make sure to provide supporting details and examples. Don't assume that your audience will connect the dots on their own. Instead, guide them through your thought process and help them understand the significance of the information you're presenting.

4. Visuals that Speak Louder: Enhance Your Message with Eye-Catching Graphics

While words are important, visuals can make a significant impact on your audience. Incorporating eye-catching graphics, such as charts, graphs, and images, can enhance your message and help your audience understand complex information more easily.

When choosing visuals, make sure they align with your message and reinforce your main points. Avoid cluttering your slides with excessive text or irrelevant visuals. Instead, opt for clean, simple designs that highlight your key ideas.

5. Beyond Bullet Points: Engaging Alternatives for Presenting Information

Traditional bullet-point slides can quickly become monotonous and boring. To keep your audience engaged, consider using alternatives that can present information in a more visually appealing and interactive way.

One option is to use infographics, which condense complex information into easy-to-understand visuals. Infographics can help your audience grasp key concepts quickly and make a lasting impression.

Another engaging option is to incorporate video or audio clips into your presentation. These multimedia elements can add variety and captivate your audience's attention.

6. Data that Tells a Story: Captivating Charts and Infographics

Data can be a powerful tool for supporting your key points and providing evidence. However, presenting raw data can be overwhelming for your audience. Instead, focus on telling a story with your data.

Transform your data into captivating charts, graphs, or infographics that highlight the main trends and insights. Use colors, labels, and annotations to guide your audience's interpretation and help them understand the significance of the data.

7. Guiding Your Audience: Providing Clear Direction and Structure

A well-organized presentation is essential for keeping your audience engaged and focused. Provide a clear outline or agenda at the beginning of your presentation to set expectations and guide your audience through the content.

Within each section of your presentation, use transition statements or signposts to signal to your audience what's coming next. This will help them follow along and stay engaged throughout your talk.

8. Understanding Your Audience: Preparing for a Successful Presentation

Before delivering your presentation, take the time to understand your audience. What are their needs, interests, and knowledge levels? Tailoring your content to their preferences and background will make your presentation more relevant and engaging.

You can gather insights about your audience through pre-presentation surveys, interviews, or by simply engaging them in conversation before your talk. Use this information to shape your message and select examples that resonate with them.

9. Format Matters: Tailoring Your Presentation to the Delivery Method

The format and delivery method of your presentation can significantly impact its effectiveness. Consider the setting in which your presentation will take place and adapt your approach accordingly.

If you're presenting in a large auditorium, you may need to use visual aids and project your voice to reach the entire audience. On the other hand, if you're presenting in a small conference room, you can create a more intimate atmosphere and engage in a more conversational style.

Also, consider the timing of your presentation. If you have limited time, prioritize your main points and be concise. If you have more time, you can dive deeper into the details and engage in interactive discussions.

10. The Power of Pause: Utilizing Breaks for Impactful Presentations

Pausing strategically can have a powerful impact on your presentation. Use pauses to emphasize key points, allow your audience to absorb information, or create dramatic moments.

Pausing also gives you a chance to collect your thoughts and regain control if you stumble or lose track. Embrace the silence and use it to your advantage.

11. Call to Action: Inspiring Action and Providing Next Steps

A successful presentation should inspire your audience to take action. Whether it's implementing a new strategy, adopting a different mindset, or seeking further information, make sure to include a clear call to action at the end of your presentation.

Provide next steps or resources that your audience can follow to continue their journey after your presentation. This will help them stay engaged and reinforce the impact of your message.

Remember, creating a successful presentation takes time, effort, and careful planning. By following the strategies and techniques outlined in this guide, you can inspire and motivate your audience and deliver a presentation that truly stands out.

Disruptive Partners OÜ Harju maakond, Tallinn, Kesklinna linnaosa, Tornimäe tn 3 / 5 / 7, 10145

PitchBob, Inc 2261 Market Street #10281 San Francisco, CA 94114

Improve your practice.

Enhance your soft skills with a range of award-winning courses.

How to Structure your Presentation, with Examples

August 3, 2018 - Dom Barnard

For many people the thought of delivering a presentation is a daunting task and brings about a  great deal of nerves . However, if you take some time to understand how effective presentations are structured and then apply this structure to your own presentation, you’ll appear much more confident and relaxed.

Here is our complete guide for structuring your presentation, with examples at the end of the article to demonstrate these points.

Why is structuring a presentation so important?

If you’ve ever sat through a great presentation, you’ll have left feeling either inspired or informed on a given topic. This isn’t because the speaker was the most knowledgeable or motivating person in the world. Instead, it’s because they know how to structure presentations – they have crafted their message in a logical and simple way that has allowed the audience can keep up with them and take away key messages.

Research has supported this, with studies showing that audiences retain structured information  40% more accurately  than unstructured information.

In fact, not only is structuring a presentation important for the benefit of the audience’s understanding, it’s also important for you as the speaker. A good structure helps you remain calm, stay on topic, and avoid any awkward silences.

What will affect your presentation structure?

Generally speaking, there is a natural flow that any decent presentation will follow which we will go into shortly. However, you should be aware that all presentation structures will be different in their own unique way and this will be due to a number of factors, including:

• Whether you need to deliver any demonstrations
• How  knowledgeable the audience  already is on the given subject
• How much interaction you want from the audience
• Any time constraints there are for your talk
• What setting you are in
• Your ability to use any kinds of visual assistance

Before choosing the presentation’s structure answer these questions first:

• What is your presentation’s aim?
• Who are the audience?
• What are the main points your audience should remember afterwards?

When reading the points below, think critically about what things may cause your presentation structure to be slightly different. You can add in certain elements and add more focus to certain moments if that works better for your speech.

What is the typical presentation structure?

This is the usual flow of a presentation, which covers all the vital sections and is a good starting point for yours. It allows your audience to easily follow along and sets out a solid structure you can add your content to.

1. Greet the audience and introduce yourself

Before you start delivering your talk, introduce yourself to the audience and clarify who you are and your relevant expertise. This does not need to be long or incredibly detailed, but will help build an immediate relationship between you and the audience. It gives you the chance to briefly clarify your expertise and why you are worth listening to. This will help establish your ethos so the audience will trust you more and think you’re credible.

Read our tips on  How to Start a Presentation Effectively

2. Introduction

In the introduction you need to explain the subject and purpose of your presentation whilst gaining the audience’s interest and confidence. It’s sometimes helpful to think of your introduction as funnel-shaped to help filter down your topic:

• Introduce your general topic
• Explain your topic area
• State the issues/challenges in this area you will be exploring
• State your presentation’s purpose – this is the basis of your presentation so ensure that you provide a statement explaining how the topic will be treated, for example, “I will argue that…” or maybe you will “compare”, “analyse”, “evaluate”, “describe” etc.
• Provide a statement of what you’re hoping the outcome of the presentation will be, for example, “I’m hoping this will be provide you with…”
• Show a preview of the organisation of your presentation

In this section also explain:

• The length of the talk.
• Signal whether you want audience interaction – some presenters prefer the audience to ask questions throughout whereas others allocate a specific section for this.
• If it applies, inform the audience whether to take notes or whether you will be providing handouts.

The way you structure your introduction can depend on the amount of time you have been given to present: a  sales pitch  may consist of a quick presentation so you may begin with your conclusion and then provide the evidence. Conversely, a speaker presenting their idea for change in the world would be better suited to start with the evidence and then conclude what this means for the audience.

Keep in mind that the main aim of the introduction is to grab the audience’s attention and connect with them.

3. The main body of your talk

The main body of your talk needs to meet the promises you made in the introduction. Depending on the nature of your presentation, clearly segment the different topics you will be discussing, and then work your way through them one at a time – it’s important for everything to be organised logically for the audience to fully understand. There are many different ways to organise your main points, such as, by priority, theme, chronologically etc.

• Main points should be addressed one by one with supporting evidence and examples.
• Before moving on to the next point you should provide a mini-summary.
• Links should be clearly stated between ideas and you must make it clear when you’re moving onto the next point.
• Allow time for people to take relevant notes and stick to the topics you have prepared beforehand rather than straying too far off topic.

When planning your presentation write a list of main points you want to make and ask yourself “What I am telling the audience? What should they understand from this?” refining your answers this way will help you produce clear messages.

4. Conclusion

In presentations the conclusion is frequently underdeveloped and lacks purpose which is a shame as it’s the best place to reinforce your messages. Typically, your presentation has a specific goal – that could be to convert a number of the audience members into customers, lead to a certain number of enquiries to make people knowledgeable on specific key points, or to motivate them towards a shared goal.

Regardless of what that goal is, be sure to summarise your main points and their implications. This clarifies the overall purpose of your talk and reinforces your reason for being there.

Follow these steps:

• Signal that it’s nearly the end of your presentation, for example, “As we wrap up/as we wind down the talk…”
• Restate the topic and purpose of your presentation – “In this speech I wanted to compare…”
• Summarise the main points, including their implications and conclusions
• Indicate what is next/a call to action/a thought-provoking takeaway
• Move on to the last section

5. Thank the audience and invite questions

Conclude your talk by thanking the audience for their time and invite them to  ask any questions  they may have. As mentioned earlier, personal circumstances will affect the structure of your presentation.

Many presenters prefer to make the Q&A session the key part of their talk and try to speed through the main body of the presentation. This is totally fine, but it is still best to focus on delivering some sort of initial presentation to set the tone and topics for discussion in the Q&A.

Other common presentation structures

The above was a description of a basic presentation, here are some more specific presentation layouts:

Demonstration

Use the demonstration structure when you have something useful to show. This is usually used when you want to show how a product works. Steve Jobs frequently used this technique in his presentations.

• Explain why the product is valuable.
• Describe why the product is necessary.
• Explain what problems it can solve for the audience.
• Demonstrate the product  to support what you’ve been saying.
• Make suggestions of other things it can do to make the audience curious.

Problem-solution

This structure is particularly useful in persuading the audience.

• Briefly frame the issue.
• Go into the issue in detail showing why it ‘s such a problem. Use logos and pathos for this – the logical and emotional appeals.
• Provide the solution and explain why this would also help the audience.
• Call to action – something you want the audience to do which is straightforward and pertinent to the solution.

Storytelling

As well as incorporating  stories in your presentation , you can organise your whole presentation as a story. There are lots of different type of story structures you can use – a popular choice is the monomyth – the hero’s journey. In a monomyth, a hero goes on a difficult journey or takes on a challenge – they move from the familiar into the unknown. After facing obstacles and ultimately succeeding the hero returns home, transformed and with newfound wisdom.

Storytelling for Business Success  webinar , where well-know storyteller Javier Bernad shares strategies for crafting compelling narratives.

Another popular choice for using a story to structure your presentation is in media ras (in the middle of thing). In this type of story you launch right into the action by providing a snippet/teaser of what’s happening and then you start explaining the events that led to that event. This is engaging because you’re starting your story at the most exciting part which will make the audience curious – they’ll want to know how you got there.

• Great storytelling: Examples from Alibaba Founder, Jack Ma

Remaining method

The remaining method structure is good for situations where you’re presenting your perspective on a controversial topic which has split people’s opinions.

• Go into the issue in detail showing why it’s such a problem – use logos and pathos.
• Rebut your opponents’ solutions  – explain why their solutions could be useful because the audience will see this as fair and will therefore think you’re trustworthy, and then explain why you think these solutions are not valid.
• After you’ve presented all the alternatives provide your solution, the remaining solution. This is very persuasive because it looks like the winning idea, especially with the audience believing that you’re fair and trustworthy.

Transitions

When delivering presentations it’s important for your words and ideas to flow so your audience can understand how everything links together and why it’s all relevant. This can be done  using speech transitions  which are words and phrases that allow you to smoothly move from one point to another so that your speech flows and your presentation is unified.

Transitions can be one word, a phrase or a full sentence – there are many different forms, here are some examples:

Moving from the introduction to the first point

Signify to the audience that you will now begin discussing the first main point:

• Now that you’re aware of the overview, let’s begin with…
• First, let’s begin with…
• I will first cover…
• My first point covers…
• To get started, let’s look at…

Shifting between similar points

Move from one point to a similar one:

• In the same way…
• Likewise…
• Equally…
• This is similar to…
• Similarly…

Internal summaries

Internal summarising consists of summarising before moving on to the next point. You must inform the audience:

• What part of the presentation you covered – “In the first part of this speech we’ve covered…”
• What the key points were – “Precisely how…”
• How this links in with the overall presentation – “So that’s the context…”
• What you’re moving on to – “Now I’d like to move on to the second part of presentation which looks at…”

Physical movement

You can move your body and your standing location when you transition to another point. The audience find it easier to follow your presentation and movement will increase their interest.

A common technique for incorporating movement into your presentation is to:

• Start your introduction by standing in the centre of the stage.
• For your first point you stand on the left side of the stage.
• You discuss your second point from the centre again.
• You stand on the right side of the stage for your third point.
• The conclusion occurs in the centre.

Key slides for your presentation

Slides are a useful tool for most presentations: they can greatly assist in the delivery of your message and help the audience follow along with what you are saying. Key slides include:

• An intro slide outlining your ideas
• A  summary slide  with core points to remember
• High quality image slides to supplement what you are saying

There are some presenters who choose not to use slides at all, though this is more of a rarity. Slides can be a powerful tool if used properly, but the problem is that many fail to do just that. Here are some golden rules to follow when using slides in a presentation:

• Don’t over fill them  – your slides are there to assist your speech, rather than be the focal point. They should have as little information as possible, to avoid distracting people from your talk.
• A picture says a thousand words  – instead of filling a slide with text, instead, focus on one or two images or diagrams to help support and explain the point you are discussing at that time.
• Make them readable  – depending on the size of your audience, some may not be able to see small text or images, so make everything large enough to fill the space.
• Don’t rush through slides  – give the audience enough time to digest each slide.

Guy Kawasaki, an entrepreneur and author, suggests that slideshows should follow a  10-20-30 rule :

• There should be a maximum of 10 slides – people rarely remember more than one concept afterwards so there’s no point overwhelming them with unnecessary information.
• The presentation should last no longer than 20 minutes as this will leave time for questions and discussion.
• The font size should be a minimum of 30pt because the audience reads faster than you talk so less information on the slides means that there is less chance of the audience being distracted.

Here are some additional resources for slide design:

• 7 design tips for effective, beautiful PowerPoint presentations
• 11 design tips for beautiful presentations
• 10 tips on how to make slides that communicate your idea

Group Presentations

Group presentations are structured in the same way as presentations with one speaker but usually require more rehearsal and practices.  Clean transitioning between speakers  is very important in producing a presentation that flows well. One way of doing this consists of:

• Briefly recap on what you covered in your section: “So that was a brief introduction on what health anxiety is and how it can affect somebody”
• Introduce the next speaker in the team and explain what they will discuss: “Now Elnaz will talk about the prevalence of health anxiety.”
• Then end by looking at the next speaker, gesturing towards them and saying their name: “Elnaz”.
• The next speaker should acknowledge this with a quick: “Thank you Joe.”

From this example you can see how the different sections of the presentations link which makes it easier for the audience to follow and remain engaged.

Example of great presentation structure and delivery

Having examples of great presentations will help inspire your own structures, here are a few such examples, each unique and inspiring in their own way.

How Google Works – by Eric Schmidt

This presentation by ex-Google CEO  Eric Schmidt  demonstrates some of the most important lessons he and his team have learnt with regards to working with some of the most talented individuals they hired. The simplistic yet cohesive style of all of the slides is something to be appreciated. They are relatively straightforward, yet add power and clarity to the narrative of the presentation.

Start with why – by Simon Sinek

Since being released in 2009, this presentation has been viewed almost four million times all around the world. The message itself is very powerful, however, it’s not an idea that hasn’t been heard before. What makes this presentation so powerful is the simple message he is getting across, and the straightforward and understandable manner in which he delivers it. Also note that he doesn’t use any slides, just a whiteboard where he creates a simple diagram of his opinion.

The Wisdom of a Third Grade Dropout – by Rick Rigsby

Here’s an example of a presentation given by a relatively unknown individual looking to inspire the next generation of graduates. Rick’s presentation is unique in many ways compared to the two above. Notably, he uses no visual prompts and includes a great deal of humour.

However, what is similar is the structure he uses. He first introduces his message that the wisest man he knew was a third-grade dropout. He then proceeds to deliver his main body of argument, and in the end, concludes with his message. This powerful speech keeps the viewer engaged throughout, through a mixture of heart-warming sentiment, powerful life advice and engaging humour.

As you can see from the examples above, and as it has been expressed throughout, a great presentation structure means analysing the core message of your presentation. Decide on a key message you want to impart the audience with, and then craft an engaging way of delivering it.

By preparing a solid structure, and  practising your talk  beforehand, you can walk into the presentation with confidence and deliver a meaningful message to an interested audience.

It’s important for a presentation to be well-structured so it can have the most impact on your audience. An unstructured presentation can be difficult to follow and even frustrating to listen to. The heart of your speech are your main points supported by evidence and your transitions should assist the movement between points and clarify how everything is linked.

Research suggests that the audience remember the first and last things you say so your introduction and conclusion are vital for reinforcing your points. Essentially, ensure you spend the time structuring your presentation and addressing all of the sections.

Unsupported browser

This site was designed for modern browsers and tested with Internet Explorer version 10 and later.

It may not look or work correctly on your browser.

• Communication

How Do You Prepare a Good Presentation in 2024 in 12+ Practical Steps? (+ Expert Tips)

There's nothing more nerve-wracking than having a big presentation coming up and feeling unprepared. Public speaking can be difficult. Not feeling ready makes it even more of a trial. Learn the essential steps for presentation preparation.

If you want to calm those nerves and wow your audience, then it's a good idea to understand the basics of creating attention-getting presentations.  

In this guide, I'll share 12+ presentation preparation tips that'll walk you through how to prepare for a presentation from start to finish. So, you can feel confident when preparing to give a presentation .

Find Premium Presentation Slides on Envato Elements

One way to save time in the presentation preparation phase is to use a premium template to design your slides. This will help you feel secure about how your presentation looks, even if design skills aren't your core strength.

A great place to find templates when preparing to give a presentation is Envato Elements. This marketplace has a great offer you can grab today. Download as many premium PowerPoint presentation templates as you want, all for one low price.

This offer includes other items you can use to make your presentations stand out, like stock photos, graphics, icons, and more. 

The great thing about using premium design elements for your presentations is that they're well supported by the creators, are compatible with major software and apps, and are kept up to date .

Get More PowerPoint Presentation Templates on GraphicRiver

Envato Elements is an excellent resource if you've got plenty of presentations to do. But if you need a single presentation template for one-off use, try GraphicRiver. 

GraphicRiver is a great option if you prefer to pay as you go, and choose a single PowerPoint presentation template each time you need to create a new presentation.

How to Prepare a Good Presentation Step by Step in 2024 (+ Expert Quotes)

Now, let's look at  some of the key steps in preparing a presentation, covering everything from topic selection to delivery, so you understand how to develop a presentation :

1. Choose the Right Topic

One of the most important presentation preparation tips is to pick the right topic for your presentation . You've got a few choices that'll give you a head start on wowing your audience. For example, you can:

• Choose a topic you're passionate about. This will make it easy to give an animated and appealing presentation.
• Pick your topic based on your knowledge and skills, so that you can wow your audience with the information you include.
• Do a data-driven presentation based on the latest statistics on a topic of interest, plus your expert opinion or conclusions.
• Select a presentation topic that relates to your business goals, such as reporting on key performance indicators (KPIs) or revenue .

Stephanie Schwab , Marketing Expert, Coach and Consultant, advises:

"Finding the right topic is all about knowing your audience. What's keeping them up at night? What do they really need to hear from you, right now, that will help them in their lives, or their businesses? If you're not sure what they need, ask them - survey them through email, ask your community on social media, talk to your customers directly. Meet your audience where they are and they will come to you again and again."

2. Know Your Audience

Related to that, another important step in presentation preparation is to know your audience . Your presentation plan will be completely different depending on whether audience members are novices or experts in your topic. Understanding who you're presenting to helps you select appropriate data and anecdotes to convey your topic. 

Jared Karol , Speaker, Coach and Group Facilitator, says it's extremely important to think of your audience when preparing your presentation:

"If you can trust that your content and presentation flow is solid, you can give more attention to how your audience is thinking and feeling during and after the presentation. Involve the audience as much as possible. Invite them to be part of the presentation––whether rhetorically by using "we" and/or "you" language––and literally by utilizing chat and poll features, or, depending on the size of the group, allowing verbal interaction. Remember that you are creating an experience, not just delivering content." 

If you're presenting to the C-suite, you'll want to keep your presentation short and focused to avoid wasting their time . Learn more executive presentation preparation tips in the following article:

3. Brainstorm

The next tip in our series of presentation steps is to brainstorm. This can be something you do on your own or with others. Either way,  note down initial ideas and inspiration for your presentation. Use tools like mind mapping to connect related concepts. 

By the end of this process, you'll have a clearer idea of the intended focus of your presentation and can move onto the next stage of your presentation plan.

4. Do Your Research

If you're thinking about how to prepare a great presentation, one of the key elements that separates good business presentations from the rest is research.

Tara Furiani , CEO & Host, Not the HR Lady, says:

"On our show, Not the HR Lady, we are huge proponents of ‘facts’ and call on our audience to fact check us. Presentations must be rooted in more than the theories of the presenter, to be credible. This can take on a lot of different looks. For me, I use and reference a lot of movies, music and pop culture to humorously drive serious points home (like racism, misogyny, bigotry, etc…) and that means finding just the right clip that illustrates your point. Not all ‘research’ has to be academic in nature, but all presentations should call upon someone other than one’s own opinions, for maximum impact and action."

Once you know your topic, you can search for supporting information such as:

• recent news or features
• the latest statistics (taken from reliable sources like .gov and .edu industry reports, and Google Dataset Search )
• relevant quotations

Once you've got that information, you're ready for the next step in presentation preparation.

5. Plan Your Presentation

Now it's time to put your presentation plan together. This is where you bring together ideas from your brainstorm and information from your research and organize them into a rough outline. 

A good way to do this is with headings for different parts of your presentation and bullet points with facts, quotes, and stats. By the end of this process, you'll have a pretty good idea of the content of your slides. That's a crucial part of presentation preparation.

6. Draft/Write Your Presentation

Of course, creating a presentation isn't just about the slides. Use the outline you've created to draft the spoken part of your presentation. It's good to start with an overview of what your presentation will cover. Get it right, and this will whet your audience's appetite and make them pay attention.

Plan your introduction to draw your audience in . Using a story, or an unusual fact or stat can help with this.  Christina Strickland , Vice President of Crackerjack Marketing, says:

"Presentation introductions are a chance to capture your audience’s attention right away. This is a good time to set the tone for the presentation and the meeting in general. Before you head in, know in your own mind the objectives for yourself and for your audience. When you introduce the presentation, begin by laying out the objectives for the audience and then a quick overview of the format and flow. This will help participants know what to expect and the right time to ask questions."

Plan your conclusion, too. It's helpful to know where you're headed so you can steer your presentation the right way.

Use storytelling throughout to keep your audience's attention. Don't be concerned if the final spoken presentation is a little different from your prepared outline. The outline is a guide, but you'll know what you need to include or exclude as you start to polish the actual presentation. 

That's part of the reason you don't always need to create your slides at the outline stage of presentation planning. Instead, update that initial outline based on what your ACTUAL presentation will be. Then it's time for slide preparation (PPT templates, as you'll see, will be a big asset for the next stage).

7. Design Your Presentation Slides

Wondering how to prepare your presentation with minimum hassle? Use a premium presentation template from Envato Elements to get a harmonious design. This means you can focus on your content, rather than worrying about needing graphic design skills . Remember, you can download unlimited PowerPoint presentation templates from Envato Elements, all for one low price.

There are also attractive PowerPoint presentation templates on GraphicRiver , for those preferring a single-use template. So, there's lots of choice.

Here are some other useful presentation preparation tips:

• Don't overdo the font choice . A single heading font and a single body font will be fine for most presentations. 
• Choose your fonts carefully . Some fonts look attractive on your computer but are hard to read.
• Pay attention to font size . You'll need to make sure that even someone who's at the back of the room can read your slides.
• Avoid walls of text . They make slides hard to read and is pretty off-putting. A wall of text is a sure way to lose your audience.
• Make one key point per slide . Have a few supporting bullet points.
• Use charts, graphics, images, and quotes . They can help make your points and keep your audience's attention.

For more presentation creation tips, check out our in-depth PowerPoint tutorial: How to Use PowerPoint (Ultimate Tutorial Guide) .

8. Expect Questions

Once your main presentation is ready, there's one more way to make your presentation great. That's to prepare for questions. As part of your presentation planning, you should:

• Think about what people might ask about your presentation content and be ready with answers.
• Consider how to deliver your presentation to lead people to ask certain questions that you're prepared for.
• Prepare an answer for when you've got no answer so that you're not left floundering.

Christina Strickland says:

"Unexpected questions are bound to happen. Don’t feel like you are required to answer every question that comes up. It’s always good to have a few different responses prepared for different types of questions. Remember, it’s ok to say “That’s a really good question but it’s not really in my area of expertise.”"

9. Practice the Presentation

When you're happy with your slides and have prepared for questions, it's time for some presentation practice. This is where you do a complete run-through of your presentation, with both your presentation script and the slides. 

As you practice, pay attention to anything that doesn't flow, or is hard to say . Edit both your script and your presentation slides to remove these items. You don't want to be stumbling over your words on the day.

Some people prefer to practice alone but consider using a few friends or trusted colleagues as a test audience. It's a good way to make sure your material is clear and easy to understand.

Keep practicing till you feel you know your material inside out. This will help you deliver a polished presentation when it's time. If you're presenting online, Jared Karol suggests:

"The biggest thing to focus on when delivering presentations virtually is the idea of presence over performance. Try to recreate as closely as possible the vibe and feel you would create if you were all in the room together. Yes, prepare and rehearse. Yes, make sure the technology is good to go. And, remember that how you deliver the information is just as important as what information you're delivering. Wherever possible, try to personalize and humanize your presentation. Try to make your audience feel something not just remember something." 

To learn more about presenting in public, read our public speaking guide: 

10. Prepare the Room

When thinking about how to practice for a presentation, there's one element some people overlook: the presentation space .  If it's possible, check it out well before it's time for you to present. 

One thing to pay attention to is the presentation equipment. Whether you're using a laptop and screen, a projector and screen, or some other piece of technology, get familiar with the presentation technology so you can ensure it'll work as expected.

And if you're able to book rehearsal time, take advantage of it. If you do, there won't be any surprises on the day.

Here are a few additional tips for giving an online presentation. 

11. Adjust Slide Design For Virtual Displays

If you're doing a virtual presentation, one of the most important tips for presentation preparation is to adjust the design of your slides. People will tune in from different size screens. So, make sure you don't have any text too near the top, bottom or sides of the slide, or some people won't be able to see it. Stephanie Schwab says:

 "I like to give instructions to the audience on how to get the best view of the presentation; I use Zoom most of the time, so I'll do a quick explanation of how to switch from gallery view to speaker view, and how to slide the screensharing portion bigger or smaller. That way I can have a little bit more confidence that the audience will take in the presentation in the way I want them to see it, and not get distracted by gallery view."

12. Look After Background and Lighting

We've all been on Zoom calls where the speaker is backlit, or where there's something distracting in the background. Avoid both of these so your audience can focus on your presentation. Experiment with the room you're presenting in to find the best lighting or get a ring light or two to ensure your face is always visible. And consider using a virtual background to keep distractions to a minimum. 

Tara Furiani says:

"The differences between presentations online and those that are in-person, are largely dependent on the skill of the facilitator. For example, one who’s engaging, tech savvy and can command a room… should find the presentations in-person or online, pretty much the same. When I present in a live setting, I use far less imagery than I would for an online session, because the focus would be on me. Virtually, I tend to add a touch more visual content, since my face alone should only be looked at for so long. By anyone."

13. Use Interactive Features

When preparing your presentation plan for an online presentation, try interactive features in your delivery platform to keep the audience engaged. Since you won't be able to use - or see body language - here are some tactics to try:

• Include polls.
• Ask questions people can respond to in the chat section.
• Encourage the use of emoji reactions to get the audience involved.

These features are a big advantage of presenting online, says Tara Furiani:

"One shift, I think, that we will miss about online presentations (when in-person becomes the ‘norm’ again) is the ability to know, in the moment, if you are affecting change with people and resonating. Reactions, re-quotes, comments, and questions are delivered to us, while we are presenting, instantaneously… training survey be damned, this is real-time feedback.  We’re going to miss that; I just know it. In real life, save for applause, there aren’t ‘reactions’ to click that appear over the speakers’ head… maybe there should be?"

Presentation Preparation: Online vs In-Person

More conferences and events are being held online, and that's likely to continue. That means going one step further to understand how to develop a presentation to give a virtual audience a great experience. Stephanie Schwab comments:

"A lot of people think that giving an online presentation means you have to show slides the whole time - and I think just the opposite. I might have some slides to backup some of my points, but I'm usually pretty fluid between sharing my screen with a slide and then turning off sharing, so that the online audience can focus on me."

Do you wonder "what is a good presentation for online audiences?" Here are some differences in presentation preparation between online and in-person presentations.

• You can't read the room . When presenting in-person, you can tell if people are engaged because they may lean forward, make eye contact or respond in some way. On a video call, you may not be able to see them properly, and they'll likely be muted to avoid background noise. To make up for this, pause regularly and ask for comments or feedback. 
• You can't rely on body language . An in-person presenter can use physicality for emphasis. That's not possible in the boundaries of a small screen.
• Visual cues are essential . In-person you can gesture or point at a key part of your slides. That's harder on a small screen. So, design your slides with visual cues like arrows and circles to direct your audience to what's most important on any slide. 
• Working technology is more important  for virtual presentations. It's essential to ensure your mic and camera are working properly so you look professional. In contrast, you always have the option of going tech-free in an in-person presentation.
• You handle questions differently . In-person, it's pretty easy to see when someone has a question, especially in a small room. Online, that's much harder, so have someone on hand to keep track of who's raised a hand or typed a question into the chat box.
• Camera position is crucial. In-person, you may not have a camera. Even if you do, you can walk around the room to make eye contact with different people. That's not possible online, so make sure you're looking directly into the camera. That will allow you to make virtual eye contact with every participant. 

Learn More About How to Prepare Your Presentation

Now you know how to prepare a good presentation, but don't stop there. Find even more useful presentation preparation tips in the following guides and tutorials:

Find More Presentation Templates

Are you still looking for the right presentation template? Find great templates for any type of presentation in the following roundups:

Start Your Presentation Preparation

Now, it's your turn to prepare a presentation. You've learned some key presentation steps, including the importance of developing a presentation plan as well as the importance of presentation practice. You're ready to get started.

Don't forget. You can find attractive PowerPoint presentation templates on Envato Elements. And, for one-off use, you can also choose from the presentation templates on GraphicRiver. Check out the best PowerPoint templates available today.

Editorial Note: This post has been updated with contributions from Sharon Hurley Hall . Sharon is a freelance instructor for Envato Tuts+.

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

How to Make a Presentation: A Guide for Memorable Presentations

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.” 

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!

Like this article? Please share

Business Presentations, Presentation, Presentation Approaches Filed under Business , Presentation Ideas

Related Articles

Filed under Design • August 14th, 2024

Creating Custom Themes for PowerPoint and Google Slides

Do you want your slides to go beyond the average result from a template? If so, learn how to create custom themes for presentations with this guide.

Filed under Business • August 8th, 2024

How to Create Engaging and Persuasive Proposal Presentations

Secure your business deals and build your brand’s reputation by mastering the art of proposal presentations. Tips and recommended PPT templates included.

Filed under Business • July 24th, 2024

How to Create a Demo Presentation

Discover the secrets behind successful demo presentations and what they should contain with this article. Recommended PPT templates included.

Leave a Reply

• PRESENTATION SKILLS

Preparing for a Presentation

Search SkillsYouNeed:

Presentation Skills:

• A - Z List of Presentation Skills
• Top Tips for Effective Presentations
• General Presentation Skills
• What is a Presentation?
• Organising the Material
• Writing Your Presentation
• Deciding the Presentation Method
• Managing your Presentation Notes
• Working with Visual Aids
• Presenting Data
• Managing the Event
• Coping with Presentation Nerves
• Dealing with Questions
• How to Build Presentations Like a Consultant
• 7 Qualities of Good Speakers That Can Help You Be More Successful
• Self-Presentation in Presentations
• Specific Presentation Events
• Remote Meetings and Presentations
• Giving a Speech
• Presentations in Interviews
• Presenting to Large Groups and Conferences
• Giving Lectures and Seminars
• Managing a Press Conference
• Attending Public Consultation Meetings
• Managing a Public Consultation Meeting
• Crisis Communications
• Elsewhere on Skills You Need:
• Communication Skills
• Facilitation Skills
• Teams, Groups and Meetings
• Effective Speaking
• Question Types

Subscribe to our FREE newsletter and start improving your life in just 5 minutes a day.

You'll get our 5 free 'One Minute Life Skills' and our weekly newsletter.

We'll never share your email address and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Preparation is the single most important part of making a successful presentation. It is an absolutely crucial foundation, and you should dedicate as much time to it as possible, avoiding short-cuts. Good preparation will ensure that you have thought carefully about the messages that you want (or need) to communicate in your presentation and it will also help boost your confidence.

There are a number of aspects that you need to consider when preparing a presentation. They include the aim of the presentation, the subject matter, the audience, the venue or place, the time of day, and the length of the talk. All these will affect what you say and how you say it, as well as the visual aids that you use to get your point across.

The Objective

Whenever you are asked to give a presentation or speak to a group of people, you need to start by asking the purpose of the presentation.

In other words, what is the presentation expected to achieve, and what outcome(s) do the organisers and the audience expect?

These outcomes will shape your presentation, because it must be designed to achieve the objective and deliver the desired outcomes.

For example, you might be asked to give a talk to a gardening club. You might be told that the purpose of the talk is to fill a regular meeting slot, and that the members of the club have expressed a desire to learn more about pruning. You therefore know that your talk needs to be entertaining, fairly light, but knowledgeable, and that your audience wants to learn something new.

As you prepare your presentation, make sure you keep asking yourself:

“How is saying this going to help to achieve the objective and outcomes?”

The Subject

The subject of your presentation or talk about comes from the objective. They are linked, but they are not necessarily exactly the same thing.

For example:

The subject may be given to you by the organisation that has invited you (such as talking about pruning to the gardening club).

You may be knowledgeable in a particular field (perhaps you have an interest in local history).

The subject may be entirely your choice within certain limitations (you might, for example, be asked to give a presentation at an interview on a project which you feel has particularly developed your skills).

The Audience

Before preparing material for a presentation, it is worth considering your prospective audience.

Tailoring your talk to the audience is important and the following points should be considered:

The size of the group or audience expected.

The age range - a talk aimed at retired people will be quite different from one aimed at teenagers.

Gender - will the audience be predominantly male or female?

Is it a captive audience or will they be there out of interest?

Will you be speaking in their work or leisure time?

Do they know something about your subject already or will it be totally new to them?  Is the subject part of their work?

Are you there to inform, teach, stimulate, or provoke?

Can you use humour and, if so, what would be considered appropriate? If you are in any doubt about this, it is probably best to avoid anything even remotely risqué.

It is important to have as much advance information as possible about the place where you are going to speak.

It can be helpful to arrange to see the venue before the event. It does much to quell fear if you can visualise the place while you are preparing your talk. However, even if you cannot visit, you will probably find it helpful to know:

The size of the room;

The seating arrangements (for example, theatre-style, with rows of seats; or round-table);

The availability of equipment, e.g., microphone, laptop and projector, flip chart;

The availability of power points and if an extension lead is required for any equipment you intend to use;

If the room has curtains or blinds. This is relevant if you intend to use visual aids, and so that you can ensure the correct ambiance for your presentation;

The position of the light switches.  Check if you need someone to help if you are using audio/visual equipment and need to turn off the lights;

The likelihood of outside distractions, e.g., noise from another room; and

The availability of parking facilities so you do not have a long walk carrying any equipment you might need to take.

If this information is not available ahead of time, it will help to get there a bit early, to give you time to set up.

There will often be no flexibility in the time of day that a presentation is made. However, it does affect what you can do, and how you might organise your presentation, because of the likely state of your audience (see box).

How time of day can affect your audience

The morning is the best time to speak because people are generally at their most alert. However, as it gets towards lunch time, people begin to feel hungry and lose concentration. This is particularly true if the event has not included a coffee break.

After lunch, people often feel sleepy and lethargic. If you are given a slot immediately after lunch, it is a good idea to get your audience involved. A discussion or getting your audience moving about will work a lot better than simply presenting a lot of slides. A flip chart may also be a more useful tool than a laptop and projector, especially if it means you can open blinds and use natural light.

Towards the end of the afternoon, people again tend to lose concentration as they start to worry about getting home, the traffic or collecting children from school.

Evening or Weekend:

Outside regular office hours, people are more likely to be present because they want to be rather than because they have to be there.  There is a better chance of audience attention in the evening. However, if the presentation goes on for too long, people may have to leave before you have finished. People will also be less tolerant of a poor presentation because you are in their time, not their employer’s.

Length of Talk

Always find out how long you have to talk and check if this includes or excludes time for questions.

Find out if there are other speakers and, if so, where you are placed in the running order.  Never elect to go last.  Beware of over-running, as this could be disastrous if there are other speakers following you.

It is important to remember that people find it difficult to maintain concentration for long periods of time. This is a good reason for making a presentation succinct, well-structured and interesting. Aim for 45 minutes as a maximum single-session presentation, and preferably leave at least 10 or 15 minutes for questions. Nobody minds finishing a session early.

Providing Information in Advance

Always check what information you will need to provide in advance.

Organisers of big events and conferences often like to have all the PowerPoint presentations several days ahead of the event. This gives them time to load all the presentations, and make sure that they are properly branded for the event.

Some events also need speakers’ biographies ahead of time, to put in conference literature. When you are asked to give the presentation, make sure you ask what is needed by when—and then supply it.

You will not be popular if you turn up on the day and announce that you have completely rewritten your presentation on the train. It is entirely possible that the organisers may even not be able to accommodate that, for example if the audio-visual is being supplied by a separate company or by the venue.

And finally…

Being asked to give a presentation is an honour, not a chore.

You are representing your organisation or yourself, if you are self-employed. You are also not there by right, but by invitation. It is therefore important that you put in the time and effort to ensure that you deliver what your audience wants. That way, you may just be invited back another time.

Continue to: Organising the Presentation Material

See also: Can Presentation Science Improve Your Presentation? Preparing for Oral Presentations Managing the Presentation Event Coping with Presentation Nerves

.css-1qrtm5m{display:block;margin-bottom:8px;text-transform:uppercase;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5714285714285714;-webkit-letter-spacing:-0.35px;-moz-letter-spacing:-0.35px;-ms-letter-spacing:-0.35px;letter-spacing:-0.35px;font-weight:300;color:#606F7B;}@media (min-width:600px){.css-1qrtm5m{font-size:16px;line-height:1.625;-webkit-letter-spacing:-0.5px;-moz-letter-spacing:-0.5px;-ms-letter-spacing:-0.5px;letter-spacing:-0.5px;}} Best Practices 5 essential preparation steps for a successful presentation

by Tom Rielly • June 15, 2020

Keeping your presentation visuals minimalistic, simple, and clear is just one important step to remember when designing a hit presentation. Leaving nothing to chance, great presenters prove quite methodical as they prepare. Here’s a checklist for everything you need to keep in mind before your next presentation:

1. Choose the right software for your needs

The easiest way to select the right presentation software for you is to simply find the one that is native to your device. For example, if you have a Mac, use Apple Keynote, if you work on Windows, use PowerPoint. Google Slides is recommended if you’re working with someone, as it makes collaboration very easy. Another software option is Prezi: a specialty tool called Prezi that creates a presentation using motion, zoom, and panning across one giant visual space.

2. Organize your files

As you develop your script and visuals, you will need to start assembling all the assets for your slides. Create a unique folder on your computer to hold these items. Keep the folder organized by media type (presentation drafts, photos, videos, scripts) and back them up frequently to the Cloud or external disk. Label each file with a specific descriptive name, e.g. “Susan Johnson singing magpie 2020”, as opposed to “IMG_4043.jpg”, which can make it confusing to find your assets. The more organized you are up front, the easier preparing for your presentation will be.

3. Prepare your presentation materials

Make sure your presentation materials (script, graphics, actual slides) are saved in at least two safe spots (for example, your computer and an external USB drive) and are backed-up frequently. If you are using an online presentation software, such as Google Slides, be sure to also download a copy of your presentation in case the internet connection is unreliable. Having all the individual assets on hand in addition to your presentation slides can be helpful if you experience tech issues before presenting, or if you need to make any last minute changes. Make sure to label your final presentation with the title and your name so it’s easy to find.

4. Practice, practice, practice!

Remember, practice makes perfect. People often run out of time making their presentations and have no time to practice. Most TED speakers practice at least ten times. Neuroscientist Jill-Bolte Taylor gave one of the most successful Talks in TED history with nearly 27 million views. How did she do it? She practiced her Talk over 40 times! By rehearsing multiple times you will naturally memorize your Talk, which means you won’t need note cards when you give your final presentation.

5. Do a final test run

Before presenting, make sure the equipment you need is working properly. It’s generally good practice to rehearse standing on the exact stage with the exact lighting using the exact computer that you will be using in your final presentation.

Here’s a quick checklist of what to look for when testing your equipment:

• If you're not using your own computer, the one provided might be slower and have trouble playing media. If you have videos or other media, make sure they play correctly
• Test the projector to make sure it’s HD
• Make sure images are clear
• Test the sound of any clips you use, as this is what goes wrong most frequently
• If you’re using a mic, test the volume

Don’t let technical issues or other blunders overshadow your presentation. By following these guidelines, and with a little preparation, you can engineer out the problems BEFORE they happen.

Ready to learn more about how to make your presentation even better? Get TED Masterclass and develop your ideas into TED-style talks

© 2024 TED Conferences, LLC. All rights reserved. Please note that the TED Talks Usage policy does not apply to this content and is not subject to our creative commons license.

The 3 parts of a presentation: introduction, main part, closing part

The task of each part for the presentation structure.

A successful business presentation requires careful planning and structuring. In this article, we will look at presentation structure, focusing on the three parts: Introduction, main body, and conclusion of a presentation. We will explore what each part does and specific tips to help structure these parts of the presentation in the best possible way.

Part 1: The introduction of a presentation

Part 2: The main part of a presentation

Part 3: The conclusion of a presentation

A successful presentation needs a well-structured agenda. It helps your audience to keep track and follow the content of the presentation. The agenda ensures that all important aspects of a topic are covered in the presentation.

An attractively designed and worded agenda can also help to capture the audience’s attention right from the start and get them excited about the presentation. For example, the agenda can be designed using images, language, or terminology that is specific to the audience’s goals and interests. In this way, the presenter signals that they value the audience’s time and interest and are tailoring their presentation to meet their needs. Read more about the importance of the agenda in presentations and learn how to use action titles profitably as well.

Part 1: the introduction of a presentation

1. Greeting:

With a friendly greeting, you create a positive atmosphere right from the start. You give the audience the opportunity to arrive, get quiet and collect themselves and signal that it’s about to start. This phase is important to establish the audience’s concentration.

2.  Introduction:

Briefly introduce yourself and your organization. Give an overview of who you are and what your role is in your organization. By doing this, you will give your audience direction and reinforce your expertise and credibility at the very beginning of the presentation.

3. Objective:

Briefly outline the topic of your presentation and explain what you hope to accomplish with the presentation. Make sure the goal of the presentation is clear and concise.

4. Context:

Explain the context in which the presentation will take place. Why is the topic important? Why is it relevant to the audience? Here you should also make sure that you connect with the audience and tailor your presentation to their needs and interests.

After the introduction, you should have achieved the following with your audience:

• The audience is focused
• They know who you are and that you bring expertise to the topic
• It knows what the presentation is about and why it is worth paying attention.

Part 2: the main part of a presentation

The main part is the most important part of your presentation from a content point of view. Here you present your information, argue for your position, try to convince the target audience or bring them to a decision. In short, the middle section is the heart of your presentation. It should be structured in a logical and comprehensible way and should be consistently oriented towards your presentation objective. The biggest challenge is to make the main part compact and not to ramble too much, but still not to make any jumps in content where you might lose your audience. Ideally, when building the main body, you follow the thought processes your audience might have and answer any questions that might pop into your target audience’s head. Of course, this requires a good knowledge of your target audience and also some experience. If you have given similar presentations before, you should take into account insights you can derive from audience reactions or questions, for example, when building your next presentation.

The main part should make up about 75% to 80% of the total duration of the presentation. These are our tips for the main body:

1. Precise headings:

Make sure the main body is clear and logical and use precise headings. They will ensure that your audience can follow your arguments. Headings that are to the point also help the speaker, for example, when you want to jump back and forth within the presentation.

2. Key messages:

Present your core messages and arguments in a logical order. Make sure to support your arguments with examples and facts to strengthen your position. Report from the field to show that you understand the needs of your target audience.

3. Visualization:

Make sure you make your information easy to grasp quickly. Whenever possible, you should make use of visualizations. Diagrams, icons, and images are quicker to grasp than columns of scrubs, and you’ll stick in their minds. Your audience is more likely to remember a good picture than the text on your slides.

After the main part, you should have achieved the following with your audience:

• The audience has understood your information and your arguments
• You have answered or anticipated your audience’s most important questions and objections
• The audience has recognized the relevance of the topic for their own needs and requirements
• The audience is ready to take the next step toward your goal.

The closing section is the last part of your presentation and gives you the opportunity to emphasize your message once again. It’s not just about leaving a strong impression. The conclusion of your presentation determines whether you have achieved your presentation goal. Were you able to find supporters for your topic? Were you able to bring about a decision? Were you able to win a new customer? In order to be able to measure the achievement of your objectives, it is important to be specific at the end of your presentation. Depending on the goal, you can give an outlook here, agree on next steps or deadlines, or already distribute tasks. Use all possibilities for a binding exit and a concrete connection. Make sure that your topic is thought about further, a project is pursued or a collaboration is started. Otherwise, unfortunately, your presentation will be forgotten very quickly or other topics will push in front of it.

The conclusion of your presentation should be about 10% to 15% of the total duration of the presentation and include the following elements:

Summarize the most important points of your presentation again in a short and concise way. This will remind the audience of the key messages and strengthen your overall impression.

2. Call-to-action

Conclude your presentation with a call-to-action that fits your presentation objective. Ask the audience to make a decision, buy a product, or schedule a follow-up appointment with you. This will create commitment and ensure that your presentation objective is achieved.

Give an outlook on future developments or projects. Show the next steps or point out follow-up topics. By doing so, you show that you know the processes and are also an expert for the next steps and implementation.

4. Thank you

Conclude your presentation by thanking the audience. Show your appreciation for the interest and time the audience invested in your presentation. You can also include your contact information and offer to answer questions or provide further information. The thank you note should come from you in person; you don’t need a slide for that. Also read our tips for PowerPoint closing slides .

• The audience follows your recommendation.
• It acts in the sense of your presentation goal.
• Your presentation is remembered and you are set with the audience as an expert on the presentation topic.

You can find many more very helpful tips on presentation structure in our blog articles on the golden thread of your presentation and presentation structure .

Share your new knowledge with others

• More QuickTools
• Master & Templates
• Creating presentations
• Presentation Trainings
• Agency Support
• Value Discovery
• Corporate Design
• Content Management
• Modular Sales Kit
• Training materials
• Data Visualization
• Terms and Conditions
• Privacy Policy
• Masters and templates
• Agency support
• Modular sales kits

Unternehmen

• Weitere QuickTools
• Master und Templates
• Präsentationserstellung
• Präsentations-Trainings
• Agentur-Support
• Vertriebsbaukästen
• Schulungsunterlagen
• Datenvisualisierung
• Datenschutzerklärung
• Präsentationstraining

Informal vs Formal Presentation: What You Need To Know

Table of contents, what is a formal presentation.

There are three key elements which make a presentation formal – your audience, your supporting material and the time you’re given to prepare in advance.

A presentation is considered formal when you’ve been asked to share ideas with an individual or group and you’ve been given time to prepare. Formal presentations require a very different approach than presenting to your team during a weekly meeting or in an impromptu discussion.

Let’s take a closer look at what goes into creating a formal presentation.

How Do You Create A Formal Presentation?

Creating a formal presentation is an art which requires hours of practice to create an effective presentation.

At Presentation Geeks, we know the importance of crafting an excellent formal presentation. That’s why we’ve put together a simple structured template of main points you should include in your next presentation to take it from a generic, informal presentation to a formal presentation which will surpass your audience’s expectations.

1 – Clearly Defined Goals

Before you begin writing your presentation or the speech you’ll deliver, you want to take the time to think about the following questions, “What do I want the audience members to remember and what is the key message I’m trying to drive?”.

Knowing your expected outcome is the goal of the presentation. Always keep reminding yourself what the goal is and don’t lose sight of it. This is the foundation of your formal presentation.

2 – Know Your Audience

Every audience is different and every audience consumes, absorbs and remembers information differently.

If you’re presenting to a graduating class of university students, your delivery will be much different than your presentation to an audience of senior executives at a Fortune 500 company or an audience of single mothers with newborns.

Get familiar with your audience members and prepare your presentation accordingly.

Bonus Tip: Try and figure out where the presentation will take place. Will it be held in an auditorium? A church? A boardroom? Perhaps it will even be held virtually. The venue in which your presentation will take place will also determine the supporting material you’ll use to help engage the audience during your presentation.

3 – Create An Outline

The success of your presentation depends on how well your audience can understand it. If you’re delivering a presentation that continuously jumps back and forth from one idea to another, your audience won’t follow and you’ll lose them.

Develop an outline that will guide the flow of your presentation. Think of it like a story. You want to keep it interesting. Provide appropriate examples that resonate with your audience. By tapping into an experience your audience is familiar with, it will work to your advantage as it will help the audience get engaged and keep them interested.

4 – Use Visual Aids

Using visual aids will help support your overall presentation and increase audience engagement.

Visual aids can include slides, videos, images and other visual supporting material. Although it might take some creative finesse to put visual aids together, you don’t have to do it alone.

Consider enlisting the help of a company that offers presentation design services. Presentation Geeks offers a variety of presentation services ranging from e-learning solutions, Google Slides, sizzle reels, Prezi design and much more!

5 – Dress Appropriately

Remember, first impressions are everything and your attire is a form of communication.

If you want to be seen as the expert on the topic matter and have people take your knowledge seriously, you want to dress appropriately.

Although this might seem like an outdated way of thinking, it is rooted in our psychology. These small details make or break a presentation and you don’t want to take a chance.

Don’t know where to start? Nine millionaires shared how they dress to make an impactful first impression which you can use in your wardrobe.

What are the types of formal presentations?

There are many types of formal presentations you’ll be exposed to throughout your career.

We’ve outlined six types of formal presentations you may consider when developing your next presentation.

However, if you’re looking for more examples of formal presentations in action, TED Talks are a great resource. TED Talks are presentations ranging on a variety of topics from science and business to motivational and unique life experiences.

Review the list below and determine which style your presentation will focus on. This will help you structure your notes, write your presentation and ultimately how you will present.

1 – Informative Presentation

This is the most common type of presentation, be it in an educational setting, business or corporate setting.

The aim of an informative presentation is to give detailed information about a product, concept, or idea to a specific kind of audience.

2 – Persuasive Presentation

Persuasive presentations are used to motivate or convince someone to act or make a change in their actions or thoughts.

3 – Demonstrative Presentation

A demonstrative presentation involves demonstrating a process or the functioning of a product in a step-by-step fashion.

4 – Inspirational Presentation

An inspirational presentation’s aim is to motivate or emotionally move your audience.

Using techniques like storytelling, narrating personal anecdotes, or even humor work wonders to enhance your presentation as your audience develops an emotional connection to the message.

5 – Business Presentation

A business presentation can encompass pitching client presentations , raising business capital, articulating company goals, RFP presentations , screening candidates, status reports, investment pitching and many more.

6 – PowerPoint Presentation

PowerPoint presentations or PPTs are the most effective ones among all types of presentations simply because they are convenient and easy to understand.

They are available in different formats and are suitable to use in practically any type of presentation and context, be it business, educational, or for informal purposes.

The only downside to PowerPoint presentations is the time it takes to create them and the creativity needed to make them stand out. Fortunately, there are PowerPoint presentation design services you can use that will help you save time and deliver new ideas in a creative way.

See What We Can Do For You

What is an informal presentation.

It is fairly common for business meetings to include impromptu presentations. Most presentations you’ll encounter are informal presentations.

These types of presentations are usually prepared in a short amount of time and do not require the same organizational methods as a formal presentation such as using audience engagement or presentation software.

Oftentimes, they are very much like a conversation and you won’t be using any note cards. The presenter is usually speaking to a much smaller audience where each audience member will feel like they’re being spoken to.

What Presentation Style Should I Use?

Now that you know what the difference is between a formal presentation and an informal presentation, it is now time for you to decide which style to choose.

More often than not, if you have the time to be reading this article, you have the time to prepare a presentation. That means you’ll likely lean towards the formal style.

Informal presentations are more impromptu and you won’t have the time to research it ahead of time like you are now. But since you do have the time, here are some additional resources to help you master the craft of a formal presentation.

Additional Resources To Master Your Formal Presentation

Presentation 101: How to become a better presenter . We’ve put together a list of 10 actionable items you can start working on to become a better presenter. This article covers body language such as eye contact and voice projection to the topic you’ll talk about.

Secondly, if your presentation is held online, you need to have the skills to present a virtual presentation. We’ve got you covered once again. We take a deep-dive into how to ace your virtual presentation . We cover virtual presentation software you might encounter,

The last article you should review to incorporate into your presentation arsenal is how to give and receive constructive presentation feedback . The only way you’ll improve is through ongoing feedback and data collection of what your audience thought of your presentation and presentation skills.

If these aren’t enough, download and review some of the past presentation work we’ve done for Fortune 500 companies and other industries to help spark some inspiration for your next presentation.

If you review these three articles and incorporate them into your next presentation, you’ll be on your way to becoming an influential speaker who can convert any audience with a well crafted presentation.

Author:  Ryan

Related posts.

FREE PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX.

Subscribe for free tips, resources, templates, ideas and more from our professional team of presentation designers.

• Generative AI
• Office Suites
• Collaboration Software
• Productivity Software
• Augmented Reality
• Emerging Technology
• Remote Work
• Artificial Intelligence
• Operating Systems
• IT Leadership
• IT Management
• IT Operations
• Cloud Computing
• Computers and Peripherals
• Data Center
• Enterprise Applications
• Vendors and Providers
• Enterprise Buyer’s Guides
• United States
• Netherlands
• United Kingdom
• New Zealand
• Newsletters
• Foundry Careers
• Terms of Service
• Privacy Policy
• Cookie Policy
• Copyright Notice
• Member Preferences
• About AdChoices
• E-commerce Affiliate Relationships
• Your California Privacy Rights

Our Network

• Network World

Six steps to making a successful presentation

Public speaking. Just the thought of it can make the toughest man crumble. But for many IT professionals, speeches and presentations are an unavoidable part of the job. How can you survive and even thrive making a presentation?

1. Know your material

Knowledge of the subject matter is crucial, says Timothy Hoyle, project manager for Novell Consulting. Talking about topics you’re well-versed in ensures your presentation will be well-received, he says.

In his former position, Hoyle did extensive presales work and frequently spoke about Novell’s ZENworks for Desktops. He recalls a strong presentation before 400 people at BrainShare Europe in Nice, France, and cites his familiarity with the topic as the key to his success.

2. Know your audience

Robert Lee, network project leader for the University of Wisconsin in Madison, recommends tailoring content so it’s appropriate for your audience.

Lee emphasizes different aspects of an IT project depending on who he’s talking to — vendors, network engineers or upper management. For example, when he’s speaking to executives who are concerned about funding, he’ll break down project costs and carefully outline the return on investment.

Before developing a presentation, Rochelle Wyatt, manager of IT systems support for the Seattle Public Library, first determines what her audience wants and needs. If Wyatt is addressing the library’s directors, she’ll explain why data lines are needed and how the organization can benefit from voice over IP. However, she will save the more intricate H323.11 standards discussion for her IT staff.

3. Be prepared

Robert Bly, president of the Center for Technical Communication in Dumont, N.J., recommends one hour of preparation for every minute of the speech, which means a 15-minute speech might require two days of work.

Lee advises keeping presentations to a maximum of 30 minutes. If you are forced to go longer, take a break so audience members can stretch and refocus.

4. Overcome stage fright

For many people, overcoming stage fright is the hardest part of public speaking. Wyatt once had a terrible time presenting, which is ironic considering her former position as a professional actress.

“Getting up in front of an audience with a script, pretending I was someone else, was never a problem,” Wyatt says. But with no script, she was reduced to stuttering and turning red.

Eager to do something about her lack of confidence, Wyatt joined Toastmasters. “Toastmasters is a safe environment to get over the fear of public speaking and to learn presentation skills,” she says.

Practicing your speech will help assuage stage fright — Lee suggests practicing in the area that your presentation will take place, if possible.

5. Be engaging

Capturing the audience’s attention is another essential element of making a successful presentation. Lee emphasizes that it’s crucial to maintain eye contact.

Novell Consulting’s Hoyle agrees. As a project manager, Hoyle frequently addresses audiences ranging from IT staffers to senior executives, speaking to anywhere from five to 1,400 people. But regardless of the size of his audience, he only speaks to one person at a time. “I never speak to the entire audience,” Hoyle says. “I would not be able to get my subject across to them.”

Bly often begins his talks by drawing a small circle on a blackboard indicating his brain size. He then draws a much larger circle, indicating the combined brain size of his audience. He encourages people to share their questions, answers and experiences during his presentations.

“I am not a guru or a rainmaker. Often times, an audience member will have a better answer to a question than I will,” Bly says.

6. Use visual aids

There’s no question that visual aids enhance a presentation. But Hoyle, who prepares slides on PowerPoint, warns that too many people rely on slideware to do their presentations for them. “I want the presenter to speak to me, not read to me,” he says.

Lee adds that while embedded graphics and colorful graphs can strengthen a discussion, blinking text can be distracting. He thinks keeping it simple and clean is a better approach.

Bly suggests doing something out of the ordinary. Recalling a talk in which he used toy phones and role-played with the audience, he says, “The phones were unsophisticated but they got the audience’s attention.”

“Know your subject, be energetic, have fun and know why you are doing the presentation in the first place,” Hoyle says.

Now the once stuttering and embarrassed Wyatt says, “Public speaking is actually fun.”

Related content

Anitab.org takes steps to protect attendees at this year’s grace hopper celebration, how many jobs are available in technology in the us, these are the skills you need to get hired in tech, about the best places to work in it, from our editors straight to your inbox, show me more, ai and ar can supercharge ‘ambient computing’.

Agentic RAG AI — more marketing hype than tech advance

9 hidden Google Pixel features for smarter calling

Podcast: Is the gold rush for AI talent slowing down?

Podcast: Google loses antitrust, and the world yawns

Podcast: Does a chief risk officer make sense?

Is there still a gold rush for AI talent?

Tech news roundup: Google antitrust, Delta-Microsoft tiff, and stuck astronauts

Do companies need a Chief Risk Officer?

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

Chapter 11 Presentation Skills

11.4 Delivering the Presentation

This section focuses on what to do when presentation day finally arrives. You should be well-prepared and well-poised to communicate interpersonally with a live audience.

You will first learn about how to prepare to present by taking a deeper look at what you should be doing during rehearsals, and considering how you’ll dress comfortably and professionally and how your setup will keep you prepared for what is ahead.

You will learn effective approaches to managing anxiety, such as how to cope with your body’s reaction as well as how to cope with mistakes or surprises that may pop up in the speech, with the technology or through some other external distraction.

Having an understanding of how to read your audience for positive or negative cues is important during and after the presentation. You will learn about interpreting these cues by scanning the audience’s body language during the presentation and during the Q&A.

Finally, you will have a chance to critically reflect on the delivery of a presentation by learning about how to do a self-analysis, as well as give and receive constructive verbal and non-verbal feedback.

Preparing to Present

To deliver your presentation to the best of your ability, and to reduce your nerves once you take the stage, you need to practise by rehearsing . As you do, try to identify the weaknesses in your delivery to improve on them. For example, do you often mis-speak the same words (e.g. pacific for specific ; ax for ask ) or do your hands or feet fidget? Use your practice time to focus on correcting these issues. These sessions should help you get comfortable and help you remember what you want to say without having to constantly refer to notes.

Try practising in front of a mirror, or even recording yourself speaking to a camera and playing it back. It’s also helpful to get feedback from a supportive audience at this stage. Perhaps a few family members or friends could watch you give your presentation and provide some feedback.

If at all possible, access the room where you will be presenting. This way you can get a feel for its setup and decide how you will stand or move during your presentation.

Dress for Success

While there are no definitive guidelines for how you should dress for your presentation, your appearance is an important part of your audience’s first impression. If you want them to take you seriously, you’ll need to look the part. While you don’t have to wear a suit each time you present, there are some scenarios where this would be expected; for example, if you are presenting to a corporate audience who wear suits to work, you should do the same. You should dress one step above your audience. If your audience is going to be dressed casually in shorts and jeans, then wear nice casual clothing such as a pair of pressed slacks and a collared shirt or blouse. If your audience is going to be wearing business casual attire, then you should wear a dress or a suit. If you are presenting to your instructor and classmates, dress better than you normally would in class, to demonstrate you are taking this seriously and you are adding a level of formality.

Another general rule is to avoid distractions in your appearance. Clothing with loud colours and bold patterns, overly tight or revealing garments, or big jangling jewellery can distract your audience’s attention from your message.

Setting Up Your Environment

Depending on the circumstances of your speech or presentation, you may have some choices to make about the environment. Perhaps you have a choice of meeting rooms that you can use, or perhaps you have only one option.

If you have some flexibility, it is helpful to think about what sort of environment would best help you get your message across. For example, if you are running a workshop, you might want to assemble participants in a circle to encourage collaboration and discussion. If you are holding a webinar, you’ll need a quiet location with a strong internet connection and a computer system. It is imperative that you think about what facilities you need well before the day of your presentation arrives. You may have to book equipment or classrooms. Arriving to find that the equipment you expected isn’t available is not a nice surprise for even the most experienced speaker!

If you have access to the location beforehand, you may need to move tables or chairs around to get things just the way you want them. You might choose to have a podium brought in, if you are aiming for a formal feel, for example, or you may need to position your flip chart. Double check that you have all the equipment you need, from whiteboard markers to speakers. It is far better if you can get comfortable with the room before your audience arrives, as this will make you feel more prepared and less nervous.

If you are using technology to support your presentation (i.e. PowerPoint slides or a projector), test everything before you begin. Do a microphone check and test its volume, view your slides on the computer you will be using, check any web links, play videos to test their sound, or make a call to test the phone connection prior to your teleconference. Your audience will get restless quickly if they arrive and are expected to wait while you fix a technical problem. This will also make you seem disorganized and hurt your credibility as an authoritative speaker.

Contingency Planning

Well before the day of your presentation, ask yourself, What could go wrong? This might sound like a way for a novice presenter to stress oneself out, but it can actually be very helpful. If you anticipate the worst-case scenario and are prepared for it, problems on the day of your presentation are less likely to bother you.

Many of the possible problems can be avoided with preparation . Make sure you have notes with you in case you need them. Dress professionally so that you feel good about how you are presenting yourself. Getting there early to set up and test the equipment will prevent many technical issues, but having a handout with you will make you feel even more comfortable in case you have problems with your slides. Bring a bottle of water in case your throat becomes dry or you need a moment to pause.

Most other problems can be prevented with practice. Rehearse so that you are not reliant on your notes. This way, if a note card goes missing, it’s no big deal. During your rehearsals you’ll get used to pacing yourself, pausing for breath, and monitoring the timing of your speech so that this comes more naturally once you get onstage.

During the Presentation

Managing anxiety.

Studies show that presenters’ nervousness usually peaks at the anticipation stage that occurs one minute before the presentation. They further found that as the speech progresses, nervousness tends to go down. Here are some things you can do to help you manage your anxiety before the presentation:

• Practice/rehearse in similar conditions/setting as your speech
• Be organized
• Think positively
• Analyze your audience
• Adapt your language to speaking style

During the presentation itself, there are four main areas where you can focus attention in order to manage your anxiety:

• Your body’s reaction
• Attention to the audience
• Keeping a sense of humour
• Common stress management techniques

Your Body’s Reaction

Physical movement helps to channel some of the excess energy that your body produces in response to anxiety. If at all possible, move around the front of the room rather than remaining imprisoned behind the lectern or gripping it for dear life (avoid pacing nervously from side to side, however). Move closer to the audience and then stop for a moment. If you are afraid that moving away from the lectern will reveal your shaking hands, use note cards rather than a sheet of paper for your outline. Note cards do not quiver like paper, and they provide you with something to do with your hands. Other options include vocal warm-ups right before your speech, having water (preferably in a non-spillable bottle with a spout) nearby for a dry mouth, and doing a few stretches before going on stage.

Deep breathing will help to counteract the effects of excess adrenaline. You can place cues or symbols in your notes, such as “slow down” or ☺, that remind you to pause and breathe during points in your speech. It is also a good idea to pause a moment before you get started, to set an appropriate pace from the onset. Look at your audience and smile. It is a reflex for some of your audience members to smile back. Those smiles will reassure you that your audience members are friendly.

Attention to the Audience

During your speech, make a point of establishing direct eye contact with your audience members. By looking at individuals, you establish a series of one-to-one contacts similar to interpersonal communication. An audience becomes much less threatening when you think of them not as an anonymous mass but as a collection of individuals.

A gentleman once shared his worst speaking experience: Right before the start of his speech, he reached the front of the room and forgot everything he was supposed to say. When asked what he saw when he was in the front of the room, he gave a quizzical look and responded, “I didn’t see anything. All I remember is a mental image of me up there in the front of the room blowing it.” Speaking anxiety becomes more intense if you focus on yourself rather than concentrate on your audience and your material.

Keeping a Sense of Humour

No matter how well we plan, unexpected things happen. That fact is what makes the public speaking situation so interesting. When the unexpected happens to you, do not let it rattle you. At the end of a class period late in the afternoon of a long day, a student raised her hand and asked the professor if he knew that he was wearing two different-coloured shoes, one black and one blue. He looked down and saw that she was right; his shoes did not match. He laughed at himself, complimented the student on her observational abilities, and moved on with the important thing, the material he had to deliver. People who can laugh at themselves often endear themselves to their audience.

Stress Management Techniques

Even when we use positive thinking and are well prepared, some of us still feel a great deal of anxiety about public speaking. When that is the case, it can be more helpful to use stress management than to try to make the anxiety go away.

Here are two main tools that can help:

• Visualization : Imagine the details of what a successful speech would look and sound like from beginning to end; a way of hypnotizing yourself into positive thinking by using your mind’s eye to make success real.
• Systematic desensitization : Gradual exposure to the thing that causes fear—in this case, giving a speech—can ultimately lead to decreased anxiety. Basically, the more practice you get speaking in front of people, the less fear and anxiety you’ll have about public speaking. Organizations like Toastmasters, that help people confront their fears by providing a supportive environment to learn and practise, are a good option if you have a true phobia around presenting or public speaking.

Using a Microphone

Conditions such as the size of the room and how far away your audience will be sitting should determine whether or not you need a microphone. Many people make the mistake of thinking they don’t need a mic because they can talk loud enough for everyone to hear. They are usually wrong. Unless the crowd is very small, it benefits you to use a microphone. If is very frustrating for people to be watching a presentation that they can’t hear.

If you are using a microphone during your speech, there are a few cautions to be aware of. First, make sure you do a sound check and that you know how the microphone works—how to turn it on and off, how to mute it, and how to raise or lower it. If possible, have it positioned to the height you need before you go onstage. Make sure the microphone does not block your face.

Make sure to find the optimum distance from the microphone to your mouth. This will vary with different sound equipment. For some, the mic needs to be right up against the mouth to get good sound quality. For others, this will cause screeching feedback or will pick up your breathing noises.  If you will be using a clip-on microphone (called a lavaliere mic), you’ll need to wear something with a lapel or collar that it can be clipped to. Make sure your hair and jewelery are out of the way to avoid rustling noises, and place the lavaliere microphone 8 to 10 inches below your chin.

If the microphone is on a stand, make sure it is set to the appropriate height. If it is set too high, it is distracting to the audience and if it’s too short, it will cause you to hunch over it, creating bad posture and an uncomfortable position.  Often you can take the mic off the stand and use it as a handheld model, which allows you to move around a little more. Doing a sound check and getting comfortable with the equipment before you go onstage will prevent the majority of errors when using a microphone.

Coping with Mistakes and Surprises

Even the most prepared speaker will encounter unexpected challenges from time to time. Here are a few strategies for combating the unexpected in your own presentations.

Speech Content Issues

What if a note card goes missing or you skip important information from the beginning of your speech? While situations like these might seem like the worst nightmare of a novice public speaker, they can be overcome easily. Pause for a moment to think about what to do. Is it important to include the missing information, or can it be omitted without hindering the audience’s ability to understand your speech? If it needs to be included, does the information fit better now or in a later segment? If you can move on without the missing element, that is often the best choice, but pausing for a few seconds to decide will be less distracting to the audience than sputtering through a few “ums” and “uhs.” Situations like these demonstrate why it’s a good idea to have a glass of water with you when you speak. Pausing for a moment to take a sip of water is a perfectly natural movement, so the audience may not even notice that anything is amiss.

Technical Difficulties

Technology has become a very useful aid in public speaking, allowing us to use audio or video clips, presentation software, or direct links to websites. But it does break down occasionally! Web servers go offline, files will not download, or media contents are incompatible with the computer in the presentation room. Always have a backup plan in case of technical difficulties . As you develop your speech and visual aids, think through what you will do if you cannot show a particular graph or if your presentation slides are garbled. Your beautifully prepared chart may be superior to the verbal description you can provide; however, your ability to provide a succinct verbal description when technology fails will give your audience the information they need and keep your speech moving forward.

External Distractions

Unfortunately, one thing that you can’t control during your speech is audience etiquette , but you can decide how to react to it. Inevitably, an audience member will walk in late, a cell phone will ring, or a car alarm will go off outside. If you are interrupted by external events like these, it is often useful and sometimes necessary to pause and wait so that you can regain the audience’s attention.

Whatever the event, maintain your composure . Do not get upset or angry about these glitches . If you keep your cool and quickly implement a “plan B” for moving forward, your audience will be impressed.

Reading Your Audience

Recognizing your audience’s mood by observing their body language can help you adjust your message and see who agrees with you, who doesn’t, and who is still deciding. With this information, you can direct your attention—including eye contact and questions—to the areas of the room where they can have the most impact.

As the speaker, you are conscious that you are being observed. But your audience members probably don’t think of themselves as being observed, so their body language will be easy to read.

Questions and Discussion

As a presenter, it’s a good idea to allow a little time at the end of your presentation to invite questions from the audience and to facilitate a little discussion about the topic. If possible and applicable you can include a bit of interactivity with the audience during the presentation.  This goes a long way to getting the audience engaged and interested in the topic.

There are three important elements to think about when incorporating Q&A’s as part of your presentation:

Audience Expectations

At the beginning of your speech, give the audience a little bit of information about who you are and what your expertise on the subject is. Once they know what you do (and what you know), it will be easier for the audience to align their questions with your area of expertise—and for you to bow out of answering questions that are outside of your area.

Timing of Q&A’s

Questions are easier to manage when you are expecting them. Unless you are part of a panel, meeting, or teleconference, it is probably easier to let the audience know that you will take questions at the end of your presentation. This way you can avoid interruptions to your speech that can distract you and cause you to lose time. If audience members interrupt during your talk, you can then ask them politely to hold on to their question until the Q&A session at the end.

Knowing How to Respond

Never pretend that you know the answer to a question if you don’t. The audience will pick up on it! Instead, calmly apologize and say that the question is outside of the scope of your knowledge but that you’d be happy to find out after the presentation (or, suggest some resources where the person could find out for themselves).

If you are uncertain about how to answer a question, say something like “That’s really interesting. Could you elaborate on that?” This will make the audience member feel good because they have asked an interesting question, and it will give you a moment to comprehend what they are asking.

Sometimes presenters rush to answer a question because they are nervous or want to impress. Pause for a moment, before you begin your answer, to think about what you want to say. This will help you to avoid misinterpreting the question, or taking offense to a question that is not intended that way.

A final tip is to be cautious about how you answer, so that you don’t offend your audience. You are presenting on a topic because you are knowledgeable about it, but your audience is not. It is important not to make the audience feel inferior because there are things that they don’t know. Avoid comments such as “Oh, yes, it’s really easy to do that…” Instead, say something like “Yes, that can be tricky. I would recommend…” Also, avoid a bossy tone. For example, phrase your response with “What I find helpful is…” rather than “What you should do is…”

Critiquing a Presentation

Self-analysis.

It is often said that we are our own worst critic. Many people are hard on themselves and may exaggerate how poorly a speech or presentation went. Other times, there’s not much exaggeration. In both cases it helps to examine your performance as presenter after the presentation.

You may want to ask yourself:

• Did you make the most of your unique voice? Did the audience seem to understand you?
• Did you make the most of using body language? Did your body confidently support what you were saying?
• Did you use a coherent structure? Did the audience seem to make sense of your presentation? Was it logical?
• Did you show enthusiasm? Did you show the audience you cared about your presentation?
• Did you demonstrate expertise? Did you show your credibility by citing reliable sources and making a distinction between facts and your opinion?
• Did you show that you practised and prepared? Did your confidence show because you implemented a plan that included sufficient rehearsal, contingency plans, and other success strategies?

Honestly asking yourself these questions with the intention of uncovering your strengths and weaknesses should help you to become a better presenter. While it is important to review other kinds of feedback, whether from the audience, your peers, or an instructor, it is also useful to have a realistic understanding of your own performance. This understanding is part of gaining experience and improving as a presenter.

Feedback from Others

As well as doing some self-analysis, it is a good idea to get feedback from others. If your presentation was for your class, you will likely get feedback from your instructor who is marking you. You may also get some feedback from classmates. It would also be wise to ask someone that you trust, who was in the audience, to give you feedback. You can learn a lot from what others tell you. They may have noticed a distracting habit such as twirling your hair, or putting your hands in your pockets, or a lot of ummms. They may also have noticed some real strengths of your presentation that you may not have considered. Whether the comments are positive or constructive criticism, they can be helpful for focusing on, in your next presentation.

Receiving Feedback

Being open to receiving feedback is the only way to have a better picture of your performance as a presenter or speaker. Combining self-analysis with the feedback of your audience or peers is your opportunity to better understand your strengths as a presenter and what resonated well with your audience.

When receiving and making sense of feedback, it is very important to be self-aware and honest with yourself. This honesty will help you distinguish between an environmental situation, a situation that lies with the audience member, or a situation with the presenter.

In this section you learned about useful tools, such as rehearsing, dressing appropriately, and having a contingency plan, that helps you prepare to present to a live audience. You examined approaches that would be useful during the presentation itself, such as keeping a good sense of humour and focusing your attention on your audience to manage anxiety, and what steps to take for a critical review afterwards to close the feedback loop.

Key Takeaways

• Preparing to present includes rehearsing, deciding what to wear, how to set up the environment, and making an appropriate contingency plan.
• Keeping attention on your audience, a good sense of humour, and knowing stress management techniques are good ways of managing anxiety.
• Mistakes or surprises can happen with the speech, the technology, or through external distractions.
• To effectively critique a presentation, it’s good to balance self-analysis with constructive feedback from others.

Exercise: Check Your Understanding – Presentation Delivery

• To give the audience confidence in your abilities
• To show that you are easy-going and approachable
• To play up your physical attractiveness
• All of the above
• Improvise and make up an answer
• Commit to provide a more thorough answer at a later time
• Spend significant time on the question before responding
• Become hostile and defensive

Further Reading and Links

If you would like to read more tips for great presentations see:

• Presentation Skills (http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/DeafStudiesTeaching/dissert/Presentation%20Skills.htm)

Text Attribution

• “Presenting in a Professional Context” in Professional Communication OER by Olds College OER Development Team. Adapted by Mary Shier. CC BY .

Media Attributions

• Presentation Skills © Marnie Landon is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license

Student Success Copyright © 2020 by Mary Shier is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

Module 8: Developing and Delivering Business Presentations

What’s my presentation about, learning outcomes.

• Identify the purpose, audience, and message of your presentation

It may be helpful to think of your presentation as having three key parts or interlocking gears: purpose, audience and message. Let’s walk through the presentation development process at this planning level.

Generally the first step in developing a presentation is identifying your purpose. Purpose is a multi-layered term, but in this context, it simply identifies an objective or an intended outcome. Why is identifying a purpose important? To riff on the classic Yogi Berra quote, if you don’t know where you’re going, you might as well be somewhere else.

That is, you don’t want to waste your audience’s time. You need a purpose.

Your purpose will determine both your content and approach. You might also want to consider supplemental tools, audience materials, and the room layout of where your presentation will take place. Perhaps your purpose is already defined for you: your manager has asked you to research three possible sites for a new store. In this case, it’s likely there is an established evaluation criteria and format for presenting that information. Your content and approach is therefore defined. If you don’t have a defined purpose, consider whether your objective is to inform, to educate, or to inspire a course of action. State that objective in a general sense, including which action you want your audience to take based on your presentation. Once you have your purpose solidified, it is time to consider your audience.

The second step in the presentation development process is audience research. Who are the members of your audience? Why are they attending this conference, meeting, or presentation? This step is similar to the demographic and psychographic research marketers conduct prior to crafting a product or service pitch—and just as critical. Key factors to consider include your audience’s age range, educational level, industry/role, subject matter knowledge, etc.

Audience consideration matters for two reasons: you need to know what they know and what they need to know.

Understanding your audience will allow you to articulate what may be the most critical aspect of your presentation: “WIIFM,” or what’s in it for them. Profiling your audience also allows you to adapt your message so it’s effective for this particular audience. That is, to present your idea (proposal, subject matter, recommendations) at a depth and in a manner using language, terminology, and tools that are appropriate. Don’t expect your audience to meet you where you are. Your job is to need meet them where they are.

Returning to the site analysis example mentioned earlier, knowing your audience also means getting clear on what management expects from you. Are you serving in an analyst role—conducting research and presenting “just the facts”—to support a management decision? Or are you expected to make a specific recommendation? Be careful of power dynamics and don’t overstep your role. Either way, be prepared to take a stand and defend your position. You never know when a routine stand-and-deliver presentation could become a career-defining opportunity.

The third step is honing your message. In “TED’s Secret to Great Public Speaking,” TED Conference curator Chris Anderson notes that there’s “no single formula” for a compelling talk, but there is one common denominator: great speakers build an idea inside the minds of their audience. Take, for instance, Chimamanda Adichie’s idea, which Anderson summarizes as “people are more than a single identity.” [1] As Adichie expresses it: “The problem with stereotypes [of a single story or identity] is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete.” [2] Or Sir Ken Robinson’s idea that creativity is a essential building block for learning. As he expresses the idea: “My contention is that creativity now is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.” [3] Ideas matter because they’re capable of changing our perceptions, our actions and our world. As Anderson puts it: “Ideas are the most powerful force shaping human culture.” [4]

If ideas are that powerful, more must be better? It depends on your purpose. As any seasoned sales person knows, you don’t walk into a meeting with a prospective client and launch into an overview of every item in your company’s product or service line. That’s what’s known as “throwing spaghetti on the wall to see what sticks” and it’s not very effective.

What audience members expect is that you’ve done your homework, that you know them and their pain, and that you have something to offer. Your goal is to offer a fresh perspective, an innovative approach or a key insight that will change things for the better. As Chris Anderson puts it: “pick one idea, and make it the through-line running through your entire talk.” [5] One message, brought vividly and relevantly to life.

Now that you have an overview of the presentation development process, let’s review what can—and often does—go wrong. By considering audience, purpose, and message you can avoid common presentation mistakes.

Practice Question

• Anderson, Chris. “ TED’s Secret to Great Public Speaking .” TED , March 2016. ↵
• Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. “ The danger of a single story .” TED , July 2009. ↵
• Robinson, Ken. “ Do schools kill creativity? ” TED , Feb 2006. ↵
• Anderson, TED ↵
• What's my Presentation About. Authored by : Nina Burokas. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution

Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Assignments

• Annotated Bibliography
• Analyzing a Scholarly Journal Article
• Group Presentations
• Dealing with Nervousness
• Using Visual Aids
• Grading Someone Else's Paper
• Types of Structured Group Activities
• Group Project Survival Skills
• Leading a Class Discussion
• Multiple Book Review Essay
• Reviewing Collected Works
• Writing a Case Analysis Paper
• Writing a Case Study
• About Informed Consent
• Writing Field Notes
• Writing a Policy Memo
• Writing a Reflective Paper
• Writing a Research Proposal
• Generative AI and Writing
• Acknowledgments

Planning for and Giving a Group Presentation

Students working on group projects are often asked to give an oral presentation summarizing the results of their research. Professors assign group presentations because they combine the cooperative learning benefits of working in groups with the active learning benefits of speaking in front of an audience. However, similar to participating in a group project , giving a group presentation requires making decisions together , negotiating shared responsibilities, and collaborating on developing a set of solutions to a research problem . Below are issues to consider when planning and while giving a group presentation.

Before the Presentation

When to Begin

Planning the logistics around giving a presentation should take place as the group project progresses and, most critically, coalesce immediately after results of your study are known and clear recommendations can be made. Keep in mind that completing the basic tasks of giving a presentation [e.g., designating a moderator, designing the slide templates, working on the introduction, etc.] can save you time and allow your group to focus just before giving the presentation on how to effectively highlight the most important aspects of the research study.

Sharing the Responsibility

Everyone in the group should have an equal role in preparing the presentation and covering a similar amount of information during the presentation. However, a moderator should be elected to lead the presentation. The group should then determine what each member will speak about. This can be based on either the member's interests or what they worked on during the group project. This means that each member should be responsible for developing an outline of what they will talk about and drafting the content of their section of the slides or other forms of visual aids.

NOTE: If , for whatever reason, a group member is  particularly anxious about speaking in front of an audience or perhaps they are uncomfortable because English is not their first language, consider giving them a role that can be easily articulated, such as, introducing the purpose of the study and its importance. Everyone must participate in speaking, but be cognizant of the need to support that person by discussing what would work best for them while still being an active contributor to the presentation.

Organizing the Content

The content of the presentation should parallel the organization of the research study. In general, it should include a brief introduction, a description of the study, along with its purpose and significance, a review of prior research and its relevance to your group's project, an analysis of the results, with an emphasis on significance findings or recommended courses of action, and a brief statement about any limitations and how the group managed them. The conclusion of the presentation should briefly summarize the study's key findings and implications and, if time has been allotted, ask for questions from the audience. The conclusion can also be used to highlight areas of study the require further investigation. Note that the group's time should be spent primarily discussing the results of the study and their implications in furthering knowledge about the research problem .

Developing the Content

The narrative around each section must flow together smoothly t o ensure that the audience remains engaged. An initial meeting to discuss each section of the presentation should include the following: 1) deciding on the sequence of speakers and which group member presents on which section; 2) determining who will oversee the use of any technology [and who steps up when it's that person's turn to speak]; 3) determining how much time should be allocated for each section in relation to the overall time limit; 4) discussing the use and content of slides or other visual aids; and, 5) developing a general outline of the presentation. Once everyone's roles and responsibilities have been negotiated, the group should establish a schedule of deadlines for when the work should to be completed.

Creating Transitions

Building the narrative of an oral presentation means more than imparting information; it also requires the group to work together developing moments of transition from one section to the next. Transitional statements ensures coordination among members about what is to be covered and helps your audience follow along and remain engaged. The transition from one section to the next should include both verbal cues [e.g., a recap what you just discussed and an introduction of the next speaker] and non-verbal gestures [e.g., stepping away from the podium or front of class to make room for the next speaker]. An example of this transition could be something like this:

Speaker 1: " ...so to summarize, the literature suggested that allegations of election fraud often created the conditions for massive street protests in democratized societies. Next Mike will discuss how we analyzed recent events in Mexico and determined why this assumption may not apply under certain conditions. "

Speaker 2: " Thank you, Jordan. Next slide. In our study, we coded and analyzed the content of twitter accounts to explore the rise of dissension among.... "

NOTE:   Each member of the group should learn the entire presentation and not just their section. This ensures that members can help out if the speaker becomes nervous and loses track of what to say or if they forget something. If each member knows the entire presentation, then there is always someone who can step up and support the speaker by maintaining the narrative and not losing the audience's attention.

Practicing the Presentation

The most critical thing to do before giving a group presentation is to practice as a group. Rehearse what will be said and how it will be said so you know that the overall structure works, that the time is allotted correctly, and that any changes can be made, if needed. Also, rehearsing the presentation should include practicing use of the technology and choreographing where people will stand. An effective strategy is to rehearse the entire presentation at least twice. Practice with each member taking turns speaking in front of the other members pretending that they are the audience. This way the group members can take turns offering suggestions about improving the presentation and the speaker gets more comfortable speaking in front of people. Practice a second time presenting as a group. This way, everyone can rehearse where to stand and coordinate transitions. If possible, practice in the room where your presentation will take place; standing in the front of a classroom feels very different from sitting there as a student.

During the Presentation

Before the Presentations Begin

If groups are presenting from a shared computer, ask your professor if you could pre-load your slides or other visual aids before the class begins . This will ensure that you're not taking time away from your presentation downloading and setting everything up. In addition, if there is a problem, it can be resolved beforehand rather than it being a distraction when you start the presentation.

Introduction

Begin by having the moderator introduce the group by giving each member's name and a brief description of what they will be presenting on. And, yes, this seems like a pointless formality because it's likely that everyone knows everyone else. However, this is expected because it reflects giving oral presentations in most professional and work settings. In addition, your group has a limited amount of time to present and introducing everyone before the presentation begins saves more time than having each individual introduce themselves before they speak.

When Not Speaking

Assuming your group has practiced at least twice [and preferably more], you have heard and seen the entire presentation multiple times. Keep in mind, however, that your audience has not and they can observe everyone in the group. Be engaged. Do not look bored or distracted while others are speaking. Pay attention to each other by watching what the presenter is doing. Respond positively to the presenter and use nonverbal cues [e.g., nodding your head] as a way to help emphasize keys points of the presentation; audiences notice when those not speaking react to something the speaker is saying.

Coordinate Moving from One Speaker to the Next

The person presenting should take a position in the foreground of where you are delivering the information. Group members not speaking should step back and take a spot behind or off to the side of the speaker. When the person speaking is done, the next person steps forward. This pre-planned choreography may seem trivial, but it emphasizes to your audience who the next speaker will be and demonstrates a smooth, coordinated delivery throughout the presentation.

Visual Aids

Plan ahead how to use slides or other visual aids. The person currently presenting should not be distracted by having to constantly move to the next slide, backup and show an earlier slide, or exit a slide to show a video or external web page . Coordinate who in the group is responsible for taking the cue to change slides or otherwise manipulate the technology. When it's time for that person to speak, have a plan in place for passing this responsibility to someone else in the group. Fumbling around with who does what when, distracts the audience. Note however that the role of moving from one slide to the next does not count as being a presenter!

The presentation should conclude with the moderator stepping forward and thanking the audience and asking if there are any questions. If a question relates to a specific part of the presentation, the group member who spoke during that part should answer the question; it should not be the moderator's responsibility to answer for everyone. If another group follows your presentation from a shared computer, be courteous and close out all of your slides or other visual aids before stepping away.

Aguilera, Anna, Jesse Schreier, and Cassandra Saitow. "Using Iterative Group Presentations in an Introductory Biology Course to Enhance Student Engagement and Critical Thinking." The American Biology Teacher 79 (August 2017): 450-454; Barnard, Sam. "Guide for Giving a Group Presentation." VirtualSpeech Ltd., 2019; Eisen, Arri. "Small-Group Presentations: Teaching Science Thinking and Context in a Large Biology Class." BioScience 48 (January 1998): 53-58; Group Presentations. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University ; Kågesten, Owe, and Johann Engelbrecht. "Student Group Presentations: A Learning Instrument in Undergraduate Mathematics for Engineering Students." European Journal of Engineering Education 32 (2007): 303-314; Lucas, Stephen. The Art of Public Speaking . [Chapter 19]. 12th edition. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2015; McArthur, John A. “10 Tips for Improving Group Presentations.” [blog]. Department of Communication Studies, Furman University, November 1, 2011; Melosevic, Sara. “Simple Group Presentation Tips for Maximum Teamwork Magic.” PresentBetter, November 13, 2018; St. John, Ron. Group Project Guidelines. Department of Speech, University of Hawai'i Maui Community College, January 16, 2002.

• << Previous: Giving an Oral Presentation
• Next: Dealing with Nervousness >>
• Last Updated: Jun 3, 2024 9:44 AM
• URL: https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/assignments

More From Forbes

15 presentation tips for captivating your audience and commanding the room.

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Linkedin

Person speaking in front of audience

Public speaking can be a daunting task, especially when addressing a large audience. Whether you're giving a presentation in the boardroom or delivering a keynote speech at a conference, holding your audience's attention and maintaining command of the room is paramount. The ability to captivate your audience and leave a lasting impression not only enhances your message's impact but also builds your reputation as a confident and effective speaker.

Here, Forbes Coaches Council members share invaluable tips and strategies to help you conquer your fear of public speaking and ensure that your next presentation or speech is a resounding success.

1. Be Confident

Be grounded and confident to be yourself and then tell great stories. Use your voice and the stage to bring the stories alive. Your audience will connect to the emotion of the story but make sure that it is relevant for your audience and related to the topic. - Cath Daley , Cath Daley Ltd

2. Find A Way To Actively Engage The Audience

Be prepared with ways to get your audience engaged and keep their focus. Whether that's relating to your audience, telling a joke or asking questions, actively driving engagement will make for a more effective presentation or speech. - Luke Feldmeier , Online Leadership Training - Career and Leadership Accelerator for Engineers

3. Create An Emotional Connection

Creating an emotional connection with the audience and involving them in your session fosters active participation, and ensures your audience stays engaged throughout. This also serves to enhance your presence and to create memories that stay with them long after your presentation ends. - Kristin Andree , Andree Group

4. Put Your Unique Take Front And Center

Do you have something unexpected to say about your topic? Something that goes against the mainstream opinion in your industry or is maybe even slightly provocative? If so, putting your unique take front and center in the title and the beginning of your talk and explaining or resolving it later keeps your audience engaged and interested. - Micha Goebig , Go Big Coaching & Communications, LLC

5. Remember That The Audience Doesn't Know Your Planned Speech

No one wants to see you fail as a speaker. Remember that the focus shouldn't be on whether or not you can recall verbatim every word of your planned speech. The focus should be on how to connect to your audience with a few key points using a combination of storytelling and facts. - Sheri Nasim , Center for Executive Excellence

6. Adapt Your Language To The Audience

Talk about something they are interested in or include elements that will keep them interested. Start by asking why your topic matters to each and every one of them. Use language adapted to the audience. Keep the key messages to two or three maximum. Show them what you think and why you care about the topic. - Isabelle Claus Teixeira , Business and Human Development Consulting Pte Ltd

7. Try To Incorporate An Element Of Surprise

Engagement is the key to keeping the audience's attention. Invite participation, tell stories, walk around, have visuals, include humor, raise your voice and ask questions. Think of a comedian who points at someone in the audience: "Hey, you with the red shirt?" Everyone pays attention. What element of surprise can you present? - Susan Jordan, MBA, MSODL, PCC , Sphereshift Coaching and Consulting

8. Know Your Audience

Doing research ahead of time to ensure you're providing the subject matter in a personalized manner will keep their attention. The topic will dictate the necessary vibe. Based on that, providing opportunities for the group to engage, such as shouting out a word, raising a hand, etc., will also help maintain their interest. - Lindsay Miller , Reverie Organizational Development Specialists

9. Use The Problem-Agitation-Solution Approach

Don't just give a presentation — share a story. It must be a story-audience fit though. Use the P.A.S. — problem-agitation-solution — approach. Start with introducing a problem, follow by agitating the problem via telling a relevant anecdote and conclude by offering a solution by giving an audience a clear, direct way to avoid the pain and learn the lesson. - Alla Adam , Alla Adam Coaching

10. Tell The Audience What They Need To Hear

Instead of trying to figure out what to say, figure out what the audience wants and needs to hear. This shift in perspective allows you to tailor your speech in a way that keeps audiences actively engaged because it's good content that they want to hear. - Robin Pou , The Confident Leader

11. Go All In

To command your audience's attention you have to get into the spirit of what you're teaching and go all in without second-guessing yourself. People want to be led, but they'll be unwilling to follow someone who isn't confident in what they are communicating. - Arash Vossoughi , Voss Coaching Co.

12. Use A Compelling Opening

Start your speech/presentation with a compelling opening that grabs the audience's attention. This could be a surprising fact, a relevant story or a thought-provoking question. This initial engagement can help you establish a strong connection with the audience and set the stage for a captivating presentation. - Moza-Bella Tram , Moza-Bella LLC

Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?

13. Be Authentic

Connect deeply with your essence and purpose. Radiate authenticity. When you're centered in genuine passion and truth others feel it, creating an unspoken bond. It's not about performing; it's about being present and real and offering value from the heart. That's magnetic. - Anna Yusim, MD , Yusim Psychiatry, Consulting & Executive Coaching

14. Let Your Audience Talk

There is nothing worse than stealing everyone's craving for autonomy and speaking the whole time. The person who does the talking does the learning. So, give some autonomy to the audience. Let them talk. Even if it's thinking time and talking to themselves, or to their neighbor or table group. This gains trust and they will lean into what you have to say even more. - Alex Draper , DX Learning Solutions

15. Leverage Non-Verbal Cues

My top tip is to engage your audience through storytelling. A compelling narrative captures attention, evokes emotion and makes complex ideas more relatable. Additionally, use body language and eye contact effectively. These non-verbal cues can significantly enhance your connection with the audience. - Peter Boolkah , The Transition Guy

• Editorial Standards
• Reprints & Permissions

• Local Elections
• Public Agenda
• District Court
• Municipal Court
• Marriage License
• North Dakota News
• National News
• International News
• Honor Rolls
• Local Sports
• North Dakota Sports
• National Sports
• Letters to the Editor
• Local Columnists
• National Columnists
• Arts & Entertainment
• Classifieds
• Garage Sales
• Statement of Values
• Terms of Service
• Submit News
• Place Notice
• Browse Notices on NDNA

• Today's Paper

Subscribe Today

Alzheimer’s to hold webinar for emergency responders.

BISMARCK – The Alzheimer’s Association will offer a free webinar presentation titled, “Responding to Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias: Law Enforcement & First Responders.”

The virtual presentation will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 27, from 1-3 p.m. Registration is required by contacting the Azheimer’s Association Minnesota-North Dakota Chapter. The project is funded through the North Dakota Department of Health & Human Services, Adult & Aging Services Section.

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

• Daily Newsletter
• Breaking News

Sculpture unveiling to complete memorial

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The World War I Centennial Commission will host a special First Illumination ceremony at the ...

Painted rocks spread kindness

Ymca awarded funds for virtual wellness program.

The Minot Family YMCA has been awarded $13,000 from the Parkinson’s Foundation for the YMCA360 Virtual Wellness ...

Four teams generate funds for Strike Out the Stigma campaign

Minot entities share in statewide opioid grant funds.

First District Health Unit and Endeavor Sober Living in Minot are among more than a dozen agencies across North ...

Minot educator named NDACTE Teacher of the Year

Starting at $2.99/week..

How did Raygun qualify for the Olympics? Is she really the best Australia has to offer?

Since Australian breaker Rachael "Raygun" Gunn failed to score a single point in any of her Olympic bouts, many have asked how she qualified for the Games.

Fellow breaker and anthropologist Lucas Marie says she won her qualification "fair and square" last year, but African American man Malik Dixon has criticised the Olympic body for letting her in.

What's next?

Breaking will not be an event at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games — a decision made before Raygun's performance.

The 2024 Paris Olympics marked breaking's debut as a sport at the global event, with 36-year-old lecturer and breaker Rachael "Raygun" Gunn representing Australia for the first time.

Having failed to win a single point in any of her Olympic bouts, Raygun quickly became a viral sensation.

The question on many people's minds now is: How did she even qualify?

Lucas Marie is a breaker who has competed, performed, taught and judged breaking competitions over the past 25 years. He's also an anthropologist who recently co-authored an article with Gunn.

He says the answer to that question is simple.

"There was an Oceania qualifier in which any B-boy or B-girl from Australia [or] New Zealand could enter, and that was in Sydney in October 2023," he told ABC News.

"And leading up to that, there were a lot of other events in which breakers were competing.

"She won those battles fair and square and won the qualification in Sydney.

"And it wasn't really a surprise to anyone. 

"She's been fairly consistent, winning or coming second or third at a lot of breaking events in Australia for the last five to 10 years."

Marie said there was nothing out of the ordinary about Raygun's performance.

"It's not like gymnastics where there's this kind of agreed-upon standard," he said.

"It's always had a rawness to it. It's always had an improvisational kind of quality. And I think looking different and trying different stuff has always been celebrated.

"And I think Raygun, in a way, was just expressing a core kind of hip hop trait in a way a lot of breakers do."

He described her efforts as bold.

"I thought — and this is how I judge a lot of breaking events — I thought, 'Oh, she's making some really interesting choices to mimic Australian animals.' And you can kind of see the choices that she's making in the moment."

Is she the best Australia has to offer?

Team Australia chef de mission Anna Meares insisted after Raygun's performance that she was the best breaker the country had to offer. But is this true?

"It's sometimes just who's performing better on the day," Marie said.

"And at the qualification event in which she won, and other events in which she's won, she performed better on that day and won the ticket.

"That doesn't mean she's the best. It doesn't really work like that.

"I think she's a great breaker. She won the qualification. She's won other events in the past, and she was a good representative for Australia at that competition."

Asked whether there were B-girls in Perth, regional Victoria or rural Brisbane who might have qualified but could not afford to travel to Sydney for the tryouts, Marie agreed this was possible.

"Of course, there's breakers all over the country that maybe should have been in that event, but they weren't."

Breaking will not carry over to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, a decision made before Raygun's battle.

Marie described this as sad.

"Maybe, based on the ratings, they'll reassess that and maybe allocate some medals to breaking," he said.

"I really hope that's the case, and I hope that for other breakers who want to compete in it as a dance sport."

Marie said that at the end of the day people should remember they were dealing with a human.

"As a friend of Rachael's, there's a human being who's getting a lot of negative attention," he said.

"I think people kind of miss that sometimes and forget the human aspect of all this."

'Toying with the culture'

Malik Dixon is an African American who has been living in Australia for more than a decade and is a Sydney University graduate.

He said Raygun made a total "mockery" out of breaking at the Olympics.

"She was dressed like a member of the cricket team or an Australian PE teacher, and from that point it just seemed like satire," Mr Dixon told ABC News.

"It just looked like somebody who was toying with the culture and didn't know how culturally significant it was being the first time in the Olympics and just how important it was to people who really cherish hip hop and one of the elements of hip hop, which is breakdancing.

"It made me think, was Borat her breakdancing coach?"

Mr Dixon said too many people felt entitled to African American culture.

"The African American space has been one where we've shared our community so much and without any restraints, any barriers, roadblocks, obstacles, any gatekeepers, that essentially what should have been African American cultural capital is just shared, which is cool," he said. 

"We like to share, right? 

"We shared 400 years of free labour.

"To see Rachael in her attempt to be a part of the culture just be grossly underwhelming made it seem like she didn't take it seriously."

Olympics body criticised for Raygun qualification

Mr Dixon criticised the body that qualified Raygun, saying she devalued breaking with her performance.

"Whatever governing body nominated her as Australia's entrant into the Olympics either did not understand the assignment or didn't really believe in the integrity or significance of breakdancing, because if they did they would just say, rather than disrespect the culture, we're just not ready to send an applicant this year."

He said Raygun was extremely audacious and not self-aware.

"You've got to know your role, know your position, know your limitation," he said. 

"And I think that part of privilege is saying that there are no limits to what I can do. 

"Part of privilege is having the authority to say that there are no limits and there are no requirements, there are no prerequisites to what I can do."

Raygun's degrees do not hold much water with Mr Dixon.

"Due to consumerism, this Foundational Black American product, which is hip hop, is global," he said.

"And even people who have no connection to any African Americans or any local or regional things that come out in these songs, they have become a part of the whole experience now.

"If I came in and said that I was an authority on Greek music and I was going against the grain of what the mainstream Greek musicians thought, or the school of thought, and I've said that I was the authority, people would check me on that.

"If I had a PhD in sprinting, does that qualify me to go against Noah Lyles? No, it doesn't."

He also doubts Raygun was the best breaker Australia had to offer.

"[There's] got to be somebody out here that's better than that! The kangaroo! The sprinkler! She did the sprinkler out there, man!" he said.

Should everybody just lighten up?

Should we lighten up? Mr Dixon does not believe so.

"Larrikinism is used as a get-out-of-jail-free card and to escape responsibility of how words or actions impact a hurt person," he said.

"But when the majority culture is offended, there's no playing around.

"This is a part of my culture, and I don't think Australians are in a place to tell me how I should feel about breakdancing being mocked on an international stage.

"People who don't have any or limited access to black people or hip hop culture now may see Rachael and her buffoonery as a representation of hip hop and black culture.

"People who were already side-eyeing breakdancing as an Olympic sport, Rachael Gunn has put the nail in that coffin.

"This might be the most viral clip of the whole Olympics. From a comedy standpoint, she's got it, but from an Olympics perspective, its regressive."

• X (formerly Twitter)

Related Stories

'i absolutely love her courage': meares defends raygun after wave of online ridicule for paris performance.

In an Olympic sport that may be one and done, Australia's first breaker bows out in 'different' performance

'All about originality': Olympics breakdancing judge joins community backing Raygun amid online criticism

• Arts, Culture and Entertainment
• Community and Society
• Human Interest
• Olympic Games
• Other Sports
• Popular Culture

2024 Olympics: Australian Breakdancer Raygun Reacts to Criticism After Controversial Debut

Australian breakdancer rachael “raygun” gunn shared her thoughts on the online criticism toward her aug. 9 performance at the 2024 paris olympics, which earned her no points. .

Raygun is breaking free of the criticism.

After the Australian breakdancer (real name: Rachael Gunn ) raised eyebrows for her performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics , she pushed back at the hate. 

“I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best—their power moves,” Gunn explained during an Aug. 10 press conference, per ESPN. “What I bring is creativity.”

Raygun’s Aug. 9 performance went viral for its unconventionally simple moves—which earned her zero points from the judges. And while breaking is judged on creativity, personality, technique, variety, musicality and vocabulary, many users on social media pointed out the lack of difficulty involved in Raygun’s routine. Still, Gunn maintains her skill. 

“All of my moves are original,” Gunn added. “Creativity is really important to me. I go out there, and I show my artistry. Sometimes it speaks to the judges, and sometimes it doesn't. I do my thing, and it represents art. That is what it is about.”

The 36-year-old is at the very least familiar with the ins-and-outs of breaking, and even lectures at her alma mater Macquarie University and, according to her staff profile , is interested in research involving the  “cultural politics” of the activity. 

And while she didn’t earn her country any points for her participation in Paris 2024, Australia’s Olympic chief also took to the breakdancer’s defense. 

“I love Rachael,” Chief de mission Anna Meares emphasized at an Aug. 10 press conference. “And I think that what has occurred on social media with trolls and keyboard warriors, and taking those comments and giving them airtime, has been really disappointing.”

Meares went on to detail how Gunn—who has previously represented Australia at the World Breaking Championships—added to the country’s Olympic team.

“Raygun is an absolutely loved member of this Olympic team,” Meares continued. “She has represented the Olympic team, the Olympic spirit with great enthusiasm. And I absolutely love her courage. I love her character, and I feel very disappointed for her, that she has come under the attack that she has.”

Keep reading for more controversies to come out of Paris 2024. 

Jordan Chiles Medal Controversy

After the U.S. gymnast won bronze in the women's gymnastics individual floor exercise final, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation and Romanian finalists Ana Maria Barbosu and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea , who came in fourth and fifth place, filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The Romanian side argued that an inquiry that Chiles' coach had submitted at the competition that had led to the athlete's score to be raised by 0.1 of a point should not have been granted because it was submitted four seconds past a one-minute deadline.

The court agreed and ruled that the U.S. athlete's initial score of 13.666 would be reinstated, a decision also adopted later by the International Gymnastics Federation, which said in a statement that it had modified the rankings to put Barbosu in third place.

The International Olympics Committee then announced that it "will reallocate the bronze medal to Ana Barbosu (Romania)," adding, "We are in touch with the NOC of Romania to discuss the reallocation ceremony and with USOPC regarding the return of the bronze medal."

The  U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee says it plans to appeal the decision.

Canada Boots Women's Soccer Coach

The 2024 Olympics had barely begun when Bev Priestman , head coach of the  Canadian women's soccer team, was removed from her post by Canada Soccer after her staff was accused of using drones to spy on the New Zealand team ahead of their group stage match. "Additional information has come to our attention regarding previous drone use against opponents, predating the Paris 2024 Olympic Games," Canada Soccer CEO and general secretary  Kevin Blue said in a July 25 statement explaining the decision. "In light of these new revelations, Canada Soccer has made the decision to suspend…Bev Priestman for the remainder of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and until the completion of our recently announced independent external review."  Priestman apologized, saying in a statement, "I am absolutely heartbroken for the players, and I would like to apologize from the bottom of my heart for the impact this situation has had on all of them." The team, which won gold in Tokyo, is "a group of people who care very much about sportsmanship and integrity," she continued. "As the leader of the team on the field, I want to take accountability, and I plan to fully co-operate with the [Canadian Soccer Association] investigation."

South Korea Mistaken for North Korea During the Opening Ceremony

As the boat carrying athletes from South Korea came into view during the July 26 Opening Ceremony, they were incorrectly announced in both French and English as being from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea—which is North Korea. South Korea, meanwhile, is the Republic of Korea. In a July 27 statement, the International Olympic Committee noted, "We deeply apologize for the mistake that occurred when introducing the Korean team during the Opening Ceremony broadcast." IOC President Thomas Bach also called South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to apologize, per the chief executive's office, which relayed that Yoon told Bach the people of South Korea were "very shocked and embarrassed" by the mistake. An IOC spokesperson called the error an "operational mistake" that was "clearly deeply regrettable." Parade order is determined alphabetically according to the host nation's language—minus Greece, which always goes first as the home of the first Olympics, and the host nation goes last. South Korea was the 48th country in the Parade of Nations, while North Korea was 153rd.

The Wrong Kind of Splash

British commentator Bob Ballard was pulled from Eurostar's Olympics coverage for making a remark that was widely derided as sexist after Australian swimmers Mollie O'Callaghan , Shayna Jack , Emma McKeon and Meg Harris  won gold in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay. "Well, the women just finishing off," Ballard said following the race. "You know what women are like…hanging around, doing their makeup." His co-commentator Lizzie Simmonds replied, "Outrageous, Bob. Some of the men are doing that as well." Calling his comment "inappropriate," Eurostar said in a July 29 statement Ballard had been removed with "immediate effect" from further coverage. The veteran sportscaster promptly apologized. "The comments I made during the Australian freestyle relay victory ceremony on Saturday have caused some offence," he wrote on X . "It was never my intention to upset or belittle anyone and, if I did, I apologise. I am a massive advocate of women’s sport."

A Rumor That Went Off the Deep End

After speculation that a too-shallow pool inside La Defense Arena was responsible for slower-than-expected times in swimming, the athletes torpedoed the idea that the water wasn't deep enough to smash records. "I think it's totally a myth," Team USA's Regan Smith , who swam away from Paris with five medals, told NBCOlympics.com after she and Gretchen Walsh , Lilly King and Torri Huske set a new world record in the women's 4x100-meter medley. "I think at first people were very aware of [the lack of new records]… So, I think that caused some chatter, like, 'Oh, is it the pool that's doing this?' But I think as the meet went on, people got used to it, and then I think they got more comfortable with it, and then we started seeing some really fast swims." Added four-time medalist Walsh, "I think much of what the Olympics is, and what it represents, makes any pool that it's at feel kind of slow. Because you have so much pressure on yourself that it is hard at your 100 percent best."

Swimmer Sent Home for "Indiscipline"

Brazilian swimmer Ana Carolina Vieira was sent home after, according to the Brazilian Olympic Committee, she committed two "acts of indiscipline": She left the Olympic Village with boyfriend/teammate Gabriel Santos without permission, the BOC said, after acting "in a disrespectful and aggressive manner" in response to a "technical decision made by the Brazilian Swimming Team committee" regarding the 4x100m freestyle relay. In a video titled "How a communication failure destroyed my Olympic dream," Vieira lamented what happened but said, "everything is going to be solved at the right time."

Another Swimmer Kicked Out for "Inappropriate Atmosphere"

The Paraguayan Olympic Committee asked swimmer Luana Alonso to leave the Games , alleging in a statement that she had created an "inappropriate atmosphere at the Heart of Team Paraguay." "We thank her for proceeding as instructed," the statement continued, "as it was of her own free will that she did not spend the night in the Athletes' Village." The Southern Methodist University student had seemingly already returned to Texas when she wrote on Instagram Story (translated from Spanish) Aug. 5, "I just wanted to make it clear that I was never removed or expelled from anywhere, stop spreading false information. I don’t want to give any statement but I’m not going to let lies affect me either."

MyKayla Skinner vs. Simone Biles

Simone Biles had already let it be known what she thought of Tokyo teammate MyKayla Skinner 's criticism of the U.S. gymnastics team selected to go to Paris—and Skinner had apologized for saying in a since-deleted video that "the talent and the depth just isn't like what it used to be" and that "obviously a lot of girls don't work as hard." But after the 2024 squad won team gold , Biles captioned a photo of the athletes, "Lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions"—an apparent jab at Skinner's original comment. On Aug. 6, Skinner reiterated in an Instagram video that she had "poorly" articulated her original point. But, she added, the cyberbullying she and her family had been subject to—fallout from her cyberfeud with Biles —had gotten out of hand. She pleaded with the seven-time gold medalist "to please put a stop to this. Please ask your followers to stop."

Beam In a Little Noise, Please

Neither Biles nor Suni Lee medaled in beam this year after both gymnasts fell off the apparatus during their final routines. Afterward, Biles commented on the strangely quiet environment during their penultimate event in Paris. "It was really weird and awkward," the athlete, who earned bronze on beam in Tokyo, told the Associated Press . "We've asked several times if we can have some music, or some background noise. I'm not really sure what happened there, but yeah, not our favorite. None of us liked it." In response to the GOAT's complaint, an International Gymnastics Federation said the atmosphere was "part of the sport presentation plan at Paris 2024." Lee noted that "the pressure was definitely on" and "a lot of people were definitely feeling it." She wondered if it was so quiet the nearby photographers could hear her breathing. "It adds to the stress," Lee said, "just because it’s like you, yes, you're the only one up there. So I was feeling the pressure.”

Gymnastics Scoring Shocker

Jordan Chiles seemingly finished out of the running for a medal when she completed her floor exercise final routine and received a score of 13.666, Romania's Ana Barbosu ahead of her in third place with a score of 13.700. But after Team USA filed a score inquiry on Chiles' behalf and her performance was further reviewed by the judges, her start value was increased by one-tenth of a point. As a result, her score was subsequently bumped up to 13.766. Meaning, she got the bronze and Barbosu—who was already waving her country's flag in celebration—left the arena in tears. Afterward, Barbosu posted a video of herself competing and wrote, "Thank you to everyone who encouraged me before, during, and after the competition."

5,000 Meters Scoring Shocker

Medal adjustments haven't been confined to the gymnastics arena. Kenyan runner Faith Kipyegon was initially disqualified for seeming to jostle Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia during the women's 5,000 meters at the Stade de France on Aug. 5, negating her second-place finish. "I have never seen anything like that, in an Olympic final that went on for so long," commentator Kara Goucher , a two-time Olympian, said on the broadcast, noting that the two women also appeared to exchange heated words. "You see a little bit of elbow, you see a little bit of frustration, but that was many strides and scolding." It wasn't until the wee hours of Aug. 6 that Kipyegon found out her silver medal had been reinstated. The Olympic Jury of Appeal ruled that, while there had been "significant contact" between her and Tsegay, "the incident did not warrant a disqualification." With that, Italy's Nadia Battocletti —the fourth-place finisher bumped into bronze position by the disqualification—was re-relegated to fourth.

Swimming Disqualifications That Stood

Two athletes' hopes of a medal were dashed when they unwittingly broke rules mid-swim, meaning they didn't even know they were out until they finished their races. Great Britain's Luke Greenbank finished first in his 200-meter backstroke heat but was disqualified for staying underwater for further than the maximum 15 meters after first diving in. "Win or lose I’ve always been my own harshest critic but sometimes you’ve just got to take it as it comes," he wrote on Instagram Aug. 1. "I can take pride in the fact that I know I was in great shape coming into these games after a tough few years, but this will motivate me to come back stronger." A technical error also knocked Alex Walsh off the 200-meter individual medley podium after she finished in the bronze position. As she approached the wall during the last leg of her backstroke, she made an illegal turn by starting to flip out of position before she tapped the wall and launched into her breaststroke. "Still proud," Walsh wrote on Instagram Aug. 6, thanking her supporters a few days after the race. "Despite the DQ, this Olympics has been an experience that has left me feeling happy and fulfilled, and I will cherish that forever. After all, everything happens for a reason and there is so much more to be excited about for me in this sport."

Something in the Water?

Despite $1.53 billion having been budgeted to clean up the perennially polluted Seine, reports swirled for months leading up to the Paris Games about whether it would be safe enough to hold the swimming leg of the triathlons and the 10-kilometer marathons in the river. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo went for a swim July 17 and declared France's most famous body of water good to go—but it's been kind of a s--t show since the Olympics began. On Monday, July 29, swims for the triathletes to familiarize themselves with the Seine were canceled, officials citing poor water quality levels caused by run-off from the weekend's heavy rains (which noticeably started during the July 26 Opening Ceremony). The men's triathlon was then postponed a day and rescheduled to follow the women's event on July 31 after organizers deemed bacteria levels too high for a safe swim. Both triathlons were held July 31, day-of tests finding that E. coli and intestinal enterococci levels were low enough to qualify the water as "excellent quality," per the European Union's Bathing Water Directive . But speculation that the water wasn't safe resumed after two athletes who competed in the triathlon dropped out of the mixed-relay competition, citing respective illnesses (neither of which have been definitively linked to swimming in the Seine). The women's and men's 10km are still scheduled for Aug. 8 and 9, but practices were canceled Aug. 6 after tests showed bacteria levels were once again too high.

Australian Field Hockey Player Arrested

Australian field hockey player Tom Craig publicly apologized after being arrested for attempting to buy cocaine in Paris two days after the team's quarterfinal loss to the Netherlands.

"I would firstly like to apologize for what has occurred over the last 24 hours," he said at an Aug. 7 press conference, per the Australian Associated Press . "My actions are my own and by no way reflect the values of my family, my teammates, my friends, the sport and the Australian Olympic team. I have embarrassed you all and I'm truly sorry."

In a statement , an Australian Olympic Committee official called Tom "a good person who had made a poor decision" and said the team would support him if he needed help. But, the official added, the athlete was losing all of his remaining Olympic privileges, effective immediately.

The women’s soccer tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics is now wrapped up.

What started with 12 teams has ended in three countries standing on the podium. 

Take a look at who won gold, silver and bronze in the tournament. 

Gold medal winners: USA

Emma Hayes found herself with a glorious gold medal only three months into her job as coach of the U.S. women’s national team job. Her team won the final 1-0 vs. Brazil.

It was a whirlwind journey filled with grit and determination for the USWNT throughout the tournament. 

The “Triple Espresso” trio  Trinity Rodman ,  Sophia Smith and  Mallory Swanson have absolutely dominated the front line throughout the Games.  Smith, who turned 24 the same day of the gold medal final, got to celebrate her big day by winning an Olympic title. 

In the match, the USWNT’s attacking trio did its best to stay dangerous, while  Emily Fox led the incredible defensive effort against relentless pressure from Brazil.

Alyssa Naeher showed nothing can get past her, with an outrageous save from a last-ditch effort by  Adriana during the end of the stoppage time.

Tears, handshakes and hugs erupted as the USWNT emerged victorious. 

Silver medal winners: Brazil

The tournament proved to be an emotional rollercoaster for Brazil as it competed in the first Olympic gold medal match since 2008 (a game that it lost to the U.S.).

Six-time FIFA Player of the Year and soccer icon  Marta faced the opportunity to end her career with a gold medal. But Brazil found itself in the same place as in 2008, defeated by the U.S. with a final score of 1-0. 

Brazil’s contagious passion doesn’t go unnoticed. Brazil defied all odds throughout the tournament and ended with a well-deserved silver medal. 

Bronze medal winners: Germany

Giulia Gwinn scored the only goal of the bronze medal game after a successful penalty kick, as Germany defeated Spain 1-0.

Ann-Katrin Berger had an outstanding performance and saved her team by deflecting Alexia Putella ’s penalty kick during the last second of stoppage time.

Germany clawed its way to the bronze and proved itself to be a resilient team throughout the tournament. 

Note: Some components of NBCOlympics.com may not be optimized for users browsing with Internet Explorer 11, 10 or older browsers or systems.

2024 Paris Olympics Closing Ceremony: What you need to know

By nbc new york staff and the associated press • published august 9, 2024 • updated on august 11, 2024 at 8:31 am.

Every four years the world cheers and watches in awe as athletes display unbelievable physical feats of resilience, skills and strength -- the 2024 Paris Olympics has been no different gifting spectators with unforgettable moments!

However, as the 2024 Olympics inch towards their end, the final hurrah is set for Sunday -- when the Closing Ceremony is scheduled to take place.

Here is what you should know about the 2024 Paris Olympics Closing Ceremony.

24/7 New York news stream: Watch NBC 4 free wherever you are

What is the last event in the 2024 Paris Olympics?

The last event in the 2024 Paris Olympics will be the  women's basketball final, with tip off scheduled for 9:30 a.m. EDT on Sunday at  Bercy Arena . Wednesday's women's basketball quarterfinals saw the  United States , France, Belgium and Australia advance to the semifinals, which will take place Friday.

Who are the flag bearers for Team USA?

Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.

Katie Ledecky  and  Nick Mead  were selected by Team USA to lead the country's Olympic team at  the Paris Olympics   Closing Ceremony on Sunday .

NYC Mayor Eric Adams, campaign receive new subpoenas in federal investigation

Hurricane Ernesto to bring large swells, rip currents and high winds to tri-state beaches this weekend

Ledecky won four swimming medals in Paris  to become the most decorated American female athlete in Olympic history.

"I am incredibly honored to represent Team USA as a flag bearer as we close our time in Paris together,” said Ledecky in a statement. “I am so proud of this team’s accomplishments in Paris and excited to celebrate with my teammates on Sunday.”   

Mead was a part of Team USA's first gold in men's four rowing since 1960.

What will take place?

The grand event will feature traditional highlights, including the athletes' parade and the handover of the Olympic flag to the organizers of the 2028 Los Angeles Games. There will be a medal presentation ceremony — for the women’s marathon from earlier in the day.

The event features the same artistic director as the Opening Ceremony— Thomas Jolly.

Organizers said  in a recent statement  that it will include “over a hundred performers, acrobats, dancers and circus artists.”

There will be musical performances and “the participation of world-renowned singers will complete the picture. ... Part of the show will take place in the air, while the giant sets, costumes and spectacular lighting effects will take spectators on a journey through time, both past and future.”

Jolly added: “It’s a very visual, very choreographic, very acrobatic show with an operatic dimension to give a great visual fresco and say goodbye to athletes from all over the world.”

Is Tom Cruise performing a stunt at the Paris Olympics Closing Ceremony?

The "Mission Impossible" star may be taking on his most high-profile feat yet — if rumors are true .

This week,  French media reported  that Cruise, who is currently in Europe filming “Mission: Impossible 8” and has been spotted in the stands at several Paris Olympic events, including artistic gymnastics, swimming and track & field, will perform a stunt at the  Closing Ceremony,  which is set to take place at the Stade de France. Part of his performance will include pre-taped scenes.

When will the Closing Ceremony kick off?

The  Closing Ceremony is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. EDT  on Sunday and last until about 5:15 p.m. EDT.

Where will the Closing Ceremony take place?

Although the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony will take place at  Stade de France , where this year's  rugby  and  track and field  events have been held.

How can I watch the 2024 Paris Olympics Closing Ceremony?

The Closing Ceremony will air live on NBC and stream live on  Peacock  and  NBCOlympics.com , beginning Aug. 11 at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT.

This article tagged under: