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Presentation Projects for Students | ESL Presentation Ideas

If you do presentation with your language classes , then you’ll need to check out some of these presentation project ideas. Get beyond the boring old PowerPoint presentation and use some of these creative ideas to bring a bit of excitement and life back into your classes.

Presentation Projects and Ideas for ESL students

Your students will love it, and it’ll also keep things fresh for you if you’ve seen the same old projects year after year.

Presentation Projects for ESL/EFL Students

Over the years teaching in a Korean university , I’ve had students do plenty of presentation projects, with varying degrees of success . I hope that you can learn from my mistakes and make your ESL speaking classes as awesome as possible.

Presentation projects, if set up well are an excellent way to add a bit of variety to the ESL classroom. After all, students get tired of hearing the teacher talk all the time! And you probably get tired of talking. I know that I always did! Plus, it’s fun to hear what students have to say.

Here are my top presentation projects for ESL/EFL students.

Basic speech (not recommended!)
Presentation, then discussion time
Poster presentation
Making a movie
PowerPoint presentation
Impromptu presentation
Teaching the class how to do something

If you teach business English, then the sky is kind of the limit in terms of what topics you choose. You could focus on just about anything that students may expect to present on when they start working in a company.

#1: A Basic Speech

Each student has to choose from a variety of topics such as family , food, dreams or hobby. They have to speak for between 1.5 and 2 minutes. I did this only once, with low-level students and it was ridiculously boring such that I never did it again.

The main problem is all the presentations are basically the same and go a little something like this: “I have a mom. She is 49 years old. She has brown hair and black eyes. I have a dad. He is 57 years old. My dad has brown hair and black eyes. He is short.” Word for word, almost the same!

Trust me, they were some of the most tedious and excruciating hours of my entire life. It was from this point on that I vowed to never set up a presentation like this again. I got a lot more creative and made students talk about things that were more varied and interesting.

Of course, the bad results from this experiment were totally my fault. I should have chosen more interesting topics for the students, or given them better guidelines. Seriously, better ESL presentations topics would have made a big difference here and I really have nobody to blame but myself!

Maybe Not Terrible if…

This style of presentation could have been far less bad if I had done a better job setting it up. I should have set the topic to something like, “Current events.” That way, students would have been forced to choose something in the news and the presentation topics would have been quite varied.

Or, I could have required some visual aids to make it a bit more interesting for the students.

101 ESL Activities: Games, Activities, Practical ideas, & Teaching Tips For English Teachers of...

#2: Presentation, and then Discussion Time

Each group has to give a presentation about a topic of their choosing and think of at least 5 interesting questions/surveys/activities that groups could discuss or do for about 20 minutes after their presentation. This often works best if the presentation is based on 2-3 articles that the students have to send you in advance.

This presentation project ideas had varying results, since some groups chose a topic that led to a lot of “yes/no” answers and discussions that lasted about 5 minutes, at most.

However, this could have been avoided by personally approving the topics in advance and requiring groups to submit their assignment for feedback a week or two before the actual presentation. I blame nobody but myself for the failure on this one!

This ideas for presentation projects isn’t a bad one, if you set it up well. It can work well for English majors or advanced level students who want a class filled with conversation and discussion.

#3: Poster Presentation

A poster is one of my favourite presentation projects. Each group has to choose a current controversial issue (like environmental pollution, suicide, North Korea) and make a poster that had English writing and some interesting pictures on it. Set a (low) max number of words or your posters will be terrible and filled with wordy death!

Then, the students have to do a presentation based on the poster where each group member speaks for 1-2 minutes, without a paper.

For this one, it’s very important that you require no paper script, or you’ll just have students reading off their notes. Also, don’t allow students to put too many words on the poster, or you’ll have students reading off of this.

If I ever did this again, I would do something where the audience was more involved, such as peer grading. Or, I would require each group watching the presentation to think of at least 1 question to ask and they’d get a point for doing so. Basically, it’d give the rest of the students in the class a reason to listen.

It’s potentially an excellent group presentation project!

ESL presentation ideas

#4 Presentation Projects: Making a Movie

Another ESL presentation idea is to have students make a movie. It’s easier than ever these days because almost everybody has a smartphone, and it’s free to upload the video to YouTube. This works particularly well if you teach film, art or fashion students and you’ll get some amazing results. It’s actually one of my favourite ESL projects these days.

You can have a fun “viewing day” in class and encourage everyone to bring a snack! It’s a nice change from the regular old textbook thing.

Here’s how I’ve done movie projects.

I put students into groups of 4-5. One person can “film” the project and then you can have 2-3 actors. Finally, one person might be designated the write the script or edit. However, I leave it up to the group how they want to divide the roles and not everyone has to appear on camera.
I set a minimum and maximum time for the movie (usually 3-5 minutes), as well as a certain number of English sentences that must be spoken during that time. It must be a story of some kind that makes sense.
I’ll usually give a topic or theme of some kind, but may leave it open.

I evaluate it based on the following things:

Quality of English
Interesting story
Quality of production (I don’t expect a lot, but just basic stuff like making sure it’s bright enough, we can hear the people talking, etc.)

The quality of English usually gets around 10 marks, while the other two categorie s are each worth five.

#5: PowerPoint Presentation

This has the potential to be very interesting, or PPT death. It all depends on how you set the presentation project up.

If you do go with this method, you should set a maximum number of slides and also a maximum numbers of words per slide (5-10?). Emphasize to students that you want to see pictures, charts, etc. and not a wall of text.

I generally allow each group to have 1 intro and 1 conclusion slide, and then 1 slide per group member. So if there are 6 students in the group, it’ll be 8 slides. I usually say that each student has to talk about their slide for 30 seconds to 2 minutes, depending on the level.

Teach students how to make good PowerPoints and then penalize heavily for not following your recommendations. You should also coach students on how to stand to the side and keep their body pointed towards the audience. Eye contact is key!

This is an excellent idea for presentation projects, if some key expectations are set out in advance. Eye contact/don’t look at screen, pictures instead of words on the PowerPoint, etc.

#6: Just a Minute Impromptu Presentation

If you want to give your students some practice with making impromptu, or off the cuff style of speeches, then Just a Minute may be exactly what you need. It’s a toastmasters style activity and makes the perfect warm-up activity for intermediate or advanced level students.

You can also turn this into a listening activity, instead of just an ESL presentation by requiring the other students in the group to ask follow-up questions. Try this one with your classes and I think your students will really enjoy the challenge.

Find out more about it here:

Just a Minute ESL Speaking Activity

Impromptu presentation skills are never a bad thing for students (or anyone) to practice!

#7: Teaching Others How to Do Something

One of the best presentation ideas for students is to get them to teach the class how to do something. I’ve done this a few times now and they are some of my most memorable classes.

The way it works is that students choose something they know how to do well. Students in the past having chosen things like:

How to fry an egg
Heading a soccer ball
Playing the guitar
Getting dates
Making sure their parents give them enough spending money
Eating out cheaply around the university
Getting the best class schedule

I allow students to bring in props, material or make a simple powerpoint presentation with pictures (no text) to explain.

#8: What are you Cooking?

If you want to have your students do some fun presentations in a more informal kind of way, then consider trying out “What are you Cooking?” Students have to plan a 3-course meal based on ingredients from their classmates and then make a presentation to the class who votes on the best menu.

Sounds interesting? I think you’ll love it so give it a try today. More information here: What are you Cooking?

#9: An Informative Speech

ESL Presentations FAQs

There are a number of common questions that people have about making presentation in English. Here are the answers to some of the most popular ones.

Why are Presentations Important for Students?

Having students give presentations is important for delivering a positive learning environment. They can also help teach communication skills and assist with students feeling comfortable talking in front of a group of people. Finally, they are an engaging way to share ideas and help students build confidence.

What Makes a Great Presentation?

A great presentation is very memorable. This can be done in various ways, but graphics, images, relevant facts, story telling and humour play an important role. Finally, a memorable presentation motivates the audience to action.

What are the Advantages of a Presentation?

Businesses and people in general use presentations for various reasons. The advantage of them is that they can educate, motivate, and persuade in a more interesting way than the written word alone can.

Should Students Memorize Speeches?

Should you make students memorize their presentation, or not? It’s an interesting question and I certainly see points for both sides. However, I generally lead towards the memorization thing because…

It results in presentations that are far more interesting for the audience
I only require 30 seconds-2 minutes of speaking. It’s not a big task to memorize this amount
It helps students remember vocabulary and key phrases

That said, I do know that students get nervous and that this can be a big ask. It’s for this reason that I tell students to bring their notes up to the front with this, but to leave them in their pocket.

If they have an emergency (forget what to say!), they can take it out and use it. But, only once if they don’t want to get a penalty. After that, put it aside and continue on.

I’m usually kind and if a student has to do this twice, I don’t mind. My main point is that I don’t want students reading exclusively off of a paper.

What are some Things to Consider for Presentations in English?

If you’re going to have your students do an ESL presentation, there are a number of factors that you’ll want to consider.

How to explain the task in a simple way that students can understand what they need to do. How will you evaluate it?
When will students prepare (outside, or inside of class. A combination of both often works well).
What kind of equipment can students use (Projector, or not).
How students will deliver the presentation. Will you expect things like gestures and eye contact?
What kind of language will the students use? Will you teach them about the introduction (I would like to start by…) and conclusion (In conclusion, you can see that…), as well as transition sentences (Moving on to…). The style of the speech (persuasive, informative, etc.) is important for this.
What will the rest of the class be doing while the presentations are happening? Is there a listening task you can assign to make this activity even more valuable?

The biggest tip I can give you is to be clear about the terms of the assignment. And, also how you will evaluate it. If expectations are clear, results will be far better and your life will be easier as well because you won’t have to answer the same questions over and over again.

What are the Top 20 ESL Presentation Topics?

Here are some of the most common topics that you may consider assigning to your students:

Family (can be sensitive for some though)
Current events
If I had a million dollars…
Vacation (past or future dream)
Ideal first date
TV and movies
Favourite book
Time, and how do you spend it
An ideal first date
Jobs and work
Some future goals
A favourite restaurant
Money (saver or spender)
Future plans
Controversial topics
Teaching someone how to do something
If you were the president…

These interesting topics means that you presentation projects will be better than ever! No more boring, okay? Okay.

Do you Like these Ideas for Presentation Projects?

Amazon Kindle Edition
Bolen, Jackie (Author)
English (Publication Language)
148 Pages - 03/09/2016 (Publication Date)

Then you’re going to love this book, 101 ESL Activities: For Teenagers and Adults . It’s an extremely practical, well-organized teaching guide that will help you plan your lessons in no time. The best part about it is that your students will be having fun, while learning English.

The book is available in both digital and print formats. The (cheaper!) digital one can be read on any device-Kindle, Mac, Pc, Smartphone, or tablet by downloading the free Kindle reading app from Amazon. It’s super-easy to have some top-quality ESL activities and games at your fingertips at all times.

Keep a copy on the bookshelf in your office and use it as a handy reference guide. Or, bring a copy with your on your phone or tablet to your favourite coffee shop for lesson planning on the go. It really is that easy to make your English classes even better.

Check out the book on Amazon by clicking the link below:

Have your Say about ESL Presentation Ideas

What’s your top ESL presentation project ideas? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think. We’d love to hear from you.

Also be sure to give this a share on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. It’ll help other teachers, like yourself find this useful teaching resource.

Last update on 2024-02-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

About Jackie

Jackie Bolen has been teaching English for more than 15 years to students in South Korea and Canada. She's taught all ages, levels and kinds of TEFL classes. She holds an MA degree, along with the Celta and Delta English teaching certifications.

Jackie is the author of more than 100 books for English teachers and English learners, including 101 ESL Activities for Teenagers and Adults and 1001 English Expressions and Phrases . She loves to share her ESL games, activities, teaching tips, and more with other teachers throughout the world.

You can find her on social media at: YouTube Facebook TikTok Pinterest Instagram

Great ideas! Thank you so much for such inspiring ideas for presentations.

I’ve been looking for some presentation ideas for my students here in South Korea and ran across your list. Thank you! Lots of good ones but I think I’m going to give the current events one a try. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Great info! Thanks for sharing your ideas for presentations. I love to do them but it was getting a bit stale for me so appreciate the new ideas.

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Jackie Bolen has been talking ESL speaking since 2014 and the goal is to bring you the best recommendations for English conversation games, activities, lesson plans and more. It’s your go-to source for everything TEFL!

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Creative Resources for ESL/EFL Teachers

ESL Presentation Topics: 12 Mini Presentations

ESL presentation topics for intermediate and upper intermediate students. Great as a warm-up or a speaking lesson.

You can use the slideshow and share your screen on Zoom or other app when teaching online. Just click on the full screen option in the top right corner of the slideshow.

I used it with my students during our online lesson and we didn’t even have time to discuss all the topics, because they couldn’t stop talking. I was quite impressed how much they knew and also how well they could express their opinions.

One of the reasons why I love conversation activities is that I learn so much about my students. I think that we often underestimate our students and see them as the stereotypical lazy teenagers. Activities like these can show us that they are much more than that.

You can also download the PDF for easy printing below.

Other picture-based resources:

ESL Exam Speaking Picture Description and Questions

No-Prep ESL Picture Description Speaking Activity

Picture Based Speaking Activity For ESL/EFL Classes

Picture Prompts for Speaking and Writing: An ESL Activity

ESL Picture Description: Exam Skills Practice

Food and Travel ESL Lesson: Interactive Online Lesson

Conversation resources:

Popular Conversation Topics for (not only) Adults and Teenagers: 50 Questions

Conversation Starters: 30 Interesting Conversation Questions Not Only For ESL Students

Conversation Questions Gerunds and Infinitives: ESL Speaking Activity

30 Hypothetical Conversation Questions for ESL Students

ESL Conversation Topics

How to Spot Fake News: ESL Lesson Plan

This fake news lesson plan is based on one of the fabulous teaching resources created by EAVI. EAVI is a non-profit organization based in Brussels. They work to empower individuals to be active, engaged citizens in today’s increasingly challenging media environment. When teaching news and media vocabulary, one has a…

Advent Calendar for ESL Students: 24 Ideas To Make Your Lesson Even More Fun!

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A fun ESL conversation lesson based on a short video on real life Game of Thrones locations. Discussion questions and a vocabulary matching exercise.

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Amazing! Thanks a lot

15 Speaking Projects And Activities For ESL Students

I don’t think I am sticking my neck out too much by saying that most ESL students enjoy speaking activities more than typical reading, writing and listening activities. Tending to be more dynamic, true to life and fun, a good speaking activity can really enhance an ESL student’s fluency and confidence.

Here, I am going to offer you a series of ESL speaking projects that you can adapt and use for your ESL students. Let’s go:

Infomercial Activities

This is one of my favorite speaking projects by far. Show students some typical adverts from a shopping channel; I like to show some of the funnier products just for giggles and to encourage students minds to wander, take a look at this compilation to see what I mean.

Next, I ask students usually in pairs to come up with their own completely original product to sell on an infomercial. If students struggle to come up with a completely new product you can suggest they add a new twist to arnold product, or make a new product based on a combination of two or more others.

For example, in the past I have had: microwave televisions, hair dryers that double as vacuum cleaners and laptops that double as portable stoves.

I tend to also do a language lesson based around the language of selling and persuasion so that when students make their infomercial they will send realistic and they often like to know some of the sales phrases, tactics and strategies that are used in real life.

Just for fun, you can tell students that they have a certain amount of money to spend and after they have seen all the infomercials they get to spend it. Sales can be recorded and you can see which idea/pair has made the most money and are the winner!

Presentations

Give students a presentation of a topic of your choosing, perhaps your own hobby and model the format and language that you want the students to use.

I tend to share slides with the student with the title of each slide already inserted. Students then have to fill the space with suitable information for that slide.

So, for example, if I wanted my students to present their own hobbies then I would probably have six slides titled with questions:

What is my favorite hobby? Why did I start this hobby? What have I achieved doing this hobby? Who do I do this hobby with? What will I do next in this hobby? Other interesting info about my hobby.

Students then fill the slides full of pictures that relate to the question and then they talk about these to the group and answer questions.

Some students always want to write out a script for a presentation which I let them do on the understanding that they can’t actually read it when they present. I allow them to write it out just so they can build up some confidence in what they are going to say and check the language accuracy of it.

I do usually place sentence starters and linking words on posters behind the audience so that the presenter always has some support if needs be.

Of course, this could also be done as a recorded video task. I sometimes ask students to record a voice over on top of the slides. This can then be converted into a video format for sharing later.

A few other simple presentation topic titles for ESL students that could be used are: My Best Friend, Who Am I?, My Pets, My Future Career, My Family, The Last Celebration I want to, Why I am a fan of __________ (insert name of whatever they are a fan of).

At this point you might also want to read one of my popular article about how to make your students speak English , here

Hot Seat ing

Become an expert – As it sounds. Students spent a certain amount of time researching a topic that either they choose or that is given to them. They are then to become that character and the rest of the group has to ask them questions to find out as much as they can about them in a set amount of time.

You can award points for correct questions being asked and for grammatically correct sentences in response. Personally I like to do this at the beginning of a new topic and direct students to research different famous people.

For example, if we are going to be covering the topic of Travel as in the IGCSE ESL then I have students research characters, such as: Dr Livingstone, Joe Simpson, Ernest Shackleton, Amelia Earhart, Ranulf Fiennes, and so on.

I often have students create a mini glossary for their characters as well which other students can refer to as they are quizzing the character.

This activity is best for intermediate level and above students and even then you may need to provide texts at a suitable level for students to be able to access, otherwise students end up on Wikipedia reading very difficult text.

You can have the group make notes and write summaries of each character for homework if you also wish to work on summary writing skills.

Recommended reading: 15 Research Projects For ESL Students

The Detective Game

For this activity you make up a crime that occurred in a given location, the more gruesome the better and if you can personalise it to your location and environment more the better.

Divide the group into smaller groups of three or four people and then ask them to create their alibis for the morning, afternoon, or evening in question. These people are the suspects.

One group, however, is assigned as being the investigators and they individually quiz different suspects one to one to try and find inconsistencies in their group’s stories. This forces each group to consider exactly what they were doing, where and with whom very carefully and in great detail.

After interviewing as many members of each group and making notes about inconsistencies between group members the investigators then confer with each other to decide upon which group’ alibi is the most inconsistent. This group are then sent to jail.

Whilst the investigators are discussing this, the suspects discuss which investigator was the best at questioning them and finding out the inconsistencies. The suspects will then announce who this person is, and they earn a promotion. Finally, the investigators announce the losing group which will go to prison.

This ‘game’ has got real legs and could go in so many different directions, so don’t be afraid to improvise and have fun with this one.

Drama Activities

Acting out a chapter of a book. Pretty much as it sounds. Read through a chapter of a book with students or have them read it for homework before letting groups act out the chapter, or a scene from it.

This works well even if they all act out the same scene as each group will learn from the last and the acting/performance and language should get increasingly better throughout. Alternatively arrange it so that each group acts out the following scene to the last group and so the full story is told.

Storyboard and act out the student’s own story. Rather than act out a book, you could have students plan out a story, or at least part of a story on a storyboard. This can give a greater sense of ownership, achievement and ‘buy in’ from the students.

What happened next. Read the opening of a book and as a ‘cliffhanger is reached’ pause and have students work together to act out the ending of the story or the next scene at least.

This also works well with videos from YouTube, crime videos work well as do Walt Disney cartoons – even with adult learners for some reason!

You might also be interested in reading my helpful article on how to get your students speaking fluently , here.

Mind Map ping

Vocabulary relationships. Engage students in a subject which contains lots of relationships of cause and effect. Basically, you need to pick a topic and analyse what the different factors were that affected the main decision or characters involved.

In the centre of your mind map place the decision or a character that was made and then arrange influencing factors around this.

The larger the circle each factor is in and the closer it is to the centre of the paper the stronger the influence is. Students then need to explain their mind map and the relationships to the group. Others can question and agree/ disagree with them.

Topics can range from serious issues from history through to celebrity scandals, or even plots in a movie, such as, why did celebrity couple X and Y get divorced, or why did actor x decide to y in the movie xyz. Obviously, you can let the students self select these issues for greater interest.

Backs To The Board

A timeless classic not so much a speaking project but this can be developed into a full lesson’s worth of speaking and it works for groups of all sizes. It is excellent for reviewing vocabulary at the end of a project or to see what students know at the beginning of a topic.

Simply split the group into teams of no more than five and have one member of the group come to the front and sit with their back to the board.

The other members of the group form a ‘u’ shape around the person, or, rather than being sat literally against the board groups can be sat at tables with just one student having their back to the board.

All you then need to do is to write a word on the board and the students facing the board have to get the person not facing the board to say the word without literally telling them the word. They should be encouraged to use definitions, synonyms and examples of the word where possible.

Depending on numbers, students can just shout out when they think they have the answer, or with large groups I make the students raise their hand if they think they have the answer.

The danger with debates is that to the teacher they may seem boring, or at least they do to me but have to remind myself that just because I have done the debates dozens of times, they haven’t and even the most overdone/boring sounding debates may go down like fireworks with some groups.

With that in mind here are a few of the more traditional/boring debates for your students to get their teeth into:

Which is better, country life or city life?

Should animal testing be allowed?

Should school uniforms be gotten rid of

Are cats better than dogs?

Should women be paid as much as men?

Online learning is better than classroom learning

Does money equal success in life?

I also like to see if there is something going on in the students view of the world that is worth debating. For example, in Thailand the debate over whether Korean pop music is better than Thai pop music is a popular one.

I have had colleagues dive into debates about serious political topics with higher level students which have worked really well.

However, some topics are just too hot to handle and you don’t know who you are upsetting so be careful what topics you do debate, you never know who is listening, or who is going to offense at any of your personal views that you may let slip!

Here is a good resource for more ESL debate ideas .

Book And Movie Review s

This is pretty much as it sounds. I like to set a reading task for students over a holiday break and when they return they have to submit a video review of the book or movie they watched/read.

I usually show them a good movie review for ideas and ask them to follow the same format. Something like this review of Kung Fu Panda . This goes along the lines of: background information, main characters, plot explanation, favorite moments, final recommendation.

I’ve also done this with higher level groups for documentaries but with enough support and speaking frames pre intermediate students can engage well with this activity.

Conversation Question s

Don’t underestimate the value of pure lists of conversation questions. Students are often happy to just ‘have a chat’ and use the English that they do know.

It is great for their confidence and fluency, as well as requiring zero lesson prep, which is always a nice thing. Just be sure to rotate speaking partners to avoid students getting bored with the same partners and used to different accents.

Sometimes, depending on ability and interest levels I will teach three or four idioms at the beginning of the lesson and set the task of trying to naturally drop them into conversation later on.

There are lot of good sources of conversation questions, here are a couple: eslconversationquestions.com and esldiscussions.com .

ESL Exam Preparation Material

Some students are hugely motivated by doing well in exams such as the IELTS test, and IGCSE ESL speaking tests. Exam boards for tests such as these produce a plethora of practise material that is often available for free online and ready to be use.

My students particularly enjoy the IELTS speaking part 2 task where they are required to speak about a given topic and are given three bullet points to talk about. They are given one minute to prepare their ideas before they have to speak on their own for two minutes.

If you think your students might enjoy this then here are some good sources of free IELTS style questions: IELTS IDP and ielts-exam.net , and for IGCSE ESL speaking questions check out the role play paper here.

The added bonus of these activities is that there is always a grading criteria ready to be used so you can grade students and give them real reasons why they scored a certain level and what they need to do to score higher in the future.

Here are the IELTS speaking criteria for example which clearly spells out what is expected of students at different levels.

Finger Puppet Shows

One really good way to get shy students speaking I have found to introduce sock puppets. As silly as it sounds, there is something about using a puppet that takes away the pressure on the speaker and frees them up to speak.

Whether it is the element of hilarity of speaking sock or the fact that people are generally looking at the sock rather than the person it seems to work well.

Depending on the ability level I will either give pairs of students scripts to act out with puppets. They can introduce their own props as well to make it even more funny. Alternatively, I will do this as an improv.

I will read out a situation, for example, one of you has lost their passport at the airport. Then the students have to act out this scenes as best as they can.

Switch partners and introduce more situations and watch the energy level of the room pick up!

By the end of the lesson you may well notice previously shy students speaking confidently with other students having been drawn into the magic of sock puppets! A great little speaking project.

Role Plays With Idioms

I use this lesson pattern quite regularly and it works well. I start off with student matching idioms to meanings and then to example sentences with the idioms missing.

After going through these answers and doing any teaching necessary to aid understanding I will then hand out a dialogue but with all the sentences jumbled up.

Students then have to unjumble the conversation which contains one or more of the idioms being used in a natural way. Next, they read the dialogue through taking different roles each and then doing the dialogue again without looking at the words.

Next, students are given the task of creating their own dialogues using at least one of the idioms in an appropriate way. Students write out the dialogues, rehearse them and then act them out for the group.

You can also do this with phrasal verbs but either way it works out well and the routine can be used again when you are a bit short of material or are having a hangover day!

Barrier Activities

One favourite of mine that never fails to stimulate plenty of language use is to simply create your own barrier exercise. I like to get a nice chunky newspaper article related to what we are learning and then go through each paragraph and remove key details, such as: names, dates, place names, times, location etcetera…

I create two versions of this, the first one will have words missing from odd number paragraphs and the second copy will have words missing from even number paragraphs.

This prevents it from becoming confusing and make sure to keep one master version with no details missing and if you have time highlight the missing words in red so it is easy for students to check later.

Once the missing word copies are ready you can divide the class into two halves distributing sheet A to one half and sheet B to the other half. Allow them to work in groups at this point to work out what questions they need to ask the other half of the group in order to get the missing details filled in.

If you think this will be too difficult for them you can provide the questions in a jumbled up format so they have to rearrange them to make the questions,, or even give them the questions but they have to work out the order in which to ask them to correspond to the paragraph order.

After this preparation period students can then pair up with someone from the opposite half of the group to take turns asking and answering each other’s questions.

Make sure that students do not show each other their articles and simply just sit and copy the answers, clearly this simply defeats the whale point of the exercise.

Before starting this I also pre teach any tricky vocabulary that I know is going to come up in the article just to make sure the final questions and answer session goes without too much stopping and starting to ask about vocabulary.

After students have got the answers then you can either display the answers on an overhead projector, or send students back to their original half of the group to see if they have all gotten the same answers.

Jigsaw Reading

This is another easy way to get students involved in the language and speaking. Select a relevant article related to the topic you are studying and chop it up into paragraphs. Hand out A4 paper with a simple one column table with as many boxes as there are paragraphs.

Hand out the paragraphs to the students considering which paragraphs are more difficult and should go to the higher level learners and which are slightly easier and can go to the lower ability students.

Individually, students now summarise in their own words as far as possible their paragraphs and write the summary in a box in the table. Following this students pair up with students who had a different paragraph and they then read out their summaries whilst the other students make notes of it.

Rotate partners so that everyone can get every paragraph and after the first couple of times students have read their summaries, force students to turn over their paper and explain their paragraph from memory.

After the first couple of goes they should be able to do this and by the time they have explained to everyone in the group they should be reeling off their summary very comfortably.

A Word On Differentiation …

There is a lot of fun to be had for the students in the above activities but it is important to not forget that some students will require more support than others. Just asking students to do a role play with no support may be too much for some.

Always consider using speaking frames, having sentence starters placed around the room, ‘useful language’ handouts, and always show a clear model of what it is you are expecting the students to produce.

If you can tick those boxes then your speaking lesson will go that bit more smoothly.

All the best with your ESL speaking projects!

Presentation Project Ideas | ESL Presentation Topics, Tips, Ideas & More

Over the years teaching in a Korean university, I’ve had students do plenty of solo and group presentations. I love to do them at least once a semester because they’re great for the teacher to take a break from being at the front of the class, and designed well, students really enjoy them as well. Of course, I had to come up with some ESL presentation topics. Keep on reading to find out my presentation project ideas to try out in your own classes.

Presentation Project Ideas

Let’s get into the best ESL presentation ideas and topics.

#2: Presentation and Discussion Time

Each group had to give a presentation about a topic of their choosing and think of at least 5 interesting questions/surveys/activities that groups could discuss or do for about 30 minutes after their presentation.

This presentation project ideas had varying results, since some groups chose a topic that led to a lot of “yes/no” answers and discussions that lasted about 2 minutes. However, this could have been avoided by approving the topics in advance and requiring groups to submit their assignment for feedback a week or two before the actual presentation. The duds were mostly my own fault!

The key is to set up the project in a better way. The teacher needs to prepare for this activity well in advance! And of course, get students to prepare in advance as well so they can have a chance to revise their presentation if necessary.

39 No-Prep/Low-Prep ESL Speaking Activities: For English Teachers of Teenagers and Adults Who Want...

#3: Poster Presentation

Each group had to choose a current issue (like environmental pollution, celebrity suicide, North Korea) and make a poster that had English writing and some interesting pictures. Set a(low) maximum number of words, or your posters will be terrible! Then, they had to do a presentation based on the poster where each group member spoke for 2 minutes, without a paper.

Giving the students a reason to listen is key, so keep this in mind during your ESL projects.

More ideas for the classroom: Task Based Language Learning.

Topics for Group Presentations for ESL Students

#4: PowerPoint Presentation

This has the potential to be very interesting, or PPT death. It all depends on how you set the presentation project up. If you do go with this method, you should set a maximum number of slides and also a maximum numbers of words per slide (maybe 10?). Emphasize to students that you want to see pictures, charts, etc. and not a page of text.

Teach students how to make good PPTs and then penalize heavily for not following your recommendations. You should also coach students on how to stand to the side and still keep their body pointed towards the audience.

How to Make a Good PowerPoint Presentation (For ESL Students)

#5 Project Presentation Ideas: Making a Short Video

For homework in my conversation classes, I hated giving writing homework! It just seemed to defeat the purpose of trying to get the students to talk as much as possible.

In order to combat this, I’d often get students to make videos and then put them online on YouTube. I’d assign a topic that they had to talk about for a minute or two. Sometimes, I’d make an assignment where 2-3 of the students in the class would have to talk about something.

Or sometimes I’d require that students interview their classmates about something. It was really fun to watch these ones!

If you want to get creative, you could have your students make a short documentary or movie about a topic of their choice.

It’s simple, fun, and many students let me know that is was their favourite homework activity that semester.

#6: Impromptu Speaking Activity

If you ask your students, they’ll often tell you that they want to improve their speaking skills. By this, they often mean fluency. One way to do this is to use an activity like Just a Minute. It puts students on the spot and they’re required to talk about a certain topic for one entire minute.

It’s the perfect way to focus on speaking fluency because they can’t stop talking for the entire minute. You can make it into a conversation activity by requiring that students who are listening ask some follow-up questions.

Of course, do this in small groups for intermediate students, and only with an entire class for advanced level students. Or, consider using it if you teach ESL online .

#7: Infographic Presentation

Presentations are a regular feature of ESL classes, but your students may get overwhelmed at the thought of first creating and then presenting a full-length speech. This activity works very, very well for a small class of 5 students or fewer. Private classes are even better.

However, if you have larger classes, you can do these infographic presentations in a few different ways. The first option is to put students into teams of 3-4. Another one is to have students do them for a midterm or final exam. Finally, you can have 1-2 students do a PowerPoint presentation each class as a kind of warm-up and eventually, all students will have done one by the end of the semester.

Infographics have become a common way of presenting information, and your students can create and use one to provide the “meat” of an informative oral presentation. An infographic presentation will also provide an opportunity to research a topic in English. If your students work in an office, they are likely to use PowerPoint at work, so the combination of something familiar (PPT) with something new (English presentation) should reduce stress.

Any time you can get students up and out of their seats is a win!

Choose a Topic with Several Data Points

Have your students choose a topic of interest to them that has several data points. For example, if they have a favourite team, they can find the team’s current ranking, average points per game, number of championships, and so on to populate the infographic. The students should begin the project by researching several data points and finding an image or two online to use for decoration.

To create the infographic, the students will need to reset the margins to create the long, narrow look of an infographic. This is done by choosing a blank layout and changing the slide from landscape to portrait then adjusting the margins. Start with 10”/25cm by 30”/75cm and adjust if necessary.

Your students can use images, Smart Art, and/or charts to present the data they will report. However, you may want to give your students a time limit for choosing a layout or have them make a sketch before opening PowerPoint because the number of options can become a time-waster.

Layout First, Add in Data Second

Once the layout has been chosen, your students will need to fill in the data. If they are using charts, Excel will automatically to fill them in. Don’t worry, it’s pretty self-explanatory and the end result is right there for the student to see while working. Once the images are all in place, the students should add a brief explanation of each image. All images and text boxes can be resized, and the entire slide can be resized by adjusting the margins if there is more (or less) information than expected.

When the students are satisfied with the infographic, it can be saved as a JPEG. This will probably have taken an entire lesson, so the infographic presentation will be in the next lesson. You should tailor the focus of the presentation to your student’s level and needs. Lower-level students may only need to practice speaking without a script. Higher-level students may need to practice the use of gestures or inflection.

Teaching Tips for this Presentation Activity

If your students do not use PowerPoint at work and are not familiar with it (or if you do not want to spend an entire lesson making an infographic), you may want to have the students find an existing infographic online to present. Search for “infographic” on Google Images and you’ll find many of them.

A video of the infographic presentation can be helpful for your students. When students see and hear themselves, they can more easily see the areas that need improvement.

Procedure:

1. Have your students choose a topic of interest that would have several data points to research and present.

2. Have the students make a sketch of the planned infographic.

3. Using PowerPoint, have the students make the infographic (use a blank layout, in portrait, with the margins set to 10”/25cm by 30”/75cm).

4. In the next lesson, have the students present the infographic to you. According to the student’s level, have them focus on speaking without a script, using gestures, or inflection, etc.

5. Review the infographic presentation.

67 ESL Conversation Topics with Questions, Vocabulary, Writing Prompts & More: For English Teachers...

Amazon Kindle Edition
Bolen, Jackie (Author)
English (Publication Language)
278 Pages - 07/12/2020 (Publication Date)

What are Some ESL Presentation Topics to Consider?

There are a few classic ones in here, along with some fresh, new ideas for presentation topics that you’ll want to consider:

Teach someone how to do something
Something in the news lately
Controversial topics (and choose a side)
If I were president…
Favourite book, movie, restaurant, etc.
Vacations (past or dream for the future)
If I had a million dollars…
Ideal first date
Jobs and work
What the world will look like in 30 years from now
Money: Are you a saver, or spender?
What do you do when you get home from school?

Why Do ESL Presentations?

That’s a great question and we’re happy that you asked! There are a number of reasons why you might consider using presentations for an ESL project idea.

#1: Presenting is a Tangible Skill

Although I’m here to teach English, I always try to give my students some tangible skills they can take with them. For example, in a writing class , I teach students about hooks, thesis statements and topic sentences. This will be useful in any kind of writing, in any kind of language.

And, in my conversational English classes, I like to teach some presentation skills like eye contact, gestures, etc. Hopefully, they’ll use these things again in the future.

#2: They’re Ideal for Business Students

Many business people have to do presentations at work. Help them get some practise with this important skill in your classes.

#3: Helps Improve Listening Skills

When else do students listen for an hour or two, in English, that’s almost exactly at their level? During presentations. Just be sure to give some tasks to give students a reason to listen (see the section below).

#4: They’re Student Directed

I generally give some very vague guidelines as far as topics go. For example, any current events topic . Or, food/school/culture/history/hobbies. Not just one of these things, but perhaps all of them!

This way, they are free to choose whatever they’re interested in and care about. They are often more willing to learn now vocabulary than if I were to just assign a random topic.

Of course, for best results, do be strict about time limits, PowerPoint slides, etc.

#5: It’s a Break from the Usual

Teacher talks, students listen. Sounds familiar? Mix it up in your classes, and have the students do all the talking.

How Can I Increase Audience Engagement?

It’s an excellent question! How can you keep the rest of your students engaged and learning English while other students are doing presentations? There are a few related strategies I like to use to do this. Remember, presentations can be a source of some serious listening and vocabulary practice, so do everything you can to take advantage of this!

Idea #1: Worksheets

Sometimes I require the group or person doing the presentation to come up with a few quick comprehension questions based on their presentation. Multiple-choice, true/false or short answer works well for this.

Then, before their presentation, students have to hand out the worksheet to their classmates. This gives people a reason to listen, and even if there are no grades attached to this, most students will do it.

Idea #2: Follow-Up Questions

Sometimes I put the audience in groups of 3-4. Then immediately after the presentation, I give them a couple of minutes to come up with 3-4 interesting follow-up questions based on the presentation. I choose a few groups to ask one of their questions to the presenter. Or, everyone has a chance to ask a question in the smaller classes.

Idea #3: Peer Grading

Peer grading is an interesting thing I’ve tried in my more mature classes. I’ve almost never seen students watch so closely. Students find this kind of thing surprisingly fun!

I generally let students assign 50% of the grade to their peers, and then I reserve 50% for my own grade. It works best if you give students clearly defined categories that they have to evaluate.

The only downside is that it can take quite a bit of time to compile all the numbers from this in a bigger class.

Idea #4: Taking Notes

Sometimes I’ll require that students take some notes from the presentation. Generally, 4-5 bullet points work well per presentation. It’s great listening and note-taking practise for our students.

Or, get students to write down 3-4 phrases that they hear from each presentation. It’s simple but effective at getting students to work with the language.

Quick tips:

The key to this working well is to coach students about how to take notes. They don’t have to write full sentences, but just the key words or phrases.

At the end of class, I have students show me their notes for some participation points. This activity does not work that well if no points or grades are attached to their work.

Idea #5: Choose ESL Presentation Ideas Carefully

The final thing to do to increase audience engagement is to choose the topics carefully. If the students find them interesting, they’ll listen. It’s really that simple and the best way to ensure success is to come up with some great ESL presentation topics.

148 Pages - 03/09/2016 (Publication Date)

How do I Make my Presentation Stand Out? Top 10 Tips

There are a few ways that you can really make your presentation stand out from the crowd. Here are some of the best ways:

Use an icebreaker
Tell stories
Consider using videos or pictures
Embrace the non-linear style
Interact with your audience (ask them a question)
Don’t forget about eye contact
Move around
Practice, practice, practice!

Don’t Forget This Book for Teaching Public Speaking!

If you want to teach presentations to ESL students, you’ll need this most awesome of books. It’s full of great resources for teaching public speaking.

Speaking of Speech: Basic Presentation Skills for Beginners

Trust me, it’ll make your life way easier and happier.

ESL presentation ideas

ESL Presentation Ideas FAQs

There are a number of common questions that people have about English learners giving presentations. Here are the answers to some of the most popular ones.

How do I make a good ESL presentation?

There are a few simple steps you can follow for making a good ESL presentation.

Do lots of preparation and allow time for this.
Structure your presentation (beginning, middle, end).
Make notes on keywords but don’t write out full sentences.
Rehearse lots.
Use a PowerPoint slide or two but don’t include lots of text on it.
Allow time for questions from the audience.
Make eye contact and use hand gestures.

How do you write a speech for ESL?

To write a speech for ESL, check out these simple tips:

Consider using short sentences with contractions.
Use simple words like you’d use when having a conversation with someone.
Read your speech out loud as you are writing it.
Get someone to listen to you as you say it and point out any awkward or boring parts.

What is a good presentation topic?

A good presentation topic is one where you know a lot about the subject, either through personal experience or by doing lots of research. It’s also one that the audience has a general interest in.

How do you teach presentation skills to ESL students?

You can teach presentation skills to ESL students by using some of the following activities:

Recite a famous speech.
Give a presentation in a small group of 3-4 students.
Do a solo presentation and put it on YouTube.
Do quick presentations on a random topic with only a few minutes to prepare.
Act out a play with the class.
Work on things like eye contact and hand gestures.
Teach students how to structure a presentation well.

What are your Presentation Project Ideas?

Do you have any ideas for presentations for English language learners? Do you love, or hate presentation day in your classes? Leave a comment below and let us know! We’d love to hear from you.

And don’t forget to share this article on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. It’ll help other busy teachers, like yourself find this useful resource.

Last update on 2022-06-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

About Jackie

Jackie is the author of more than 30 books for English teachers and English learners, including Advanced English Conversation Dialogues and 39 No-Prep/Low-Prep ESL Speaking Activities for Teenagers and Adults . She loves to share her ESL games, activities, teaching tips, and more with other teachers throughout the world.

You can find her on social media at: Facebook Pinterest

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Jackie Bolen has been talking ESL South Korea since 2014. The goal is to bring you the best tips, ideas, and news for everything teaching English in Korea, including university jobs.

Contact Jackie Bolen and My Life! Teaching in a Korean University here.

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When you choose ESL presentation topics your students are passionate about, you set them up for success. They'll be more engaged in learning and more likely to retain the information you're teaching. So, how do you choose the proper ESL presentation topics for your students?

Choose topics you know will spark their curiosity and inspire their interest in learning. At the end of this article, you'll learn an easy-to-use presentation maker to help with your virtual lessons. Keep reading if you want to learn more about ESL topics and ideas.

Part 1. What Types of ESL Presentation Topics Are You in Search Of?

What's the secret to giving an ESL presentation that will keep your audience hooked? Flexibility. Also, tailor your topics to the student's proficiency level, interests, and learning objectives. Spark your students' curiosity with these engaging ESL presentation topics .

This category covers everyday activities, routines, and personal experiences. Daily life topics are often a good choice for beginners, as they tend to be familiar and easy to relate to.

Travel and Culture

Explore different countries, customs, and traditions. Students can present their dream destinations, cultural celebrations, or travel experiences. ESL presentation topics like this promote geography, tourism, and cross-cultural understanding.

Discuss the ever-evolving world of technology, from smartphones to social media trends. Students can discuss gadgets, apps, or the impact of technology on society, fostering language skills in a modern context.

Environmental Issues

Raise awareness about environmental concerns like climate change, pollution, and conservation. Students can propose solutions or discuss the importance of sustainable practices.

Current Events

Encourage students to share their views on global happenings. Ask open-ended questions to provoke students' critical thinking about the news. Avoid asking your students subjects that have a simple yes or no answer.

Literature and Arts

Explore the world of literature, art, and entertainment. Students can discuss their favorite books, movies, or artistic movements.

History and Politics

Delve into historical events, political systems, and influential figures. These ESL presentation topics encourage critical thinking and cultural awareness.

Food and Cuisine

Food is a universal language. It brings people from all walks of life to share experiences and create memories. And what better way to learn about others' culture than through their cuisines? Students can share their passion for food and cooking and express their unique cultural identity.

Part 2. How To Prepare Your ESL Presentation?

If you have chosen presentation topics for ESL students , it is time to start preparing. Here's a simple, three-step guide to help you deliver effective ESL presentations:

Use Data and Infographics for Less Content

Short attention-spanned students and visual learners often struggle with processing lengthy textual information. Using data and infographics becomes even more crucial in such cases. You can include charts, graphs, diagrams, and other visual elements that help to illustrate key points. Then, choose relevant statistics or facts that support your topic. Visual aids can capture attention and maintain their engagement throughout the presentation.

Make an Outline for Your ESL Presentation

Creating a clear outline is essential for maintaining the flow. Start with an engaging opening to attract your students' attention. Then, organize your content logically into sections or points. Use bullet points or numbered lists to keep information organized and easy to follow.

Practice Before Presentation

Rehearse your presentation multiple times, focusing on your pacing, pronunciation, and overall delivery. If possible, present in front of a friend or colleague for feedback. It will boost your confidence and help you address any areas that need improvement. Remember, the more you practice, the more comfortable you'll be when delivering ESL presentation topics to your students.

Part 3. 5 Best ESL Presentation Topics for All Students

Finding ESL presentation topics that work for all levels can be a challenge, but it's also a rewarding one. Here is a summary of ideas that work well for all proficiency levels, with specific ideas for each category:

These ESL presentation topics offer a range of complexity. It allows your students to engage in meaningful discussions while building language proficiency. Below is a brief explanation for each topic:

ESL presentation topics are a great way to learn English, build confidence, and learn about different cultures. They can be fun and rewarding for students of all levels. Beginners can start by sharing their daily routines and interests. It is a good way to practice using basic vocabulary and grammar in a fun way. Advanced students can delve deeper into cultural comparisons and environmental awareness.

Travel is another topic for ESL presentations for students of all levels. Beginners can explore their travel dreams, which is a fun way to improve their vocabulary and descriptive skills. Presentation topics for advanced ESL students can focus on the cultural and economic aspects of travel destinations. It can help them develop their descriptive and storytelling abilities.

travel destinations worldwide illustration

Talking about your favorite apps is a great way to improve your English skills. For beginners, it's a fun way to practice using vocabulary related to technology and apps. And for advanced students, it can be a springboard for discussing more complex topics like tech ethics and innovation. Plus, giving a presentation about apps is a great way to collaborate with your students and have a tech-related debate.

Talking about plastic pollution is a good way for ESL students of all levels to learn English and the environment. Beginners can start by discussing their own experiences with plastic pollution. What do they know about the causes and effects of plastic pollution?

It is a good way for beginners to practice using simple language in a meaningful context. Presentation topics for advanced ESL students can be more on analysis and solutions for global issues.

Recommending a book is one of the best presentation topics for ESL students . For beginners, recommending a book can be a simple way to practice using basic vocabulary and grammar structures. Advanced students can hone their analytical skills by dissecting literary and artistic masterpieces. It promotes thoughtful interpretation and expression.

Imagine students' eyes glazing over as you drone on about a topic they're not interested in or that's too difficult for their level. But now imagine their faces lighting up as you talk about something they're passionate about and that they can easily understand. That's the power of choosing the right topic.

Once you've chosen the right ESL presentation topics , you need the right tools to create an engaging and informative presentation. That's where Presentory comes in. If you're interested in how it can help you create ESL presentations that will capture your students' attention and help them learn, keep reading.

Part 4. Best Tool for Your ESL Presentation – Wondershare Presentory

Effective classroom communication and engagement are vital. Presentory, an innovative and user-friendly video presentation maker, empowers ESL instructors and education influencers. Want to create and present engaging virtual lessons? That's easy. With Presentory, you can smartly capture your students' attention.

Free Download Free Download Try It Online

Key Features

Here are some of the features that make Presentory the best tool for your ESL presentation:

Import Source Material

Import more materials for your presentations. Add images, videos, and even existing PowerPoint presentations. No need to switch between apps – everything you need is at your fingertips.

Various Types of Font Resources

Choose from a wide selection of fonts to add a touch of creativity and professionalism to your presentations. Select the perfect font that matches your style and content effortlessly.

Beautification Effects

It automatically recognizes portraits and adjusts your image for a polished look. Say goodbye to distracting background clutter and hello to a clean, professional appearance.

AI Keying for Seamless Video Appearance

Removes the background image in the camera, leaving only the presenter's image. It also supports color picking, allowing you to fine-tune your video appearance effortlessly.

Support for Popular Conferences and Live Broadcasts

Stream your ESL presentation topics with popular conferencing platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet. Deliver your content to a global audience with ease.

DIY Teleprompter

Adjust the window size, font color, size, and transparency to suit your preferences. Ensure a smooth and confident delivery every time.

Noise Reduction

Eliminate distractions and ensure crystal-clear audio with Presentory's noise reduction feature. Your audience will appreciate the clarity of your message.

Filter Effects

Add a touch of creativity to your ESL presentations with filter effects. Enhance the visual appeal of your content and keep your audience engaged.

The Bottom Line

No matter what ESL presentation topics you choose, make sure that they are something you are passionate about and can present in an engaging and informative way. With planning, you can create ESL presentations that are both educational and enjoyable for your students.

You can also add Presentory into your teaching toolkit and watch your presentations come to life with impact and engagement. With its intuitive interface and powerful features, Presentory is a good choice for ESL teachers and education influencers looking to show their expertise effectively. Try it today and watch as your students become more engaged and inspired.

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ESL Oral Presentation Activities ( See Activities )

Giving a speech is difficult in any language. Teach your students that it is natural to be nervous, but there are presentation skills they can develop to become better at public speaking.

Use these ESL speech activities to help students improve their posture, eye contact, gestures, and voice.

Jump to ESL Oral Presentation Activities

Types of Speeches

There are three basic types of speeches: Informative, Demonstrative, and Persuasive ( See Speech Topics at bottom ).

An informative speech tells the audience about something. It does not try to persuade. It’s only purpose is to give the facts. You can give an informative speech on just about anything.

A demonstrative speech tells or shows the audience how to do something. It gives clear steps from start to finish. Examples include how to cook a dish, how to build a house, or how to play a sport.

A persuasive speech tells the audience why they should do something. It gives clear reasons why the audience should change their mind and agree with the speaker.

Types of Delivery

There are four basic types of delivery: Impromptu, Outline, Manuscript, and Memorized.

Impromptu speeches are generally short and require little to no preparation. Usually there aren’t any written notes. The speaker must think on the spot. It’s common to be asked to give an impromptu speech at a special occasion like a wedding or to accept an award.

Using an outline is the most common type of speech delivery. The speaker prepares an outline which highlights key words and facts. Because there is something written, it is harder to maintain eye contact than an impromptu speech.

A speech with a manuscript has every word written down, so the speaker does not forget to say anything. It takes a lot of practice to sound natural with a manuscript because written English is slightly different from spoken English.

A memorized speech is the most difficult and takes a lot of preparation. The speaker must write a manuscript and then memorize every word. This is the popular route of the Speech Contests that I’ve experienced in Japan. The speaker can practice gestures and intonation, but memorized speeches usually sound lifeless and unnatural.

Speaking of Speech and Getting Ready for Speech are good resources for more ESL oral presentation activities.

Try Our ESL Oral Presentation Activities

Posture Practice

Eye contact.

Eye Contact Activity

Everyday Hand Gestures

Using Gestures In Presentations

Tongue Twisters To Practice Voice

Voice Inflection Activity

Debate Format: Final Debate

Debate: First Negative Constructive

Debate: Organizing The Opinion

Debate: Rebuttal Speech

Debate: Refuting An Argument

Giving Opinions

Giving Reasons

Activities by Topic

Being A Good Audience

Demonstration Speech Assignment

Informative Impromptu Speech

Persuasive Argument Activity

Persuasive Speech Assignment

Presentation Skills Final Exam

Speech Conclusion

Speech Introduction

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Brainstorming ESL Writing Topics

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20 Presentation Tips for Your ESL Students

Helping learners to give presentations is an excellent way to encourage fluency. For some of your students, the ability to give a good presentation in English may be mandatory for their jobs. Here are twenty tips to help ensure a successful presentation, from beginning to end. Who knows? You may find them useful too.

Allow plenty of time for preparation.
Answer the all-important question-words: why? who? where? when? how? and what?.
Structure your presentation into introduction, body, conclusion and questions.
Write notes based on keywords.
Rehearse your presentation several times and modify it as necessary.
Select the right equipment for the job.
Use your equipment effectively.
Make use of clear, powerful visual aids that do not overload your audience.
Use clear, simple language, avoiding jargon.
Use active verbs and concrete facts.
Explain the structure of your presentation at the beginning so that your listeners know what to expect.
Link each section of your presentation.
Signpost your presentation from beginning to end so that your listeners know where they are.
Overcome your nerves.
Establish audience rapport.
Be aware of your body language.
Understand cultural differences.
Maintain interest by varying the speed, volume and pitch of your voice.
Deal with listeners’ questions politely.
Respond to your audience positively.

These tips are condensed from Presentations in English .

Student presentations

In this article I would like to give you a few tips and some advice on what I've learned from helping students prepare and deliver presentations.

Why I get students to do presentations
Syllabus fit
Planning a presentation lesson
Classroom Management

Why I get students to do presentations Presentations are a great way to have students practise all language systems areas (vocabulary, grammar, discourse and phonology) and skills (speaking, reading, writing and listening). They also build confidence, and presenting is a skill that most people will need in the world of work. I find that students who are good presenters are better communicators all round, since they are able to structure and express their ideas clearly.

Presentation skills are extremely useful both in and outside the classroom. After completing a project, a presentation is a channel for students to share with others what they have learned. It is also a chance to challenge and expand on their understanding of the topic by having others ask questions. And in the world of work, a confident presenter is able to inform and persuade colleagues effectively.
Presentations can also form a natural part of task based learning. By focussing on a particular language point or skill, the presentation is a very practical way to revise and extend book, pair and group work. The audience can also be set a task, for example, a set of questions to answer on the presentation, which is a way of getting students to listen to each other.

Syllabus fit Normally the presentation will come towards the end of a lesson or series of lessons that focus on a particular language or skill area. It is a type of freer practice. This is because the students need to feel relatively confident about what they are doing before they stand up and do it in front of other people. If I have been teaching the past simple plus time phrases to tell a story, for example, I give my students plenty of controlled and semi controlled practice activities, such as gapfills, drills and information swaps before I ask them to present on, say, an important event in their country's history, which involves much freer use of the target grammar point.

Planning a presentation lesson Normally a presentation lesson will have an outline like this:

Revision of key language areas
Example presentation, which could be from a textbook or given by the teacher
Students are given a transcript or outline of the presentation
Students identify key stages of the example presentation – greeting, introduction, main points in order of importance, conclusion
Focus on linking and signalling words ('Next…', 'Now I'd like you to look at…', etc.). Students underline these in the transcript/place them in the correct order
Students are put into small groups and write down aims
Students then write down key points which they order, as in the example
Students decide who is going to say what and how
Students prepare visuals (keep the time for this limited as too many visuals become distracting)
Students practise at their tables
Students deliver the presentations in front of the class, with the audience having an observation task to complete (see 'Assessment' below)
The teacher takes notes for feedback later

It is important that the students plan and deliver the presentations in groups at first, unless they are extremely confident and/or fluent. This is because:

Shy students cannot present alone
Students can support each other before, during and after the presentation
Getting ready for the presentation is a practice task in itself
When you have a large class, it takes a very long time for everyone to present individually!

I find it's a good idea to spend time training students in setting clear aims. It is also important that as teachers we think clearly about why we are asking students to present.

Aims Presentations normally have one or more of the following aims:

To inform/ raise awareness of an important issue
To persuade people to do something
Form part of an exam, demonstrating public speaking/presentation skills in a first or second language

I set students a task where they answer these questions:

Why are you making the presentation?
What do you want people to learn?
How are you going to make it interesting?

Let's say I want to tell people about volcanoes. I want people to know about why volcanoes form and why they erupt. This would be an informative/awareness-raising presentation. So by the end, everyone should know something new about volcanoes, and they should be able to tell others about them. My plan might look like this:

Introduction - what is a volcano? (2 minutes)
Types of volcano (5 minutes)
Volcanoes around the world (2 minutes)
My favourite volcano (2 minutes)
Conclusion (2-3 minutes)
Questions (2 minutes)

Classroom Management I find that presentation lessons pass very quickly, due the large amount of preparation involved. With a class of 20 students, it will probably take at least 3 hours. With feedback and follow-up tasks, it can last even longer. I try to put students into groups of 3 or 4 with classes of up to 20 students, and larger groups of 5 or 6 with classes up to 40. If you have a class larger than 40, it would be a good idea to do the presentation in a hall or even outside.

Classroom management can become difficult during a presentations lesson, especially during the final presenting stage, as the presenters are partly responsible for managing the class! There are a few points I find effective here:

Training students to stand near people who are chatting and talk 'through' the chatter, by demonstration
Training students to stop talking if chatter continues, again by demonstration
Asking for the audience's attention ('Can I have your attention please?')
Setting the audience an observation task, which is also assessed by the teacher
Limiting the amount of time spent preparing visuals
Arranging furniture so everyone is facing the front

Most of these points are self-explanatory, but I will cover the observation task in more detail in the next section, which deals with assessment.

Assessment The teacher needs to carefully consider the assessment criteria, so that s/he can give meaningful feedback. I usually run through a checklist that covers:

Level - I can't expect Elementary students to use a wide range of tenses or vocabulary, for example, but I'd expect Advanced students to have clear pronunciation and to use a wide range of vocabulary and grammar
Age - Younger learners do not (normally) have the maturity or general knowledge of adults, and the teacher's expectations need to reflect this
Needs - What kind of students are they? Business English students need to have much more sophisticated communication skills than others. Students who are preparing for an exam need to practise the skills that will be assessed in the exam.

I write a list of language related points I'm looking for. This covers:

Range / accuracy of vocabulary
Range / accuracy of grammar
Presentation / discourse management- is it well structured? What linking words are used and how?
Use of visuals- Do they help or hinder the presentation?
Paralinguistic features

'Paralinguistics' refers to non-verbal communication. This is important in a presentation because eye contact, directing your voice to all parts of the room, using pitch and tone to keep attention and so on are all part of engaging an audience.

I find it's a good idea to let students in on the assessment process by setting them a peer observation task. The simplest way to do this is to write a checklist that relates to the aims of the lesson. A task for presentations on major historical events might have a checklist like this:

Does the presenter greet the audience? YES/NO
Does the presenter use the past tense? YES/NO

And so on. This normally helps me to keep all members of the audience awake. To be really sure, though, I include a question that involves personal response to the presentation such as 'What did you like about this presentation and why?'. If working with young learners, it's a good idea to tell them you will look at their answers to the observation task. Otherwise they might simply tick random answers!

Conclusion Presentations are a great way to practise a wide range of skills and to build the general confidence of your students. Due to problems with timing, I would recommend one lesson per term, building confidence bit by bit throughout the year. In a school curriculum this leaves time to get through the core syllabus and prepare for exams.

Presentations - Adult students

Presentation Article

Student's presentations.

I've read your article. I agree with you. You gave some tips of how the students can present their presentations. During the presentation most students feel confidently themselves. I think if the students work together on their presentations, it will be perfectly. I also agree with the time limit. I think it is the most thing to present the presentation. If your presentation too long, it will be boring. Students know about the aim of the presentation. That is to say, they set their aim, why they show this presentation.

Research and insight

Browse fascinating case studies, research papers, publications and books by researchers and ELT experts from around the world.

See our publications, research and insight

12 Fun ESL Speaking Activities for Teens or Adults

Every language teacher knows that speaking is a core skill to teach and practice, but sometimes it can be challenging coming up with creative or engaging ESL speaking activities and games. You can use them to improve the community feeling inside the classroom , too.

Let’s dive into nine quick, easy, and fun ESL speaking activities for teenagers and adults you can integrate into your lessons or use in speaking clubs.

They are designed to be high-quality and enjoyable – and mostly suitable for online lessons, too.

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They don’t need much preparation, but will get your students talking and help them to hone their conversational skills without even thinking about it.

ESL Speaking Activities for teens and adults

1. Interview Pop

2. word racing, 3. guess who or what i am, 4. would you rather…, 5. how-to presentation, 6. living memory, 7. video talk, 8. talk about your weekend, 9. timed discussion, 10. debating club, 11. taboo words, 12. story chain.

Student level: Pre-Intermediate to Advanced Type of Lesson: Group or Individual

This is a great one for students to have fun and be creative. Put students in pairs, or you could also carry this one out in a one-one lesson.

Students choose one person they want to interview. It can be anybody of their choice, and the person doesn’t necessarily have to be alive still.

I tell students to choose someone they know a lot about or who they admire because then they’ll have more material to talk about when the speaking part of the activity comes around.

Give each student a list of ten to fifteen verbs. (Can be the same list or different) See the example:

Each student has to choose five verbs from their list.

They make a different question using one of their five verbs in each question; these questions are made for the person they want to interview.

Each question will have a different verb.

For example, let’s say a student chooses Barack Obama. They have to make five interview questions for Barack Obama, each question using a different verb from their list.

Here are some examples:

How did you decide you want to become president?
Did you want to continue being president after your term finished?
What did you love about being the president?
What would you change about the USA?
What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment as president?

While I usually just come up with the verbs myself, you can also find some verb lists online, along with a list of people for your students to choose from.

While the students are making their questions, go through the class and help students fix the grammatical mistakes.

This is a great activity if you are practicing question formation as a grammar topic with your students.

The students then give their partner the questions that they wrote and then assume the role of the person they wanted to interview, while their partner asks them the questions they just made.

So this means that each student answers the questions from the perspective of the person they wanted to interview, as their partner asks them the questions.

Go around and listen for mistakes.

You could also then have students report to the class the person their partner chose and how they responded to the questions.

Student level: Pre-Intermediate to Advanced Type of Lesson: Group

A very interactive and high-energy ESL speaking activity. Many students get so into it and excited that they won’t even notice they are speaking in a foreign language and won’t even have time to think about making mistakes.

All you need to prepare for the game is to write down 15-20 vocabulary terms you want to practice with your students, each term is written on a different small slip of paper. Give a stack of these slips to each group.

You can also let the students write down the vocabulary (for example on the last topic they’ve learned) but then some words might be double and they also might not think of the words you want them to practice.

Divide your students into groups of three or four and explain the rules of the game.

One player from the first group starts. This student then has one minute to explain or define as many words written on their slips to their own group as they can, without saying the word they have on the card.

They want their group to guess as many words as possible in one minute.

Each time the members of the group guess a word, they put the card down, which gets them a point, and then they take a new card and repeat the same thing.

Once the minute is over, the next group takes their turn.

After the minute is up, each group counts their points and the group with the most points wins that round.

If you have time to play more rounds, after all, words are guessed, put them back in the basket and let them play again, although this time they can only use one word to explain the word on the card, for example, a synonym or a word they associate with the word on the card.

An example might be that if the word on the card is ‘handcuff’ then they say the word ‘police’ and the other students have to guess the word ‘handcuff’.

Students only get one guess. Once a student guesses, the student must move on to the next card, whether the word was guessed correctly or not.

In the last round, they act out or pantomime the words on their cards.

Here’s a list with even more fun ESL vocabulary games for adults and kids.

While there are many other good vocabulary-charades type games that can be done with both younger and older students, this one has been my favorite.

Student level: Pre-Intermediate to Upper-Intermediate Type of Lesson: Group

This is a very simple but effective activity with no preparation needed and can be played in two versions.

It’s usually more suitable for lower-level students but can also be used in intermediate or upper-intermediate students, especially for the other variation of the activity described below.

In version one, one student thinks of a person – it could be someone in the class or a famous person, someone that everyone is likely to know – and the rest of the class asks them yes or no questions about the person until they can guess who it is.

The student who guesses the person with the least amount of questions wins.

In version two, one student goes in front of the door, while the rest of the class decides on a person. Then the student comes back in and has to ask the class yes or no questions until they can guess who the person is.

Another variation of this game is to put students in groups and describe themselves from the perspective of an object, and the other students must guess what that object is in the quickest time possible.

Each student in the group writes down an object and then speaks from the perspective of that object as if they were actually that object.

For example, if one student chooses ‘handcuffs’ they would say something like:

“The police put me around somebody’s wrists when they break the law.”
“I have two round rings with chains connected them.”
“I am on a person on their way to prison.”

Students shouldn’t do any gesturing or acting on this one because that will give it away. The student who is able to guess the most objects correctly wins.

The reason I like this one more is that the students have to get a little bit more creative about expressing their ideas and they also tend to have more fun with this one.

Student level: Intermediate to Advanced Type of Lesson: Group or Individual

This is a great way to practice ‘would’ in the conditional form.

There’s a lot of different ways you can organize this one. One of the easiest ways is to just come up with some of your own ideas (5-10 should be enough), type them out, and cut them up into cards.

Go around the class and have a student draw a card, read it aloud, and then call on another student to answer it.

The goal is to make the “Would you rather” questions funny, crazy, interesting, or controversial. Think about what kind of questions you think would be fun to discuss if you were learning a foreign language.

Bookmark our list of 110 “would you rather” questions, and you will never run out of great questions to discuss.

Here are a few examples:

Would you rather give up your mobile phone or your pet?
Would you rather have $50,000 that is legal or $150,000 that is illegal?
Would you rather be the funniest person in the room or the most intelligent?
Would you rather have your first child when you are 19 years old or when you are 45?

As stated before, you can make up your own. If you are doing a specific topic for your lesson, then you can try to make them as closely related to the topic as possible.

For example, if the topic for your lesson is Meet the World’s Oldest Ice Hockey Player , then you might want to prepare some ‘would you rather’ questions about age or about hockey:

Would you rather stop aging at 17 or 35?
Would you rather date someone ten years older or ten younger?
Would you rather be a famous football player or a famous hockey player?

Give each group or pair of students the same card and have each of them state their opinion about the topic on the card.

You can give them a few minutes to take notes on their opinion and what they want to say before starting. Then students go around and say their opinion and support their argument.

This is one is sure to bring some good conversations and even laughs in your class.

You can also teach phrases on how to express opinions, such as:

“In my opinion…”
“I believe that…”
“In my eyes…”
“From my point of view…”

In addition to this, you could also assign students to make their own “Would you rather…” topics for the class or other groups. Make sure they keep them appropriate!

Help facilitate the conversations and ask follow-up questions while students are speaking.

This activity is great for a number of reasons: it’s simple to assign and explain, effective for students to develop speaking, and fun because it’s on a topic they’re interested in.

It’s also practical because they’re teaching the class how to do something or how something works.

Basically, all you need to do for ESL speaking activities like this one is have students choose some topic. It can be any appropriate topic according to their wishes.

Then they give a five-minute presentation on that How-to topic.

In order to get students cooperating together, you could also put them in pairs and have them decide on and organize the speech together.

Here are some of the ones my students have done before and they turned out to be great:

How to cook [a food]
How to play [a sport]
How to travel cheap
How to do a magic trick
How to live healthily

There are some great tips you can share with your students on giving a presentation in a foreign language.

Have students prepare the speech at home or during the lesson, and then have them present their topic during the next lesson.

You could take notes on their speaking or pronunciation mistakes while they present and go over them after the presentation.

Student level: Pre-Intermediate Type of Lesson: Group

This is a game based on the classic board game “memory” designed for lower-level students.

Two students go out of the room (Student A and Student B). The rest of the class gets together in pairs.

If you have an uneven number of students, one group can be in three.

Each pair chooses a word according to the learning objective.

For example, if your students are learning about food, then in pairs they will mutually agree on a meal or a food they both like. Then the two students come back into the classroom and these two students play against each other to gain points.

To gain points, Student A starts off and asks any student in the class “What do you like eating?” and that student answers “I like eating…”, and then Student A asks another student what they like to eat.

If the second student likes the same thing, then Student A gets one point. Then Student B goes and tries to match the pairs based on the food they mutually chose together.

This is a fun game to practice vocabulary and simple phrases.

You can make the game more interactive if students make gestures and movement demonstrating the type of food. For example, they gesture peeling a banana if the food they chose is ‘banana’.

6 thoughts on “12 Fun ESL Speaking Activities for Teens or Adults”

Thank you so much! Some of the suggestions I have already used with my students, but I did get new tips too! will try them out.

Great ideas to get my hgh school students speaking. Thanks so much

Great… These activities are really interesting ones and are helping me a lot. Thank You So Much for Uploading….

Great activities! Greeting from Mexico.

Thank you! This is very clearly written with a lot of additional ideas. Useful! :)

Thanks so much for sharing. Lots of new ideas for me.

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Speaking exams
Typical speaking tasks

Oral presentation

Giving an oral presentation as part of a speaking exam can be quite scary, but we're here to help you. Watch two students giving presentations and then read the tips carefully. Which tips do they follow? Which ones don’t they follow?

Instructions

Watch the video of two students doing an oral presentation as part of a speaking exam. Then read the tips below.

Melissa: Hi, everyone! Today I would like to talk about how to become the most popular teen in school.

Firstly, I think getting good academic results is the first factor to make you become popular since, having a good academic result, your teacher will award you in front of your schoolmates. Then, your schoolmates will know who you are and maybe they would like to get to know you because they want to learn something good from you.

Secondly, I think participating in school clubs and student unions can help to make you become popular, since after participating in these school clubs or student union, people will know who you are and it can help you to make friends all around the school, no matter senior forms or junior forms.

In conclusion, I think to become the most popular teen in school we need to have good academic results and also participate in school clubs and student union. Thank you!

Kelvin: Good evening, everyone! So, today I want to talk about whether the sale of cigarettes should be made illegal.

As we all know, cigarettes are not good for our health, not only oneself but also other people around. Moreover, many people die of lung cancer every year because of smoking cigarettes.

But, should the government make it illegal? I don’t think so, because Hong Kong is a place where people can enjoy lots of freedom and if the government banned the sale of cigarettes, many people would disagree with this and stand up to fight for their freedom.

Moreover, Hong Kong is a free market. If there's such a huge government intervention, I think it’s not good for Hong Kong’s economy.

So, if the government wants people to stop smoking cigarettes, what should it do? I think the government can use other administrative ways to do so, for example education and increasing the tax on cigarettes. Also, the government can ban the smokers smoking in public areas. So, this is the end of my presentation. Thank you.

It’s not easy to give a good oral presentation but these tips will help you. Here are our top tips for oral presentations.

Use the planning time to prepare what you’re going to say.
If you are allowed to have a note card, write short notes in point form.
Use more formal language.
Use short, simple sentences to express your ideas clearly.
Pause from time to time and don’t speak too quickly. This allows the listener to understand your ideas. Include a short pause after each idea.
Speak clearly and at the right volume.
Have your notes ready in case you forget anything.
Practise your presentation. If possible record yourself and listen to your presentation. If you can’t record yourself, ask a friend to listen to you. Does your friend understand you?
Make your opinions very clear. Use expressions to give your opinion .
Look at the people who are listening to you.
Write out the whole presentation and learn every word by heart.
Write out the whole presentation and read it aloud.
Use very informal language.
Only look at your note card. It’s important to look up at your listeners when you are speaking.

Useful language for presentations

Explain what your presentation is about at the beginning:

I’m going to talk about ... I’d like to talk about ... The main focus of this presentation is ...

Use these expressions to order your ideas:

First of all, ... Firstly, ... Then, ... Secondly, ... Next, ... Finally, ... Lastly, ... To sum up, ... In conclusion, ...

Use these expressions to add more ideas from the same point of view:

In addition, ... What’s more, ... Also, ... Added to this, ...

To introduce the opposite point of view you can use these words and expressions:

However, ... On the other hand, ... Then again, ...

Example presentation topics

Violent computer games should be banned.
The sale of cigarettes should be made illegal.
Homework should be limited to just two nights a week.
Should school students be required to wear a school uniform?
How to become the most popular teen in school.
Dogs should be banned from cities.

Check your language: ordering - parts of a presentation

Check your understanding: grouping - useful phrases, worksheets and downloads.

Do you think these tips will help you in your next speaking exam? Remember to tell us how well you do in future speaking exams!

We will process your data to send you our newsletter and updates based on your consent. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of every email. Read our privacy policy for more information.

My Speech Class

Public Speaking Tips & Speech Topics

169 Five-Minute Topics for a Killer Speech or Presentation

Jim Peterson has over 20 years experience on speech writing. He wrote over 300 free speech topic ideas and how-to guides for any kind of public speaking and speech writing assignments at My Speech Class.

There are pros and cons to giving a 5-minute presentation. One good thing is the length. Long presentations can easily become boring, and you have a much better chance of keeping your audience engaged from beginning to end than with a 5-minute speech.

In this article:

Food & Drink

Relationships, social media, supernatural, list of topics for a 5-minute speech or presentation.

Choosing a topic is extremely important. To help you getting started, here is a list of some killer topics for 5-minute speech or presentation.

Why it’s better to adopt a pet from a shelter
Choosing the perfect leash for your dog
What is the best food for your pet?
How much exercise does your pet need?
The horror of puppy mills
Bringing back endangered species
How long are giraffes in labor
Domestication of horses
Picking the right vet
Sleeping with your dog
Why should you get goats in pairs
Ethics of zoos
The domestication of dogs
How to keep a goldfish alive for a long time
How to choose the right pet
Why cats are so independent
When to get a dog
What kind of dog is best for a household with children
Why therapy animals work
How to find the money to go to college
How much control should the federal government have over curriculum design?
How to choose a college
Ideas for narrowing down a career choice
When to declare a major
Benefits of charter schools
Why charter schools are bad
Negative effects of school vouchers
Attracting the right people to the teaching profession
Discipline in the classroom
Memory tricks that work
Why homework is bad
Should students still have to use the books in the library?
Why cursive should still be taught in schools
Textbooks vs. tablets
Benefits of going to a trade school
Are there positives to taking a gap year?
The problem with low teacher pay
Social media in the classroom
Benefits of integrating apps into the classroom
The importance of attachment
How to compromise on names for your kids
What is the ideal age to start a family
How important are grandparents
Traveling with children
Strategies for potty training
How to help a child with nightmares
Middle child syndrome
How many kids should you have?
How to recognize a gifted child
When your child doesn’t like to eat
How to encourage good eating habits
When to intervene with a bully
Being active in your child’s school
The benefits of aunts and uncles
When family falls apart
The first days with a new baby
When to call the doctor
Caring for an ailing parent
Balancing home and career
When to start saving for retirement
IRA vs. Roth IRA
When should you start saving for your children’s college education?
Crowdfunded loans vs. the bank
How Kickstarter changed everything
Using your HSA
How to apply for a mortgage
Improving your credit score
How to negotiate a raise
Renting vs. buying
How does compound interest work?
How to ask for a promotion
When is it time to get a new job?
What to do when you find out a coworker makes more than you
How much of a down payment on a house do you really need?
Living on minimum wage
Is it better to lease or buy a new car?
How to budget for a new car
What to do when you lose your job
Using credit cards responsibly
Is rare meat safe?
Vegan vs. vegetarian
Microbrews vs. standard brewing
How to make your own wine
What are hops?
Best plants for a backyard garden
When to transplant sprouts
Bananas and plantains
How to make a brine for pickling
Where did brunch begin?
Why pineapple belongs on a pizza
When to order in
Planning a menu
Meal planning and grocery lists
Is free range really better?
The perfect macaroni and cheese
Growing your own herbs
How to make your own pasta
How to make cookies that are softer
Benefits of drinking black coffee
Benefits of a gluten-free diet
Is the paleo diet accurate?
Effects of not getting enough sleep
Are meal subscription services worth it?
Downsides to Crossfit
Benefits of yoga
How to meditate
Can therapy change the way your mind works?
Are GMOs really dangerous?
The truth about diet soda
Importance of hydration
Why cleanses don’t work
Best juice diet
Most effective exercise for burning calories
Do essential oils really work?
The history of television
When the railway was king
Thwarted assassination attempts
The first Olympics
Media during World War II
Military advancements between World War I and World War II
War photographers
Things you didn’t learn in history class
Historical lies
The early Internet
Why podcasts are great
Most unbiased news channel
When do people tune into the news most
How relevant are women’s magazines?
Cable vs. Netflix
How worried should you be about your browsing history?
How to limit screen time
Why it’s bad to use your smartphone right before bed
Apple vs. Android
The best age to get married
How to get an amicable divorce
Finding a roommate
Splitting financial responsibilities evenly among the household
How to have a happy marriage
Choosing your family
How to fight effectively
Signs of an abusive relationship
What to look for in a spouse
When to let it go
How to overcome self-doubt
Faking confidence
Becoming comfortable with yourself
How to say no
Relaxation techniques
Controlling anxiety
Qualities of a leader
The importance of self-care
Identifying triggers
How to eliminate negativity
Making new habits
Ethics of posting pictures of your children on social media
How Internet ads are tailored to you
How to advertise your business on Facebook
Privacy and social media
How to protect your personal information
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Good 2-Minute Speech Topics for Students

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23 thoughts on “169 Five-Minute Topics for a Killer Speech or Presentation”

Ideal Teacher

is life really a blessing?

This has helped me so much for my English class thank you!

Why personal (private) rules are helpful

I got an A!!!!!

Risks of abortion Wage gap How social media impacts education/mental health Why it’s important to have a good stable mental health Do teenagers really spend all their time on their phones Gsce requirements unfair or reasonable

Here is a kind of a dense topic, domestic abuse. Why does it happen? What are some ways to identify a abusive relationship? How does it affect families? Why is the abuser abusive?

We have presentation next week. I can’t think about the topic. Please help me!

i want a topic that involves supernatural: HELP

Is water wet?

death, what if the earth loses air entirely for five minutes, what is the most common death.

I have presentation next two day concerning with my classroom. I must choose five topics but i can’t think how to choose these topics. Please! help me

Tanks for giving me an A in drama

so helpful thank you

thanks this helped with my speach at school

i need a best topic to present on that is educational to consumer science and food nutrition students. can i please be assisted

what if the earth stopped spinning pros and cons of being an artist how Gen Z affected slang why people are afraid of the dark why knowing how to play an instrument is beneficial/not needed

Here’s a controversial one: are trans, intersex and non-binary people getting the same right as every else?

I have a presentation this week I don’t understand how to find a good title please help me I’m a diploma student the speech must have more than 10 minutes

How do create presentation for famous place in Sri Lanka

i need something for my oral communication class. it must be attention grabbing and not an argument. please help

I need ideas on a slide show presentation, a kid appropiate topic.

Pls I need more ideas on self help

hi lol i like these topics but i need a trendy one like something new or like a natural phenomene or someth like that… 🙂

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Moving through your presentation

Business Skills
Presentation Skills

Presentations - useful phrases

This is a standalone lesson but it can also be used as part of the set titled:

Delivering presentations

LESSON OVERVIEW

With this lesson plan, students learn plenty of useful phrases for presentations in English . They also prepare presentation excerpts , and learn how to start a presentation.

The lesson is the second of the three-part series of lessons about delivering presentations. You will find the first part of the series here and the third part of the series here .

USEFUL PHRASES FOR PRESENTATIONS

The lesson starts with a brief discussion on successful presentations. After that, students match words useful to talk about presentations (e.g. recap, takeaway, breakdown ) to their meanings. Then, they read six excerpts from a presentation and decide which of the words studied in the previous exercise the excerpts are examples of. Next, students read four statements and decide if they agree with them or not. The statements refer to the presentation flow. After that, students read sentences and complete them with one word to create useful phrases for presentations (e.g. in a nutshell, let me expand on this point, let’s kick off by ). Then, they look at a list of functions and decide which of the phrases from the previous exercise exemplify them . This part of the lesson ends with a rephrasing exercise in which students rewrite sentences to use the newly learnt vocabulary.

HOW TO START A PRESENTATION

In this part of the lesson, students prepare parts of presentations using relevant phrases from the first part of the lesson. They do that using prompts which describe what their part needs to cover. You can find the prompts on the last pages of the worksheet. Then, they move on to discuss the ways to start a presentation (e.g. by presenting an amazing fact, by telling a story). After that, students read some phrases for presentations and decide which of the discussed techniques they can be used with. Finally, students do a group task . They need to brainstorm how to effectively start different kinds of presentations (e.g. a sales pitch for a time-management app, a motivational talk about developing new habits).

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Office, remote or hybrid?

With this up-to-date lesson, students discuss work life after lockdown and practise vocabulary to talk about workplace changes. They also watch a news video about companies changing the way they work and discuss different work models.

As per my last email…

Dive into the intriguing world of emailing and talk about what annoys people the most. With this lesson, students expand their vocabulary, express irritation, and analyze real-life situations.

vocabulary to talk about higher education

Is a degree worth it?

Engage your students in a discussion on the ins and outs of higher education. Explore education and career-related vocabulary and work on comprehension skills by watching a news report on the job market.

How to stand out at work

Let your students share opinions on getting promoted and being noticed at work. They will discuss hypothetical situations, share experiences and comment on advice from a video.

All about branding

This is a perfect lesson for students who want to discuss brands and the idea of branding. Students learn and practise useful phrases, as well as improve their comprehension skills.

Talking about leaders

Students talk about good and bad leadership, watch an explainer video and share their experiences. Let them explain why they’d rather be a good leader or have a good leader.

Ready to go paperless?

In this lesson, students learn some vocabulary related to document management, talk about going paperless, watch a video, and work on word building learning suffixes ‘-ful’ and ‘-less’.

Passive income

In this passive income ESL lesson plan, students watch a video, learn vocabulary and have speaking practice.

How to succeed as a freelancer

In this lesson students discuss working as a freelancer. They watch a video, do four role-plays and talk about different freelancing ideas.

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Presentations

Type of English

Lesson time

I want to learn

LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS

Level: Intermediate (B1-B2)

Type of English: Business English

Tags: meetings visual aids giving a presentation Situation based

Publication date: 07/20/2021

Students briefly discuss their own experiences of presentations before identifying types of diagrams often used in presentations and their functions. They listen to a business presentation and identify and practise a range of functional language for structuring presentations. The lesson includes vocabulary development and a presentation activity which can be extended to include preparation of slides with visual aids. Students should prepare and practise their presentation as homework and deliver it in another lesson. The materials also include an optional extension activity relating to what can go wrong with a presentation.

by Stephanie Hirschman

presentation_BrE.mp3

very useful to enhance my students' listening skill

10 ESL Professional Development Ideas to Learn and Grow as Teachers

As an ESL teacher abroad, you’ve probably already realized that teaching ESL is anything but a year-long holiday.

You’re expected to overcome language barriers and explain the most complicated parts of the English language to people who are barely able to speak and understand it.

The only way you can keep up with the demands of your job is through ongoing ESL professional development activities that teach you how to motivate and connect with your students.

Professional development for ESL teachers doesn’t only help you work more effectively—it helps you learn how to engage with students regardless of their age or nationality.

Continue reading to learn more about ESL professional development ideas and how they can be used to make you a better teacher.

1. Schedule ESL Professional Development Presentations

2. share teaching and esl professional development ideas, 3. regularly schedule staff meetings, 4. host teacher training workshops, 5. attend virtual courses and seminars on esl professional development, 6. take advantage of resources covering esl professional development ideas, 7. consider participating in a fellowship program, 8. forge authentic relationships with experts on social media, 9. subscribe to e-newsletters related to esl professional development, 10. evaluate student feedback carefully.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

The goal of an ESL professional development presentation is to help you and your colleagues become better ESL teachers. Weekly, bi-weekly or monthly presentations provide multiple opportunities to talk about something related to teaching ESL, as well as share ideas and strategies with each other.

Good professional development presentations focus on identifying pain points or weaknesses commonly found in the classroom and formulating actionable solutions to overcome them.

Presentations can focus on topics such as:

Trends in the ESL industry and how to seamlessly integrate these trends into the classroom
Ways to help students improve their English using social media
How to teach English classes online
Apps that help with teaching

Another great way to encourage professional development is to put a “resource box” in the teacher’s office. The idea is to have teachers write down teaching ideas, fun activities and teaching strategies and put them in the box. You can then open the idea box once a week during a teacher’s meeting and look at all the ideas and resources submitted.

If the idea of using a physical box sounds too archaic, you can also create a document or spreadsheet using Google Docs or Google Sheets , respectively, and give your colleagues permission to edit the document. They can then type teaching ideas into the document, which everyone can talk about during the next staff meeting.

Teacher’s meetings are one of the most effective ways to make sure that everyone’s on the same page when it comes to teaching goals , deadlines and teaching strategies . Unlike presentations, where everyone listens to one person talk about a specific topic, meetings require everyone to participate in the discussion and share their ideas and experiences.

Staff meetings work best when they’re weekly or biweekly. That way, all staff members are more likely to stay up-to-date with news, resources and anything else related to teaching ESL. These meetings are also a good way to get feedback on teaching material like textbooks and software.

You can also turn staff meetings into short training events that focus on learning how to use new hardware and software, in addition to exploring ways to help students learn English more efficiently.

Workshops are a common way for educators to learn new teaching strategies and improve their pedagogical skills. Lasting anywhere from a full day to a week or longer, teacher training workshops are typically filled with lectures and activities that focus on specific areas like creating teaching aids, building rapport with students and using technology in the classroom.

FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language lessons.

Sometimes, teachers are unable to attend workshops and seminars in person due to scheduling conflicts and travel expenses. Fortunately, advancements in technology have made it easier for teachers to attend professional development courses without having to travel across or outside the country.

For example, the TESOL International Association hosts a number of online skill-building workshops and courses throughout the year , including virtual seminars covering:

Cultural understanding in the ESL learning environment
Bringing social issues into classroom lessons
Ways to teach grammar more effectively

The best part about TESOL’s virtual seminars and courses is that they cover anything and everything involving English education and students, such as social and cultural factors that could influence the way students from various backgrounds learn English. These courses help teachers take a more balanced and mindful approach to their students’ strengths and weaknesses, which in turn improves the learning experience as a whole.

The best way for you and your colleagues to grow professionally is to have access to resources designed specifically for ESL teachers. The goal is to incorporate a number of different ideas and perspectives, making it easier for teachers to think outside the box when teaching in the classroom.

Here are some free resources to help you continuously grow as an ESL teacher:

British Council TeachingEnglish: The British Council has a wealth of free materials for ESL educators looking to sharpen their teaching skills and learn new and creative ways to engage with learners.
The TEFLology Podcast: True to its name, this podcast covers various topics related to Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). Many episodes feature interviews with experts sharing their thoughts and perspectives on the field.
TEFL Training Institute Podcast: This podcast has a similar format as The TEFLology Podcast. Some episodes have just the regular hosts talking about the topic at hand, while many others have expert interviews.

While many ESL teaching jobs don’t require that you hold anything higher than a bachelor’s degree, additional qualifications could also aid your professional development—and, practically speaking, your value in the eyes of potential employers.

For example, if you’re a U.S. citizen, hold a graduate degree in a field related to teaching the English language and have relevant experience, you may be qualified for the English Language (EL) Fellow Program . The fellowship lasts for about 10 months, and participants have the opportunity to teach in institutions of higher education in over 80 countries around the world.

As an EL Fellow, you can engage in specialized projects including but not limited to Curriculum Development, Program Evaluation, Testing and English for Specific Purposes (ESP).

If you’re on a website like LinkedIn, you may already be following ESL/EFL teachers who regularly post about the industry and trends related to it. Instead of simply being a passive follower, you can comment on their posts that sparked your interest, engage in thoughtful discussions with them and gain expert insights you won’t find anywhere else.

Building professional relationships isn’t too different from building other types of relationships. As long as you both benefit from your connection in equal measure and genuinely like each other, being in contact with an expert in your field will not feel like an entirely self-serving endeavor.

Instead of searching for teaching strategies and ESL industry updates via the digital behemoth that is the World Wide Web, why not let this information come straight into your inbox?

Many ESL teaching blogs offer the option to subscribe to their newsletter, such as the following:

TESOL English Language Bulletin: TESOL English Language Bulletin is a weekly e-newsletter from the TESOL International Association . You can subscribe to it here .
BusyTeacher: Aside from being a treasure trove of ESL teaching materials, BusyTeacher also provides an option to subscribe to their newsletter “BusyTeacher Weekly.” Here’s a sample .

Professional development activities shouldn’t be limited to what you do once classes end. If you’re unsure as to what aspect of your teaching you need to improve, student feedback can give you valuable clues .

For example, if students say something along the lines of “your classes are informative, but they’re boring,” you can take courses on how to make teaching ESL classes more fun without sacrificing their educational value.

Also, if your school doesn’t already employ a student feedback system, you can create your own. Here are some ideas on how to do so .

Professional development for ESL teachers is an ongoing project. It may sound cliché, but teachers refer to themselves as “lifelong learners” for a reason. Being a good teacher is more than just learning how to teach from a textbook—it also requires you to learn how to connect with students from different backgrounds and learning styles, and come up with teaching strategies that work best for each individual learner.

By gathering and executing ESL professional development ideas, you’re able to continue to improve your teaching skills, as well as help your students reach all of their academic goals.

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120+ Presentation Ideas, Topics & Example

By Ryan McCready , May 08, 2023

Best Presentation Ideas, Design Tips & Examples

Did you know that 46% of people can’t sit through a presentation without losing focus?

That’s why I wanted to learn how to make a presentation that will captivate an audience. After looking at hundreds of different authors, topics and designs, I’ve assembled over 100 presentation ideas and tips on how to design a compelling presentation for:

Social media
Online courses
Pitch decks
Lead generation

In this blog, you’ll find 120+ presentation ideas, design tips and examples to help you create an awesome slide deck for your next presentation.

To start off, here’s a video on the 10 essential presentation design tips to make sure that your presentations don’t fall under the YAWN category.

1. Use a minimalist presentation theme

CREATE THIS PRESENTATION TEMPLATE

The best designs can also be some of the simplest you see. In the Airbnb pitch deck below, they use a minimalist color scheme and font selection.

A minimalist design is sleek, organized and places the most important thing in focus: your information. There are no distracting stock images, icons, or content. Everything on this unique presentation feels like it belongs and works together perfectly.

Learn how to customize this template:

2. Use a consistent design motif throughout your presentation

Here’s a go-to tip to for a cohesive presentation design: use a design motif. The motif could be a recurring shape (like circles, lines or arrows) or symbol (like a leaf for “growth” or a mountain for “goals”). For more ideas, check out our guide to common symbols and meanings used in design .

For example, this presentation template uses circles as a design motif. The same circle icon is used in three different colors to add a bubbly touch to the design. The team photos are also incorporated using circle frames:

3. Use an eye-catching presentation background image

Photography Creative Presentation Ideas copy

Like with any type of design work, you should want to catch the eye of your audience. In a presentation, this should be done from the beginning with a compelling background image or a color gradient.

In this presentation template, the creators were able to do just that with a landscape photo. When a presentation like this is seen on social media, during a webinar or in person, your audience will definitely listen up.

4. Visualize your points with icons

Storytelling Business Presentation Ideas

Icons are the perfect visuals to include in presentations. They’re compact and can convey a concept to your audience at a glance. You can even combine multiple icons to create custom illustrations for your slides.

Use the Icon Search in Venngage to find illustrated and flat icons:

5. Use a black & white color scheme for a corporate presentation design

In the presentation below there are only two colors used: black and white. Now, you might be worried that only using two colors is boring, but it all comes down to balance.

Minimalist White Business Presentation Ideas

Playing off the ideas of classic minimalism, the designer made this presentation look sleek and professional. And now your content can be the main attraction of your presentation as well!

6. Repurpose your slide deck into an infographic

OfficeVibe Creative Illustrated Presentation Ideas

Different types of presentations serve different purposes and sometimes it helps to work smarter, not harder when you are creating a unique presentation. In fact, the spacing, layout, and style used in this presentation makes it easy to repurpose the same images into an infographic.

OfficeVibe Creative Marketing Presentation Ideas

This allows you to create two unique pieces of content from one idea! Which is exactly what Officevibe did .

Join Venngage’s CEO, Eugene Woo, to learn how you can design impactful infographics that will help maintain trust, increase productivity and inspire action in your team.

7. Break your genre mold for a fun presentation idea

SEMRush Content Marketing Presentation Ideas

When I first clicked on this creative presentation from SEMrush, I was not expecting to be transported into a comic book. I’m glad I clicked because it may be the most unique slide deck I have ever seen. Going this extreme with your presentation ideas may seem a bit risky, but to be able to break the mold in this age of cookie-cutter presentations is worth it.

To leave a lasting impression on your audience, consider transforming your slides into an interactive presentation. Here are 15 interactive presentation ideas to enhance interactivity and engagement.

8. Make your presentation cover slide count

As I was scrolling through all of the presentations, this one made me stop in my tracks. It could be that I have a life-long love of Star Wars, or it could be that their presentation cover slide was designed to do just that: grab your attention. That’s why you should not stick with a boring, text-only title slide. Don’t be afraid to use icons and illustrations to make a statement.

9. Alternate slide layouts to keep your presentation engaging

Keeping your audience engaged throughout an entire presentation is hard, even if you have been working on your presentation skills . No one wants to look at slides that look exactly the same for an hour. But on the other hand, you can’t create a unique masterpiece for each slide.

Creative Real Estate Marketing Presentation Ideas

That’s why I’m very impressed with what the designers did in the presentation example above. They use a consistent visual theme on each slide, but alternate between vertical and horizontal orientations.

The swapping of orientations will show people that the presentation is progressing nicely. It can help you make a strong, almost physical, distinction between ideas, sections or topics.

10. Make your audience laugh, or at least chuckle

Modern Company Branding Presentation Ideas

Sometimes you need to not take your business presentations too seriously. Not sure what I mean? Go check out slide number 10 on this slide deck below.

If you did not actually laugh out loud, then I don’t know what to tell you. Small illustrated embellishments can be very powerful because they evoke an emotional response and to gain your audience’s trust.

Did you know 70% of employees think that giving a good presentation is an essential workplace skill? Check out the top qualities of awesome presentations and learn all about how to make a good presentation to help you nail that captivating delivery.

11. Supplement your presentation with printed materials

Printed takeaways (such as brochures and business cards ) give audience members a chance to take home the most important elements of your presentation in a format they can easily access without using a computer. Make sure you brand these materials in a way that’s visually consistent with your slide deck, with the same color scheme, icons, and other iconic features; otherwise, your recipients will just end up scratching their heads.

If you’re giving people multiple materials, try packaging them all into one convenient presentation folder. There are over 100 styles with a wide range of custom options, so feel free to get creative and make your folder stand out. Sometimes a unique die cut or an unusual stock is all you need to make something truly memorable. Here are some brochure templates to get you started.

12. Only use one chart or graphic per slide

Having too much information on a slide is the easiest way to lose the focus of your audience. This is especially common when people are using graphs, charts or tables .

In this creative slide deck, the author made sure to only include one focal point per slide, and I applaud them for it. I know this may sound like a simple presentation tip, but I have seen many people lose their audience because the slides are too complex.

13. Keep your employee engagement presentations light

Sometimes you need to get away from stuffy, professional presentation ideas to capture your audience’s attention. In this case, Officevibe used some very colorful and playful illustrations to stand out from the crowd.

I mean, who could not love the plant with a face on slide number 9? And if you want to see some more icons and illustrations like this, be sure to check out our article on how to tell a story with icons.

14. Feature a map when talking about locations

Purple Startup Pitch Deck Presentation Ideas

Including a map in your creative presentations is a fantastic idea! Not only do they make an interesting focal point for your slide layout, they also make location-based information easier to understand.

This cool presentation example by our pro designers at Venngage uses maps to visualize information. This map both dominates the screen, and also displays all the locations being covered.

15. Use a font that is large and in charge

Bold Content Marketing Presentation Ideas

If you are presenting to a small group or a packed stadium, make sure your audience can see your text! Use a large and in charge font that can be read from even the nosebleed seats.

Honestly, you really never know where your unique presentation will be seen. It could be seen in a conference room or conference hall, and everything in between. Be ready to present almost anywhere with a bold and easy to read font.

16. Use pop culture references to build a fun presentation

Using a meme or pop culture reference is another way that you can jive with your audience. It can be used to quickly get a point across without saying a word or create a moment that you can connect with the room. For example in this presentation, they used Napoleon Dynamite to give the audience feelings of nostalgia.

17. Use more than one font weight on your presentation cover slide

Just like you would never use one font on an infographic, you should never use just one font on your presentation (for more tips, read our guide on how to choose fonts ). In this presentation example from HubSpot, they use a bunch of different font weights to add emphasis to key words and ideas.

As you can see, they use a bold font on the presentation cover to bring attention to Steve Jobs name. This makes it easy for the audience to know what your presentation is going to be about from the beginning as well.

18. Use a color theme for each idea

Color is another extremely powerful nonverbal tool that you can use to guide your audience. By using a different color for each section of your creative presentation, Dell is able to clearly indicate when they are switching points or ideas. Going from green to orange, and even red almost effortlessly.

This is a great way to design a list, guide, or a how-to presentation as well. And each color can be assigned to a different step or number with ease.

Need help picking the perfect color palette? Start here !

19. Use illustrations instead of pictures

An easy way to keep your design consistent throughout your unique presentation is to use illustrations like in this slide deck by Domo.

They used illustrations instead of pictures to show off their subject on slide numbers 4-10 and it looks fantastic. This will ensure that the audience focuses on the content, instead of just the photo they could have used.

It also helps that illustrations are a top design trend for 2020 .

20. Use contrasting colors to compare two perspectives or sides of an argument

Contrasting colors can be used to quickly show each side of topic or an argument. For example in this presentation, they use this trick to show the difference between their company and the competition.

Simple Product Comparison Presentation Ideas

They use color very effectively in this example to show their company is better, in a nonverbal way. With a lighter color and illustrated icons, the company is able to position them as the better choice. All without saying a word.

Now if they would have used similar colors, or a single color the effect wouldn’t have been as strong or noticeable.

21. Include your own personal interests

Innovative Business Tech Presentation Ideas

This example is one of the most interesting and cool presentations I have seen in awhile, so I suggest checking out the entire thing. The creator inserts a bunch of his personal interests into the slide to make his presentation about education fun and relatable. And they even use a Super Mario Bros inspired presentation cover, so you know it has to be fantastic!

22. Try to stick to groups of three

How many major ideas should be present on your presentation aid? Never break your presentation layout down into anything more than thirds. This means there should be at most three columns, three icons, three ideas and so on. A great example of this idea starts on slide number 9 in this slide deck and continues throughout the rest of the presentation.

Here is a great three columned slide template to get started with.

23. Add a timeline to help visualize ideas

One of the best ways to visualize a complex process or historical event is to use a timeline presentation. A list of all the steps or events is just not going to cut it in a professional setting. You need to find an engaging way to visualize the information.

Take the presentation example above, where they outline the rise and fall of Athens in a visually stimulating way.

24. Label your graphs & charts

Creative Data Visualization Presentation Ideas

If the people at Pollen VC had not added those annotations to the graphs on slide number 5, I would have definitely not known what to make of that graph.

But when you combine the visuals on a graph with descriptive text, the graph is able to paint a picture for your audience. So make your graphs easy to understand by annotating them (this is a chart design best practice ).

Create a free graph right here, right now!

25. White font over pictures just works

There is a reason that you see so many quotes or sayings in a white font that are then overlaid on an image. That it is because it just works in so many situations and the text is very easy to read on any image.

If you do not believe me, look at the slide deck example above where they use a white font with a few different fonts and about 100 images. Plus the presentation template is chocked full of other tips on how to create a winning slideshow.

26. Color code your points across the whole presentation

Creative Tech Startup Presentation Ideas

Here is another example of a presentation that uses color to keep their points organized. In this case, they use 10 different pastel colors to match the 10 different tips for employee engagement.

Illustrated Tech Business Presentation Ideas

Check out our guide for how to pick the best colors for your visuals .

27. Use a simple flow chart to break down a process

If you’re a fan of the movie Step Brothers , you may have heard of Prestige Worldwide before. In this fun presentation example they are back to sell you on their business model and growth plans.

This time, the presentation will be effective because it actually talks about what the business does.

Colorful Marketing Event Presentation Ideas

Instead of making a music video, they use a helpful flowchart template to explain their business model. I would recommend following their lead and creating a dynamic flow chart to visually break down any process. Try making your own flowchart with Venngage.

28. Make your slide deck mobile friendly

Globoforce Red Human Resources Presentation Ideas

As more people move to mobile as their main device each year, making your presentations mobile-friendly is becoming increasingly important. This means that the text is large and there aren’t too many small details, so everything can scale down. Just like in this presentation example from the creators at Globoforce.

29. Don’t be afraid to include too many examples

With Company Product Development Presentation Ideas

If you are presenting a complex idea to a group, especially a large audience, I would recommend having a ton of good examples. Now, I would try not to overdo it, but having too many it is better than having too few.

In this creative presentation, the people at With Company spend about 20 slides just giving great examples of prototyping. It doesn’t feel too repetitive because they all are useful and informative examples.

30. Use consistent visual styles for an elegant presentation design

Black Professional Business Presentation Ideas

I have already written extensively about using icons in all of your design projects . I haven’t talked as much about matching icons to your presentation template.

Modern Business Marketing Presentation Ideas copy

But that’s just as important, especially if you want to create a professional presentation for your audience.

As you can see in the example above, the designer used minimalist icons that fit the slide designs. All of the other graphics, charts and visual elements fit together nicely as well.

Plus the icons don’t distract from the content, which could ruin a stellar presentation.

31. Use a consistent presentation layout

Bannersnack Graphic Design Presentation Ideas

In this example from Bannersnack, they use a consistent layout on each of their slides to help with the flow by using the same margins and text layout.

Bannersnack Modern Design Presentation Ideas

It’s a solid presentation example because they help the user know where to look immediately. It may seem like they are playing it safe, but anything that can speed up the time it takes for a user to read the content of the slides, the better.

32. Use loud colors as much as possible

Colorful Creative Tech Presentation Ideas

This is one of my favorite presentations because of the highlighter yellow they chose to use as their main color. It is actually very similar to one that I saw presented live a few years ago and I have used this same approach in a few presentations ideas of my own.

33. Pull your design motif from your content

Creative Education Workshop Presentation Ideas

If you are talking about an interesting topic, why not use the topic as the main design motif in your creative slide deck? For example, in this presentation about sketchbooks, the creator uses a sketchy, handwritten motif. It is something simple that helps the audience connect with the topic. Plus, it allows you to include a ton of great examples.

34. Utilize a call & answer cadence

Simple White Marketing Presentation Ideas

In this SlideShare about how to create a presentation, Peter Zvirinsky uses a two-step process to present a point. First, he presents the header presentation tip in a speech bubble. Then he shows a supporting point in a responding speech bubble. This gives the presentation a conversational flow.

35. Repurpose ebook content into a creative presentation

This slide deck was adapted perfectly from a Seth Godin ebook into the presentation example you see above. In the slide deck, they take a piece of content that would usually take a while to read and cut it down to a few minutes. Just remember to include only the most important ideas, and try to present them in a fresh way.

36. Add a timed outline to your presentation

Simple Blue Monthly Business Presentation Ideas

We have already covered how important it is to have a table of contents in your slides but this takes it a bit further. On the second slide of the presentation below, the creator added how long each of the slides should take.

White Minimalist Business Presentation Ideas

This is great because it helps your audience know the pace the presentation will take and will help keep them engaged. It also will help them identify the most important and in-depth parts of the presentation from the beginning.

37. Use a “next steps” slide to direct your audience

One of the worst things you can do as a presenter is to leave your audience without any idea of what to do next. A presentation should never just end because you ran out of slides.

Blue Creative Gradient Presentation Ideas

Instead, use a conclusion or “next steps” slide like in the example above to finish your presentation. Sum up some of your main points, tell your audience where they can get more information, and push them to take action.

38. Go a bit crazy with the design

Velocity Partners Simple White Presentation Ideas

Sometimes you need to throw convention to the wind to create something unforgettable. This presentation from Velocity Partners does just that, and I think it is one of my favorite ones from this entire roundup.

Velocity Partners Simple Tech Presentation Ideas

They use unconventional typography, quirky icons, and unusual presentation layout to make each slide surprising.

39. Make your slide deck easy to share

Simple Content Marketing Presentation Ideas

If you are looking to get a lot of eyes on your presentation I would make sure people will want to share it on social media. How do you do that? By presenting new and interesting value. This means your content needs to answer a common question and your design needs to be clutter-free. For example, look at this very social media-friendly. The slides are simple and answer questions directly.

40. Use shapes to integrate your photos into the slides

Want to include a bunch of images in your presentation? I say do it!

Now most of the time you would add a raw image directly to your slide. However, if you want to present images in a professional way I would recommend using an image frame .

Like in the example above, you can use these frame to create a collage of images almost instantly. Or provide a similar visual theme to all of your slides.

Overall, I believe it’s a great way to add a new visual component to your presentation.

41. Hijack someone’s influence in your marketing slides

Creative Social Media Presentation Ideas

If you are stuck in the brainstorming phase of your presentation, focusing on a brand or influencer is a great place to start. It could be a case study, a collection of ideas or just some quotes from the influencer. But what makes it effective is that the audience knows the influencer and trusts them. And you are able to hijack their awareness or influence.

42. Put y our logo on every slide

Moz Business Marketing Presentation Ideas

Whether you have a brand as powerful as Moz, or you are just getting started, you should always have your logo on each slide. You really never know where a presentation is going to end up–or what parts of it will! In this presentation template, Moz does a good job of including their branding and such to get others interested in Moz Local. Don’t have a logo yet? Our logo design tips will help you create a logo that’s iconic and will stand the test of time.

43. Lead your audience to it

In this example, the creator uses something very similar to the call and answer approach I mentioned above, but with a little twist. Instead of just throwing all the info up at once, they use three slides to build to a particular point and include a subtle call to action in the third slide.

44. Make visuals the focal point of your presentation slides

If you haven’t noticed, illustrated icons are having a revival in 2020 and beyond. This is likely because minimalist icons dominated the design world for the past decade. And now people want something new.

Brands also like using illustrated icons because they are seen as genuine and fun.

And because they are so eye-catching you can use them as focal points in your presentation slides. Just like they did in the creative presentation example above.

Picking the perfect icon is tough, learn how you can use infographic icons like a pro.

45. Use a quirky presentation theme

Animation Ninja Funny Tech Presentation Ideas

In this slide deck, the authors show you how to become an Animation Ninja…and they use ninja graphics and icons extensively. This caught my eye immediately because of the amount of work that I knew was behind this. It takes a lot of time and effort to line all of the content and graphic up to create a cohesive theme, but the payoff can be massively worth it.

46. Use a consistent background image

Simple Modern Business Presentation Ideas

I am a big fan of the way that Aleyda Solís uses only a single presentation background image throughout her presentation.

By using this tactic the audience is able to focus on what is happening in the foreground. Plus it gives the whole presentation a different feel than all the other ones I have looked at.

47. Summarize your points at the end

Deanta Data Driven Marketing Presentation Ideas

It’s a good idea to summarize your points before you end your presentation , especially if you’ve covered a lot of information. In this presentation example, Deanta summarizes exactly what they do on slide numbers 16-18. They also provide their contact information in case their audience has any more questions. I think that every presentation should use this same approach, especially the ones you are presenting outside of your company.

48. Use a minimalist presentation template

QuickBooks Minimalist Presentation Ideas

This slide deck from QuickBooks uses a minimalist theme to help the audience focus on what is important, the content.

QuickBooks White Simple Presentation Ideas

There were only five colors used in the entire presentation and the graphics were simple line drawings. This made it easy to read and very pleasing to the eyes.

49. Split your slides length-wise

Here is a simple template you can use to separate your headers, or main points, from your body text in a presentation.

Minimalist White Startup Presentation Ideas

Instead of using a solid presentation background, split the slide in half like Sequoia did in their slide deck. They used their brand color for the title portion and a neutral white for the supporting content.

Use this company report template to create a very similar slide right now!

50. Embrace a bold color scheme throughout your presentation

Colorful Modern Creative Presentation Ideas

My favorite part of the creative presentation example above is the use of complementary colors in each slide. As you can see, not one of the slides use the same color scheme but they all feel related connected.

This approach can be used to make your presentation visually unique, without abandoning a cohesive theme or idea.

51. Put text in the top left corner

Simple Orange Business Presentation Ideas

English speakers will instinctively try to read text from a top to bottom, left to right orientation. I would recommend using a left alignment for your text and adding additional things from top to bottom, just like Aaron Irizarry did in this presentation layout.

52. Break up your tables

Intuit Financial Business Presentation Ideas

A plain table with a white background with black or gray lines are difficult to read on a computer screen, so why would you create one for viewing on a large presentation screen? You shouldn’t!

Instead, follow Intuit’s lead and break up the rows with a bit of color. This applies to data visualization in general , but think it is even more important when it comes to presentations.

53. Present connected information in a visually similar way

Yellow Startup Pitch Deck Presentation Ideas

In this startup pitch presentation example, they have a ton of information to get through. But they present their most important slides, the problem and solution, in a visually similar way.

Yellow Creative Startup Presentation Ideas

By using a similar layout on each slide, the audience will be able to quickly make a connection. If you want to present two connected pieces of information, use this tactic.

Yellow Modern Startup Presentation Ideas

From the font to the layout, it’s all basically the same. The main message they’re trying to impart is a lot more impactful to the reader.

If they would have used two wildly different presentation layouts, the message may have been lost.

54. Roundup expert tips into one presentation

If you are looking for useful insights into the topic of your presentation, talk to some influencers in your niche. These are called “expert roundups” in the content marketing world and they are incredibly shareable.

Plus, they are pretty easy to create and have a great shelf life. In the example above, we talked to a gaggle of marketing experts about what makes a SlideShare great.

55. Use bold & brash colors throughout

Gradient SEO Marketing Presentation Ideas

B old colors usually make your presentation template a lot easier to read and remember. Like at this slide deck made by our talented designers, which doesn’t shy away from bright, bold colors.

Want to pick a perfect color palette for your presentation? Read this blog on the do’s and don’ts of infographic color selection .

56. Make your graphs easy to read & interpret

It should not require a Master’s degree in statistics to understand the graphs that someone uses in a presentation. Instead, the axis should be easy to read, the colors should enforce the point, and the data should be clearly plotted.

For example, in this presentation on slide numbers 14 and 25, the graphs nail all of those tips perfectly.

57. Condense your presentation into a memorable line

If you can, try condensing your information into a simple one-liner to help the message stick with your audience. In slide number 36 of this presentation, Mika Aldaba does just that and shows that “Facts + Feelings = Data Storytelling.”

He does this again a few times throughout the presentation with other memorable one-liners.

58. Bring attention to important figures with colorful icons

Blue Investor Pitch Deck Presentation Idea

If you’re including a figure or number on your slides, I’m guessing you want the audience to actually see it.

That’s why I would recommend using an icon or graphic to highlight that figure. Maybe use a color or icon that isn’t used anywhere else in the presentation to make sure it really jumps off the screen.

Colorful Blue Yellow Investor Presentation Idea copy

In the presentation example above, all that’s used is a simple circle to make each figure a focal point. It’s really that easy, but many people leave it out of their presentations.

59. Anchor Your Text With Icons

Studio Ninja Creative Gradient Presentation Ideas

Having your text or content floating out in the white space of your presentation is not a good look.

Instead, you should use anchor icons to give the text something to hold onto and draw the audience’s eye. If you need some examples of good anchor icons, check out slide numbers 4, 7 and 9 in this presentation example.

60. Add semi-opaque lettering as a presentation background

A neat way to keep your slide deck organized is to number your slides or points using semi-opaque lettering in the background.

Stinson Creative Illustrated Presentation Ideas

Then, place your slide content on top of the opaque lettering. This helps your audience know that you are on the same point or idea, plus it just looks really good when done right.

61. Use simple or minimalist borders

Transparent Orange Business Presentation Ideas

An easy way to class up your slides is to put a border around your text. Take this presentation from Venngage that uses a couple of different types of borders to make their slides look professional.

Modern Orange Business Presentation Ideas2 copy

Plus it helps keep all of your content contained on the slide!

62. Feature one idea per slide

Nothing is worse than a confusing, cluttered slide. Instead of trying to pack a bunch of ideas into one slide, focus on one core idea on each slide. If you need to flesh the idea out, just make another slide.

Having trouble condensing your slides? Our presentation design guide can help you summarize your presentations and convey a singular idea with a clear focus.

63. Keep your style consistent with your brand

You might be tempted to switch up the style of your creative presentations each time, but think again. If your brand is known for fun and lighthearted content, like Officevibe, let that be your style throughout all of the presentations you publish under that brand. This will make your slide decks recognizable and will enforce your brand’s message .

64. Use accent fonts to emphasize important numbers

Social Media Business Presentation Ideas

Some people hate pie charts with a passion, but I think they are perfect for presentations. Especially if you want to bring attention to a figure or percentage point .

Colorful Social Media Marketing Presentation Ideas

In this simple example, the pie charts are used to visualize each figure in an interesting way. Plus the pie charts fit the circular and fun theme of the rest of the presentation very well.

65. Use patterned and textured presentation backgrounds

Source

Adding some subtle textures, icons or shapes to the presentation background can help make your slides more interesting. This is especially effective when you are only showing one point per slide, because it makes the slide design less sparse.

DesignMantic Creative Presentation Ideas

You can even switch up the colors on your shapes or textures to match the theme of the slide like DesignMantic did in this presentation.

66. Illustrate complex or confusing concepts with icons

Gluwa Startup Pitch Deck Presentation Ideas

Ideally, you don’t want every slide in your deck to just be text. Instead, switch things up every few slides by using just pictures.

Simple Startup Pitch Deck Presentation Ideas

This slide deck by Gluwa uses icons to create little diagrams to illustrate their presentation ideas. Their slides still communicate concepts to the audience, but in a new way.

67. Overlay stock photos with color

Change Sciences Data Driven Presentation Ideas

One problem many people encounter when creating a presentation or slide decks are finding photos with a consistent style. An easy way to edit photos to make them consistent is to add a transparent color overlay. In this example, Change Sciences uses a blue overlay on all of their photos. Plus, the color you choose can also help convey a particular mood.

68. Use black and white blocks

An easy way to make your text pop, particularly on a photo background, is to use white font on a black blog background (and vise-versa). Check out this slide deck by Abhishek Shah, which uses this trick in an effective way.

Now if you want to become a better leader this year, check out some of our favorite leadership infographics .

69. Use photos with similar filters

Using a bunch of photos with wildly different filters can be jarring in a business presentation. To maintain a consistent flow, use photos with a similar filter and color saturation.

Take a look at this example from HubSpot across slide numbers 1-6 and you can see what I mean.

70. Visualize your points with diagrams

Sometimes the best way to get your point across is to throw some diagrams into the presentation mix. But be sure to make is something that the audience can pick up on in three to five seconds tops.

Purple Data Driven Business Presentation Ideas

For example, Jan Rezab uses a diagram to illustrate what takes up time in our lives on slide numbers 4, 5, 7 and 9!

71. Get experts to share tips

If you want to provide even more value to your audience than you can offer yourself, why not call in some expert reinforcement? See what experts in your field have to say on the topic of your presentation and include their tips and insights. Plus you can hijack their influence and expand your audience fairly quickly.

72. Mimic a popular presentation style

Uber’s pitch deck helped them raise millions of dollars in venture capital eventually leading to the glorious moment when they IPOed this year.

Aside from our sleek design upgrade (hey, we love good design!), this pitch deck template is the exact same one that Uber used to go from Idea to IPO.

And who knows? Maybe you might start the next Uber. But to raise money, you will need to create flawless business pitch decks to impress investors and raise those dollars.

73. Plan your presentation idea ahead of time

I know that minimalist designs are all the rage this year, but there is a big difference between a well-thought-out minimalist design and a lazy design without the finish touches. The same goes for a cluttered design with too many things going on at once.

That’s why it’s worth it to take the time to really plan out your presentation ideas and design concepts. Take this slide deck about storytelling by HighSpark. A quick glance will tell you that they put a lot of thought into designing their slides.

74. Use tables to compare your brand to the competition in sales presentations/pitch decks

There are a lot of ways to visually compare similar things in this day and age. You could use a comparison infographic , or even a venn diagram!

However, when it comes to presentations I think that the simple table is best. Especially if you are comparing more than two things, like in this presentation example.

Green Startup Pitch Deck Presentation Ideas

With a table, you can clearly lay out all the pros and cons of each idea, brand or topic without it being overwhelming to the audience. Plus, virtually everyone knows how to follow a table, so your information will be easy to consume.

See more examples of the best pitch decks .

75. Blend icons & content effortlessly

Usually, icons are used as eye-catching objects detectors or anchors for text in a slideshow. But they can be used for so much more than that!

Social Media Marketing Presentation Ideas

Like in this marketing presentation from Constant Contact they are very large but do not distract from the content.

76. Make your audience want more

This tactic has been used by everyone since the idea of marketing was invented (or close to that). In this presentation example called “100 Growth Hacks, 100 Days” the creator only shows the audience the first 10 days of it and then uses a call to action at the end of the presentation to encourage them to seek out the rest.

Simple Green Marketing Presentations Ideas

The only risk with these kinds of presentation ideas is if your initial content is not great, you can’t expect your audience to seek out more information.

77. Use memes (for real, though)

Moz Content Marketing Presentation Ideas

Usually, memes do not have a place in a serious business setting, so maybe don’t use them for formal presentations. But if you’re covering a lighter topic, or if you’re going for a fun presentation that will connect with your audience, don’t be afraid to throw a meme or two into the mix.

The audience immediately knows what you are trying to say when you use a popular meme in your presentation. For example, on slide number 7, the creator uses a meme to show that it will be hard to create great content

78. Include a slide that introduces your team in pitch decks

Modern Black Business Presentation Ideas

In this presentation example, the creators decided to include their team on a slide. I think it’s a great gesture.

Showing your team can help the audience put a face to your brand and make the whole company feel more genuine. So if there is a team that has helped you get where you are today, give them some recognition!

79. Feature a complementary color palette

Bright Yellow Gary Vaynerchuk Presentation Ideas

Even though I am not a formally trained designer, I still understand that proper color usage is the base of any good design. Although not all of the tenets of color theory work great for presentations, complementary colors are always a great pick.

Creative Gary Vaynerchuk Presentation Ideas

Take a look at the color usage in this business presentation from Gary Vaynerchuk below . The purple and Snapchat yellow, which are complementary colors, look fantastic and the content jumps off the screen.

80. Use a heavy or bold font

The very back of the room should be able to read your content if you are giving a group presentation. To ensure that your entire audience can read the slides I would not only use a large font, but also use a heavy font. If you are confused by what I mean by a heavy font take a look at this unique presentation example by Slides That Rock.

81. Do the math for your audience

If you are going to use a graph in your presentation to compare data you should do the match for your audience. Do not make them do the calculations in their head because you will quickly lose their attention. For example, on slide number 5 the people at Sickweather lay out exactly what figures they want the audience to take from the slide.

82. Use unique colors for different sections

The example below has 145 slides but it does not feel overwhelming or confusing.

That’s because each section has a different corresponding color, which makes it easier to flip through the slide deck and find a particular part.

83. Give your presentation a catchy title that anyone can remember

What I really love about the presentation example above is that it features a catchy tagline on the second slide–“The 3S Framework.” It’s simple but it works!

This motto helps outline the structure of the presentation, and each slide referring back to it. Plus, the tagline will give the audience something to latch onto and remember from the presentation.

84. White backgrounds are not always bad

A lot of people think that plain white background is a boring presentation faux pas. So the first thing they do is add color or image, which is not a bad thing at all.

But I also think that when used correctly, like in this example, plain white backgrounds can lead to beautiful presentations.

85. Split the header text from the body text

This idea is very similar to the one-two punch tactic that I talked about above, but it spreads the content over two slides as opposed to a single slide.

Use this design choice when you have fairly easy to follow presentations, like the one below from Steve Young. I know that this is effective because it allows the audience to focus on the main point before he drives it home with the supporting details.

86. Feature circle image frames

I am a big fan of the design choices that Frank Delmelle uses in this slide deck about content strategy. He uses circles as his main design motif and frames his images in circles as well.

87. Talk directly to your audience

This slideshow tops out at 70 slides but it’s a breeze to flip through. That’s because the creator, Ian Lurie, decided to present it in the form of a conversation instead of a classic slide deck.

While each slide only has one or two sentences, it flows just like a friendly chat. He also includes the necessary pauses, breaks and other conversational tics that helps make it even more convincing.

88. Illustrated icons are key this year

Illustrated Design Guide Presentation Ideas

Icons add a fun and functional element to your designs. In this presentation by Iryna Nezhynska, they use illustrated icons to make a potentially intimidating topic seem manageable.

89. Highlight key numbers and percentages

Surprising percentages have the ability to excite and shock an audience. To make the percentages on your slides even more impactful, present them in a different color or font than the rest of the text.

In the presentation example above, Contently uses that exact tactic to bring more attention to key numbers.

90. Use a gradient as your presentation background

Modern Gradient Business Presentation Ideas

Just like bold color schemes, gradients are a current social media graphic design trend . They may feel retro to some, but I believe they will be around well into the future.

Gradients are perfect for presentation backgrounds because they are so versatile and eye-catching. I mean, you can literally create a gradient with any colors you can think of! And they look a lot more interesting than a simple flat background.

So embrace the future and use a gradient in your next presentation!

91. Track the steps in a process

10 Tips Human Resources Presentation Ideas

In this example, the creators from O.C. Tanner add a very interesting feature to their slides, starting on slide number 6. If you take a look at this business presentation template, you will see that they number the steps in a process and track which step they’re on at the bottom of the slides.

92. Use mind blowing font pairings

Visual Communications Presentation Ideas

The creator of this slide deck uses at least 10 different types of fonts. And it looks fantastic because they know that one font choice is boring. But this does not mean that you should use a bunch of random fonts–pick font pairs that play well together and keep your font choices for different types of information consistent throughout the presentation.

93. Make your ideas as obvious as possible

Your audience shouldn’t be guessing at what you mean. That is why I think that this presentation example from In a Rocket is so powerful because they make the information easy to digest.

White Simple Education Presentation Ideas

Learning to code can be challenging, but they break the information down with simple diagrams and clear examples. Heck, I have not touched CSS in a few years and I could still follow what they were instructing.

94. Use images that will actually scale

A large mistake that you can make in your slide deck is using low-quality images. They may look great on your computer, but as soon as the slides are put up on a screen, the low quality will show. In this example by ThoughtWorks, all of their presentation background images look great and will scale well to a bigger screen. And that is even after the image compression that LinkedIn most likely does!

95. Take risks with your presentation layout

I honestly was blown away the first time I saw this presentation because it capitalized on such a risky design idea. The creators from Weekdone literally turned their presentation into an 8-Bit video game. A nd if you are looking for something that will stick with your audience, I would take a few creative cues from them!

96. Seriously, you better use memes

In this day and age memes are mainstream, so why wouldn’t you use them in a creative presentation? These do not have to be the coolest meme that all the hip kids are sharing, they can be some of the classics. Like the one that Dana DiTomaso uses on slide 16 to emphasize that it’s a trap!

97. Follow a clear design rhythm

Ultra Minimalist Marketing Presentation Ideas

I really like how this presentation introduced each new point in three or four steps, using the same design. It gave the presentation a rhythm that flowed almost like a song!

White Minimalist Marketing Presentation Ideas

I would recommend using this approach if you have to introduce multiple points per slide.

98. Use LOTS of icons

Creative Project Management Presentation Ideas

If you have made it this far in the list you have already probably seen how effective icons are in presentations. They are the perfect way to support your ideas and make your presentation more pleasing to the eyes.

Illustrated Project Management Presentation Ideas

For example, take a look at all the icons SlideShop uses in this presentation. Almost every slide has at least one icon and a few have more than ten!

99. Give each slide its own spark

I know this goes against earlier points I had about creating a cohesive theme in your presentation layout, but everyone knows that rules are made to be broken (if you can do it better)!

Illustrated Creative HR Presentation Ideas

In this slide deck, the team at Officevibe literally created different designs for all 27 of their slides. And to top it off, each of the designs fit the quotes they used extremely well.

100. Use LARGE header cards

Growth Hack Marketing Presentation Ideas

An easy way to stick to that “one piece of content on each slide rule” is to use header cards. They are basically the header that you would normally use in a blog post or article, but it gets is own slide before the content. Here is an example of that idea in the real world in this presentation from Brian Downard.

101. Ask your audience questions

I think one of the most common elements I saw in all the slide decks was that they asked the audience questions. You can use questions to engage with your audience and get them thinking a bit harder about the topic. The Site By Norex team did an exceptional job of this when they explored what the topic of what makes up a brand.

Need some more info about creating a memorable brand? Check out some of the best branding stats for 2020 and beyond!

102. Introduce yourself and your brand

I would say that a majority of presentations that I looked at in this list just jumped right into the content without an introduction to the author or brand in the actual slide deck.

This introduction is very important because it establishes your credentials from the beginning, especially if someone is just reading the slide deck. In this example from Losant, they do just that by spending the first few slides telling the audience who they are.

103. Mix up your mediums

Finally, this slide deck effectively marries two very distinct content forms together: digital images and hand-drawn illustrations. In this example, Freshdesk uses the timeless classic of a comic strip, Calvin & Hobbes, in something so modern to inform the audience in a fun way.

104. Show off your credentials

Just like with any piece of content, people are more likely to believe what you are saying if they know what your company does. That is why I really like when people insert their qualifications right into the presentation slides. Just like Andreas von der Heydt, from Amazon, did at the beginning of this presentation about thinking big.

105. Highlight key data points

If you are presenting a chart or graph on a dry topic, I would recommend using a single color to highlight the most important data point. For example, the investment firm a16z uses orange to highlight the data points they want their audience to focus on in each of their charts.

Check out some examples of how to highlight your key information in bar charts .

106. Show your audience where to find more information

A lot of people end their presentations by literally just running out of slides, and that is the wrong way to do it. Instead, CBInsights consistently pushes their readers towards another piece of content at the end. This is also where you can insert a call to action!

107. Tell your origin story

Source

This idea is kinda similar to showing off your company qualifications at the beginning of your presentation. But with this approach, you are trying to make an emotional connection with your audience instead of just showing off accolades.

And Rand from Moz does this extremely well in the presentation example above.

108. Use one focused visual

This presentation uses a central visual of a structure, with each slide moving down the levels of the structure. This is incredibly powerful because the entire presentation is about sinking your company, and the visual they designed mirrors that idea perfectly. Using one focus visual also makes your slide deck design cohesive.

109. Don’t take presentation design too seriously

Sometimes we get caught up trying to make the perfect presentation and it ends up making us crazy!

But in this presentation example, Jesse Desjardins uses a mix of wit and hilarious retro images to create a memorable and light-hearted presentation.

110. Use size to your advantage

Blue Startup Pitch Deck Presentation Ideas

I am a big fan of using bubble charts and other charts that use size to compare two pieces of data. That is why I like this pitch deck from the ShearShare team that utilizes a size-based chart on slide number 9. The chart is used to illustrate the massive growth potential in their industry.

111. Split section headers from the main content with different background colors

In this presentation, Seth Familian uses alternating colors in a very interesting way. For each of the title slides, he uses a black color background, but for the content slides he uses a white background.

This helped the readers follow along and comprehend what was on the page even faster. And when you are presenting to hundreds of different types of people, this can make or break your presentation.

112. Have a conversation with your audience

Take a conversational tone in your presentation is a great way to encourage your audience to participate.

In this slide deck example, we presented a simple storyline and use questions to engage with the audience throughout. And it helped create a flow throughout the presentation template that is easy to follow.

113. Include your branding throughout your presentation ideas

Another thing that people seem to forget when they are working on a presentation is to include their business’s branding. You honestly never know where your work is going to be shared, so it is important to make sure people know it’s yours. HubSpot does an outstanding job of this on all their presentations, as you can see in the bottom left corner of each slide.

Plus you have spent a ton of time creating your brand guidelines , might as well use them.

114. Include multiple slides to build to your main point

Try using multiple slides to build to your main point. This helps you walk through the components of one overarching point while also building suspense. In this slide deck, the creator uses 6 slides to build up to one main point, adding a new illustration to the diagram on each slide.

115. Split the difference

Use either the left or right side of the slide to hold your text and the opposite to display an image. If you are using a photo or graphic as the main background in your slides, this is a great way to keep things organized.

116. There are millions of fonts out there…use them

Hey, I love simple fonts just as much as the next guy, but sometimes you need to step up your font game to stand out. For example, WebVisions uses a very gritty, probably custom font in their unique presentation that fits the topic extremely well. Take a look!

117. Build your presentation content around icons

Try using icons as the focal points of your presentation layout. This example from Omer Hameed uses icons to draw the audience’s eyes right to the middle of the presentation, where the main points and headers are located.

118. Mix up font style to emphasize important points

If you would like to draw some extra attention to a certain word or idea, switch up the font to one that is bolder. For example, in this oldie but goodie presentation from HubSpot they use a heavy sans-serif font to highlight ideas, as opposed to the serif font for the other text.

119. Add personal touches to your presentation

Simple Creative Design Presentation Ideas

If you want to create a truly unique presentation, add personal touches. In the slide numbers 6-13 from this presentation, the creator adds something to their design that no one else could ever have: they use original drawings they did themselves.

120. Harness the power of your own brand colors

Modern White Digital Marketing Presentation Ideas

Sometimes people forget that they already have a battle-tested color palette that they can use in their brand colors . I try to incorporate one of our brand colors in most of my designs and it makes so much easier to choose colors.

In this simple presentation example, Spitfire Creative used a palette that had both of their brand colors throughout the slideshow.

121. Used dark-colored blocks to highlight words

Bold Yellow Marketing Presentation Ideas

I have seen this trick used in a lot of presentations and it works well. Highlight certain words or phrases by laying them overtop a colored rectangle. Take slide number 7 in this presentation example as a great guide. Use it to bring attention to a saying or idea you really want your audience to remember.

122. Show the audience your mug

This presentation example comes from the same presentation as a previous one, but it was too good not to share. Throughout the slides, you will see Rand from Moz pop up to add a human element to the design. Using an image of your team or yourself can put the audience at ease and make it easier to connect with the presenter.

123. Include a helpful table of contents

I only saw this presentation idea used a few times throughout my research, but I believe it should be used a lot more. A table of contents will help the audience know what to expect and keep their focus throughout. Especially if you are creating a presentation that is a bit longer than normal.

124. Do not post just screenshots, do more

Screenshots of a program or app are very common in any blog post, but I think you can do a little better when it comes to presentations.

So instead of just posting a boring screenshot, add a little more to the slide by using illustrations and product shots. If you are not sure what I am talking about, just check out how great the screenshots look at slide numbers 7 and 8 in this presentation.

125. Highlight keywords using BOLD color

Here’s another slide deck that uses different colors and blocks to highlight keywords. If you are going to use text-heavy slides, then make sure the key points are easy to pick out. Take this slide deck: starting in slide number 4, they highlight exactly what they want you to take away from the text on each slide!

Enough presentation ideas for you?

You made it! I applaud you for making it through all those presentations. Hopefully, now you have a few nifty presentation ideas ready for when you need them.

The next step is to create a presentation that will captivate a meeting room, an amphitheater, and even the world (hey, it doesn’t hurt to dream big).

120 Presentation Topic Ideas Help You Hook Your Audience

Updated: January 15, 2024

Published: August 09, 2023

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

man presents presentation topics to a group

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

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

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Table of Contents

How to Choose a Great Presentation Topic in 5 Steps

120 presentation topic ideas, 5 presentation tips.

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

4. Choose an appropriate presentation style.

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

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

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

5. Engage with your audience.

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

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

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

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

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

Feeling Inspired Yet?

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

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

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Presentation Projects Ideas ESL/EFL Students
Plus, it's fun to hear what students have to say. Here are my top presentation projects for ESL/EFL students. Basic speech (not recommended!) Presentation, then discussion time. Poster presentation. Making a movie. PowerPoint presentation. Impromptu presentation. Teaching the class how to do something.
ESL Presentation Topics: 12 Mini Presentations
ESL Presentation Topics: 12 Mini Presentations. ESL presentation topics for intermediate and upper intermediate students. Great as a warm-up or a speaking lesson. You can use the slideshow and share your screen on Zoom or other app when teaching online. Just click on the full screen option in the top right corner of the slideshow.
15 Speaking Projects And Activities For ESL Students
Presentations. Give students a presentation of a topic of your choosing, perhaps your own hobby and model the format and language that you want the students to use. ... Here is a good resource for more ESL debate ideas. Book And Movie Reviews. This is pretty much as it sounds. I like to set a reading task for students over a holiday break and ...
ESL Presentation Topics
1. Have your students choose a topic of interest that would have several data points to research and present. 2. Have the students make a sketch of the planned infographic. 3. Using PowerPoint, have the students make the infographic (use a blank layout, in portrait, with the margins set to 10"/25cm by 30"/75cm). 4.
ESL Presentation Topics and Ideas: A Complete Guide
ESL presentation topics are a great way to learn English, build confidence, and learn about different cultures. They can be fun and rewarding for students of all levels. Beginners can start by sharing their daily routines and interests. It is a good way to practice using basic vocabulary and grammar in a fun way.
EFLSensei
Brainstorming ESL Writing Topics. Students brainstorm ESL writing topics by writing as many words as possible for one minute about given topics. An ESL essay writing activity for students of all levels. The best ESL oral presentation activities & topics! Students practice posture, eye contact, gestures, and voice.
7 Activities for Public Speaking That Will Boost ESL Students ...
7 Activities for Public Speaking That Will Boost ESL Students' Confidence. Public speaking can be a scary thing. Also known as glossophobia, the fear of public speaking is a major source of anxiety for roughly 75% of people worldwide.. However, public speaking is an essential skill everyone needs to have, including language learners.. The good news is that it gets easier with practice, which ...
How to nail that presentation
This part of the lesson starts with a vocabulary exercise. Students read a short text explaining what an elevator pitch is, and find words (e.g. affable, detract from) which match the given meanings. Then, they briefly discuss the idea of an elevator pitch and other types of business presentations. After that, students match descriptions to ...
20 Presentation Tips for Your ESL Students
Signpost your presentation from beginning to end so that your listeners know where they are. Overcome your nerves. Establish audience rapport. Be aware of your body language. Understand cultural differences. Maintain interest by varying the speed, volume and pitch of your voice. Deal with listeners' questions politely.
180+ Presentation Topic Ideas for Students [Plus Templates]
We've organized these presentation topics for students by subject so you can easily browse through and find what you're looking for. Each section also comes with a bonus presentation template! We've also included some tips on designing a presentation once you've chosen a topic. For example, a flowchart data widget can help with a historic ...
Presentation Skills Lesson Plans
With this lesson plan, students practise giving a presentation in English by doing a lot of different speaking activities. The lesson is the third of the three-part series of lessons about delivering presentations. Unlimited Plan Show. B2 / Upper Intermediate. Standard Lesson 75 min.
Teaching ESL Presentation Skills
10 Ideas for Teaching ESL Presentation Skills. 1. Practice Is the Answer. If you're a regular reader of my busyteacher.org contributions, you'll know I have a couple of hobby horses, and practice is one of these.
Student presentations
Presentations normally have one or more of the following aims: To inform/ raise awareness of an important issue. To persuade people to do something. Form part of an exam, demonstrating public speaking/presentation skills in a first or second language. I set students a task where they answer these questions:
12 Fun ESL Speaking Activities for Teens or Adults
12. Story Chain. 1. Interview Pop. Student level: Pre-Intermediate to Advanced. Type of Lesson: Group or Individual. This is a great one for students to have fun and be creative. Put students in pairs, or you could also carry this one out in a one-one lesson. Students choose one person they want to interview.
Oral presentation
Use short, simple sentences to express your ideas clearly. Pause from time to time and don't speak too quickly. This allows the listener to understand your ideas. Include a short pause after each idea. Speak clearly and at the right volume. Have your notes ready in case you forget anything. Practise your presentation.
23 ESL Speaking Activities for Adults: Free Their Inner Kids
Keep up with her latest adventures in language and learning on Twitter. «. ». ESL activities for adults are a great way to build your students' speaking confidence. Read this guide to find out about 23 great activities, including "Sentence Auction," "Video Dictionary," "Running Dictation," "News Brief" and more.
169 Five-Minute Topics for a Killer Speech or Presentation
169 Five-Minute Topics for a Killer Speech or Presentation. Jim Peterson has over 20 years experience on speech writing. He wrote over 300 free speech topic ideas and how-to guides for any kind of public speaking and speech writing assignments at My Speech Class. There are pros and cons to giving a 5-minute presentation.
Moving through your presentation
Business. This is a perfect lesson for students who want to discuss brands and the idea of branding. Students learn and practise useful phrases, as well as improve their comprehension skills. Premium Plan Show. B1 / Intermediate | B2 / Upper Intermediate. Speaking Class 45 min / 60 min.
Presentations: ESL/EFL Lesson Plan and Worksheet
The lesson includes vocabulary development and a presentation activity which can be extended to include preparation of slides with visual aids. Students should prepare and practise their presentation as homework and deliver it in another lesson. The materials also include an optional extension activity relating to what can go wrong with a ...
10 ESL Professional Development Ideas to Learn and Grow as ...
1. Schedule ESL Professional Development Presentations. The goal of an ESL professional development presentation is to help you and your colleagues become better ESL teachers. Weekly, bi-weekly or monthly presentations provide multiple opportunities to talk about something related to teaching ESL, as well as share ideas and strategies with each ...
120+ Presentation Ideas, Topics & Example
The swapping of orientations will show people that the presentation is progressing nicely. It can help you make a strong, almost physical, distinction between ideas, sections or topics. 10. Make your audience laugh, or at least chuckle. Source. Sometimes you need to not take your business presentations too seriously.
120 Presentation Topic Ideas Help You Hook Your Audience
Step 3: Be novel. Make sure you either select a new topic or bring an entirely new and unique perspective to an already covered issue. For instance, don't make a presentation on the "best lead generation strategies.". Your audience has probably heard those dozens of times already.

Presentation Projects for Students | ESL Presentation Ideas

Presentation Projects for ESL/EFL Students

#1: A Basic Speech

Maybe Not Terrible if…

#2: Presentation, and then Discussion Time

#3: Poster Presentation

#4 Presentation Projects: Making a Movie

#5: PowerPoint Presentation

#6: Just a Minute Impromptu Presentation

#7: Teaching Others How to Do Something

#8: What are you Cooking?

#9: An Informative Speech

ESL Presentations FAQs

Why are Presentations Important for Students?

What Makes a Great Presentation?

What are the Advantages of a Presentation?

Should Students Memorize Speeches?

What are some Things to Consider for Presentations in English?

What are the Top 20 ESL Presentation Topics?

Do you Like these Ideas for Presentation Projects?

Have your Say about ESL Presentation Ideas

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ESL Presentation Topics: 12 Mini Presentations

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15 Speaking Projects And Activities For ESL Students

Infomercial Activities

Presentations

Hot Seat ing

The Detective Game

Drama Activities

Mind Map ping

Backs To The Board

Book And Movie Review s

Conversation Question s

ESL Exam Preparation Material

Finger Puppet Shows

Role Plays With Idioms

Barrier Activities

Jigsaw Reading

A Word On Differentiation …

Recent Posts

Presentation Project Ideas | ESL Presentation Topics, Tips, Ideas & More

Top 7 ESL Presentation Ideas

#2: Presentation and Discussion Time

#3: Poster Presentation

#4: PowerPoint Presentation

How to Make a Good PowerPoint Presentation (For ESL Students)

#5 Project Presentation Ideas: Making a Short Video

#6: Impromptu Speaking Activity

#7: Infographic Presentation

Choose a Topic with Several Data Points

Layout First, Add in Data Second

Teaching Tips for this Presentation Activity

Procedure:

What are Some ESL Presentation Topics to Consider?

Why Do ESL Presentations?

#1: Presenting is a Tangible Skill

#2: They’re Ideal for Business Students

#3: Helps Improve Listening Skills

#4: They’re Student Directed

#5: It’s a Break from the Usual

How Can I Increase Audience Engagement?

Idea #1: Worksheets

Idea #2: Follow-Up Questions

Idea #3: Peer Grading