what is meant by formal presentation

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

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A Comprehensive Guide to Formal vs. Informal Presentations

• By Judhajit Sen
• May 31, 2024

Understanding the nuances between formal and informal types of presentations can make or break your message. Formal types of presentations are usually like a polished suit: structured, serious, and meticulously prepared. By contrast, an informal mode of presentation is more like a cozy chat with friends: relaxed, spontaneous, and designed to engage the audience.

Formal type presentations are usually prepared with a structured approach, from knowing your audience to framing a clear outline. You’re expected to dress the part, exuding professionalism from head to toe. Visual aids are your allies, reinforcing your message with clarity and precision. Whether it’s a business communication plan, addressing your team during a weekly meeting or an academic lecture, formal mode of presentations thrive on meticulous planning and execution.

On the other hand, informal type presentations require a very different approach than presenting formally. Think of them as impromptu conversations usually prepared in a short amount of time and do not require the same organizational methods as a formal presentation. Dress codes loosen up, and visuals take a back seat to genuine interaction. These presentations thrive on engaging your audience, sparking discussions, and fostering a sense of camaraderie.

Whether you’re donning the hat of a formal presenter or connecting with friends in informal presentations, mastering formal vs informal style presentations is an art that equips you to enhance your presentation with every word spoken and convey your message.

In this article, we will explore formal and informal mode of presentation skills in detail.

Key Takeaways

• Formal vs. Informal: Recognize the differences between formal and informal presentation styles; formal ones are like polished suits—structured and serious, while informal mode of presentations are cozy chats—relaxed and spontaneous.
• Formal Presentation Essentials: To make a formal style presentation you need audience understanding, thorough preparation, structured outlines, engaging visuals, and appropriate attire. These elements ensure professionalism and clarity in your delivery.
• Informal Presentation Dynamics: Informal mode of presentations thrive on spontaneity, minimal preparation, interactive communication , and casual attire. Encourage audience interaction, use optional visuals, and keep the atmosphere relaxed, like chatting with friends.
• Adapting for Impact: Whether formal or informal, tailor your effective presentation techniques to resonate with your audience and achieve communication objectives. Mastering both styles enhances audience engagement strategies and message clarity, leaving a lasting impression with every word spoken.

Formal Presentation

A presentation is considered formal when it has a clear structure, formal language, and a serious tone. Examples of formal style presentations are usually common in academic, business, or scientific settings, where you need to provide information or communicate your message with credibility in a speech . Here are the critical aspects of a formal mode of business presentation:

Audience: Understanding who you are giving a formal presentation to is crucial. A formal type presentation is often given to individuals or groups who expect a prepared and polished delivery.

Preparation: You are given time to prepare in advance when creating a formal presentation. This preparation includes researching your topic, organizing your content, and rehearsing your delivery.

Structure: Follow a standard format: an introduction, main points, and a conclusion. This helps keep your good presentation clear and focused.

Supporting Materials: Use visual aids like slides, charts, or graphs to reinforce your message. These tools help illustrate your points and keep your audience engaged.

Language: Use formal expressions and avoid slang, jargon, humor, or personal anecdotes. Phrases like “in conclusion,” “according to,” or “as you can see” are appropriate.

Formal mode of presentations are different from casual team meetings or impromptu discussions. Different types of formal presentations often occur in formal settings where a high level of professionalism is expected, such as conferences, common for business meetings, or academic lectures. Adhering to these guidelines can help in crafting an excellent formal presentation.

The following steps can help you in creating a successful formal presentation.

Define Your Goals Clearly

A formal presentation requires you to be clear about what you want your audience to learn. Start by jotting down the primary points you intend to cover. This list will help you outline your presentation.

Before writing your persuasive speech or presentation, ask yourself, “What do I want the audience to remember?” and “What is the salient message I’m trying to drive?” These questions help you define your goals.

Knowing your expected outcome is crucial when you make your formal presentation. Keep reminding yourself of the goal throughout the process. This goal will be the foundation of your formal type presentation.

Know Your Target Audience

When creating a formal mode of presentation, understanding your audience is crucial. Here are the key steps to help you prepare effectively:

Identify Your Audience – Determine the size of your audience. Are you presenting to a large group of 100 people or a smaller, more intimate group? – Know who your audience is. Are they managers and executives, clients, or a mix? Are they familiar with the topic, or are they new to it? – Tailor your presentation to meet their needs. This may involve including handouts or creating infographics that summarize your key points.

Understand Their Preferences – Every audience consumes and remembers information differently. Your persuasive presentation to a graduating class of university students will differ significantly from one aimed at leaders at a Fortune 500 company or single mothers with newborns. – Adapt your delivery style to suit your audience. This means using language and examples they can relate to and understand.

Know the Venue – Find out where the presentation will take place. The setting can influence how you present and the supporting material you use. – Whether in an auditorium, a church, a boardroom, or a virtual presentation, the venue affects how you engage with your audience.

Knowing your audience and preparing accordingly will make your presentation more effective and engaging. Tailor your content, delivery, and materials to suit your audience and venue for the best results.

Develop an Outline

To frame an effective presentation outline , follow these steps:

Prepare Thoroughly: Before stepping onto the stage, ensure you’ve put in hours of practice and effort to get ready. Your audience expects nothing less than a well-prepared and rehearsed presentation.

Structure Matters: Your audience wants a clear path to follow. Craft an outline that lays out the sequence of your presentation. This way, you won’t stumble around, and your audience won’t get lost.

Flow Smoothly: Imagine your presentation as the art of storytelling with a beginning, middle, and end. Your outline should guide this flow, smoothly transitioning from one point to the next. Avoid jumping around, as it confuses your audience.

Keep it Engaging: Nobody likes a dull presentation. Sprinkle in examples that your audience can relate to. Draw from experiences they know to keep them interested and engaged. Think of it as adding flavor to your presentation, making it more enjoyable for everyone involved.

By following these steps, you’ll be well on your way to delivering a formal presentation that captivates your audience from start to finish.

Incorporate Visuals

When gearing up for a formal presentation, remember the visuals. You’re expected to have some sort of slideshow or PowerPoint to guide your audience through your talk.

Adding visuals isn’t just about making things look nice; it’s about strengthening your presentation design and getting your audience more involved. Multimedia presentation elements like slides, videos and images can help support your points.

Feeling stuck on the creative side? You don’t have to go it alone. Consider reaching out to presentation services providers for a helping hand. Expert presentation consultants can assist with everything from crafting Google Slides to creating captivating sizzle reels.

Dress to Impress

When it comes to making a formal presentation, your attire speaks volumes. Here’s a breakdown of critical steps to ensure you’re dressed to impress:

Dress the Part As the name suggests, formal presentations call for formal attire. For men, this often means opting for a suit or tie. Women should consider wearing a smart dress or business suit. Remember, how you dress sets the tone for the presentation, so aim for a polished and professional look.

Stand Out with Confidence Standing during your presentation commands attention and exudes confidence. This small gesture can significantly affect how your audience perceives you.

Make a Strong First Impression Your attire is more than just clothes—it’s one of your important communication skills . Remember, first impressions matter, and your outfit plays a crucial role. Dressing appropriately signals your audience that you take your role seriously and know your topic.

Convey Expertise Dressing the part is essential if you aim to be seen as an expert. If you present yourself professionally, people are more likely to take your knowledge seriously. While it may seem old-fashioned, the impact of your attire on audience perception is deeply ingrained in human psychology.

By following these steps and paying attention to your attire, you can ensure that you make a lasting impression and captivate your audience during your formal presentation.

Informal Presentation

Informal presentations are often like a conversation with your pals. You don’t need to stick to a strict plan or use fancy words. Instead, you can be flexible, friendly, and casual. It’s perfect for personal, social, or creative stuff where you want to connect, entertain, or inspire your audience.

You can be spontaneous and chatty when you’re doing a less formal type presentation. Ask questions, share jokes, or tell stories – it’s all fair game. And don’t forget to throw in some informal language like “so” s or “by the way” s to keep things flowing smoothly.

Visual presentation aids like pictures or videos are used in informal presentations to spice things up and excite folks. You don’t need to stress over complex organization or fancy software. It’s more about the vibe and less about sticking to a script.

For business meetings to include impromptu presentations is pretty standard. They’re quick and casual, more like a chat than a formal speech. Each audience member feels like they’re being spoken to directly, which keeps everyone engaged.

Whether it’s in-person or over a video call, informal mode of presentations are versatile. They have the same basic structure as formal ones but with a laid-back feel. It’s all about connecting when presenting to your team and sparking lively discussions.

The following steps can help you create an engaging, informal style presentation.

Be Prepared

When your boss asks for a quick informal mode of presentation, you might not have much time. But it’s still important to take a moment to jot down your main ideas and rehearse your presentation. You don’t have to make a detailed outline, but having a good grasp of your main points is critical.

Understand the Goal

In formal presentations, the main deal is sharing info with folks, maybe some questions at the end. Informal presentations are about sharing information, hearing what folks think, and getting a chat going. It’s like having a talk where participants are asked to share ideas with an individual or group.

Visual Presentation Aids are Optional

If you’ve got a moment to whip up a quick slideshow, go for it, but remember, informal style presentations don’t need a ton of fancy visuals. Scribbling on a whiteboard works fine for these kinds of talks, too.

Use a Handout

Informal mode of presentations often don’t have fancy slideshows like the formal ones do. Instead, you can go for simple handouts in presentations . It’s a quick and effective way to share info without fussing over a slideshow.

Engage Your Audience

Informal type presentations are all about getting your audience involved. Instead of just talking, you want to encourage interaction. Talk with your audience like the way you would talk to your friends. Don’t hesitate to spark discussions during your presentation and let your audience share their thoughts and feedback.

Dress Casual

You don’t need to suit up in informal presentations like you would for formal ones. Keep it professional, but guys can skip the tie, and gals can wear a relaxed dress. Plus, it’s cool to sit or stand while presenting casually.

Mastering Different Styles: Informal vs Formal Presentations

Understanding the subtleties between informal or formal presentations is crucial to make an impactful difference. Formal presentations demand meticulous planning, structured delivery, and professional attire, such as a polished suit. On the other hand, informal presentations offer flexibility, warmth, and a relaxed atmosphere, resembling a cozy chat with friends.

For formal Google Slide or PowerPoint presentations, thorough preparation, clear goals, tailored audience understanding, structured outlines, engaging visuals, and appropriate attire are essential. Conversely, informal presentations thrive on spontaneity, minimal preparation, interactive presentation ideas , optional visuals, and casual clothing.

Adapting to the appropriate formal or informal presentation styles enhance audience engagement and message clarity, whether delivering a formal pitch or facilitating an impromptu discussion. By mastering examples of formal and informal presentation styles, communicators can connect with their audience impactfully. So, whether you’re suited for formality or embracing the ease of informality, tailor your presentation styles to effectively achieve your communication objectives.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What distinguishes a formal style presentation from an informal one? Formal type presentations are structured, serious, and meticulously prepared like polished suits. They demand professionalism in language, attire, and delivery, catering to specific audiences like business executives or academics. In contrast, informal style presentations resemble relaxed chats with friends, embracing spontaneity, flexibility, and casual attire. They focus on engagement, warmth, and fostering discussions, perfect for social or creative settings.

2. How should I prepare for a formal type presentation? Preparation for a formal presentation involves thorough research, organization of content, and rehearsal. Define clear goals, understand your audience, and customize your content and delivery accordingly. Structured outlines, engaging visuals, and professional attire are essential to captivate your audience and convey credibility.

3. Do informal type presentations require visual aids like formal ones? While visual aids can enhance informal style presentations, they are optional. Unlike formal mode of presentations that rely on slides or charts, informal type presentations can utilize simple visuals like whiteboard scribbles or handouts. The focus is more on interactive engagement and sparking discussions than complex visuals.

4. How should I dress for an informal style presentation? Unlike formal type presentations that demand professional attire, informal presentations allow for a more relaxed dress code. While maintaining professionalism, you can skip the tie for guys or opt for a relaxed dress for gals. The emphasis is on comfort and creating a casual atmosphere conducive to open conversation and interaction.

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Informal vs formal presentation (plus tips on creating and delivering both)

To give a successful presentation, whether in front of a client, student, colleague, or stranger audience or virtually, you must understand the difference between formal and informal presentation. This article will help you learn just that and provide information on delivering powerful presentations in both styles to effectively promote your skills and make your audience more receptive to your message. So, let’s dive in!

What is a formal presentation?

Your audience, supporting materials, and the amount of time you have to prepare in advance are the main elements that define a presentation as formal.

A presentation is considered formal when you are requested to share your thoughts with a person or group and given the opportunity to prepare. This type of presentation requires a totally different approach than presenting to your team during an informal discussion or weekly meeting.

Formal presentations often take place in an academic or professional setting and adhere to a specific set of guidelines. They can be delivered orally or via video chat, which enables participants to connect from different locations and meet on screen so they can see each other while speaking without having anybody else around to listen.

The different types of formal presentations include:

• Informative
• Demonstrative
• Inspirational

Now that you know the formal presentation definition and its types, let’s examine how to create one in more detail.

How to make a formal presentation?

Crafting an excellent formal presentation that surpasses your audience’s expectations is an art that requires countless hours of practice to master.

Here at SlidePeak, we understand that a properly delivered formal speech can make a huge difference in how effectively someone expresses their thoughts. That’s why we’ve created this simple guide that will educate you on how to make your formal presentation PowerPoint the best it can be and help you prevent typical rookie mistakes.

What to include in the formal presentation:

• A clear introduction that captures the audience’s attention.
• A well-organized body that presents your research and supporting evidence.
• A brief conclusion that summarizes your main idea.

What is the voice of the formal presentation?

Typically, the voice of a formal presentation is strong, authoritative, and appealing. Such a voice is crucial when presenting or speaking to a large audience. This comes from your ability to make your voice resonate since a resonant voice is more pleasing and can make you sound more confident. Speaking softly or mumbling, on the contrary, might give the impression that you are uncertain and undermine the strength of your presentation.

Tips for creating a formal presentation:

• Clearly define your goals.
• Get to know your audience and prepare a presentation accordingly.
• Ensure the topic you choose is suitable for the audience.
• Conduct in-depth research and collect reliable data.
• Craft a detailed outline that will guide the presentation’s flow.
• Include questions for audience interaction.
• Choose a professional presentation format, such as Keynote or PowerPoint.
• Add visual aids (e.g., slides, videos, images) to support your presentation and increase audience engagement.

Don’t know where to start? Check this formal presentation example or enlist the help of PowerPoint presentation services to save time and ensure your ideas are presented in an appealing way that combines aesthetics alongside content.

Tips for delivering a formal presentation in person

When giving a formal presentation, there are also a few things to consider:

• Ensure you are well prepared.
• Speak slowly and try to be as clear as possible.
• Look your audience in the eyes when speaking.
• Use formal language.
• Dress appropriately, as first impressions are everything.

Tips for delivering a formal presentation virtually

If you are going to give an online presentation, make sure to consider the below tips in addition to the ones above.

• Choose a background that looks professional.
• Test your video and audio settings beforehand.

So, what is the difference between a formal and informal presentation? Read on to find out what an informal presentation is, what makes it different from a formal one, and how to give one like a pro.

Informal presentation definition

Informal presentations, also known as impromptu presentations, can be presented in a variety of settings. They have the same structure as formal ones but are less formal. This type of presentation can be delivered in person or virtually via video chat and frequently has a more conversational tone.

An informal presentation is pretty common for business meetings and is typically prepared quickly, without much organization. It’s more like a conversation where everyone feels like they’re being spoken to directly by the presenter rather than watching the presenter talk to an audience from behind slides. This makes it a fantastic way to engage the audience. And unlike a formal, lecture-like presentation with a few questions at the end, informal presentations are often followed by vivid discussions.

Tips for creating informal presentations:

• Understand the purpose of your presentation.
• Pick a topic that is suitable for the setting and audience.
• Conduct research, but don’t try to compile as much data as for a formal presentation.
• Make an outline, but it doesn’t have to be as thorough as one for a presentation in a formal setting. Instead, hit what’s important.
• Choose an appropriate presentation format, such as a PowerPoint or whiteboard.
• Consider a hand-out (in case of an in-person presentation).

Here are some excellent informal presentation examples to get you started:

Pro tip: If you have an outdated presentation on a similar topic or one with a similar structure but on a different topic, you can opt for a PPT redesign service and have it revamped while you practice your presentation or indulge in other important activities.

How to give an informal presentation?

There are a few things to remember when delivering informal presentations, and they are as follows:

• Ensure you are adequately prepared.
• Keep eye contact with the audience.
• Stick to a conversational, positive, and optimistic tone.
• Don’t mumble; speak slowly and try to be as clear as possible.
• Interact with your audience: ask questions and allow feedback.
• Insert on-purpose jokes every now and then (if suitable for the audience).
• Make sure to test your audio and video settings (in case of a virtual presentation).

Wrapping up

Both formal and informal presentations have their benefits. However, it’s crucial to take your particular situation into account to choose the most appropriate style, as formal presentations are more acceptable in a professional setting, while informal ones work better if there is no formality requirement (e.g., team discussion, conference, weekly meeting).

“But what is the secret to delivering powerful presentations in both styles?” you might ask. The answer is pretty straightforward: when you’re putting together your presentation, always ensure that your organization and research abilities work in harmony and find time to practice. Remember, practice makes perfect, and passion persuades. Polished presenting skills provide payoffs. Speak slowly and clearly, look your audience in the eyes, and give them something to talk about when your speech is over.

For assistance with the presentation design part, you can always count on slidepeak.com . Our dedicated team is at your service 24/7!

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The formal presentation of information is divided into two broad categories: Presentation Skills and Personal Presentation .

These two aspects are interwoven and can be described as the preparation, presentation and practice of verbal and non-verbal communication. 

This article describes what a presentation is and defines some of the key terms associated with presentation skills.

Many people feel terrified when asked to make their first public talk.  Some of these initial fears can be reduced by good preparation that also lays the groundwork for making an effective presentation.

A Presentation Is...

A presentation is a means of communication that can be adapted to various speaking situations, such as talking to a group, addressing a meeting or briefing a team.

A presentation can also be used as a broad term that encompasses other ‘speaking engagements’ such as making a speech at a wedding, or getting a point across in a video conference.

To be effective, step-by-step preparation and the method and means of presenting the information should be carefully considered. 

A presentation requires you to get a message across to the listeners and will often contain a ' persuasive ' element. It may, for example, be a talk about the positive work of your organisation, what you could offer an employer, or why you should receive additional funding for a project.

The Key Elements of a Presentation

Making a presentation is a way of communicating your thoughts and ideas to an audience and many of our articles on communication are also relevant here, see: What is Communication? for more.

Consider the following key components of a presentation:

Ask yourself the following questions to develop a full understanding of the context of the presentation.

When and where will you deliver your presentation?

There is a world of difference between a small room with natural light and an informal setting, and a huge lecture room, lit with stage lights. The two require quite different presentations, and different techniques.

Will it be in a setting you are familiar with, or somewhere new?

If somewhere new, it would be worth trying to visit it in advance, or at least arriving early, to familiarise yourself with the room.

Will the presentation be within a formal or less formal setting?

A work setting will, more or less by definition, be more formal, but there are also various degrees of formality within that.

Will the presentation be to a small group or a large crowd?

Are you already familiar with the audience?

With a new audience, you will have to build rapport quickly and effectively, to get them on your side.

What equipment and technology will be available to you, and what will you be expected to use?

In particular, you will need to ask about microphones and whether you will be expected to stand in one place, or move around.

What is the audience expecting to learn from you and your presentation?

Check how you will be ‘billed’ to give you clues as to what information needs to be included in your presentation.

All these aspects will change the presentation. For more on this, see our page on Deciding the Presentation Method .

The role of the presenter is to communicate with the audience and control the presentation.

Remember, though, that this may also include handing over the control to your audience, especially if you want some kind of interaction.

You may wish to have a look at our page on Facilitation Skills for more.

The audience receives the presenter’s message(s).

However, this reception will be filtered through and affected by such things as the listener’s own experience, knowledge and personal sense of values.

See our page: Barriers to Effective Communication to learn why communication can fail.

The message or messages are delivered by the presenter to the audience.

The message is delivered not just by the spoken word ( verbal communication ) but can be augmented by techniques such as voice projection, body language, gestures, eye contact ( non-verbal communication ), and visual aids.

The message will also be affected by the audience’s expectations. For example, if you have been billed as speaking on one particular topic, and you choose to speak on another, the audience is unlikely to take your message on board even if you present very well . They will judge your presentation a failure, because you have not met their expectations.

The audience’s reaction and therefore the success of the presentation will largely depend upon whether you, as presenter, effectively communicated your message, and whether it met their expectations.

As a presenter, you don’t control the audience’s expectations. What you can do is find out what they have been told about you by the conference organisers, and what they are expecting to hear. Only if you know that can you be confident of delivering something that will meet expectations.

See our page: Effective Speaking for more information.

How will the presentation be delivered?

Presentations are usually delivered direct to an audience.  However, there may be occasions where they are delivered from a distance over the Internet using video conferencing systems, such as Skype.

It is also important to remember that if your talk is recorded and posted on the internet, then people may be able to access it for several years. This will mean that your contemporaneous references should be kept to a minimum.

Impediments

Many factors can influence the effectiveness of how your message is communicated to the audience.

For example background noise or other distractions, an overly warm or cool room, or the time of day and state of audience alertness can all influence your audience’s level of concentration.

As presenter, you have to be prepared to cope with any such problems and try to keep your audience focussed on your message.   

Our page: Barriers to Communication explains these factors in more depth.

Continue to read through our Presentation Skills articles for an overview of how to prepare and structure a presentation, and how to manage notes and/or illustrations at any speaking event.

Continue to: Preparing for a Presentation Deciding the Presentation Method

See also: Writing Your Presentation | Working with Visual Aids Coping with Presentation Nerves | Dealing with Questions Learn Better Presentation Skills with TED Talks

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Formal vs. Informal Presentation Style

Presentations are a necessary part of business and there will be times when you will be asked to present about a topic.  Sometimes you are given time to prepare a structured presentation and other times you might be asked to give an impromptu presentation with little or no time to prepare.  Each of these presentation styles requires good communication skills but there are unique expectations when delivering a formal vs. and informal presentation. Here is a guide to both.

Formal Presentations

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

-Set clearly defined goals.

In order to deliver a successful formal presentation you need to be very clear about what it is you want your audience to learn.  You need to write down the main points of your presentation and use this as a guide for your outline.

-Know your audience.

Are you presenting in front of 100 people or are you presenting in front of a smaller group?  Are you presenting to managers and executives or are you presenting to clients? Are you presenting to people who are familiar with the topic?  You must know your audience so you can tailor your presentation to meet their needs. You might need to include a hand-out for your audience or perhaps an infographic that summarizes your key points.

-Create an outline.

When you are giving a formal presentation it is expected that you will be well-prepared and well-rehearsed.  You have been given time to prepare so your audience is expecting a well-structured presentation. Therefore, you need to create an outline of your presentation so you will have an order in which to follow.

-Use visuals.

Again, when you have been given time to prepare it is expected that you will have some visuals for your audience.  Formal presentations usually include a PowerPoint or slideshow of some sort so your audience can follow along.

-Include questions for audience interaction.

A formal presentation should engage the audience.  You can end a formal presentation with a Q&A session or you can ask questions along the way after each point.  

-Dress the part.

Just as the name implies, a formal presentation requires more formal dress.  Men might wear a suit or tie while women should wear a nice dress or business suit. You should also always stand during a formal presentation.

Informal Presentations

It is fairly common for business meetings to include impromptu 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.

-Prepare your material.

Your boss might give you just a few hours to put together an informal presentation but you still need to spend some time jotting down your main points and a few notes about the topic.  While you don’t necessarily need to write a complete outline, you need to have a clear understanding of your main points.

-Understand the purpose.  

The purpose of formal presentations is to provide information to a group of people with a few questions at the end.  Informal presentations, however, are about providing information, listening to the reaction, and generating a discussion.  It becomes more like a conversation and the audience will be more involved.

-Keep visual aids to a minimum.

If you have time to prepare a quick slideshow it certainly wouldn’t hurt, but informal presentations do not require lengthy visuals.  It would even be acceptable to write on a whiteboard during an informal presentation as opposed to creating a formal slideshow.

-Consider a hand-out.

Formal presentations usually include a slideshow that audience members can access for reference.  However, since you don’t have as much time to prepare such a formal slideshow, it is usually effective to use a hand-out of some sort in an informal presentation.

-Interact with your audience.  

Formal presentations are more about the audience listening while informal presentations are more about interacting with the audience.  It is perfectly acceptable to generate discussion throughout an informal presentation and allow the audience to provide input and feedback.

-You can dress more casually.

Typically informal presentations do not require the suit and tie that formal presentations do.  You still want to look professional, but men can ditch the tie and women can wear a more casual dress.  It would also be acceptable to sit or stand during an informal presentation.

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Formal vs Informal Presentations: A Complete Breakdown

Have you ever kept funny snaps of your friends or siblings to play them on a big screen on their birthday?       

Whether it be a corporate setup, college project, or merely a friends get-together slideshow, presentation skills always leave your audience with a great impact.

Knowing what type of presentation will serve you best and capture your audience's attention is vital for its success.

With that in mind, here we break down the ins and outs of formal and informal presentations. Hopefully, you’ll find all your answers in the next 5-6 minutes.

Formal vs Informal Presentation Styles

Formal presentations.

These are the types of presentations one would give in a formal setting, as the word itself suggests, something you would do in an office or a business meeting, sometimes even a job interview.

Thus, there are many crucial factors that you should keep in mind while preparing for this type of presentation . Some of the most significant factors are as follows:

• Choosing the right topic
• Knowing the audience
• Informative rather than creative
• To the point
• Length as required
• Proper dressing and body language
• Keep the jokes to a minimum
• Keeping the audience's interest without losing the essence
• Choosing the suitable color scheme for a slideshow
• Proper structure and formats

If your setup ticks everything on this checklist, then you're good to go!

Informal Presentations

Now, these are the types of presentations you would give in a more straightforward and friendly setting, something you would give in a lighter note to your friends & family or co-workers.

This would include a family slideshow, memories from a trip, or pitching an idea to your colleagues before you give your boss the formal version of it.

Here is the 10-point consideration list for informal presentations

• Choose a captivating topic
• Creativity plays a significant role
• Proper dressing isn't a must
• Body language should be more open and welcoming
• You probably should keep a couple of jokes in
• Keep it short but get your point across
• Put more pictures to keep your audience glued
• More engagement with the audience
• Prefer more bright colors
• Formats and structure aren't important

This list makes sure to give you and your audience a lovely time!

How to Decide Which Presentation Would Be the Best?

A formal situation.

Has the boss asked you to do some work? Or are you preparing to impress those investors? Perhaps a group project in front of the whole school? Or a dream job interview?

All those are straight-up indicators that a formal presentation would do you best. This is because all these situations demand a degree of seriousness and professional work as you would be working towards portraying your presentation as a skilled worker who keeps everything to the topic.

Here are a few indicators to look out for

• Is the work official?
• Has it been assigned to me by someone of authority?
• Does it have deadlines?
• What's at stake?
• How important is the responsibility?
• Is there a format/structure for it?
• Will you have to present in an organized setup?

As such, deciding the right type to present might go a long way.

An Informal Situation

Is it for recreational purposes? Are your close friends the audience? Are you presenting photos of a recent trip? Game night with family?

It's a no-brainer that all these situations call for an informal presentation, as instead of worrying about being professional, you have to be concerned about keeping everyone interested.

Furthermore, this doesn't necessarily have to be too serious and should be held on a much lighter note compared to formal situations.

• Is it an unofficial work?
• Have you decided to make a presentation yourself?
• Do you decide on the deadlines?
• Not too much at stake?
• Do you determine the format?
• Will you present in an informal setup?
• Does the responsibility depend on you?

To conclude, a rightly made presentation leaves a significant impact.

That is what we will talk about next!

How to Make the Right Presentation for the Right Situation

Steps to make a formal presentation.

To make this type of presentation, here are things required beforehand:

• Proper research
• Using information from trusted sites only
• Compilation in a brainstorming document
• Choose a solid but formal color scheme
• Limit the number of slides
• Research your content thoroughly for any questions
• Filter any unwanted data from your research
• Make a mind map of how you want your presentation to look like
• Organize all your information in the formats provided

Done with these steps? Now onto things to ensure you are ready for the big day:

• Check if your presentation is in one flow
• Avoid monotony
• Make sure you practice your speech enough
• Try a mock presentation to calm any nerves
• Make sure your tone is just right
• Practice a serious body language
• Pick out an outfit that fits right to your presentation
• Make sure you look presentable

That said, a formal presentation also requires some post-presentation work. This involves a fair question-and-answer session to encourage feedback from your audience and welcome any criticism. Moreover, these can be essential steps to gain your audience's respect.

Steps to Make an Informal Presentation

To make this type of presentation here are things required beforehand:

• Collect all your information that will interest your audience
• Source of information shouldn't be an issue
• Brainstorming is optional
• Bright colors will make your presentation look more lively
• Don't make it too long and boring
• Memorizing information isn't a must
• Fill it with pictures
• Choose the right theme
• Make sure it isn't mundane
• Have a lively tone
• Involve and engage everyone
• Time isn't a constraint as long as everyone is enjoying
• Include jokes and interesting analogies
• Choose an outfit that fits your theme
• Involve skits and other presenters to mix things up

The post-presentation work requires asking people for their views on it. Ask them what they liked best and what you could do better; start a conversation .

Types of Presentations

• Informative Presentation: This is the most used type of presentation, be it in a school setting, office, or corporate situation. The purpose of an informative presentation is to give information about a sample, concept, or idea to a particular type of person.
• Persuasive Presentation: Persuasive presentations are to encourage or compel someone to work or make a difference in their life or views.
• Demonstrative Presentation :  A demonstration requires a presentation or the working of a product or procedure in a step-by-step manner.
• Inspirational Presentation: An inspirational presentation aims to affect or emotionally impact your presenters. Using explanations, talking about personal experiences, or even a keen sense of humor work in miles to perfect your presentation as people develop a sentimental bond to the presentation.
• Business Presentation: A business presentation can involve pitching a new product or conveying and selling a product to your investors. You can prepare a business presentation individually or collectively. You then base the content on your or the client’s needs and present it in a way that sells your idea to the client.
• PowerPoint Presentation: PPTs are the most commonly used type of presentation used almost worldwide for any kind of setting. PPTs have preset formal templates that you can use for any sort of presentation mentioned above.
• Interactive Presentation: This can contain interactions and choices with which the presenter or the audience can interact , which decides the course of the presentation.
• Slideshow Presentation: This usually contains a picture of either an event or a specific trip intended to show to friends or family. It barely has text and focuses more on visual aids .

Related: 14 Types of Speeches for All Occasions

Mixing It Up: The Formal and Informal Presentation Hybrid

A hybrid means a mixture or something in between two extremes. Have you ever wondered what creating a formal and informal mixture hybrid would be like? 

This would mean that while your audience can be a mixture of both, we can go out on a limb and be more flexible. This implies while wearing formal clothes, we can still have a sense of humor.

Additionally, while using bright colors, we can still keep the information serious and to the point.

When to use this, though?

You can use this hybrid in situations where you are the one in the position of authority and you are the one responsible.

One can use this to portray their uniqueness, impress, and leave a significant impact.

Summary: Informal vs Formal Presentations

A presentation is said to be formal when you have been asked by someone else in authority to share your ideas with a specific audience and have also been provided preparation time.

Additionally, formal presentations call for a totally different approach compared to an impromptu meeting.

Will you be standing in front of hundreds, or will you speak to a limited number of people? Will you be presenting to your boss and investors? Or are you presenting a family slideshow? 

You must know the people you will be presenting to, so you can shape your content in order to them. Furthermore, handing out brochures or flyers can also have a lasting effect on the audience.

Formal presentation equals formal wearing, whereas informal leans towards something more casual. A proper suit or a business dress is the way to go. Don't forget to stand up before presenting, though!

Have a question-and-answer session! Ask them about their opinions.

Informal presentations are more of an action and looking out for a reaction setup, keeping your audience interested and interacting. It ends up being a fun conversation. 

Formal presentations are more about you talking and them listening . Whereas informal ones are interaction and engagement based.

It is preferred to encourage discussion during an informal presentation and let it take its course while also returning to the topic naturally.

Choosing the right color schemes and slide lengths for any kind of presentation can decide its fate. It directly affects interaction rates and the audience's willingness to engage with the given work.

The hybrid system is the one where we can include both types of presentation to create something unique. However, it may be unconventional but can end up being totally out of the box if done correctly.

To conclude, presentations can be a daily routine in our work and school lives.

Among the various types of presentations, choosing the right one is the first and somewhat the most crucial step as it will decide the success of your presentation.

Properly conducting yourself and choosing from suitable options can go a long way. Formal and informal presentations require different approaches, content, and styles.

Thus, you should understand your audience and the purpose of the presentation before deciding on a method. That said, we hope you understand what's best for you. Happy presenting!

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Formal vs. Informal Presentations: Choosing Your Presentation Style

Struggling to decide between a formal or informal presentation style? Our comprehensive guide breaks down the essentials to help you impress and engage.

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Did it occur to you that your career could depend on a presentation you give? Well, according to Forbes , 70% of professionals strongly believe that your future success hangs on your presentation skills. Since the art of presentation is insanely intricate and, at times, overly complicated, the stats are pretty disheartening.

The topic of today’s discussion will be the presentation style. In case you don’t know, there are two primary presentation types: formal and informal. Each has its own rules and peculiarities. What is most important is that you can’t substitute one with the other. The circumstances could be dire.

Formal presentations are usually more traditional, while informal ones open up fresh horizons for creativity and experimentation. Like all professional presentation design services , Whitepage’s team knows the tricks and nuances of either style, and we will share some of our knowledge with you in this guide. Many secrets will open up to you after reading this article, so enough of postponing the inevitable!

Understanding Formal Presentations

A formal presentation is structured, well-planned, professionally delivered, and spiced with a formal language format. It features a formal tone of voice and projects an authoritative vibe. Usually, formal presentations are reserved for professional settings such as academic conferences, business board meetings, sales presentations, etc.

If you are wondering how to do a presentation outline for a formal presentation, you should base the outline on three central pillars:

• A well-defined presentation structure with a clear intro, informative main body, and persuasive conclusion.
• Formal language enhances the credibility and trustworthiness of the presented idea. No room for slang and jargon.
• Strict time limit.

Based on formal presentation topics, we can highlight a few different types of formal presentations:

• Informative . It is one of the most widely used types. You can use it in corporate, educational, or business settings. The main aim of the format is to introduce vital information on the subject in front of a professional audience.
• Persuasive . This formal presentation format is used to convince or motivate the audience to achieve a pre-set goal.
• Demonstrative . Presentation of a new product or concept that will revolutionize the industry.
• Inspirational . A type of presentation charged to make an emotional connection between the audience and the presented idea.

When should you choose a formal presentation?

• When you are presenting in front of a decision-making audience – investors, stakeholders, senior executives, or board members.
• When you are introducing a complicated idea spiced with statistical data and other industry-specific information.
• When you are presenting in a traditional setting, and you are not fully aware of the cultural intricacies of the audience.

Exploring Informal Presentations 

An informal presentation, or an impromptu presentation, is a more creative, spontaneous, relaxed, and conversational interaction with the audience. Usually, the informal presentation definition centers around casual delivery, spiced with personal anecdotes, collaborative tilt, emotions and humor.

To better understand the core of an informal presentation, we will draw a few parallels with a formal one. The main characteristics of formal presentation are undiluted professionalism, logical structure, and solid protocols. At the same time, an informal format relies on flexibility, adaptability, and creativity. A formal presentation is often referred to when you need to present something fundamental and complicated, and an informal formal implies dialogue, discussion, and interaction.

Any pitch deck design service would recommend an informal presentation as your best bet when you are planning a team meeting, a brainstorming session, or an informal training gathering. Due to the flexible structure, conversational tone, and direct collaboration with the audience, informal presentations will help you gain the most when placed into any of the described scenarios.

Tips for selecting an informal approach

• Outline the primary purpose of the presentation. If it aligns with relationship building, creative collaboration, or open discussion – an informal format is a suitable choice.
• Tune your body language and public speaking to the chosen format. Be yourself and try to establish an emotional bond with the audience to deliver your message.
• Let the audience share their thoughts and opinions. Encourage unrestricted communication to leave a lasting impact.

Key Differences Between Informal and Formal PresentationsTo help you distinguish between these different forms of presentation, Whitepage experts created a simple yet memorable comparison table.  

Tailoring Your Presentation to Your Audience

Your audience is the best definition of the presentation you need. You must choose the format that resonates with the audience to succeed. Different people prefer different kinds of presentations. Not to point blindly into one of the existing directions, you should start with an in-depth analysis of those you are going to present for. Pay attention to these factors:

• Background . Are these people experts in the discussed field, or do they have a limited understanding of the topic?
• Expectations . What do you think the audience wants to get from the presentation? Whether it is new information, advice, or inspiration, either option will have a different impact on the format.
• Setting . Where will the presentation take place? A boardroom meeting and a casual gathering ask for a separate type of presentation.

In case you feel that the gathered information is slightly insufficient, you can also consider the environment. For instance:

• Creative workshop. The audience seeking ways to communicate in a relaxed and creative atmosphere will undoubtedly appreciate an informal presentation example.
• Academic conference. A room filled with scholars and researchers will thirst for a formal presentation spiced with new information, complicated concepts, and unwavering authority.
• Sales pitch . Preaching to potential clients enquires for a well-balanced mixture of both. A professional presentation with a fair share of storytelling, persuasion, and personal experience would suffice.

Lastly, you shouldn’t forget about the accessibility of your presentation. No matter if it is a formal or informal format, depending on the specific needs of the audience, you may need to create a color blindness presentation or provide handouts for a presentation to suffice them.

Tips for Creating Effective Formal and Informal Presentations

The task how to create a slide deck with a formal or informal incline may be more challenging than it initially seems. However, nothing is impossible if you have time-tested, actionable tips from devout professionals at hand!

Tips for formal presentations

• Use clear, professional, and concise language. Steer clear of slang, jargon, and overly specific terms.
• Stick to a logical presentation structure.
• Use relevant images, charts, and graphs to make complicated details more comprehensible.
• Make the presentation accessible. Use high-quality visual aids and readable font size for presentation .
• Use available engagement techniques, such as Q&A sessions, to make the audience more involved. Explain complex notions through real-life examples.
• Keep the presentation pace steady and confident. Learn how to talk more eloquently to assist the audience in digesting complicated ideas.
• Practice presentation delivery before you head for the real-life event. You can ask your friends and colleagues to watch you present and provide critical feedback. Don’t be afraid to rehearse more than once until you find the best pace and eliminate potential weak spots.

Tips for informal presentations

• Work on the tone of delivery. Make sure it is friendly and conversational enough to connect with the audience. Don’t shy away from personal stories and anecdotes. Use humor to lighten up the atmosphere and make the presentation more engaging and impactful.
• Remain flexible. This will tell you how to make your presentation longer or shorter depending on the circumstances so that the audience does not see it. Don’t be afraid to improvise if the setting allows it. Monitor your audience’s response closely to tune in with their mood.
• Visual aid. Use relevant visuals to support and intensify the overall impact of the presentation.
• Audience interaction. Encourage the viewers to take part in the presentation. They can ask questions, suggest alternative ideas, provide feedback, and so on, as long as it keeps the audience interested.
• Personal touch. Support the main topic of the presentation through your demeanor. Be open, genuine, and authentic. Don’t repress your personality. Let it shine.
• Rehearsals . Despite the impromptu nature of informal presentations, you should practice delivery to ensure that your message will be easy to grasp. Besides, friendly feedback from colleagues can help you establish a more relaxed and inviting behavior.

Leveraging Technology in Presentations 

Present-day technology can be both a blessing and a curse. Today, we’ll focus on the former. Well-chosen tools and software can become an irreplaceable component of a successful presentation, no matter if it is a formal or informal format that you are working on.  

Practical tools for formal presentations

• PowerPoint – the software has been designed to create well-structured and organized presentations, which makes the tool irreplaceable when it comes to formal presentations. There are multiple handy features for content organization and visual aids. Available graphs, charts, and tables ensure that the discussed information is more understandable and easy to digest.
• Keynote –is yet another popular presentation software spiced with multiple handy presentation templates, animations, graphics, and more. The tool will help you create an appealing and informative formal presentation that boosts interest and leaves a desired impact.

Creative tools for informal presentations:

• Prezi – an interactive software for creative and engaging presentations. Prezi enlists such unique and valuable features as customizable templates, animations, collaboration tools, and interactive elements to encourage creativity.
• Boardmix – an interactive whiteboard fit for brainstorming, collaborative interactions, and strategy sessions. Besides, it allows the presenter to interact with the content in real time, making the presentation twice as flexible.  

Surely, technology can help you enhance the presentation, but you must know how to use it correctly. Whitepage experts will share a few practical pieces of advice on how to integrate technology into your presentation:

• Know your arsenal: you must be fully aware of which of the following is appropriate for a formal presentation and which should be reserved for an informal format.
• Make it relevant: don’t use technological aid for the mere sake of it. Make sure it introduces a critical layer that supports the main message.
• Test it: whether it is a new tool or the one you’ve been working with for ages, you should practice using it before the presentation.
• Use backup: things happen, and technology fails or backfires. That is why you should always have a plan B to switch to.

Sometimes, a presentation is your best bet for succeeding with the desired goal. That is why it is so critical to pick the style that will help you achieve it. Both formal and informal presentations have definitive features aimed at the specific audience type. If you choose the proper format, you will not only deliver the main message but make it resonate with the audience and drive them toward positive conclusions.

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Understanding the difference: formal vs informal presentations

Learn the difference between formal and informal presentations and when to use them.

Supriya Sarkar

Problem-solving

Learn the difference between formal and informal presentations and when to use them. Enhance your presentation skills, with practical tips for any setting.

Presentations are a valuable tool—whether in academic, professional, or social settings. How information is delivered significantly impacts its reception and comprehension.

The two primary presentation styles that exist are formal and informal. While both serve distinct purposes, understanding their differences is crucial for effective communication.

This article covers the characteristics, usage, and strategies associated with formal and informal presentations—providing readers with comprehensive insights into both approaches.

Formal vs informal presentations: Definition

Creating a formal presentation requires careful planning and adherence to established guidelines. Presentations are usually structured and follow a predefined outline or agenda. This type of presentation is considered formal and is commonly given in professional settings such as board meetings, conferences, or academic seminars. Speakers maintain a professional disposition, employ formal language, and adhere to established standards of dress and conduct.

In contrast, informal presentations take on a different approach than presenting formally. They occur in more casual settings, like team meetings, workshops, or social gatherings. Informal presentations are often spontaneous and may be loosely structured or entirely improvised, allowing for more flexibility and spontaneity in delivery. Speakers adopt a conversational tone, often engaging the audience through anecdotes, humor, or personal stories.

When giving a formal presentation, it's common for business meetings to include a virtual presentation component, especially in today's digital age. This may involve using a slideshow to provide information to the audience. Speakers are usually given time to prepare their presentation and ensure that it meets the standards of professionalism expected in the given context.

However, when presenting to your team in a weekly meeting, the atmosphere is typically more relaxed. Presentations may feel more like a conversation, and speakers may take a less formal approach in delivering their content. This allows for a more interactive exchange of ideas among team members.

Characteristics of formal presentations:

The characteristics of a formal presentation encompass several key elements. Understanding and incorporating these elements can help you deliver formal presentations that are informative, engaging, and impactful.

Structure: Formal presentations follow a structured format, typically beginning with an introduction, followed by the main body, and concluding with a summary or conclusion. Each section is explained, with transitions facilitating smooth progression between topics.

Language: Formal presentations employ precise, technical language suited to the audience's expertise. Jargon and terminology relevant to the subject matter are commonly used, enhancing credibility and professionalism.

Visual aids: Visual aids such as slideshows, charts, or graphs are integral parts of formal presentations, aiding in information retention and comprehension. They are carefully designed to complement the spoken content, emphasizing key points and data.

Interaction: While interaction with the audience may occur in formal presentations, it is typically more structured, with designated question-and-answer sessions or opportunities for feedback at specific intervals.

Strategies for effective formal presentations:

The following strategies for formal presentations will enable you to communicate, engage the audience, and achieve your presentation objectives.

Preparation: Thorough preparation is essential for formal presentations. This includes researching the topic, organizing content logically, and rehearsing delivery to ensure fluency and confidence.

Clarity: Clear and concise communication is paramount in formal presentations. Articulate your points clearly, avoiding ambiguity or unnecessary complexity.

Engagement: While maintaining professionalism, you should strive to engage the audience through compelling storytelling, relevant examples, or thought-provoking questions.

Professionalism: Research on appearance-based inferences shows that formally dressed individuals are perceived as more competent and establish credibility. Dressing appropriately, maintaining eye contact, and exhibiting confidence are all characteristics of professionalism in formal presentations.

How to make an effective formal presentation?

Crafting an effective formal presentation involves meticulous planning, thorough preparation, and polished delivery. A well-crafted presentation script provides a solid foundation for exceptional delivery, enabling you to engage your audience and convey your message impactfully. Here are key steps to ensure success:

Define objectives:

Clarify the purpose and objectives of the presentation as it guides your planning and content creation process. A clear purpose ensures that you stay on track, maintain audience interest, and effectively communicate your message. Identify the key messages you want to convey and the desired outcomes you hope to achieve.

Know your audience:

Understand the needs, interests, and expectations of your audience as it allows you to create personalized content. By understanding your audience demographics, interests, and expectations, you can create content that resonates with them on a deeper level, increasing engagement and retention. Personalized content demonstrates that you value your audience's time and attention, leading to a more meaningful and impactful presentation experience for both you and your audience.

Research thoroughly:

Conducting comprehensive research on the topic is crucial to gather relevant information, data, and examples. This step is essential for several reasons:

-    It enables you to gain a thorough understanding of the subject matter, allowing you to speak confidently and authoritatively during your presentation. -    Thorough research helps uncover pertinent data, statistics, and examples to support your points, thereby enhancing the credibility of your presentation. -    In-depth research allows you to anticipate potential questions or objections from your audience and prepare thoughtful responses. -    Verifying the credibility of your sources ensures accuracy and relevance in your content.

By prioritizing comprehensive research, you equip yourself with the necessary knowledge and evidence to deliver a compelling and credible presentation.

Organize content:

Structure your presentation logically and coherently. Develop an outline or storyboard to organize key points, transitions, and visual aids effectively. A presentation outline acts as the foundation for a well-organized and impactful presentation. Here's why having one is crucial: -     Clarity and structure: An outline offers a clear framework, allowing you to organize your ideas logically. It ensures a smooth flow of information from start to finish, helping your audience grasp the main message effectively. -     Prevention of information overload: With a structured outline, you can prioritize key points and avoid overwhelming your audience with excessive details. This keeps your presentation focused and engaging. -     Time management: Effective time allocation is vital in presentations. An outline helps you manage time efficiently by dividing your content into manageable segments. This ensures that you stay within the allotted time and maintain a steady pace throughout your delivery.

Create compelling visuals:

Research indicates that over 50% of our brain is dedicated to processing visuals, highlighting the importance of visual storytelling in communication. Designing visually appealing slides or multimedia presentations to accompany your spoken content can significantly enhance audience engagement and improve information retention.

Compelling visuals not only make presentations more captivating but also facilitate the understanding of complex information. By incorporating clear and concise visuals such as charts, graphs, or images, you can effectively break down dense data or intricate processes into easily understandable and memorable segments.

This approach is particularly beneficial for business presentations, which often involve conveying valuable insights, system workflows, or customer journeys. Visual representations of statistics or stages help simplify complex information, making it more accessible and digestible for your audience.

Practice delivery:

Rehearse your presentation multiple times to familiarize yourself with the content and flow. It goes beyond just explaining your topic and data—it's also about mastering soft skills like speaking without reading, maintaining eye contact, and controlling your pace. This combination helps convey confidence and professionalism. Here's how rehearsing your presentation can benefit you in an effective presentation delivery : -     Enhances confidence: Regular practice boosts confidence and reduces anxiety, leading to a more polished and assured performance. -     Improves timing: Rehearsing helps refine the timing of the presentation, ensuring it fits within the allotted time frame. -     Enhances clarity: Practicing enables presenters to articulate their message clearly, improving audience comprehension. -     Refines delivery style: Repeated rehearsal allows presenters to refine their tone, pacing, and body language, enhancing overall communication effectiveness. -   Increases preparedness: Regular practice ensures presenters are well-prepared to handle unexpected situations or questions during the actual presentation.

Engage the audience:

An engaging and interactive presentation is more memorable as it prevents distractions and effectively communicates key messages. It also fosters a connection between the presenter and the audience, building rapport, trust, and a positive impression. To keep your audience engaged, consider the following tips:

-     Start with a compelling opening: Grab the audience's attention with a thought-provoking question, surprising fact, or relevant anecdote. -     Use visual aids: Incorporate visually appealing slides, videos, or images to enhance the presentation and reinforce key points. -     Tell stories: Share relevant stories or examples to make your points more relatable and evoke emotional connections. -     Encourage interaction: Foster engagement through polls, quizzes, or group discussions, and invite audience questions and thoughts. -     Involve the audience: Invite volunteers to participate in demonstrations or role-plays to encourage active participation and experiential learning. -   End with a call to action: Conclude with a clear call to action that motivates the audience to take the next steps, whether it's signing up for a newsletter or implementing new ideas.

Creating an interactive environment during a presentation is an art but it is not impossible to learn how to engage your audience . By incorporating the above-given tips into your presentation, you can help you create an engaging and memorable experience that resonates with your audience and achieves your presentation goals.

Handle Q&A sessions:

Q&A sessions are vital components of successful presentations as they gauge your preparedness, establish credibility, and provide clarity to stakeholders. To handle them effectively, it's essential to:

-   Prepare in advance: Anticipate potential questions and objections from the audience, and formulate clear, concise responses to address them effectively. -     Maintain composure: When facing challenging or confrontational questions, remain composed and avoid becoming defensive . Acknowledge concerns respectfully and respond thoughtfully. -   Restate and clarify: If necessary, restate questions for clarity before providing your response. This ensures that everyone understands the context and facilitates a more effective exchange. -     Redirect tactfully: If a question veers off-topic or becomes disruptive, tactfully redirect the conversation back to the presentation's focus while acknowledging the importance of the audience's input.

By following these strategies, presenters can navigate Q&A sessions with confidence, professionalism, and effectiveness.

Evaluate and adjust:

Evaluating and adjusting your presentation is essential for continuous improvement. After delivering your presentation, it's essential to seek feedback from audience members or peers to identify areas for improvement. If possible, take the time to review a recording of your presentation, paying close attention to verbal and non-verbal cues, audience reactions, and overall flow.

Use this review to pinpoint areas where adjustments can be made to enhance your delivery, such as modifying slides, refining talking points, or practicing delivery techniques. Each presentation should be viewed as a learning opportunity, encouraging continuous growth and refinement of your skills based on audience response and evolving objectives.

Understanding the significance of different types of formal presentations is essential for achieving presentation objectives effectively. Each type serves a specific purpose, catering to various communication needs in business contexts. By exploring these different forms, you can tailor your approach to suit the specific requirements of their audience and message. Dive into our article, " Exploring 8 different types of presentations to excel in business communication ," to gain valuable insights on different types of presentations and enhance your presentation skills.

Characteristics of informal presentations:

In the realm of formal vs. informal presentations, it's essential to recognize the unique characteristics that set informal presentations apart. Here's what distinguishes them:

Flexibility: Informal presentations offer greater flexibility in content and delivery. Speakers may deviate from a predefined structure, responding to audience feedback or incorporating spontaneous ideas.

Tone: The tone of informal presentations is conversational and relaxed, fostering a sense of fellowship and connection with the audience. Humor, personal anecdotes, and informal language are often employed to create a more engaging atmosphere.

Interactivity: Informal presentations encourage active participation from the audience, fostering conversation and collaboration. Speakers may invite questions, facilitate group discussions, or encourage audience members to share their experiences.

Visual aids: While visual aids may still be used in informal presentations, they are typically simpler and less formal than those used in formal settings. Hand-drawn diagrams, whiteboard sketches, or multimedia clips may supplement verbal communication.

Strategies for effective informal presentations:

When delivering an informal presentation, certain strategies can significantly enhance its effectiveness. By creating a relaxed and engaging atmosphere, informal presentations allow for a more conversational approach. Here are some key strategies to help you make the most of this dynamic setting:

Authenticity: Authenticity is key in informal presentations. You should express genuine enthusiasm and passion for the topic, fostering rapport and connection with the audience.

Adaptability: Flexibility and adaptability are essential in informal presentations. Be prepared to adjust their approach based on audience reactions, improvising as necessary to maintain engagement and interest.

Interactivity: Encouraging audience participation is crucial in informal presentations. You should create opportunities for dialogue, actively listening to audience feedback and incorporating it into the presentation where appropriate.

Engagement: Captivating the audience's attention is paramount in informal presentations. Make smart use of storytelling, humor, or interactive activities to maintain interest and foster a memorable experience.

How to make an impactful informal presentation:

Crafting a compelling informal presentation involves creating a relaxed and engaging environment while effectively conveying key messages. Here's how to enhance the impact of your presentation:

Start strong:

Starting your presentation strong is crucial to capture the audience's attention and set the tone for the rest of the session. A compelling opening statement, question, or anecdote can stimulate curiosity and encourage active participation from the outset.

Research suggests that when we anticipate a specific outcome, our attention may fade, but uncertainty about what comes next keeps us engaged. Therefore, using this principle can help maximize audience engagement and retention throughout your presentation.

Foster conversation:

Establishing a connection with your audience is key, and adopting a conversational tone and demeanor can help achieve this. By speaking naturally and using relatable examples, you can ensure clarity and engagement throughout your presentation. Avoiding complex jargon makes your message easier to follow, fostering a deeper connection with your audience. This approach creates a more inclusive and interactive atmosphere, enhancing the overall effectiveness of your presentation.

Harness the power of storytelling:

Storytelling is a powerful art form that can significantly enhance your overall message and captivate your audience. By incorporating storytelling, you can effectively illustrate complex ideas in a memorable and relatable manner. Share personal anecdotes or case studies that resonate with your audience, evoking emotions and deepening their understanding of the topic at hand. Through a compelling narrative, you can create a connection with your audience , making your message more impactful and memorable.

Encourage participation:

Encouraging participation involves involving the audience in the conversation right from the beginning. While presenting exhibit authenticity and confidence to foster an environment where questions, comments, and feedback are welcomed. This approach creates a participatory atmosphere where open dialogue and collaboration thrive, enhancing engagement and a sense of involvement among the audience members. By actively involving the audience throughout the presentation, you can create a more dynamic and interactive experience that resonates with the audience and encourages active participation.

Use visuals wisely:

When it comes to visual aids in informal presentations, simplicity and relevance are key. While formal presentations may rely heavily on polished powerpoint presentation slides, informal settings often favor more spontaneous tools like whiteboards, hand-drawn charts, and multimedia clips. These tools offer unique benefits, as they allow presenters to build visuals in real time, enhancing the impact of their spoken words.

‍ Using whiteboards or hand-drawn charts enables presenters to illustrate complex concepts on the spot, simplifying them for the audience's comprehension. This interactive approach fosters engagement and encourages audience participation. Additionally, multimedia clips can supplement verbal explanations, providing visual and auditory reinforcement to enhance understanding.

Inject humor appropriately:

Utilize humor to create a lively atmosphere and enhance audience engagement during your presentation. Incorporating wit and playful anecdotes not only lightens the mood but also encourages the audience to connect with and retain the information more effectively. By infusing your presentation with humorous elements, you can captivate your audience's attention and leave a lasting impression.

Stay flexible:

Stay responsive to your audience's reactions and feedback during your presentation to maximize your impact as a presenter. Pay attention to their non-verbal cues, which can offer valuable insights into their engagement and feelings toward the content. Embrace spontaneity and remain flexible, allowing space for improvisation to address audience interests or concerns in real time. This adaptability ensures that your presentation remains dynamic and relevant, fostering a deeper connection with your audience.

End on a strong note:

A strong conclusion ensures that the audience retains the most important information from the presentation and can motivate the audience to take certain actions. Additionally, it shows that the speaker has carefully considered the structure and content of the presentation, leaving a positive impression on the audience, and enhancing the speaker's credibility.

By implementing these strategies, speakers can create informal presentations that resonate with the audience, foster meaningful interactions, and make a lasting impact.

FAQ on informal vs formal presentation

1. what are the key differences between formal and informal presentations.

Explore the distinct characteristics and usage scenarios of formal and informal presentation styles, from the structured design of formal slideshows to the conversational flow of impromptu exchanges.

2. How can I effectively craft a formal presentation?

Discover the essential elements and strategies required for creating a polished formal presentation, including meticulous preparation, clear communication of main points, and engaging presentation design services.

3. Are impromptu presentations common in virtual settings?

Understand the prevalence of impromptu presentations in virtual environments and learn how to adapt presentation styles to effectively engage audiences during virtual meetings or discussions.

4. What organizational methods are typically employed in formal presentations?

Explore the organizational methods utilized in crafting a formal presentation, from outlining main points to structuring content for maximum impact and retention.

5. How can I engage my audience during a formal presentation?

Learn effective techniques for captivating your audience during a formal presentation, such as incorporating storytelling, utilizing persuasive presentation styles, and fostering interaction through questions and discussions.

Summarizing key takeaways:

• Understanding the difference : Presentations can be categorized into formal and informal styles, each requiring a different approach. Formal presentations are structured, planned, and usually occur in professional settings, while informal ones are more relaxed and spontaneous, akin to a conversation.
• Crafting effective formal presentations : Crafting a successful formal presentation involves meticulous preparation, clear communication, and professionalism. Speakers must dress appropriately, maintain eye contact, and employ precise language suited to the audience's expertise.
• Strategies for formal presentations : Key strategies for formal presentations include thorough preparation, clarity in communication, engagement through storytelling, professionalism in demeanor, and the use of compelling visual aids.
• Characteristics of informal presentations : Informal presentations offer flexibility, encourage interactivity, and adopt a conversational tone. They may include impromptu elements, involve the audience in discussions, and utilize simpler visual aids like whiteboards or multimedia clips.
• Strategies for informal presentations: Effective informal presentations prioritize authenticity, adaptability, interactivity, engagement through storytelling, visual aids tailored to simplicity and relevance, appropriate use of humor, flexibility in response to audience reactions, and a strong conclusion.
• Meeting audience expectations : Whether giving a formal or informal presentation, understanding audience expectations is crucial. Crafting presentations that align with audience needs, interests, and preferences enhances engagement, fosters connection, and increases the likelihood of achieving presentation goals.

How does Prezent help you in presentation creation?

Prezent uses Generative AI features to transform the process of presentation creation. It offers a wide range of features designed to streamline workflow, enhance visual appeal, and engage audiences effectively. Here's how it enhances workflow efficiency:

Templates and themes : Prezent provides you with a wide range of professionally designed templates and themes, offering the flexibility to choose the ideal layout and design for their presentations. With thousands of layouts available, covering various corporate agendas and topics, Prezent saves your valuable time and effort in creating visually appealing presentations tailored to their needs.

Collaboration tools : Prezent enables seamless collaboration among team members, allowing multiple users to edit and review presentations in real time. With features such as commenting, and shared access controls, teams can collaborate effectively and ensure consistency and accuracy in their presentations.

Data visualization tools : Prezent includes robust data visualization tools, allowing users to create compelling charts, graphs, and infographics to illustrate key points and trends. With customizable chart styles and interactive features, users can effectively communicate complex data in a visually appealing manner.

Audience analytics : With Prezent's communication fingerprint feature, you gain access to valuable audience analytics that offer insights into their data preferences and unique communication styles. This enables you to better understand your audience and tailor your content to their specific preferences, ultimately making your presentations more effective and impactful.

Learn more about Prezent and how it can boost your presentation effectiveness by booking a free trial . You can alternatively schedule a demo with our experts to explore Prezent’s AI capabilities.

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Communications Site

Formal presentations.

Presentations give you the opportunity to share and receive feedback on your ideas and research findings.  This page offers basic guidelines for organizing, designing, and delivering formal presentations. It also provides links for further discussion and examples. For information on informal presentations, see  Hillary Hart’s website for CE 333T.

But before you get started…

Know your audience.  As an engineer, you will deliver formal presentations to different audiences who have varying levels of technical knowledge: undergraduates, graduate students, professors, university administrators, and supervisors and colleagues in industry. Anticipate what your audience already knows about your topic. If you are unsure how to address your audience, imagine having a conversation about your topic with a member of the audience. You would employ different diction and sentence structures to discuss your work with a fellow engineering student than you would to explain it to a marketing student, wouldn’t you? Ideally, you address audience members on a field of shared knowledge and then lead them to greater understanding.

Also try to anticipate your audience’s mood.  You should organize your presentation differently for a friendly audience than you would for a skeptical or hostile one. Generally speaking, a friendly audience will likely accept an early assertion of your main point, followed by supportive details.  A skeptical audience, however, responds more productively to a presentation of shared concerns, followed by a “delayed thesis,” or main point (Ramage & Bean, 1995, 164).

Finally, make sure you know your audience’s preferences for presentations. Does your audience expect or require PowerPoint or other presentation software? Does your audience, like Edward Tufte (2010), despise PowerPoint? Would your audience prefer other modes of presentation, such as displaying slides as  Web pages  (Olivo, 2006)? These types of questions may be difficult to answer for someone with little presentation experience, but doing some initial research into your audience’s expectations will make you a more effective presenter.

Organizing the Presentation

Most presentations have three distinct sections: Introduction, Middle, and Conclusion.

1. Draft the Introduction.  Think like a journalist: the introduction should explain the “who, what, when, where, and why” of your research. The Middle will explain the “how.” Your title slide will convey much of this information. Fig. 1 shows a title slide that includes the “who, what, and where.” If you receive external funding for your research, your title slide should identify the source of your support. At this stage, consider your Introduction as a rough draft. You will revise it later.

2. Concentrate on the Middle and Conclusion. Imagine yourself at the end of your presentation. What exactly do you want the audience to learn, or take away?  Engineering communicators recommend that you focus on 3-5 points per presentation (Doumont, 2009).  Yet at a busy conference, most of us can realistically remember only the main point of each speaker (Alley, 2003, 153.). Prioritize your points in order of importance.  Make sure all the information you include in the Middle of your presentation contributes to your most important point; too many unnecessary details will veil the important information. Select the most persuasive visual data to use as supporting evidence.

3. Organize your argument and support.  First, avoid your computer (Grant, 2010). Instead, write down your points on note cards and organize the cards, so you can see the entire structure at a glance and make changes quickly. If you begin this work on presentation software, you risk wasting time on slide design details. This process will also help to remove unnecessary information that does not support your main points. It will be earlier to throw away a notecard that you scribbled on than to delete a slide that took you an hour to perfect.

Repetition helps you to emphasize important information. If you want the audience to remember a point, allude to it early, present the information as clearly as possible, and repeat your point in the conclusion.

4. Finally, return to your Introduction.  Review all the material in your draft, including your title.  Make sure your Introduction explains why your work is important—and why we should pay attention to you. Also explain the larger context of your work (or the “big picture”) for the least technically knowledgeable member of the audience; that person could have the most power or money to help you. If your presentation will last longer than 5 minutes, provide an overview slide to outline the contents. You can use the overview to explain your scope: what you will discuss and what you will not.

Designing the Slides

As an undergraduate, you will normally use PowerPoint for your slide designs, but you should know its limitations. Remember three principles:

1. Slides should support your message,  not act as a substitute. If you watch the talks on  Ted.com  you will notice that the focus is on the speaker, not the slides. Watch  Dr. Kristina M. Johnson  (Fig. 2), an engineer and the current Under Secretary for Energy, discuss the Clean Energy Economy for 20 minutes at the Institute of International and European Affairs. We do not need slides to understand what she is saying.

2. Visual presentations and written reports speak different languages . In other words, don’t simply cut-and-paste words and illustrations from your reports onto the slides. Consider how your presentation audience differs from your reader, and how you can use the language of visual presentation to advantage. Fig. 3 shows another slide from the student presentation featured above in Fig. 1. Here, the authors show at a glance how decision-making factors (in blue) match their more specific goals in designing the production facility.

Figure 3 . From “Monoclonal Antibody Production Facility,” (Eberly, Forschner, & Owens, 2010).

3. Keep the slides simple.  The more complex your material, the easier you should make the presentation for the reader.  As Doumont puts it, “maximize signal-to-noise ratio” (2010).  Neuroscientist Stephen Kosslyn observes that “audience members can only typically handle four ‘perceptual units’ (a word, phrase or picture) at a time” (Grant, 2010). Avoid long bullet lists, complex flow charts, and tables full of fine detail. Pay attention to the size of words and images. Alley recommends keeping the font side no smaller than 18 points (2003, 116).  What if you need to show the fine detail? Make a handout.

Three websites offer detailed advice on how to prepare slides for engineering presentations:

Michael Alley’s  Writing Guidelines for Engineering and Science Students  at Penn State includes links to pages that discuss examples of excellent slide designs and suggest an alternative template to PowerPoint’s default. Alley presents an argument for the “Assertion-Evidence Structure”, in which a sentence-headline states the “assertion” and the body provides the “evidence.”

Jean-Luc Doumont’s support website for his book  Trees, maps, and theorems  gives crisp, straightforward advice for producing technical documents, oral presentations, and illustrations. In his link, “Explore the Topics,” a section on “Effective Graphical Displays” shows how to improve graphs, with useful before-and-after examples.

Melissa Marshall’s  Becoming an Effective Presenter of Engineering and Science ,  also at Penn State, gives detailed guidelines to Structure, Speech, Delivery, and Visual Aids. One particularly useful feature of this site is its use of video examples, both from TED talks and student presentations.

Practicing the Delivery

Public speakers, politicians, and professional actors get nervous before stepping onto a stage, so why shouldn’t you? Arguably, some degree of “nervousness” works to your advantage in that it keeps you alert and energizes your performance. Still, learning to channel that energy takes time and practice. The delivery could make or break a presentation, so start planning it early. Prepare your delivery as follows:

1. Create note cards.   Even if you are asked to “present a paper,” don’t plan to read the entire paper out loud. Outline it on cards, legibly stating the major points. Make sure you know your sources for all your information. If you are using presentation software, the sources should be cited on the slide. If not, list the source on your note cards. You may be called on your sources during the Question and Answer period.

2. Practice in front of friends —not just the mirror. It is amazing how quickly your brain will disregard the 10 hours of practicing you did at home when faced with another human being. A real audience, however small, will help give you a sense of the “nerves” you will experience and alert you to lapses in clarity or design flaws in your slides. Practice maintaining eye contact as much as possible. Practice twice, and note your improvement. If you are soft-spoken, practice in the largest lecture room possible. Ask a friend to sit in the back row so you can practice voice projection.

3. Visit the location if possible.   For presentations on campus, you should be able to visit the room beforehand. Note the size of the room and where you will stand. If you are presenting in a large lecture hall, check your slides for visibility from the back row. Test the projector and screen controls and arrange for technical support if necessary.

4. Remember  Murphy’s laws . Prepare for your laptop to crash, for the projector light bulb to blow out, for your partner not to show up. If you are presenting outside the University, prepare a backup plan to deliver

your talk from memory, with handouts.

5. Anticipate questions and challenges . Be ready to elaborate on each major point. Prepare to support your sources, your methods, and your conclusions without appearing to go on the defensive.    Hillary Hart  gives detailed advice on anticipating and responding to questions.

 References and Resources:

Alley, Michael (2007).  The Craft of Scientific Presentations.  Retrieved Sept. 10, 2010 from

http://www.writing.engr.psu.edu/csp.html

Doumont, Jean-Luc (2009). “Trees, maps, and theorems” from  Principiae: Structuring Thoughts . Retrieved Sept. 10, 2010 from  http://www.principiae.be/

Eberly, Hayley; Forschner, Caitlin; Owens, Lauren (Spring, 2010). “Monoclonal Antibody Production Facility.” PowerPoint presentation from ChE 473 K, Process Design and Operations. The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas.

Grant, Bob. (3 Jan., 2010). “Pimp your PowerPoint.”  The Scientist.  Retrieved Dec. 29, 2010 from

http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/57186/

Hart, Hillary. (2010). “Preparing Presentations”  from CE 333T: Engineering Communication . Retrieved Sept. 10, 2010 from  http://www.ce.utexas.edu/prof/hart/333t/givingpresentations.cfm

Johnson, Kristina M. (8 July, 2010). “Growing a Clean Energy Economy.” Address to Institute of International and European Affairs. Retrieved Sept. 10. 2010 from  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jgj1tkJfXaA

Marshall, Melissa. (2010).  Becoming an Effective Presenter of Engineering and Science . Retrieved Sept. 10, 2010 from http://www.engr.psu.edu/speaking/Visual-Aids.html

Olivo, Richard (2003-2006). “A Flexible Alternative to PowerPoint.” Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning. Retrieved Sept. 12 from  http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/html/icb.topic58474/notPPT.htm

Ramage, John D. and Bean, John C. (1995). Writing Arguments: a Rhetoric with Readings. 3rd ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Ted.com (2010). Retrieved Sept. 10 from  http://www.ted.com/

Tufte, Edward R. (2010). “The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint: Pitching Out Corrupts Within,” from

The Work of Edward Tufte and Graphics Press.  Retrieved Sept. 10 2020 from http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/powerpoint

Presentations give you the opportunity to share and receive feedback on your ideas and research findings.  This page offers basic guidelines for organizing, designing, and delivering formal presentations. It also provides links for further discussion and examples.

Most presentations have three distinct sections: Introduction, Middle, and Conclusion. 1. Draft the Introduction. 

Figure 1. Sample title slide

Think like a journalist: the introduction should explain the “who, what, when, where, and why” of your research.  The Middle will explain the “how.” Your title slide will convey much of this information. Fig. 1 shows a title slide that includes the “who, what, and where.” Make sure you attend to font size and color contrast so that your names are visible. Also, spell out the names of your university and department even though they may be obvious. If you receive external funding for your research, your title slide should identify the source of your support. At this stage, consider your Introduction as a rough draft. You will revise it later.

2. Concentrate on the Middle and Conclusion.

  Imagine yourself at the end of your presentation. What exactly do you want the audience to learn, or take away?  Engineering communicators recommend that you focus on 3-5 points per presentation (Doumont, 2009).  Yet at a busy conference, most of us can realistically remember only the main point of each speaker (Alley, 2003, 153.). Prioritize your points in order of importance.  Make sure all the information you include in the Middle of your presentation contributes to your most important point; too many unnecessary details will veil the important information. Select the most persuasive visual data to use as supporting evidence.

3. Organize your argument and support.

First, avoid your computer (Grant, 2010). Instead, write down your points on note cards and organize the cards, so you can see the entire structure at a glance and make changes quickly. If you begin this work on presentation software, you risk wasting time on slide design details. This process will also help to remove unnecessary information that does not support your main points. It will be earlier to throw away a notecard that you scribbled on than to delete a slide that took you an hour to perfect.

4. Finally, return to your Introduction. 

Review all the material in your draft, including your title.  Make sure your Introduction explains why your work is important—and why we should pay attention to you. Also explain the larger context of your work (or the “big picture”) for the least technically knowledgeable member of the audience; that person could have the most power or money to help you. If your presentation will last longer than 5 minutes, provide an overview slide to outline the contents. You can use the overview to explain your scope: what you will discuss and what you will not.

Figure 2. Dr. Kristina M. Johnson (2010).

1. Slides should support your message,  not act as a substitute. If you watch the talks on  Ted.com  you will notice that the focus is on the speaker, not the slides. Watch  Dr. Kristina M. Johnson  (Fig. 2), an engineer and the former Under Secretary for Energy, discuss the Clean Energy Economy for 20 minutes at the Institute of International and European Affairs. We do not need slides to understand what she is saying.

Figure 3. From “Monoclonal Antibody Production Facility,” (Eberly, Forschner, & Owens, 2010).

3. Visit the location if possible.   For presentations on campus, you should be able to visit the room beforehand.

Note the size of the room and where you will stand. If you are presenting in a large lecture hall, check your slides for visibility from the back row. Test the projector and screen controls and arrange for technical support if necessary.

4. Remember  Murphy’s laws . Prepare for your laptop to crash, for the projector light bulb to blow out, for your partner not to show up. If you are presenting outside the University, prepare a backup plan to deliver your talk from memory, with handouts.

5. Anticipate questions and challenges . Be ready to elaborate on each major point. Prepare to support your sources, your methods, and your conclusions without appearing to go on the defensive.  If you do not know the answer, say so.

References and Resources:

Alley, Michael (2007).  The Craft of Scientific Presentations.  Retrieved March 31, 2016 from  http://www.craftofscientificpresentations.com

Grant, Bob. (3 Jan., 2010). “Pimp your PowerPoint.”  The Scientist.  Retrieved Dec. 29, 2010 from  http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/57186/

Marshall, Melissa. (2010).  Becoming an Effective Presenter of Engineering and Science . Retrieved Sept. 10, 2010 from  http://www.engr.psu.edu/speaking/Visual-Aids.html

Olivo, Richard (2003-2006). “A Flexible Alternative to PowerPoint.” Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning. Retrieved Sept. 12 from  http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/html/icb.topic58474/notPPT.html

Ramage, John D. and Bean, John C. (1995). Writing Arguments: a Rhetoric with Readings . 3rd ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Tufte, Edward R. (2010). “The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint: Pitching Out Corrupts Within,” from The Work of Edward Tufte and Graphics Press.  Retrieved Sept. 10 2012 from  http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/powerpoint

Imagine yourself at the end of your presentation. What exactly do you want the audience to learn, or take away?  Engineering communicators recommend that you focus on 3-5 points per presentation (Doumont, 2009).  Yet at a busy conference, most of us can realistically remember only the main point of each speaker (Alley, 2003, 153.). Prioritize your points in order of importance.  Make sure all the information you include in the Middle of your presentation contributes to your most important point; too many unnecessary details will veil the important information. Select the most persuasive visual data to use as supporting evidence.

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Blog Beginner Guides 8 Types of Presentations You Should Know [+Examples & Tips]

8 Types of Presentations You Should Know [+Examples & Tips]

Written by: Krystle Wong Aug 11, 2023

From persuasive pitches that influence opinions to instructional demonstrations that teach skills, the different types of presentations serve a unique purpose, tailored to specific objectives and audiences.

Presentations that are tailored to its objectives and audiences are more engaging and memorable. They capture attention, maintain interest and leave a lasting impression. 

Don’t worry if you’re no designer —  Whether you need data-driven visuals, persuasive graphics or engaging design elements, Venngage can empower you to craft presentations that stand out and effectively convey your message.

Venngage’s intuitive drag-and-drop interface, extensive presentation template library and customizable design options make it a valuable tool for creating slides that align with your specific goals and target audience. 

Click to jump ahead:

8 Different types of presentations every presenter must know

How do i choose the right type of presentation for my topic or audience, types of presentation faq, 5 steps to create a presentation with venngage .

When it comes to presentations, versatility is the name of the game. Having a variety of presentation styles up your sleeve can make a world of difference in keeping your audience engaged. Here are 8 essential presentation types that every presenter should be well-acquainted with:

1. Informative presentation

Ever sat through a presentation that left you feeling enlightened? That’s the power of an informative presentation. 

This presentation style is all about sharing knowledge and shedding light on a particular topic. Whether you’re diving into the depths of quantum physics or explaining the intricacies of the latest social media trends, informative presentations aim to increase the audience’s understanding.

When delivering an informative presentation, simplify complex topics with clear visuals and relatable examples. Organize your content logically, starting with the basics and gradually delving deeper and always remember to keep jargon to a minimum and encourage questions for clarity.

Academic presentations and research presentations are great examples of informative presentations. An effective academic presentation involves having clear structure, credible evidence, engaging delivery and supporting visuals. Provide context to emphasize the topic’s significance, practice to perfect timing, and be ready to address anticipated questions. 

2. Persuasive presentation

If you’ve ever been swayed by a passionate speaker armed with compelling arguments, you’ve experienced a persuasive presentation . 

This type of presentation is like a verbal tug-of-war, aiming to convince the audience to see things from a specific perspective. Expect to encounter solid evidence, logical reasoning and a dash of emotional appeal.

With persuasive presentations, it’s important to know your audience inside out and tailor your message to their interests and concerns. Craft a compelling narrative with a strong opening, a solid argument and a memorable closing. Additionally, use visuals strategically to enhance your points.

Examples of persuasive presentations include presentations for environmental conservations, policy change, social issues and more. Here are some engaging presentation templates you can use to get started with: 

3. Demonstration or how-to presentation

A Demonstration or How-To Presentation is a type of presentation where the speaker showcases a process, technique, or procedure step by step, providing the audience with clear instructions on how to replicate the demonstrated action. 

A demonstrative presentation is particularly useful when teaching practical skills or showing how something is done in a hands-on manner.

These presentations are commonly used in various settings, including educational workshops, training sessions, cooking classes, DIY tutorials, technology demonstrations and more. Designing creative slides for your how-to presentations can heighten engagement and foster better information retention. 

Speakers can also consider breaking down the process into manageable steps, using visual aids, props and sometimes even live demonstrations to illustrate each step. The key is to provide clear and concise instructions, engage the audience with interactive elements and address any questions that may arise during the presentation.

4. Training or instructional presentation

Training presentations are geared towards imparting practical skills, procedures or concepts — think of this as the more focused cousin of the demonstration presentation. 

Whether you’re teaching a group of new employees the ins and outs of a software or enlightening budding chefs on the art of soufflé-making, training presentations are all about turning novices into experts.

To maximize the impact of your training or instructional presentation, break down complex concepts into digestible segments. Consider using real-life examples to illustrate each point and create a connection. 

You can also create an interactive presentation by incorporating elements like quizzes or group activities to reinforce understanding.

5. Sales presentation

Sales presentations are one of the many types of business presentations and the bread and butter of businesses looking to woo potential clients or customers. With a sprinkle of charm and a dash of persuasion, these presentations showcase products, services or ideas with one end goal in mind: sealing the deal.

A successful sales presentation often has key characteristics such as a clear value proposition, strong storytelling, confidence and a compelling call to action. Hence, when presenting to your clients or stakeholders, focus on benefits rather than just features. 

Anticipate and address potential objections before they arise and use storytelling to showcase how your offering solves a specific problem for your audience. Utilizing visual aids is also a great way to make your points stand out and stay memorable.

A sales presentation can be used to promote service offerings, product launches or even consultancy proposals that outline the expertise and industry experience of a business. Here are some template examples you can use for your next sales presentation:

6. Pitch presentation

Pitch presentations are your ticket to garnering the interest and support of potential investors, partners or stakeholders. Think of your pitch deck as your chance to paint a vivid picture of your business idea or proposal and secure the resources you need to bring it to life. 

Business presentations aside, individuals can also create a portfolio presentation to showcase their skills, experience and achievements to potential clients, employers or investors. 

Craft a concise and compelling narrative. Clearly define the problem your idea solves and how it stands out in the market. Anticipate questions and practice your answers. Project confidence and passion for your idea.

7. Motivational or inspirational presentation

Feeling the need for a morale boost? That’s where motivational presentations step in. These talks are designed to uplift and inspire, often featuring personal anecdotes, heartwarming stories and a generous serving of encouragement.

Form a connection with your audience by sharing personal stories that resonate with your message. Use a storytelling style with relatable anecdotes and powerful metaphors to create an emotional connection. Keep the energy high and wrap up your inspirational presentations with a clear call to action.

Inspirational talks and leadership presentations aside, a motivational or inspirational presentation can also be a simple presentation aimed at boosting confidence, a motivational speech focused on embracing change and more.

8. Status or progress report presentation

Projects and businesses are like living organisms, constantly evolving and changing. Status or progress report presentations keep everyone in the loop by providing updates on achievements, challenges and future plans. It’s like a GPS for your team, ensuring everyone stays on track.

Be transparent about achievements, challenges and future plans. Utilize infographics, charts and diagrams to present your data visually and simplify information. By visually representing data, it becomes easier to identify trends, make predictions and strategize based on evidence.

Now that you’ve learned about the different types of presentation methods and how to use them, you’re on the right track to creating a good presentation that can boost your confidence and enhance your presentation skills . 

Selecting the most suitable presentation style is akin to choosing the right outfit for an occasion – it greatly influences how your message is perceived. Here’s a more detailed guide to help you make that crucial decision:

1. Define your objectives

Begin by clarifying your presentation’s goals. Are you aiming to educate, persuade, motivate, train or perhaps sell a concept? Your objectives will guide you to the most suitable presentation type. 

For instance, if you’re aiming to inform, an informative presentation would be a natural fit. On the other hand, a persuasive presentation suits the goal of swaying opinions.

2. Know your audience

Regardless if you’re giving an in-person or a virtual presentation — delve into the characteristics of your audience. Consider factors like their expertise level, familiarity with the topic, interests and expectations. 

If your audience consists of professionals in your field, a more technical presentation might be suitable. However, if your audience is diverse and includes newcomers, an approachable and engaging style might work better.

3. Analyze your content

Reflect on the content you intend to present. Is it data-heavy, rich in personal stories or focused on practical skills? Different presentation styles serve different content types. 

For data-driven content, an informative or instructional presentation might work best. For emotional stories, a motivational presentation could be a compelling choice.

4. Consider time constraints

Evaluate the time you have at your disposal. If your presentation needs to be concise due to time limitations, opt for a presentation style that allows you to convey your key points effectively within the available timeframe. A pitch presentation, for example, often requires delivering impactful information within a short span.

5. Leverage visuals

Visual aids are powerful tools in presentations. Consider whether your content would benefit from visual representation. If your PowerPoint presentations involve step-by-step instructions or demonstrations, a how-to presentation with clear visuals would be advantageous. Conversely, if your content is more conceptual, a motivational presentation could rely more on spoken words.

6. Align with the setting

Take the presentation environment into account. Are you presenting in a formal business setting, a casual workshop or a conference? Your setting can influence the level of formality and interactivity in your presentation. For instance, a demonstration presentation might be ideal for a hands-on workshop, while a persuasive presentation is great for conferences.

7. Gauge audience interaction

Determine the level of audience engagement you want. Interactive presentations work well for training sessions, workshops and small group settings, while informative or persuasive presentations might be more one-sided.

8. Flexibility

Stay open to adjusting your presentation style on the fly. Sometimes, unexpected factors might require a change of presentation style. Be prepared to adjust on the spot if audience engagement or reactions indicate that a different approach would be more effective.

Remember that there is no one-size-fits-all approach, and the best type of presentation may vary depending on the specific situation and your unique communication goals. By carefully considering these factors, you can choose the most effective presentation type to successfully engage and communicate with your audience.

To save time, use a presentation software or check out these presentation design and presentation background guides to create a presentation that stands out.    

What are some effective ways to begin and end a presentation?

Capture your audience’s attention from the start of your presentation by using a surprising statistic, a compelling story or a thought-provoking question related to your topic. 

To conclude your presentation , summarize your main points, reinforce your key message and leave a lasting impression with a powerful call to action or a memorable quote that resonates with your presentation’s theme.

How can I make my presentation more engaging and interactive?

To create an engaging and interactive presentation for your audience, incorporate visual elements such as images, graphs and videos to illustrate your points visually. Share relatable anecdotes or real-life examples to create a connection with your audience. 

You can also integrate interactive elements like live polls, open-ended questions or small group discussions to encourage participation and keep your audience actively engaged throughout your presentation.

Which types of presentations require special markings

Some presentation types require special markings such as how sales presentations require persuasive techniques like emphasizing benefits, addressing objections and using compelling visuals to showcase products or services. 

Demonstrations and how-to presentations on the other hand require clear markings for each step, ensuring the audience can follow along seamlessly. 

That aside, pitch presentations require highlighting unique selling points, market potential and the competitive edge of your idea, making it stand out to potential investors or partners.

Need some inspiration on how to make a presentation that will captivate an audience? Here are 120+ presentation ideas to help you get started. 

Creating a stunning and impactful presentation with Venngage is a breeze. Whether you’re crafting a business pitch, a training presentation or any other type of presentation, follow these five steps to create a professional presentation that stands out:

• Sign up and log in to Venngage to access the editor.
• Choose a presentation template that matches your topic or style.
• Customize content, colors, fonts, and background to personalize your presentation.
• Add images, icons, and charts to enhancevisual style and clarity.
• Save, export, and share your presentation as PDF or PNG files, or use Venngage’s Presentation Mode for online showcasing.

In the realm of presentations, understanding the different types of presentation formats is like having a versatile set of tools that empower you to craft compelling narratives for every occasion.

Remember, the key to a successful presentation lies not only in the content you deliver but also in the way you connect with your audience. Whether you’re informing, persuading or entertaining, tailoring your approach to the specific type of presentation you’re delivering can make all the difference.

Presentations are a powerful tool, and with practice and dedication (and a little help from Venngage), you’ll find yourself becoming a presentation pro in no time. Now, let’s get started and customize your next presentation!

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Formal, Interactive or Informal Presentation – Which Type Is Best?

Simon Morton shares a chapter of his latest book, “The Presentation Lab”.

Understanding the presentation landscape

There’s no getting away from it, bookstores, social media and the web are awash with great advice to support the business presenter. Tap “help with business presentations” into Google, and you’re greeted with over 450 million results.

The good news is that most of these links will offer considered, practical advice to help you navigate your way through a formal presentation. They’ll no doubt provide hints and tips on how to stand, project your voice and ensure that your PowerPoint slides look good. If you’re wearing a suit, presenting to an audience that knows not to ask any questions until the end of the presentation and are determined only to use PowerPoint as a visual aid, you’re in good hands.

The bad news is that most business presentations are nothing like this.

Indeed, most of the day-to-day presentation situations in which you’ll find yourself do not lend themselves to the (many) rules that surround formal presentations. You’ll often be presenting to a single individual over an informal coffee or to a group on a topic that needs greater levels of interaction than a linear PowerPoint slide deck will support. You might be next up on stage at a conference and can tell from the coma-like expressions of the conference audience that another 30-slide PowerPoint deck would push them over the edge.

Whatever the particular details, more and more presentation situations exist outside of this ‘formal’ environment. Yet pretty much the entire canon of presentation thinking remains transfixed on addressing the shortcomings of the “I speak, you listen” format.

How does the Presentation Landscape break down?

As with all good things in the presentation world, the landscape breaks down rather nicely into three key areas shown in the graphic below:

And while they aren’t hard-and-fast rules, there are some basic parameters we can use to determine which kinds of presentations might fit into each.

The Formal Presentation

Typical presentation scenarios that fall into the Formal category are bids and pitches, conferences and investor presentations. They have one thing in common: the presenter speaks and the audience listens, and then (ideally) a lively Q&A session kicks off at the conclusion of the presentation at the behest of the presenter. In short, the majority of the presentation is a broadcast rather than a conversation .

If it seems that I’m a little snooty about ‘Formal’ presentations, or that I feel they lack an intimacy that plays well with audiences, please know that this couldn’t be further from the truth. Getting ‘Formal’ presentations right is hard – damned hard. This is because these kinds of presentations, more than any other, are subject to disengaged audiences. They also frequently have more at stake, which inadvertently but understandably puts the presenter at a disadvantage before they’ve even stepped onto the stage. Formal presentations are also more likely to be ‘one-offs’ or delivered irregularly, which means that studious rehearsal is required by all involved (and, lest we forget, most of the intended rehearsal time will be eaten up by last-minute changes to the slides – an unavoidable part of human nature).

My semi-snooty tone might come from the fact that the Formal presentation structure has been foisted on presenters and audiences alike for way too long. We’ve followed the unwritten (and in some cases, written) rules regarding posture, diction and how many bullet points you’re allowed on a slide so slavishly that they’ve hindered audience engagement. Communication – the primary goal of most presentations – is, ironically, the first casualty of over formalizing.

So how do we fix this? Being a little more casual with all presentations is foolish, since some do demand the formal approach. However, a good place to start is to recognize that not all presentations fit the same mold.

This leads rather nicely onto our next category – the Interactive presentation.

The Interactive Presentation

The ability to interact has never been so widely embraced as it is today. Our media thrives on its ability to engage and interact with its audiences, from the occasionally hysterical discussion boards on newspaper websites to the hordes of business Tweeters and Facebookers, to the ease of voting contestants on and off reality TV shows. (My children don’t believe a Saturday evening in front of the TV is complete if they haven’t called a premium-rate phone line to vote off a dancer/singer/juggler who doesn’t meet their high standards.)

With interaction being so prevalent across the media landscape, it seems strange that presentations have, on the whole, managed to dodge the trend. It might be that conventional wisdom scorns the idea of an audience asking questions throughout a presentation; heaven forbid they got ideas above their station and started driving the presentation towards something that actually appealed to them. Or, it might be that presenters have preferred to stay within the lines and stick with the formal approach.

Another reason for the lack of interactivity in presentations is that presenters are simply not aware that many presentation tools at their disposal are eminently capable of supporting an interactive audience engagement.

The starting-off point is ultimately less about the tools you choose to use and more about the decision to move away from the Formal approach’s comfort zone. When we embrace the Interactive approach, we must rethink the rules and allow a presentation to become more about discussion than broadcast. This apparent lack of control demands that the presenter has a much greater grasp of the presentation story and message, an intimate knowledge of the tool, and an awareness of the audience and how and when to react to their engagement.

Make no bones about it: as the presenter, you are still in charge of the process and need to navigate the presentation and your audience from A to B. The only difference with the Interactive model is that you may meander ‘off-course’ occasionally if and when a given topic proves of particular interest to your audience. But as long as you complete the journey and end up at ‘B’ with message duly delivered and understood, then it really doesn’t matter how circuitous a route your audience may have taken you. You’ve still succeeded.

The good news is that it’s not as scary as it sounds! A good interactive presentation requires as much from the presenter as a business conversation. You simply need to know your subject — since there’s no opportunity to simply read words from the slide autocue style – and be ready to listen to your audience.

As such, the good presentation opportunities to move from a Formal to Interactive style are exhibitions, demonstrations and account management sales meetings. It’s less about delivering a ‘slick pitch’ and more about building a bond and rapport and demonstrating you can support your audience.

It’s for these reasons that Interactive presentations tend to work best for smaller audience groups. Any more than five audience members and you can find yourself in the middle of an argument rather than a conversation. At this point, you’ll be better served by calling upon the more traditional rules of the Formal approach.

The question remains – why eschew the well-established Formal approach for the apparently more risky Interactive route? The answer is simple: audience engagement.

Ultimately, the reason we present is to engage with the audience to the point where they will listen to, understand and ideally act on our message. By putting them in the driver’s seat and allowing them into the presentation conversation, you dramatically change the dynamics of the presenter–audience relationship. You’re giving them license to test, question and evaluate your message as part of the process. By doing so, you’re much more likely to keep the audience on your side and thus to get the result you desire.

The Informal Presentation

The example I always use is the ubiquitous airport bar conversation. You’re unwinding with a beer while waiting for your flight to board when you strike up a conversation with the person next to you. As business people do, you ask each other what line of work you’re in and the reason for your travel. One thing leads to another, and soon enough you’re sharing your business message with your new friend – just like you had done three hours prior to a room of prospects.

The power of the Informal presentation is that rather than pulling out your laptop and firing up PowerPoint – thereby killing the nice, informal environment you’ve created – you are able to tell/sell your story using no more than a napkin and a pen by way of visuals.

Note: the use of handmade impromptu visuals as part of an Informal engagement is not restricted to bars! It’s a running joke in our offices that I find it difficult to chat with anyone without a pad of paper and selection of pens to hand. I’m always doodling to visually share my thoughts and ideas with someone. Despite the jokes, people understand that this is my informal way of presenting and engaging with the team, and ultimately ensuring that they understand and receive my message loud and clear.

It’s essential to know that using an Informal approach only works if the presenter really knows their subject. This is more than aimless doodling and a meandering story; it’s about recognizing that the engagement with the audience demands a more relaxed approach, while still delivering a focused and powerful message.

Delivering Competitive Advantage

The evolving Presentation Landscape is an incredibly exciting change in the way we deliver our messages to audiences. In my opinion, it trumps any new technological developments (while the birth of the iPad/tablet was exciting, it’s just another tool at the end of the day) or new design thinking.

The Presentation Landscape takes our ability to truly build a relationship with audiences to a whole new level…something that no single presentation tool will ever be able to do.

The reason for this bold statement is a simple one – it relies on people recognizing and acting on the opportunity. Once we understand the dynamics in play at any presentation situation – and use this insight to apply the right story-telling approach and tools to meet the audience’s requirements – we automatically move up the scale in terms of engagement. This increased engagement provides us not only with a greater chance of meeting our objectives (remember Must-Intend-Like!) but also of addressing our audience’s specific needs.

There’s no getting away from it: a greater understanding of the Presentation Landscape coupled with a Blended Presenting approach delivers huge competitive advantage that, while useful for internal or conference presentations, is invaluable for sales or investor presentations.

Blended Presenting – A Customer’s Tale

As news of our Presentation Optimization methodology spread, we started getting calls from international companies looking for support and guidance. These were always exciting projects that combined travel to some remarkable countries with the opportunity to work with some truly fantastic companies and people.

Of all these early international projects, there is one that stands out for a couple of reasons. We’d been working with the European offices of a German software company for a number of years, having supported them in all manner of different presentation scenarios. We’d been there for sales decks, kick-off events and for internal presentations – and we’d used PowerPoint as the visual tool each and every time.

There’s no doubt that they’d categorized us as their “PowerPoint people”. This suited us down to the ground; they required a lot of PowerPoint, we had a great reputation within the business and, top down, they were nice people to work with. Then the message spread to the US.

I was asked to join a confidential conference call where it was announced that the software company was in the process of acquiring one of their largest competitors. This acquisition would make a huge difference to the already very impressive business – a revised and improved customer proposition, greater leverage in a vibrant marketplace and the opportunity to embed themselves even deeper into their growing customer base. It was all very exciting – and they needed a PowerPoint presentation to release as part of the rollout training and coaching for their global sales team. I was summoned to the US and arrived at their offices fresh as a daisy after being flown over business class and being put up in one of the finest hotels the East Coast could offer.

With a suitably senior (and, let’s be honest, expensive) executive team seated behind closed doors, we commenced the Presentation Optimization process. We established a good understanding of the prospect audience, discussed objectives, and quickly identified a compelling key message (it was such a wonderful proposition that none of this was all that tricky). Then we moved onto the content.

And this is where the cold sweats started.

The audience heatmap profile was heavily weighted towards the Factual with a strong sense of Visionary. This was to be expected – it was a highly technical sale with a multimillion price tag attached. Due to the very technical nature of the new combined solution, we were going to have to get pretty detailed quite quickly in terms of content, which could alienate the Visionary section of the audience. My business prides itself in getting PowerPoint to do things it wasn’t originally designed to do, but this seemed like a step too far.

I had no option but to voice my concerns. So, with more than a little trepidation, I turned to my senior and generous hosts and uttered the fatal words: “This isn’t right for PowerPoint. I don’t see how we can make this work using simple slides.”

Somewhat understandably, a silence fell over the room. (Oh dear.)

I pressed on, however, explaining that the story itself was extremely compelling and that by sticking purely to PowerPoint, we ran the very real risk of switching off what should and would be an audience hooked on everything we had to say.

I suggested that we continue to think visually and see where the rest of the session took us. I think it’s fair to say that there was a sense in the room that this had all turned a bit sour…and I was to blame. (Oh dear indeed.)

About an hour in, I had a flash of inspiration after scribbling up comments and ideas on the very fancy electronic whiteboard. I was using the whiteboard to share my ideas and demonstrate visually my message; so why couldn’t my customer and their sales team do the same thing?

Over the following three hours, we created a proposition story that could be visualized using the whiteboard. We “topped and tailed” this innovative approach using conventional PowerPoint; this not only suited the audience but also gave the presenters a familiar and defined way of starting and concluding the formal presentation.

The customer was delighted and went on to make a huge success of their new combined solution, cutting a swathe through the competition and opening up new opportunities left, right and center.

Importantly, there were a couple of completely unforeseen benefits to this new way of presenting. It seemed that the audience was compelled to interact as the salesperson used the interactive whiteboard to tell the visual story and explain how the elements might work for their prospect; they often jumped to their feet, grabbed a marker and drew their requirements right on the board. Despite our best efforts, PowerPoint or Keynote never got close to this level of interactivity.

Add to that the fact that our customer’s sales team now had a visual describing their prospects’ specific requirements IN THE PROSPECT’S HANDWRITING. This meant that they could use the wonders of Smartboards to e-mail and insert them directly into proposal documents – and could reference them later on to produce a truly bespoke offering.

From moments of blind panic came a solution that exceeded all of our expectations.

Personally, this was a sea change in the way we looked at the entire process of presenting. By challenging the established norms and mixing things up a bit, we’d made a great story even more powerful and palatable for the audience. It was a simple as using the right tool at the right time for the right type of content — and by doing so, we’d inadvertently created a new approach to presentations. Blended Presenting had been born.

We no longer view presentations as necessarily being purely of one format. Our customer base now generally accepts that getting the message and story optimized is the first and often most challenging phase in the development of a presentation. The visualization of that story into an array of different presentation outputs is the fun bit. It’s what allows us to engage with any audience type, in any number and in any situation in a way that truly makes a difference.

Suddenly, the audience is in charge of the format the presentation takes – and the presenter is able to call upon any number of combinations from their toolkit of formats.

It’s exciting, it’s relevant and it’s powerful.

Simon Morton

Simon Morton launched his PowerPoint presentation design company Eyeful Presentations in 2004, with a simple goal of creating better, more effective business presentations that would engage audiences and actually get presenters results and success. A published author, his first book, ‘ The Presentation Lab ’ is making waves and has been released around the world in 6 languages. A hugely experienced speaker, writer and trainer, Simon is recognized as an influential business leader and expert in the field of presentations. Connect with him on LinkedIn or follow him on Twitter .

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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.

Home Blog Business Business Presentation: The Ultimate Guide to Making Powerful Presentations (+ Examples)

Business Presentation: The Ultimate Guide to Making Powerful Presentations (+ Examples)

A business presentation is a purpose-led summary of key information about your company’s plans, products, or practices, designed for either internal or external audiences. Project proposals, HR policy presentations, investors briefings are among the few common types of presentations. 

Compelling business presentations are key to communicating important ideas, persuading others, and introducing new offerings to the world. Hence, why business presentation design is one of the most universal skills for any professional. 

This guide teaches you how to design and deliver excellent business presentations. Plus, breaks down some best practices from business presentation examples by popular companies like Google, Pinterest, and Amazon among others! 

3 General Types of Business Presentations

A business presentation can be given for a number of reasons. Respectively, they differ a lot in terms of content and purpose. 

But overall, all types of business presentations can be classified as:

• Informative
• Persuasive 
• Supporting 

Informative Business Presentation 

As the name suggests, the purpose of an informative presentation is to discern the knowledge you have — explain what you know. It’s the most common type of business presentation out there. So you have probably prepared such at least several times. 

Examples of informative presentations:

• Team briefings presentation 
• Annual stakeholder report 
• Quarterly business reviews
• Business portfolio presentation
• Business plan presentation
• Project presentation

Helpful templates from SlideModel:

• Business plan PowerPoint template
• Business review PowerPoint template
• Project proposal PowerPoint template
• Corporate annual report template

Persuasive Business Presentation 

The goal of this type of presentation is to persuade your audience of your point of view — convince them of what you believe is right. Developing business presentations of this caliber requires a bit more copywriting mastery, as well as expertise in public speaking . Unlike an informative business presentation, your goal here is to sway the audience’s opinions and prompt them towards the desired action. 

Examples of persuasive presentations:

• Pitch deck/investor presentations
• Sales presentation  
• Business case presentation 
• Free business proposal presentation
• Business proposal PowerPoint template
• Pitch deck PowerPoint template
• Account Plan PowerPoint template

Supporting Business Presentation 

This category of business PowerPoint presentations is meant to facilitate decision-making — explain how we can get something done. The underlying purpose here is to communicate the general “action plan”. Then break down the necessary next steps for bringing it to life. 

Examples of supporting presentations:

• Roadmap presentation
• Project vision presentation 
• After Action Review presentation 
• Standard operating procedure (SOP) PowerPoint template 
• Strategy map PowerPoint template 
• After action review (ARR) PowerPoint template 

What Should Be Included in a Business Presentation?

Overall, the content of your business presentation will differ depending on its purpose and type. However, at the very minimum, all business presentations should include:

• Introductory slide 
• Agenda/purpose slide
• Main information or Content slides
• Key Takeaways slides
• Call-to-action/next steps slides

We further distill business presentation design and writing best practices in the next section (plus, provide several actionable business PowerPoint presentation examples !). 

How to Make a Business Presentation: Actionable Tips

A business presentation consists of two parts — a slide deck and a verbal speech. In this section, we provide tips and strategies for nailing your deck design. 

1. Get Your Presentation Opening Right 

The first slides of your presentation make or break your success. Why? By failing to frame the narrative and set the scene for the audience from the very beginning, you will struggle to keep their interest throughout the presentation. 

You have several ways of how to start a business presentation:

• Use a general informative opening — a summative slide, sharing the agenda and main points of the discussion. 
• Go for a story opening — a more creative, personal opening, aimed at pulling the audience into your story. 
• Try a dramatic opening — a less apparent and attention-grabbing opening technique, meant to pique the audience’s interest. 

Standard Informative Opening 

Most business presentation examples you see start with a general, informative slide such as an Agenda, Problem Statement, or Company Introduction. That’s the “classic” approach. 

To manage the audience’s expectations and prepare them for what’s coming next, you can open your presentation with one or two slides stating:

• The topic of your presentation — a one-sentence overview is enough. 
• Persuasive hook, suggesting what’s in it for the audience and why they should pay attention. 
• Your authority — the best technique to establish your credibility in a business presentation is to share your qualifications and experience upfront to highlight why you are worth listening to. 

Opening best suited for: Formal business presentations such as annual reports and supporting presentations to your team/business stakeholders. 

Story Opening 

Did you ever notice that most TED talks start with a quick personal story? The benefit of this presenting technique is that it enables speakers to establish quick rapport and hold the listener’s attention. 

Here’s how Nancy Duarte, author of “Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations” book and TED presenter, recommends opening a presentation: 

You know, here’s the status quo, here’s what’s going on. And then you need to compare that to what could be. You need to make that gap as big as possible, because there is this commonplace of the status quo, and you need to contrast that with the loftiness of your idea. 

Storytelling , like no other tool, helps transpose the audience into the right mindset and get concentrated on the subject you are about to discuss. A story also elicits emotions, which can be a powerful ally when giving persuasive presentations. In the article how to start a presentation , we explore this in more detail.

Opening best suited for: Personal and business pitches, sales presentations, other types of persuasive presentations. 

Dramatic Opening 

Another common technique is opening your presentation with a major statement, sometimes of controversial nature. This can be a shocking statistic, complex rhetoric question, or even a provocative, contrarian statement, challenging the audience’s beliefs. 

Using a dramatic opening helps secure the people’s attention and capture their interest. You can then use storytelling to further drill down your main ideas. 

If you are an experienced public speaker, you can also strengthen your speech with some unexpected actions. That’s what Bill Gates does when giving presentations. In a now-iconic 2009 TED talk about malaria, mid-presentation Gates suddenly reveals that he actually brought a bunch of mosquitoes with him. He cracks open a jar with non-malaria-infected critters to the audience’s surprise. His dramatic actions, paired with a passionate speech made a mighty impression. 

Opening best suited for: Marketing presentations, customer demos, training presentations, public speeches. 

Further reading: How to start a presentation: tips and examples. 

2. Get Your PowerPoint Design Right

Surely, using professional business PowerPoint templates already helps immensely with presentation deck design since you don’t need to fuss over slide layout, font selection, or iconography. 

Even so, you’ll still need to customize your template(s) to make them on brand and better suited to the presentation you’re about to deliver. Below are our best presentation design tips to give your deck an extra oomph. 

Use Images, Instead of Bullet Points 

If you have ever watched Steve Jobs’s presentations, you may have noticed that he never used bullet-point lists. Weird right? Because using bullet points is the most universal advice in presentation design. 

But there’s a valid scientific reason why Jobs favored images over bullet-point texts. Researchers found that information delivered in visuals is better retained than words alone. This is called the “ pictorial superiority effect ”. As John Medina, a molecular biologist, further explains :

“Hear a piece of information, and three days later you’ll remember 10% of it. Add a picture and you’ll remember 65%.”

So if your goal is to improve the memorability of your presentation, always replace texts with images and visualizations when it makes sense. 

Fewer Slides is Better

No matter the value, a long PowerPoint presentation becomes tiring at some point. People lose focus and stop retaining the information. Thus, always take some extra time to trim the fluff and consolidate some repetitive ideas within your presentation. 

For instance, at McKinsey new management consultants are trained to cut down the number of slides in client presentations. In fact, one senior partner insists on replacing every 20 slides with only two slides . Doing so prompts you to focus on the gist — the main business presentation ideas you need to communicate and drop filler statements. 

Here are several quick tips to shorten your slides:

• Use a three-arc structure featuring a clear beginning (setup), main narrative (confrontation), ending (resolution). Drop the ideas that don’t fit into either of these. 
• Write as you tweet. Create short, on-point text blurbs of under 156 symbols, similar to what you’d share on Twitter. 
• Contextualize your numbers. Present any relevant statistics in a context, relevant to the listeners. Turn longer stats into data visualizations for easier cognition. 

Consistency is Key 

In a solid business presentation, each slide feels like part of the connecting story. To achieve such consistency apply the same visual style and retain the same underlying message throughout your entire presentation.

Use the same typography, color scheme, and visual styles across the deck. But when you need to accentuate a transition to a new topic (e.g. move from a setup to articulating the main ideas), add some new visual element to signify the slight change in the narrative. 

Further reading: 23 PowerPoint Presentation Tips for Creating Engaging and Interactive Presentations

3. Make Your Closure Memorable 

We best remember the information shared last. So make those business presentation takeaways stick in the audience’s memory. We have three strategies for that. 

Use the Rule of Three 

The Rule of Three is a literary concept, suggesting that we best remember and like ideas and concepts when they are presented in threes. 

Many famous authors and speakers use this technique:

• “Duty – Honor – Country. Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, and what you will be” . Gen. Douglas MacArthur.
• “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” are the unalienable rights of all humans that governments are meant to protect.” Thomas Jefferson 

The Rule of Three works because three is the maximum number of items most people can remember on their first attempt. Likewise, such pairings create a short, familiar structure that is easy to remember for our brains. 

Try the Title Close Technique

Another popular presentation closing technique is “Title Close” — going back to the beginning of your narrative and reiterating your main idea (title) in a form of a takeaway. Doing so helps the audience better retain your core message since it’s repeated at least two times. Plus, it brings a sense of closure — a feel-good state our brains love. Also, a brief one-line closure is more memorable than a lengthy summary and thus better retained. 

Ask a Question 

If you want to keep the conversation going once you are done presenting, you can conclude your presentation with a general question you’d like the audience to answer.

Alternatively, you can also encourage the members to pose questions to you. The latter is better suited for informational presentations where you’d like to further discuss some of the matters and secure immediate feedback. 

Try adding an interactive element like a QR code closing your presentation with a QR code and having a clear CTA helps you leverage the power of sharing anything you would like to share with your clients. QR codes can be customized to look alike your brand.

If you are looking for a smoother experience creating presentations on the fly, check out the AI PowerPoint maker —it offers everything you can ask forfrom presentation design in a couple of clicks.

12 Business Presentation Examples and What Makes Them Great 

Now that we equipped you with the general knowledge on how to make a presentation for business, let’s take a look at how other presenters are coping with this job and what lessons you can take away from them. 

1. N26 Digital Bank Pitch Deck 

This is a fine business pitch presentation example, hitting all the best practices. The deck opens with a big shocking statement that most Millennials would rather go to the dentist than step into a bank branch. 

Then it proceeds to discuss the company’s solution to the above — a fully digital bank with a paperless account opening process, done in 8 minutes. After communicating the main product features and value proposition, the deck further conceptualizes what traction the product got so far using data visualizations. The only thing it lacks is a solid call-to-action for closing slides as the current ending feels a bit abrupt. 

2. WeWork Pitch Deck

For a Series D round, WeWork went with a more formal business presentation. It starts with laying down the general company information and then transitions to explaining their business model, current market conditions, and the company’s position on the market.

The good thing about this deck is that they quantify their business growth prospects and value proposition. The likely gains for investors are shown in concrete numbers. However, those charts go one after another in a row, so it gets a bit challenging to retain all data points. 

The last part of their presentation is focused on a new offering, “We Live”. It explains why the team seeks funds to bring it to life. Likewise, they back their reasoning with market size statistics, sample projects, and a five-year revenue forecast. 

3. Redfin Investor Presentation 

If you are looking for a “text-light” business presentation example, Redfin’s investor deck is up to your alley. This simple deck expertly uses iconography, charts, and graphs to break down the company’s business model, value proposition, market share, and competitive advantages over similar startups. For number-oriented investors, this is a great deck design to use. 

4. Google Ready Together Presentation 

This isn’t quite the standard business presentation example per se. But rather an innovative way to create engaging, interactive presentations of customer case studies .

The short deck features a short video clip from a Google client, 7-11, explaining how they used the company’s marketing technology to digitally transform their operations and introduce a greater degree of marketing automation . The narrated video parts are interrupted by slides featuring catchy stats, contextualizing issues other businesses are facing. Then transitions to explaining through the words of 7-11 CMO, how Google’s technology is helping them overcome the stated shortcomings.

5. Salesforce Business Presentation Example 

This is a great example of an informational presentation, made by the Salesforce team to share their research on customer experience (CX) with prospects and existing customers.

The slide deck errs on the lengthier side with 58 slides total. But bigger topics are broken down and reinforced through bite-sized statistics and quotes from the company leadership. They are also packaging the main tips into memorable formulas, itemized lists, and tables. Overall, this deck is a great example of how you can build a compelling narrative using different statistics. 

6. Mastercard Business Presentation

This slide deck from Mastercard instantly captures the audience’s attention with unusual background images and major data points on the growth of populations, POS systems, and payment methods used in the upcoming decade.

Perhaps to offset the complexity of the subject, Mastercard chose to sprinkle in some humor in presentation texts and used comic-style visuals to supplement that. However, all their animations are made in a similar style, creating a good sense of continuity in design. They are also using colors to signify the transition from one part of the presentation to another. 

In the second part, the slide deck focuses on distilling the core message of what businesses need to do to remain competitive in the new payments landscape. The team presents what they have been working on to expand the payment ecosystem. Then concludes with a “title close” styled call-to-action, mirroring the presentation title.

7. McKinsey Diversity & Inclusion Presentation 

This fresh business slide deck from McKinsey is a great reference point for making persuasive business presentations on complex topics such as D&I. First, it recaps the main definitions of the discussed concepts — diversity, equity, and inclusion — to ensure alignment with the audience members. 

Next, the business presentation deck focuses on the severity and importance of the issue for businesses, represented through a series of graphs and charts. After articulating the “why”, the narrative switches to “how” — how leaders can benefit from investment in D&I. The main points are further backed with data and illustrated via examples. 

8. Accenture Presentation for the Energy Sector

Similar to McKinsey, Accenture keeps its slide deck on a short. Yet the team packs a punch within each slide through using a mix of fonts, graphical elements, and color for highlighting the core information. The presentation copy is on a longer side, prompting the audience to dwell on reading the slides. But perhaps this was meant by design as the presentation was also distributed online — via the company blog and social media. 

The last several slides of the presentation deck focus on articulating the value Accenture can deliver for their clients in the Energy sector. They expertly break down their main value proposition and key service lines, plus quantify the benefits. 

9. Amazon Web Services (AWS) Technical Presentation 

Giving an engaging technical presentation isn’t an easy task. You have to balance the number of details you reveal on your slides to prevent overwhelm, while also making sure that you don’t leave out any crucial deets. This technical presentation from AWS does great in both departments. 

First, you get entertained with a quick overview of Amazon’s progress in machine learning (ML) forecasting capabilities over the last decade. Then introduced to the main tech offering. The deck further explains what you need to get started with Amazon Forecast — e.g. dataset requirements, supported forecasting scenarios, available forecasting models, etc. 

The second half of the presentation provides a quick training snippet on configuring Amazon SageMaker to start your first project. The step-by-step instructions are coherent and well-organized, making the reader excited to test-drive the product. 

10. Snapchat Company Presentation

Snapchat’s business model presentation is on a funkier, more casual side, reflective of the company’s overall brand and positioning. After briefly recapping what they do, the slide deck switches to discussing the company’s financials and revenue streams.

This business slide deck by Snap Inc. itself is rather simplistic and lacks fancy design elements. But it has a strong unified theme of showing the audience Snapchat’s position on the market and projected vector of business development. 

11. Visa Business Acquisition Presentation 

If you are working on a business plan or M&A presentation for stakeholders of your own, this example from Visa will be helpful. The presentation deck expertly breaks down the company’s rationale for purchasing Plaid and subsequent plans for integrating the startup into their business ecosystem. 

The business deck recaps why the Plaid acquisition is a solid strategic decision by highlighting the total addressable market they could dive into post-deal. Then it details Plaid’s competitive strengths. The slide deck then sums up all the monetary and indirect gains Visa could reap as an acquirer. 

12. Pinterest Earnings Report Presentation 

Annual reports and especially earnings presentations might not be the most exciting types of documents to work on, but they have immense strategic value. Hence, there’s little room for ambiguities or mistakes. 

In twelve slides, this business presentation from Pinterest clearly communicates the big picture of the company’s finance in 2021. All the key numbers are represented as featured quotes in the sidebar with diagrams further showcasing the earning and spending dynamics. Overall, the data is easy to interpret even for non-finance folks. 

To Conclude 

With these business presentation design tips, presentation templates , and examples, you can go from overwhelmed to confident about your next presentation design in a matter of hours. Focus on creating a rough draft first using a template. Then work on nailing your opening slide sequence and shortening the texts in the main part of your presentation when needed. Make sure that each slide serves a clear purpose and communicates important details. To make your business presentation deck more concise, remove anything that does not pertain to the topic. 

Finally, once you are done, share your business presentation with other team members to get their feedback and reiterate the final design.

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Business Presentations, Corporate Presentations, Design, Design Inspiration, Examples, Executive Reports, Inspiration, Presentation Ideas Filed under Business

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formal and informal presentation

• June 25, 2022

Presentation skill is one of the important skills that can play a significant role in our career and academic success.

The following are examples of the application of presentation skills in our professional and educational lives:

• prepare a proposal and talk about it in a meeting with the clients
• prepare a set of slides to introduce a theory or tool
• Speech at a meeting to defend or critique a new plan
• Educational lecture for the audience

In order to give a good presentation, it is necessary that you know the difference between formal and informal presentations. This article will help with this knowledge by providing information on how one can effectively represent both styles of talk so they may promote their skills more effectively!

Table of Contents

1. Formal presentations

What is a formal presentation.

When presenting formally, there are three key elements that need to be considered. The first is your audience – who will most likely have very specific expectations of how the presentation should go and what information they’re looking for; secondly, you’ll want supporting material such as Powerpoint slides or Presentation design services which can help give additional context around points made during delivery (this might include visuals too); lastly, remember not everyone has time on their side so make sure any media used isn’t too intensive!

Formal presentations are usually done in a professional or academic setting and follow specific guidelines. They can be given either orally to an audience of one (or more) or through video conference software like Skype for Business which allows participants across different locations with internet access to get together on screen so they don’t have any problem seeing each other’s facial expressions while speaking without having anyone else around listening!

How to make a formal presentation:

You’ll need to research and plan an outline before giving your presentation. A well-executed formal speech can make all the difference in getting what’s on someone’s mind out there! You might feel like a failure if it doesn’t go as planned, but don’t worry – we’ve got this crazy easy guide that will teach how exactly not only to practice making them successful (and remind yourself why these presentations are important) but also help avoid common mistakes made by newbies like myself 😉

Tips for making formal presentations:

• Make sure to choose a topic appropriate for the audience and setting.
• Do extensive research and gather high-quality information.
• Create a detailed outline.
• Choose a formal presentation format, such as PowerPoint or Keynote.
• Practice your presentation several times before delivering it.
• Key things to remember:
• Formal presentations are typically given in a professional or academic setting.
• They may be given in person or virtually, and often follow specific guidelines.
• Formal presentations are usually formal in tone.

The different types of formal presentations

here are different types of formal presentations:

• PowerPoint presentation
• Keynote presentation
• Poster presentation
• formal speech

What to include in a formal presentation

Formal presentations should include:

• An introduction
• The body of the presentation
• A conclusion
• Formal presentations should be:
• Well-researched
• Well-organized
• Formal in tone

Tips for delivering a formal presentation

When delivering a formal presentation, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• Make sure you are well-prepared.
• Practice your presentation beforehand.
• Speak clearly and slowly.
• Make eye contact with your audience.
• Use formal language throughout the presentation.
• formal presentations can be given in person or virtually. If you’re giving a virtual presentation, make sure to:
• Choose a professional-looking background.
• Test your audio and video settings beforehand.

There are a series of tips that I think should be mentioned here, and these tips are very useful for formal PowerPoint presentations:

Set clearly defined goals.

In order for you to present a successful formal presentation, it’s very important that beforehand (or at least during) all of the information you want your audience members to learn should be written down. This way they can use this as a guideline in putting together what is expected from each slide and how much time should actually pass by until going onto the next point or idea being discussed within the slides themselves!

Know your audience.

Whether you’re presenting to a room full of people or just two, it’s important that your presentation includes key points and is tailored toward meeting certain needs. For example, if I was speaking before managers/executives then maybe my content would be more technical while someone else might need something simpler – this all depends on who their audience are so make sure they know!

Create an outline.

Giving a formal presentation is an opportunity to shine! If you’re not prepared, your audience will know it. They’ve been given time so they can judge how well-prepared and rehearsed we are – which means that our presentations need some structure too…

Include questions for audience interaction.

Formal presentations are more than just reading off a Powerpoint deck. You need to engage your audience and end with either a Q&A session or continue asking questions along the way after each point you make in order for it to be effective!

Use visuals.

When given time to prepare, it is expected that you will have visual aids for your audience. Formal presentations usually include PowerPoint or slideshow material so the viewers can follow along with what’s being shown on screen in order better understand its significance and impact upon them personally (or at least this was true before all our digital devices took over!).

2. Informal presentations

What is an informal presentation.

Informal presentations are typically less formal than formal ones and may be given in various settings. They may be given in person or virtually, and often have a more conversational tone.

The type of presentation you’ll encounter at a business meeting is usually impromptu, informal. These types are prepared quickly and don’t require as much organization due to their quick-fire nature – they’re more like conversations where each person feels talked about directly by the presenter rather than looking out on stage from behind slides or note cards!

Informal presentations are a great way to engage your audience. They’re less formal than their more clinical counterparts, and can be given in many different formats: person-to-person or virtually via video chat! These casual sessions often feature interactive tools that will allow participants to take part with you during the presentation so there’s no need for Powerpoint slides at all if it suits them better – just bring along what feels necessary based on how much time each participant has available before meeting up again later…

How to make an informal presentation

When making an informal presentation, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• Choose a topic that is appropriate for the audience and setting.
• Do research, but don’t feel like you need to gather as much information as you would for a formal presentation.
• Create an outline, but it doesn’t need to be as detailed as it would for a formal presentation.
• Choose a presentation format that is appropriate for the setting, such as a PowerPoint or a whiteboard.
• Practice your presentation before delivering it.
• Informal presentations are typically less formal than formal ones.
• They may be given in person or virtually, and often have a more conversational tone.

What to include in an informal presentation

informal presentations should include:

• informal presentations should be:
• Informal in tone

Tips for delivering an informal presentation

When delivering an informal presentation, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• The language throughout the presentation.

Prepare your material

It’s not easy to brief a speaker in just two hours, but it is possible. Start by jotting down some notes on the topic and main points you want to cover for your presentation so that when they give us only a limited time before going live with their project we can still deliver an effective message without wasting too much of our own precious energy or using up all available meeting minutes trying thing out until college decides what kind theirs will be!

Understand the purpose

Informal presentations are a great way to get your audience invested in what you have planned. Informally talking with people rather than presenting their information can make for more interesting conversations, as they’ll be able to hear how it sounds when spoken aloud and ask questions about anything from the content itself all throughout its duration- which gives us greater insight into their thoughts on our ideas!

Consider a hand-out

Informal presentations are more effective than formal ones because you don’t have enough time to prepare a slideshow and it can be distracting for audiences who might not fully understand the information being presented. Instead, use handouts in these types of settings so that people will know where they need their attention focused when listening actively instead!

Keep visual aids to a minimum

The slide deck is the most formal way of presenting your data. It should be prepared with care and attention to every detail, from font choices down through visuals like images or animations—all in an effort that combines aesthetics alongside content. However, if you’re short on time then don’t worry! Informal presentations still benefit greatly by using quick presentations rather than lengthy ones so long as they hit what’s important without sacrificing clarity The key difference between formal vs informal shows occur at different points: While making sure there’s enough information included throughout our presentation (such because this might become outdated quickly), we can get away without doing much work.

Interact with your audience

Informal presentations are more about engaging with the audience and less so they’re just listening. It’s perfectly acceptable to get your attendees involved, by asking questions or allowing them feedback on what you’ve discussed in depth already beforehand! A formal presentation can sometimes feel like one long Q&A session where everyone analyzes every little detail – but this isn’t always effective for getting people excited enough about topics that aren’t new information (i e anything stick shift). Informality also allows room outside the traditional “lecture” format; instead relying heavily upon the interaction between speaker/ AUDIENCE members.

Formal and informal presentations both have their own set of benefits. It’s important to consider the right type for your situation, as well-formals can be more appropriate in professional settings while informality would work better where there isn’t any formality required or desired by attendees (such as at conferences).

When you are preparing for a presentation, it’s important to make sure that your research and organization skills come together in perfect harmony. You should practice before going into the big show so as not to slip up on stage or give away valuable information too soon! Speak clearly with slow-paced speech; look at all of those listening – they may be able to provide some feedback about what works well (or doesn’t) when we’re delivering our messages orally.

Formal presentations are usually done in a professional or academic setting and follow specific guidelines.

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How To Write A Presentation 101 | Step-by-Step Guides with Best Examples | 2024 Reveals

Jane Ng • 05 April, 2024 • 9 min read

Is it difficult to start of presentation? You're standing before a room full of eager listeners, ready to share your knowledge and captivate their attention. But where do you begin? How do you structure your ideas and convey them effectively?

Take a deep breath, and fear not! In this article, we'll provide a road map on how to write a presentation covering everything from crafting a script to creating an engaging introduction.

So, let's dive in!

Table of Contents

What is a presentation , what should be in a powerful presentation.

• How To Write A Presentation Script
• How to Write A Presentation Introduction 

Key Takeaways

Tips for better presentation.

• How to start a presentation
• How to introduce yourself

Start in seconds.

Get free templates for your next interactive presentation. Sign up for free and take what you want from the template library!

Presentations are all about connecting with your audience. 

Presenting is a fantastic way to share information, ideas, or arguments with your audience. Think of it as a structured approach to effectively convey your message. And you've got options such as slideshows, speeches, demos, videos, and even multimedia presentations!

The purpose of a presentation can vary depending on the situation and what the presenter wants to achieve. 

• In the business world, presentations are commonly used to pitch proposals, share reports, or make sales pitches. 
• In educational settings, presentations are a go-to for teaching or delivering engaging lectures. 
• For conferences, seminars, and public events—presentations are perfect for dishing out information, inspiring folks, or even persuading the audience.

That sounds brilliant. But, how to write a presentation?

• Clear and Engaging Introduction: Start your presentation with a bang! Hook your audience's attention right from the beginning by using a captivating story, a surprising fact, a thought-provoking question, or a powerful quote. Clearly state the purpose of your presentation and establish a connection with your listeners.
• Well-Structured Content: Organize your content logically and coherently. Divide your presentation into sections or main points and provide smooth transitions between them. Each section should flow seamlessly into the next, creating a cohesive narrative. Use clear headings and subheadings to guide your audience through the presentation.
• Compelling Visuals: Incorporate visual aids, such as images, graphs, or videos, to enhance your presentation. Make sure your visuals are visually appealing, relevant, and easy to understand. Use a clean and uncluttered design with legible fonts and appropriate color schemes. 
• Engaging Delivery: Pay attention to your delivery style and body language. You should maintain eye contact with your audience, use gestures to emphasize key points, and vary your tone of voice to keep the presentation dynamic. 
• Clear and Memorable Conclusion: Leave your audience with a lasting impression by providing a strong closing statement, a call to action, or a thought-provoking question. Make sure your conclusion ties back to your introduction and reinforces the core message of your presentation.

How To Write A Presentation Script (With Examples)

To successfully convey your message to your audience, you must carefully craft and organize your presentation script. Here are steps on how to write a presentation script: 

1/ Understand Your Purpose and Audience

• Clarify the purpose of your presentation. Are you informing, persuading, or entertaining?
• Identify your target audience and their knowledge level, interests, and expectations.
• Define what presentation format you want to use

2/ Outline the Structure of Your Presentation

Strong opening.

Start with an engaging opening that grabs the audience's attention and introduces your topic. Some types of openings you can use are: 

• Start with a Thought-Provoking Question: "Have you ever...?"
• Begin with a Surprising Fact or Statistic: "Did you know that....?"
• Use a Powerful Quote: "As Maya Angelou once said,...."
• Tell a Compelling Story : "Picture this: You're standing at...."
• Start with a Bold Statement: "In the fast-paced digital age...."

Main Points

Clearly state your main points or key ideas that you will discuss throughout the presentation.

• Clearly State the Purpose and Main Points: Example: "In this presentation, we will delve into three key areas. First,... Next,... Finally,.... we'll discuss...."
• Provide Background and Context: Example: "Before we dive into the details, let's understand the basics of....."
• Present Supporting Information and Examples: Example: "To illustrate...., let's look at an example. In,....."
• Address Counterarguments or Potential Concerns: Example: "While..., we must also consider... ."
• Recap Key Points and Transition to the Next Section: Example: "To summarize, we've... Now, let's shift our focus to..."

Remember to organize your content logically and coherently, ensuring smooth transitions between sections.

You can conclude with a strong closing statement summarizing your main points and leaving a lasting impression. Example: "As we conclude our presentation, it's clear that... By...., we can...."

3/ Craft Clear and Concise Sentences

Once you've outlined your presentation, you need to edit your sentences. Use clear and straightforward language to ensure your message is easily understood.

Alternatively, you can break down complex ideas into simpler concepts and provide clear explanations or examples to aid comprehension.

4/ Use Visual Aids and Supporting Materials

Use supporting materials such as statistics, research findings, or real-life examples to back up your points and make them more compelling. 

• Example: "As you can see from this graph,... This demonstrates...."

5/ Include Engagement Techniques

Incorporate interactive elements to engage your audience, such as Q&A sessions , conducting live polls, or encouraging participation. You can also spin more funs into group, by randomly dividing people into different groups to get more diverse feedbacks!

6/ Rehearse and Revise

• Practice delivering your presentation script to familiarize yourself with the content and improve your delivery.
• Revise and edit your script as needed, removing any unnecessary information or repetitions.

7/ Seek Feedback

You can share your script or deliver a practice presentation to a trusted friend, colleague, or mentor to gather feedback on your script and make adjustments accordingly.

More on Script Presentation

How to Write A Presentation Introduction with Examples

How to write presentations that are engaging and visually appealing? Looking for introduction ideas for the presentation? As mentioned earlier, once you have completed your script, it's crucial to focus on editing and refining the most critical element—the opening of your presentation - the section that determines whether you can captivate and retain your audience's attention right from the start. 

Here is a guide on how to craft an opening that grabs your audience's attention from the very first minute: 

1/ Start with a Hook

To begin, you can choose from five different openings mentioned in the script based on your desired purpose and content. Alternatively, you can opt for the approach that resonates with you the most, and instills your confidence. Remember, the key is to choose a starting point that aligns with your objectives and allows you to deliver your message effectively.

2/ Establish Relevance and Context

Then you should establish the topic of your presentation and explain why it is important or relevant to your audience. Connect the topic to their interests, challenges, or aspirations to create a sense of relevance.

3/ State the Purpose

Clearly articulate the purpose or goal of your presentation. Let the audience know what they can expect to gain or achieve by listening to your presentation.

4/ Preview Your Main Points

Give a brief overview of the main points or sections you will cover in your presentation. It helps the audience understand the structure and flow of your presentation and creates anticipation.

5/ Establish Credibility

Share your expertise or credentials related to the topic to build trust with the audience, such as a brief personal story, relevant experience, or mentioning your professional background.

6/ Engage Emotionally

Connect emotional levels with your audience by appealing to their aspirations, fears, desires, or values. They help create a deeper connection and engagement from the very beginning.

Make sure your introduction is concise and to the point. Avoid unnecessary details or lengthy explanations. Aim for clarity and brevity to maintain the audience's attention.

For example, Topic: Work-life balance

"Good morning, everyone! Can you imagine waking up each day feeling energized and ready to conquer both your personal and professional pursuits? Well, that's exactly what we'll explore today – the wonderful world of work-life balance. In a fast-paced society where work seems to consume every waking hour, it's vital to find that spot where our careers and personal lives harmoniously coexist. Throughout this presentation, we'll dive into practical strategies that help us achieve that coveted balance, boost productivity, and nurture our overall well-being. 

But before we dive in, let me share a bit about my journey. As a working professional and a passionate advocate for work-life balance, I have spent years researching and implementing strategies that have transformed my own life. I am excited to share my knowledge and experiences with all of you today, with the hope of inspiring positive change and creating a more fulfilling work-life balance for everyone in this room. So, let's get started!"

🎉 Check out: How to Start a Presentation?

Whether you're a seasoned speaker or new to the stage, understanding how to write a presentation that conveys your message effectively is a valuable skill. By following the steps in this guide, you can become a captivating presenter and make your mark in every presentation you deliver.

Additionally, AhaSlides can significantly enhance your presentation's impact. With AhaSlides, you can use live polls , quizzes , and word cloud to turn your presentation into an engaging and interactive experience. Let's take a moment to explore our vast template library !

Frequently Asked Questions

How to write a presentation step by step .

You can refer to our step-by-step guide on How To Write A Presentation Script: Understand Your Purpose and Audience Outline the Structure of Your Presentation Craft Clear and Concise Sentences Use Visual Aids and Supporting Material Include Engagement Techniques Rehearse and Revise Seek Feedback

How do you start a presentation? 

You can start with an engaging opening that grabs the audience's attention and introduces your topic. Consider using one of the following approaches: Start with a Thought-Provoking Question: "Have you ever...?" Begin with a Surprising Fact or Statistic: "Did you know that....?" Use a Powerful Quote: "As Maya Angelou once said,...." Tell a Compelling Story : "Picture this: You're standing at...." Start with a Bold Statement: "In the fast-paced digital age...."

What are the five parts of a presentation?

When it comes to presentation writing, a typical presentation consists of the following five parts: Introduction: Capturing the audience's attention, introducing yourself, stating the purpose, and providing an overview. Main Body: Presenting main points, evidence, examples, and arguments. Visual Aids: Using visuals to enhance understanding and engage the audience. Conclusion: Summarizing main points, restating key message, and leaving a memorable takeaway or call to action. Q&A or Discussion: Optional part for addressing questions and encouraging audience participation.

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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

• Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

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

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

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

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Blog > English Presentation Structure (Introduction, Closing) & useful Phrases

English Presentation Structure (Introduction, Closing) & useful Phrases

02.21.20   •  #powerpoint #presentation #english.

When giving a presentation in english, there are certain guidelines you should follow. Maybe you haven't got a lot of experience presenting - or you would simply like to refresh your already existing knowledge - we're here to teach you the basics about presenting and provide you with a free list of useful phrases and the basic structure you can in your presentation!

1. Structure

The general structure of a presentation is the following:

• Introduction

It is up to you to design these three parts. Using videos or everyday-examples can be a great way to introduce the audience to the topic. The important thing is that you capture the audience's attention from the beginning by making an interesting introduction. The main part is where you present your topic, ideally divided into sections. You can be creative with it - incorporate images, videos, stories or interactive polls . We generally recommend using different kinds of elements, as that makes the presentation more lively. Make sure your main part is well structured, so your audience can follow. In the conclusion, you should give a short summary of the points you made without adding any new information. You can also make an appeal to your audience in the end.

2. Useful Phrases

Here you'll find several phrases that you'll need in every presentation. Of course, you should adapt them and use them in a context that is suitable for your setting. The phrases are divided into subcategories so you can find what you're looking for more easily.

Starting your Presentation

In your introduction, you should:

Welcome your audience

Good morning/afternoon/evening everyone!

Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you to my presentation about...

Introduce yourself

I am ... (from company ...) and today I would like to introduce you to the topic of ...

My name is ... and I am going to talk about ... today.

Icebreakers (for audience engagement)

Icebreaker polls are an amazing way to engage your audience instantly. They function as a fun and playful element at the beginning, giving you the perfect start you need to give a successful presentation. Click here to read our detailed post about icebreaker polls!

Mention the presentation topic and the reason for giving the presentation

I am grateful to be here today and tell you you about...

I would like to take this opportunity to talk about ...

I am here today to talk to you about ...

The reason why I am here today to talk about ... is ...

The purpose of this presentation is to ...

My goal today is to ...

Hopefully, by the end of the presentation, you will all know more about ...

Give a short overview of the content

To make it as understandable as possible, I divided my presentation into ... parts. In the first part, I will concentrate on ..., the second part will be about ..., ...

First of all, I will give you a short introduction, then we will move on to ...

... and finally, I will give you some insights to ...

Here are a few phrases that you could use during the whole presentation, but especially in the main part.

Engage your audience

In order to raise the audience's attention and improve their engagement, it is extremely important to make contact with them. A great way to do so is by adding interactive elements such as polls. If you would like to know more about this topic, read our article on How To Boost Audience Engagement . You can also use a software like SlideLizard , which allows you to conduct live polls, do Q&A sessions with your audience, share your resources and many more benefits that take your presentation to the next level.

Please raise your hand if you ...

Have you ever thought about ... ?

I would like to do a poll about ...

Please ask any questions as soon as they arrive.

On one hand, … on the other hand…

Comparing … with …, we can see that…

Clearly, … makes more sense than …

Whereas Option A is …, Option B is …

Making new points

Firstly,… Secondly,…

What also has to be mentioned is…

Next, I would like to bring up the topic of…

That being said, now we are going to take a look at…

Let's move on to the next topic.

On the next slide,…

The last thing I would like to mention is…

We made a whole blog post about how to pose questions in your presentation: The Right Way to do a Question Slide .

Talking about images or videos

In this image you can clearly see that ...

We are now going to take a look at a picture/video of ...

I'm going to show you a video by ... about ... now.

I've prepared a video about ...

Talking about statistics and charts

I am now addressing this graph that refers to the results of study XY.

In the graph on this slide, you can see that ...

The average is at ...

This graph clearly shows that the majority ...

According to this graph, the focus should be on ...

What that study tells us for practice is that we should ...

Emphasizing

I would like to emphasize the importance of ...

Moreover, it has to be said that ...

I want to stress the importance of ...

We always have to remember that ...

This is of high significance because ...

That part is especially important because ...

When something goes wrong

I am sorry, but it seems like the projector isn't working.

Could someone please help me with ...?

Is anybody here who knows how to ...?

Could someone give me a hand with ...

I would like to apologize for ...

I apologize for the technical problems, we are going to continue in a minute.

I am sorry for the inconvenience.

End of Presentation

In the conclusion, you should...

Sum up the main points

In conclusion I can say that…

To sum up the main points,…

With all mentioned aspects taken into consideration, I can say that…

Make an appeal

So please, in the future, try to be conscious about...

Please take a moment to think about...

I would like to encourage you to...

Thank your audience and say goodbye

It was a pleasure being here today.

Thank you for listening and goodbye.

Thank you for being such a great, engaged audience. Goodbye.

Thank you so much for listening, see you next time.

What is the structure of a presentation?

Your presentations should always have an Introduction, a Main part and a Conclusion.

What is a good way to begin a presentation?

You can start by introducing yourself, giving an overview of your topic, telling a little story or showing the audience an introductory video or image.

What are good phrases to use in English presentations?

There are many phrases that will make your presentation a lot more professional. Our blog post gives you a detailed overview.

Related articles

About the author.

Pia Lehner-Mittermaier

Pia works in Marketing as a graphic designer and writer at SlideLizard. She uses her vivid imagination and creativity to produce good content.

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The big SlideLizard presentation glossary

Hybrid event.

When an event consist of both virtual and in-person parts, this is called a hybrid event. This type of event is popular as it combines the benefits of both online and live events.

Break-out-Room

In live online training, it is sometimes useful to divide the students into small groups for certain exercises, as it would be impossible to have conversations at the same time. Break-out-rooms are used so that people can talk to each other without disturbing the others. When the exercise is over, they are sent back to the main room.

Audience Demographics

Audience Demographics are the characteristics of listeners like age, gender, cultural backgrounds, group affiliations and educational level. The speaker has to consider all these characteristics when adapting to an audience.

Informative Presentations

An information presentation is created when no solution is currently available. Facts, data and figures or study results are presented and current processes are described.

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Great Leaders are Great Presenters

Home » Blog » Great Leaders are Great Presenters

GREAT LEADERS ARE GREAT PRESENTERS

All the great speakers were bad speakers at first. Ralph Waldo Emerson

What are Formal Presentation Skills?

Presentations are common in the workplace, and often leaders are expected to step up to the plate and deliver presentations that are enlightening, inspiring, or compelling. Formal presentation is the ability to deliver an interesting, informative, and organized presentation. A leader may not need presentation skills on a day-to-day basis, but when required, it is essential for the success of a leader’s presentation.

Importance of Presentation Skills

Presentations differ in their length, scale, and importance. However, from small, short project briefings to a team of three employees, to large productions where you outline the future of your company to major stakeholders, the success of all presentations depends on the ability of the presenter to organize information, convey ideas, and garner support. A successful presenter will convince their audience of the points being made and leave them ready to make changes in their own attitudes or behaviours going forward. Whereas, unsuccessful presentations may differ in why they fail, but all have the same result: an audience who is uninterested, uninspired, and completely unchanged by the ideas or information presented to them.

How to Assess Your Formal Presentation Skills

In assessing your formal presentation skills, ask yourself the following questions:

• Does this presentation give valuable or interesting information?
• Is there a message or idea I want my audience to leave with?
• Have I designed my presentation at the appropriate level for my audience?
• Am I telling a compelling story?
• Do I use visual aids effectively?
• Have I given myself enough time to prepare?

How to Improve Your Formal Presentation Skills

Preparation is essential.

Some believe that the ability to give a captivating performance is all about talent , confidence, and charisma. Many spend time trying to learn the correct body language and vocal tone that will convey assurance in themselves and their ideas. Consequently, this shifts the focus away from what you are presenting and moves it to how you are presenting. It is important to remember that it is the ideas, not your behaviours, that make or break a presentation. The words you say are more important than the presence you have in front of a crowd, and that is where you should invest most of the time and energy when preparing for a presentation.

Consider Your Audience

Knowing who you are presenting to is useful in knowing how to deliver your information. Different stakeholders will have different interests. For example, if you are introducing a major change in your organization, board members may wish to hear about the impact this will have on profit and productivity, while workers will want to hear how this changes their daily activities. Always tailor your information to your audience, from the level of detail provided to the tone of your message. In an even more basic sense, your audience will also determine the language that you use. Avoid using jargon for those unfamiliar with your area of expertise. Also, refrain from over-explaining concepts to those well-versed in your topic. Over or under explaining is a quick way to lose your audience and ensure your message remains unheard.

Presentations are an Effective Communication Tool

Communication is another characteristic that is essential for leaders to succeed. This involves keeping employees informed about decisions, events, and developments that are ongoing in your organization. Effective communicators are seen by their employees as fair and supportive. Presentations can be another method of giving information to employees. So, when writing a presentation, remember that the sharing of information and ideas with employees is related to more positive leader-follower relationships. Use presentations when you need to share updates or developments with many employees at once, or when you need to tell a compelling story to introduce new ideas or changes to your direct reports.

How to Present More Effectively

The following steps can help you become better at formal presentation:

Tell Stories

People prefer to listen to stories than a list of facts. In order to communicate information to others, they need to be attentive and willing to listen. The best way to hold the attention of an audience is via story-telling. Many presenters do this by either relating their topic to a current event or cultural reference, or by weaving a careful example throughout their presentation. Telling a narrative not only helps keep the attention of your audience, but also helps them to later recall the information. When crafting your story, remember to have a clear beginning, which states what your topic is, where you are going with your story, and why it’s important. Throughout, don’t get so bogged down in details that the story is lost. Remember to keep the level appropriate for your audience. Lastly, finish with a strong conclusion that recaps where you’ve been and ties up any questions from your introduction. People should leave your talk with a clear understanding of the problem you are addressing, the reason why they should care about this issue, the solution you are proposing, and the value of implementing your solution. These types of talks are not only more engaging, but also more convincing when seeking the support of your employees.

Choose Your Visual Aids Carefully

There are many options when it comes to visual aids in presentations. Most commonly, presenters often have a slideshow to accompany their speech. Individuals also make use of photographs, videos, comic strips, and clips from television shows. In fact, a presentation may automatically translate to a slideshow with a number of lines of text per slide. This may be accompanied by pictures or videos to add interest and break up all the writing. These tools are overused and often result in the presenter reading or repeating information displayed in text. This is not to say that using slides or visual aids is inherently bad. Rather, leaders should consider if visual aids will add a significant contribution to their presentation. If you use slides simply to display information you plan to say, they are likely distracting and will result in boredom. In contrast, if you use slides to elaborate or enhance what you say (e.g., a graph showing a trend in data within a company as the presenter talks about the global trends), they are worth investing the time and drawing the attention of your audience. Keep in mind that aids are something that should help your presentation, not something to rely upon to create interest.

Practice Makes Perfect

While charisma is not necessarily required to give an effective presentation, audiences can tell when someone is unprepared to speak. For example, nerves are understandable, but there is a big difference between being nervous to speak publicly and being nervous because you don’t comprehend the material you’re presenting. Always prepare your presentations well in advance and give yourself time to practice your speech. Some presenters like to give themselves flexibility regarding what they will say, while others like to write out talking points to remember all parts of their story. In addition, others may even prefer to memorize their entire script. Each leader will need to choose the method that is best for them. However, it is important to be comfortable with the material, to know how your story will unfold, and to prepare for questions that may arise during the presentation. Additionally, never read directly from slides, notes, or teleprompters. Give yourself ample time to practice your speech, both alone and in front of audiences. Finally, remember that the ideas you present are the most important part of a presentation. Practicing the words you will use to convey these ideas will increase your confidence in the material and help you tell a convincing and compelling story.

Looking for More Ways to Improve Your Presentation Skills?

WATCH: TED’s Secret to Great Public Speaking READ: How to Give A Killer Presentation DEVELOP your formal presentation ability by taking advantage of SIGMA’s Coaching Services .

Interested in a hard copy of Great Leaders Are Great Presenters? Download your PDF copy of our Leadership Series Handout.

Contact SIGMA for coaching on developing your skills as a leader.

SIGMA Assessment Systems, Inc. Email: [email protected] Call:     800-265-1285

About the Author

Brittney is a member of our coaching and consulting team. She brings her expertise in evidence-based practice to provide companies with leadership solutions that meet their needs. Primarily, Brittney helps her clients prepare for their future with succession planning and comprehensive leadership development programs. As an executive coach, she helps leaders hone their skills using a process-based approach to development.

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How to prepare and deliver an effective oral presentation

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• Peer review
• Lucia Hartigan , registrar 1 ,
• Fionnuala Mone , fellow in maternal fetal medicine 1 ,
• Mary Higgins , consultant obstetrician 2
• 1 National Maternity Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
• 2 National Maternity Hospital, Dublin; Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Medicine and Medical Sciences, University College Dublin
• luciahartigan{at}hotmail.com

The success of an oral presentation lies in the speaker’s ability to transmit information to the audience. Lucia Hartigan and colleagues describe what they have learnt about delivering an effective scientific oral presentation from their own experiences, and their mistakes

The objective of an oral presentation is to portray large amounts of often complex information in a clear, bite sized fashion. Although some of the success lies in the content, the rest lies in the speaker’s skills in transmitting the information to the audience. 1

Preparation

It is important to be as well prepared as possible. Look at the venue in person, and find out the time allowed for your presentation and for questions, and the size of the audience and their backgrounds, which will allow the presentation to be pitched at the appropriate level.

See what the ambience and temperature are like and check that the format of your presentation is compatible with the available computer. This is particularly important when embedding videos. Before you begin, look at the video on stand-by and make sure the lights are dimmed and the speakers are functioning.

For visual aids, Microsoft PowerPoint or Apple Mac Keynote programmes are usual, although Prezi is increasing in popularity. Save the presentation on a USB stick, with email or cloud storage backup to avoid last minute disasters.

When preparing the presentation, start with an opening slide containing the title of the study, your name, and the date. Begin by addressing and thanking the audience and the organisation that has invited you to speak. Typically, the format includes background, study aims, methodology, results, strengths and weaknesses of the study, and conclusions.

If the study takes a lecturing format, consider including “any questions?” on a slide before you conclude, which will allow the audience to remember the take home messages. Ideally, the audience should remember three of the main points from the presentation. 2

Have a maximum of four short points per slide. If you can display something as a diagram, video, or a graph, use this instead of text and talk around it.

Animation is available in both Microsoft PowerPoint and the Apple Mac Keynote programme, and its use in presentations has been demonstrated to assist in the retention and recall of facts. 3 Do not overuse it, though, as it could make you appear unprofessional. If you show a video or diagram don’t just sit back—use a laser pointer to explain what is happening.

Rehearse your presentation in front of at least one person. Request feedback and amend accordingly. If possible, practise in the venue itself so things will not be unfamiliar on the day. If you appear comfortable, the audience will feel comfortable. Ask colleagues and seniors what questions they would ask and prepare responses to these questions.

It is important to dress appropriately, stand up straight, and project your voice towards the back of the room. Practise using a microphone, or any other presentation aids, in advance. If you don’t have your own presenting style, think of the style of inspirational scientific speakers you have seen and imitate it.

Try to present slides at the rate of around one slide a minute. If you talk too much, you will lose your audience’s attention. The slides or videos should be an adjunct to your presentation, so do not hide behind them, and be proud of the work you are presenting. You should avoid reading the wording on the slides, but instead talk around the content on them.

Maintain eye contact with the audience and remember to smile and pause after each comment, giving your nerves time to settle. Speak slowly and concisely, highlighting key points.

Do not assume that the audience is completely familiar with the topic you are passionate about, but don’t patronise them either. Use every presentation as an opportunity to teach, even your seniors. The information you are presenting may be new to them, but it is always important to know your audience’s background. You can then ensure you do not patronise world experts.

To maintain the audience’s attention, vary the tone and inflection of your voice. If appropriate, use humour, though you should run any comments or jokes past others beforehand and make sure they are culturally appropriate. Check every now and again that the audience is following and offer them the opportunity to ask questions.

Finishing up is the most important part, as this is when you send your take home message with the audience. Slow down, even though time is important at this stage. Conclude with the three key points from the study and leave the slide up for a further few seconds. Do not ramble on. Give the audience a chance to digest the presentation. Conclude by acknowledging those who assisted you in the study, and thank the audience and organisation. If you are presenting in North America, it is usual practice to conclude with an image of the team. If you wish to show references, insert a text box on the appropriate slide with the primary author, year, and paper, although this is not always required.

Answering questions can often feel like the most daunting part, but don’t look upon this as negative. Assume that the audience has listened and is interested in your research. Listen carefully, and if you are unsure about what someone is saying, ask for the question to be rephrased. Thank the audience member for asking the question and keep responses brief and concise. If you are unsure of the answer you can say that the questioner has raised an interesting point that you will have to investigate further. Have someone in the audience who will write down the questions for you, and remember that this is effectively free peer review.

Be proud of your achievements and try to do justice to the work that you and the rest of your group have done. You deserve to be up on that stage, so show off what you have achieved.

Competing interests: We have read and understood the BMJ Group policy on declaration of interests and declare the following interests: None.

• ↵ Rovira A, Auger C, Naidich TP. How to prepare an oral presentation and a conference. Radiologica 2013 ; 55 (suppl 1): 2 -7S. OpenUrl
• ↵ Bourne PE. Ten simple rules for making good oral presentations. PLos Comput Biol 2007 ; 3 : e77 . OpenUrl PubMed
• ↵ Naqvi SH, Mobasher F, Afzal MA, Umair M, Kohli AN, Bukhari MH. Effectiveness of teaching methods in a medical institute: perceptions of medical students to teaching aids. J Pak Med Assoc 2013 ; 63 : 859 -64. OpenUrl

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How to create a Powerpoint Presentation

Powerpoint presentations are a great way to share information with a team, but making them is a skillset in its own right. We've got guides on general Powerpoint use , but if you're keen to just get started making a slideshow right now, this is the way.

How to create a Powerpoint presentation

How to build your first slide, how to add more slides to a powerpoint presentation, how to make an awesome slideshow presentation.

Here's how to make a Powerpoint presentation.

What You Need

Powerpoint or Microsoft 365 subscription

The first step in building your fancy slideshow is to create the presentation itself. Here's how to do it.

Step 1: Install Powerpoint (as part of Microsoft 365 ) if you haven't already, then open the app up.

Step 2: The home screen will give you a range of options for selecting templates and premade presentations to give you a great starting-off point. Select one of them if they're applicable. For even more options, select the New tab from the left-hand menu.

Alternatively, if you want to start from a blank canvas, select Blank presentation.

Step 3: From there, it's a good idea to name and save the presentation so you can come back to it later. Select File > Save or* Save As*, then name the file on the right, choose a location for it, and select Save .

Step 1: Your first slide will automatically have text fields for a title and subtitle. If you want to have that on your first slide, select them, then type in what you want them to read. You can also click and drag them around, or resize them using your mouse.

Hover your mouse over the white circles, then click and drag them to resize the box. Alternatively, select the rotational arrows near the corners of the box, to rotate it.

If you don't want those text fields, select their boundary individually and press the Delete key to remove them.

Step 2: If you want to add more text to this slide (or any others in the future), select the Insert tab, then select Text box. Click on the slide where you want the box to appear, then use your mouse to drag the box to the desired shape.

Then click the box and type in what you want that text box to say. The contextual home menu will automatically adjust to give you quick access to font choices and other text style options.

You can access more detailed text formatting options by selecting the Format tab. There you'll find options for changing text coloring, its outline, and any text effects you want to use.

Step 3: To add pictures to your slideshow, select the Insert tab, then select Pictures in the top-left. You'll then have the option to insert an image from your local PC, a selection of stock images, or a range of online images.

Step 4: You can also freehand draw or annotate your slides, using the Draw tab, or alter the entire theme of the slideshow by selecting Design.

To add a new slide to your presentation, select the Insert tab at the top of the screen, then select New slide on the left. Then choose the type of slide you want. You can have a blank slide to do it all yourself, or you can get a headstart on its design by copying a previous slide, using the same theme as another part of your presentation, or having a predefined layout.

Want even more tips on making a great slideshow? We've got you covered. Check out our guide on how to use Microsoft Powerpoint , for all the most important tips.

We've also got a guide for more tips and tricks for making engaging and attractive slides .

Editors’ Recommendations

• The best PowerPoint templates
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• How-To Guides

While PowerPoint is widely used to develop presentations, using Google Slides has become a popular alternative. Part of what makes it so popular is that it's free to use, as is other Google software such as Google Docs and Google Sheets – which is a stark contrast to the premium price you'll pay for Microsoft Office and PowerPoint.

Even if you know how to use Microsoft PowerPoint, you might want to jump ship to Slides, and Google makes it easy to do so. In fact, it takes little more than a few clicks to convert a PowerPoint to Google Slides. Whether you need to change the format for a coworker or want to permanently switch to the free platform, here's a look at how to convert your PowerPoint into a Google Slides presentation.

We all know that Microsoft’s PowerPoint software has been a presentations staple for a few decades now. And whether you only used it in school once or twice, or you use it for work on a daily basis, there’s always something new to learn about the classic Microsoft platform.

Even if you know how to use PowerPoint, did you know that you can embed videos in your presentations?

Creating a successful slideshow is no small task. So, if you’re new to Microsoft PowerPoint, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the features and tools you need to build a presentation.

We’ll guide you through the process of creating a PowerPoint slideshow by adding slides and elements as well as how to present the show when you finish. These basics are just what you need as a beginner and should get you off to a terrific start with PowerPoint.