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Home Blog Presentation Ideas A Guide to Mastering Virtual Presentations

A Guide to Mastering Virtual Presentations

Virtual presentations are becoming a standard. With over 30+ billion presentations being created every day, traditional in-person presentations, which used to be the commonality, are more and more being adapted to a more frequent online presentation scenario. 

Through the recent pandemic, the video conferencing platform, Zoom, had a participant increase of 2900% with a daily meeting participant figure of 350 million people in December 2020 alone. Yet, either triggered by the lack of human interaction or technological barriers, the truth is that online presentations can still and easily feel daunting.

That doesn’t need to be the case, however! With online presentation templates for a solid base and specific tactics to keep remote audiences engaged, presenters can easily connect with people in a virtual setting for great presentation success. 

This guide to virtual presentations provides a definition of virtual presentations, common examples, and instructions on how to best present online. 

What’s a virtual presentation?

A virtual presentation is an event whereby a presenter or a group of people face an audience online to go over virtual material of common interest. In the best of scenarios, a great rendition of an online presentation is clear, meeting a specific purpose that is of its audience’s interest. 

Examples of virtual presentations

At SlideModel, each of our PowerPoint templates sets a valuable example of the kind of virtual presentation that works best for very particular settings. These go over topics in business, strategy, marketing, and SWOT Analysis templates , to name a few. There are also different themes to these on diverse virtual presentation templates; the latest to suit numerous needs. 

As further examples of great online presentations, here’s a Notion at Work webinar titled Manage Your Contacts and Sales Funnel. It’s highly recommended by webinar software company LiveWebinar. This presentation’s style and setup might be of special interest to business presenters as it follows regular industry standards. 

How virtual presentations happen

Virtual presentations most commonly take place via web and/or video conferencing platforms . Though numerous tools exist to allow a presenter to meet an audience exclusively online, the most famous for this purpose are currently Zoom, as we described above, as much as Google Meet, and Skype. Other virtual presentations can take advantage of video presentations , where the presenter records the presentation, save it as a video, and then stream it to the target audience using a video presentation platform.

In general, these platforms include a screen-sharing ability to let presenters display online presentation decks . And they’ve become a great go-to resource with an augmented work-from-home (WFH) model worldwide. 

Presentation types

Internal virtual presentations (between colleagues).

We give these kinds of presentations to people within our organization. Whether it’s for the same department or team as ours or another stakeholder within our company, college, or any sort of official body with which we interact, internal presentations serve people whose interests and needs we can access first-hand via a common ground. 

Events (conferences, discussion panels, TED talks)

More public than the first item, virtual presentations can also be part of large events, whether these are public or private. Take all sorts of online conferences or talks into account. We can go online to meet worldwide communities of diverse sorts and be invited to speak at a discussion panel or conference, for example, making our presence visible to multiple computer users or over a single live broadcast on a large screen in an auditorium, for instance. 

Sales presentations with prospects

At times, pitches need to happen on-screen with potential prospects who give us a certain allotted timeframe in their schedules for us to touch base on our product or offer. Virtual sales pitch is another method to use.

Training/educational presentations

Other virtual presentations can be delivered for training purposes. Those can happen for internal and even external teams or as part of an educational program at different institutions. When we’re seeking to build talent up with new skills, our presentations require a lot of clarity with specific instructions, workflows, examples, charts, videos, and as many interactive or information-specific tools as possible. 

But how do we present online events like the above? 

How to Prepare for Virtual Presentations

Here are a few tips on how to best prepare for virtual presentations. We’ve made sure to include these steps as being well-prepared for an online meeting can significantly improve your road to success.

As usual, do your research before putting a single slide together. Reading up on what you will talk about to an audience can set an enormous difference between the knowledge you bring to a presentation and that of anyone else in the same room with you. Chances are that people listening to you as a presenter are very invested in your topic. As such, they can come from diverse backgrounds, and truly have a natural interest in what you have to say. Be valuable to your audience with high-quality content. For that, seek what interests them, how they respond to similar material, and the best ways in which you can engage them. 

Putting material together

Then, work at designing great PowerPoint slides . Keep a balance between design and content, tailoring what you present with your branding or voice in competitive, slick design that also clearly exposes your expertise. 

Consider your audience’s attention spans here. For that, spread content throughout several slides, if possible. Instead of packing each slide full of text or images, fill them with catchy titles, relevant sub-titles, meaningful text, and attention-grabbing visuals. Doing so will add dynamism and generate a more frequent visual change viewers are bound to appreciate. 

Add the above visual flow especially if your audience will need to spend a long time on-screen to follow you. Quicker online presentations can, on the contrary, afford concise and to-the-point material over the shortest amount of slides you can muster.  

Preparing your script

You may have all the know-how in the world on a given topic, company, subject of study, a product, or whatever is getting you to a virtual presentation need. Yet, an outline of ideas, a sequence of thoughts, and the most important areas of your presentation are all valuable tools to ensure success as you present. 

Write your thoughts out. Think of the sentences you’re verbalizing, how you’re phrasing your communications, and the order in which these will be presented. Slides don’t make up for your verbal communication. That vocal area needs preparation, too. 

Write an outline, jot down pointers, and even prepare an essay, if you must. However you feel most comfortable, a script in any form is necessary for a clear rendition of your ideas in front of an audience, whether that happens virtually or in person. 

While you’re at it, include attention-grabbers as you prepare what you’ll say. These can be as easy as saying: “Look over to our graph at the bottom right”, for example, inviting people to actually connect to what you’re presenting. These tricks are especially needed during a virtual presentation given the potential audiences have to be distracted via so many other means that are available on their computer, tablet, or cellphone. 

Practicing in front of an audience

Quite succinctly, peer feedback can do wonders for your virtual presentations. Gather whoever will connect with you to get their valuable insight on what’s coming through from your efforts. 

Sit back without judgment to listen to what business partners, friends, and even family have to say about your work.

Recording a demo

Tied to above, record that session. You can use it as your demo. 

Pushing you to be fully ready for a practice run will ensure you have thought about everything that matters for your final presentation. It will also add a level of security that can give you a more successful edge in the end. 

This practice might sound tedious, but it can also help your team, for example, if you bring people on board to your demo before you launch a product, face a client, present before a different department, face your teacher, and so much more!

Checking your online tools

Because online presentations essentially depend on technological tools, much more so than in any other kind of presentation setting, take the time to check everything works before you get started. 

Check your invitation links, log in to your meeting platform, open up relevant files, click on the presentation sharing icon, and make sure you’ve got all the privileges you need to perform any action you intend on making. Test your audio, try your mic and speakers, and hit the record button as a trial…do it all!

A demo, practice, and even setting 30 minutes ahead of your presentation can be golden for you to troubleshoot any unexpected technological failures. Go through your required steps one by one to make sure everything works!

Presenters are muted quite commonly and cannot get their volume to function, their cameras have stopped working, or they simply can’t share their screen. While no one will generally count that against anyone if the delays aren’t meaningful, this kind of setback can easily signal a lack of preparation. Because many issues can get in the way of a successful and timely virtual meeting, prepare for those challenges ahead of time. 

Concentration

Once your checklist up to here is done, remember to take some time for yourself. Seek your focus. However you concentrate best, find that mental spot where you can truly be attuned to your thoughts and the way you speak. Release any heavy emotions, such as anger, fear, anxiety, or stress. And seek to be balanced within your own self. Even three deep breaths can do the trick if time is pressing, but never forget to start presenting until you’re at your best concentration level. 

Putting yourself out there

Then go for it! Hit that record or live button, let people in your waiting room into your meeting area, say hi to anyone present, or let people know if you’re expecting anyone or waiting for someone for a few minutes. Become the host and take over as a leader, which is ultimately what presentations are about; for a specific period, all attention will be on you. Take your space, put yourself out there, and do your best. 

Establishing conversation

Virtual presentations don’t end when you’re done presenting your slides. Whenever possible, open up the space for the audience to give you feedback, ask questions, and engage in conversation with you. You can include a question and answer (Q&A) session or display frequently asked questions as a means of addressing commonly unclear areas. Also, leave room to address whatever comments come up via chat. 

By the way, just as a pointer to get your next presentation rolling, set the stage at the beginning of your online presentation in terms of when and how you’d like your audience to ask questions. Will everyone be able to stop you as you’re presenting to clear any items that come up? Or would you rather leave all questions for last? 

Commonly, addressing questions via chat or at the end of the session keeps your attendees’ focus under better control. Remember you’re directing people’s attention every time you present. This works just like a maestro would command an orchestra. Make the best of your expertise and knowledge to wow your audience with a unique presentation that gets people talking. 

Conclusions

Virtual meetings aren’t going anywhere. If anything, the use of online tools to group on a given topic is more and more common. As work-from-home leniency becomes widespread after COVID-19, especially, we can heavily rely on virtual presentations being here to stay. 

Consider using templates to help your slide quality. Templates are a great base for design as much as content. With industry or topic-specific material, templates are a great guide that can also accelerate how you create and share content in a high-paced environment. 

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Business PowerPoint Templates, Business Presentations, Communication Skills, Presentation Skills, Presentations, Verbal Communication, Virtual Presentations Filed under Presentation Ideas

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Crush Your Next Virtual Presentation

A little prep can go a long way.

While virtual communication platforms help keep remote teams connected, they’re not always the ideal venue for delivering engaging presentations. It’s difficult (or impossible) to read your audience’s nonverbal cues over video and audio — if you’ve lost them, you might not even realize it. You’re also up against the many distractions inherent to working from home. Delivering effective presentations over video requires a little extra preparation. Ask a few people you trust to help you out before and after the meeting by being ready to participate when called on and by giving you actionable feedback afterward. Learn about your audience in advance and build in a short, relevant personal story that will make them feel included. Above all, be concise and clear.

My coaching client, an engineer named Carlos, is a magnificent in-person storyteller. He talks with his hands and tells lengthy, animated stories replete with humorous metaphors and plot twists. His wit and warmth used to be received positively.

• GS Gia Storms is a leadership coach and member of The Boda Group. She facilitates team and executive coaching from Los Angeles.

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10 Tips For Giving Effective Virtual Presentations

What to know before you go live.

September 26, 2016

Presenting online? Try these suggestions to improve your results. | Illustration by Tricia Seibold

As audiences go global and you need to reach more people through technology (including webinars, conference calls and teleconference), you must consider the challenges to connecting with a virtual audience. Here I pinpoint 10 valuable best practices to ensure you communicate successfully.

1. Be Brief

Audiences begin to lose attention after roughly 10 minutes of hearing from the same presenter. If you have more than 10 minutes of content, use interactive activities to keep your audience engaged (for example, take a poll, give quizzes, or ask audience members for their opinions via chat).

2. Be Simple

Keep slides simple — avoid too many words, graphics and animation features. Less is definitely more!

Light yourself well | Illustration by Tricia Seibold

3. Be a TV Personality

Look straight into your camera, not the screen. Wear clothing that is neutral in color (no plaids or stripes). Light yourself well and from above. Be mindful of what appears behind you in the background. Invest in a good microphone.

4. Be Standing

Even though your audience cannot see you, stand when you present. This allows you to stay focused and use good presentation delivery skills such as belly breathing, vocal variety, and pausing.

5. Be Prepared

Practice delivering your presentation with your technology in advance of your talk. Make sure all of the features of the technology work. Record your practice using the recording feature of your tool. Watch and listen to learn what works and what you can improve.

6. Be Assisted

Have someone available to deal with technical issues and to field email/text questions. Also, if you have multiple remote audience members in one location, be sure to pick one of them to be your “eyes and ears.” Ask them to queue up questions and facilitate discussion on your behalf.

7. Be Specific

Ask pointed questions to avoid too many people answering at once. For example, rather than ask, “Are there any questions?” try “Who has a question about the solution I provided?” Set a ground rule that people state their names prior to speaking.

Imagine your audience | Illustration by Tricia Seibold

8. Be Synchronized

Transitions are critical. You must connect what you just said to what is coming next when you move from point to point. Transitions between topics and slides are good opportunities to get people reengaged to your talk.

9. Be Connected

Imagine your audience even though you can’t see them. You can place pictures of audience members behind your camera so you can look at people as you present.

10. Be Early

Encourage your audience to access your call or webinar in advance of the start time so you can iron out any technical issues in advance and get them familiar with the technology.

Matt Abrahams is a Stanford GSB organizational behavior lecturer, author, and communications coach.

For media inquiries, visit the Newsroom .

Explore More

When words aren’t enough: how to excel at nonverbal communication, navigating the nuance: the art of disagreeing without conflict, from good to great: what makes a “supercommunicator”, editor’s picks.

April 04, 2016 A Big Data Approach to Public Speaking Key takeaways from analyzing 100,000 presentations.

November 19, 2014 Matt Abrahams: The Power of the Paraphrase An expert on public speaking shows how paraphrasing can help you navigate tricky communication situations.

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How to Adapt Your In-Person Presentation Into a Virtual Presentation

By Lisa Schneider , Dec 16, 2020

In May 2020, I gave my first formal talk on Zoom. I do a fair amount of public speaking, and generally I move about the stage quite a bit: it’s an expression of energy, serves as punctuation to what I’m saying, and supports an intentional effort to make sure I look at and connect with as many people in the audience as possible. 

So when it came time for this remote talk, I figured that standing while I delivered it might feel more “normal” and akin to my regular modus operandi. 

About halfway through, I realized that since I couldn’t pace in my normal fashion I was…swaying back and forth.

Fortunately this was an internal presentation for our new interns at Merriam-Webster, and while they are absolutely important, it wasn’t quite as bad as doing it in front of hundreds or thousands of strangers. 

Two months later, I was indeed slated to give a remote talk to hundreds of attendees; this one pre-recorded followed by live Q&A. Mindful of my earlier gaffe, I walked through my talk several times thinking about how it might play differently on a screen than in person.

While the content of an in-person presentation versus an online presentation may be the same, there are some fundamental differences between how you deliver the presentation and in your presentation design . 

Here are some practical virtual presentation tips I learned from this experience:

Replace your physical energy with vocal energy, replace physical cues with visual cues.

• Vary your slide layout
• Don’t count on reading the room
• Don’t count on audience interaction

Do use interactive virtual presentation tools

Think about your ending, prepare for your q&a.

Skilled speakers , of course, bring both to the stage. But when you’re limited to the video equivalent of a head shot, it’s even more important to vary the pace, volume, and intensity of your delivery throughout the virtual presentation.

Pause early, pause often. 

This is a great tip for all speakers, especially if you’re a fast talker like I am. The best training I got was not to alter my natural cadence, but to pause more often to let what I’ve said settle, and allow people to catch up. 

You can reinforce that pacing in your slides, by focusing on a single point per slide. This prompts you to pause as the speaker, and lets the point sink in for your audience.

In person, a pause is also a good opportunity to catch someone’s eye, smile, and make personal contact. When you don’t have the audience in front of you, the temptation is great to just run through at full tilt. Resist that temptation and remember: without a room to look around, pauses might feel awkward to you—but they’ll still read as natural flow to the audience. 

Your physical cues add a layer of meaning to your presentation. When a presentation is given virtually, certain physical cues can be lost in translation. 

That’s where adding visual cues to your presentation slides can come in handy. You can use icons, apply arrows and lines, use contrasting colors, or add shapes to grab and direct your audience’s attention. Here are a few examples of visual cues in action.

This slide design uses icons to reinforce content. The use of icons helps your audience not only make sense of the information you’ve shared, but process it and hold onto it for longer. 

Arrows are simple ways to visualize a process . This slide design organizes information into a logical flow with the use of arrows. It helps your audience to organize and understand your content. 

High-contrasting colors help to emphasize information. This slide is obviously tackling a problem. Other slides can be differentiated the same way when you describe a solution, next steps, and so on.

Shapes are also great ways to emphasize information or visualize data .  In this slide, circles are used to convey the magnitude (and significance) of the statistics shared. Even without the numbers, you’d guess the circle on the left has the highest value. 

In some instances, you may need to use PowerPoint to host your slides. But that doesn’t mean your creativity should be stifled by boring PowerPoint templates. With Venngage, design your entire deck in the editor and then export it as a PowerPoint file. 

Use short, punchy text on your presentation slides

Keep in mind, the opening of your presentation impacts how excited and engaged people are throughout. A strong opening statement brings energy to your virtual presentation, and helps you start off strong. 

Combine an impactful title with an image that reinforces the message to hook your audience:

Punchy sentences are a trademark element of a persuasive presentation . For a speaker, it adds emphasis and weight to your statements as you present. A presentation slide isn’t the place for fluff—stick to short sentences or even just phrases to really drive the point home. 

Learning to effectively summarize information for your slides is an important skill. It enables you to repurpose blog content, present detailed reports, discuss research findings, and so much more in ways that are organized and clear. 

Vary your slide layouts

Naturally, you can’t just rely on your title slide to do the heavy lifting. The slides that follow need to be equally as engaging and effective. 

A rule of thumb is to vary your slide layouts. Different layouts will help offer something new for your audience to latch on to. In a virtual presentation, the same repeating layout can put them to sleep.  Here’s a presentation example that uses different slide layouts to keep the information fresh:

Need more presentation ideas? This blog has all the presentation examples you need.

Don’t count on reading the room

This was a big one for me. I’m a natural-born storyteller , so I use a lot of anecdotes to illustrate my points, and am often more conversational than presentational. But all of that requires reading the room and pacing myself according to the audience reaction in real time. When you’re behind a screen running a virtual presentation, you don’t get any of that feedback. Your talk can still incorporate those elements, but it has to be very tightly scripted and balanced.

Usually when I’m sharing personal anecdotes I have a single, simple background slide. The focus is on my delivery of the story and how it connects with the audience. As you tighten that storytelling for a virtual presentation, think about amping up the infographics or illustrations on your slides for balance.

For example, the icons and illustrations on this presentation are bold, meaningful, and engaging and really help underscore the information and make it memorable.

Don’t count on audience interaction

Last year, I gave a talk at a Women in Publishing conference. One of my slides was a GIF of an epic eye roll—in context, it got the (mostly female) audience responding with an eye roll and enthusiastic head nod in response. It was a group bonding, amirite?! moment. 

In another presentation, I reference learning on the playground “the longest word in the dictionary.” Usually at this point I pause, look around, and audience members will spontaneously call out what they think the word is that I’m referring to.

These moments of group comity can’t really be replicated on a recorded talk or virtual presentation, and I adjusted my slides and my script accordingly.

If you’re on the right platforms, of course, you can engage the audience with polls, chat boxes, and the like. But as with all platform changes, don’t lift-and-shift your exact interaction: what works in person might not translate as compellingly to a poll widget. 

If you’re doing this, be sure to practice how integrating these tools changes the flow of your talk, and what you might do if the interaction or response are not what you expect. 

Tools like Zoom, GoToWebinar , WebinarNinja and others let you conduct live surveys/polls, but the process can vary. With a tool like Poll Everywhere , you can create word clouds in real time. Online games like Kahoot are great for creating online real-time quizzes (ideal for smaller groups). 

You can also use whiteboards to create diagrams as you’re explaining a process, which involves the audience’s attention as they follow along. Zoom, ClickMeeting and other platforms have a whiteboard feature. 

How do you usually close your talk? Are there physical cues, such as moving to center stage and quieting your body language? Have you rehearsed with the moderator when they will come back on stage? Absent these cues, you’ll want to make especially sure you have a powerful and clear closing statement , ideally one that will resonate in people’s minds for a moment as the platform switches to the moderator or next speaker.

To close your virtual presentation, consider a strong call-to-action or next step for your audience. Asking people for what you want them to do is always powerful. You can also leave them with something worth thinking about, to help your engagement extend longer than the duration of the talk.

A simple thank-you also is a great way to sign off. It’s clear, concise, and reminds audiences that you appreciate their time. Plus, it’s the easiest slide you can design.

I gave the same talk, for the same conference, at two different locations (opposite ends of the country, different audiences). 

At one, there were so many questions we ran out of time. 

At the other, there were so few questions that the moderator (bless you, Rob!) filled the space with questions of his own. 

For some virtual presentations you will still have a moderator who plays this role and is prepared to step in, but for others you may be tasked with checking the Q&A or chat box on your own. If the latter, be sure that you have some questions prepared so that you’re not fumbling if the audience is a bit quieter. 

It’s fun and exciting to share something you’re passionate about and to connect with people as you do it. For a lot of us, pre-recording our talk or presenting from behind a laptop can throw us off our game. If public speaking was already a little tough for you, losing the in-person presence may be an even harder adjustment.

As you prepare for a virtual presentation, walk though your presentation with an eye to where you rely on that audience connection and adjust accordingly:

• Tighten the spots that are more interactive
• Think about using platform tools like upvotes and polls
• Practice a delivery that is more vocal than physical (and remember to pause and breathe!)
• Replace some of your physical cues with more illustrative and impactful slide design
• Prep your close and Q&A

You got this!

How To Ace Your Virtual Presentation: Our Top 10 Tips

Table of contents, what is a virtual presentation.

A virtual presentation is a demonstration, lecture, informational session or speech meant to inform, persuade, motivate, build goodwill , or present a new concept through a digital medium such as a web video conferencing software where the host, presenter and attendees are convening remotely.

Virtual presentations have gained popularity over the last decade due to the advancement of video web conferencing software such as Zoom and Google Meets as well as the convenience virtual presentations have afforded us. Virtual presentations have also helped break down challenges experienced in different fields of work and study.

How Are Virtual Presentations Different From Regular Presentations?

On the surface, it might seem that the only difference between a virtual, online presentation and an in-person presentation is the method in which it is delivered.

In reality, however, the two require different approaches to keep viewers engaged in the presentation. Here are two major differences between virtual and regular, in-person presentations you should consider when deciding if your next meeting should be held online or in-person:

Audience Members – Is The Audience Engaged?

Participants viewing a virtual presentation are far more easily distracted than a typical meeting participant would be when viewing the content in the same room as the presenter. With in-office presentations, participants are typically in the conference room, which is a controlled environment with fewer distractions competing for attention, making it easier to pay attention to what the speaker is saying.

Self-surveillance is also less prominent in a virtual meeting rather than in a physical meeting. When you’re in a room with other individuals, you subconsciously start to self-regulate your behaviour thinking others are watching you. For example, you will not find yourself looking at your phone and you will maintain eye contact with the speaker.

With virtual presentations, on the other hand, the attendee has the ability to turn off their video and microphone allowing them to easily switch their attention to other distractions like their phone or carry on side conversation without anyone else ever knowing.

Scalability & Flexibility

Unlike an in-person presentation where the host, presenter and attendees are physically present at a singular location in the real world, virtual presentations allow for greater scalability which is not bound by the physical environment they are held in.

An in-person meeting would have you bound to the limitations of the room or venue space and the flexibility of other people to attend the presentation at a singular location. On the other hand, a virtual presentation allows you to present to more people at the same time, aided by group video conferencing services, which allows for hundreds of participants per meeting. With a virtual presentation, you are not restricted to the physical capacity of a venue space or the challenge of traveling distances for people.

Either virtual or in person you need a visual presentation that captures the attention of your audience before you tell your story.

Here's One We Did For SalesForce

When the most dynamic CRM sales tool in the industry reaches out for help, we couldn’t resist joining forces. We worked with their team to develop a concept that aligned with their branding and allowed their “Sales Force” to share their value proposition with potential customers in an engaging way.

Why Are Virtual Presentations Important?

Virtual presentations are important because they help break down barriers when it comes to bridging time zones, connecting remote regions and keeping one another safe as we have recently seen with COVID-19.

Remote teams working in space or up north in remote regions are able to share their research and findings far more quickly and easily by being able to connect with other researchers around the world and discuss in real-time. Although it may seem like this could have been done with phone calls, fax machines or even videos, virtual presentations allow for a consolidated, streamlined process that allows for spur-of-the-moment conversations with multiple people in a live presentation format.

As globalization continues to impact our everyday lives, virtual presentations are another way we are connecting with one another around the world. With remote work on the rise , learning about virtual presentations and the nuances that come with them is an important skill to know as more companies, government agencies and cultures adopt virtual presentations and communication.

How Do You Create A Virtual Presentation?

With any other project you decide to take on, to make it excellent, knowing where to start and setting up a good foundation is key to its success. The same applies to virtual presentations. If you don’t have a solid plan in place or create a solid foundation on which to build your presentation upon, your presentation won’t be as successful as it could be.

We’ve put together our top four virtual presentation tips to bring your virtual presentation to life.

1) Start with your content

First, you need to start with your content and understand what message you want to share with your audience. You need to fully understand the topic and content at hand so you’re confident in your delivery.

Start by asking yourself some questions.

• What are the key takeaways you want everyone to leave with?
• What is the purpose of sharing this content?
• Is this content relevant?
• What questions might the audience have and do I know the answer to those questions

It might help to create a story around your topic with a beginning, middle and end to help guide you and your audience through the content.

2) Think about your slides

You want your slides to be engaging. Without engaging slides, you’ll lose the interest of your audience. Remember to keep slides colorful. Use an image or a graphic to help tell the story of the slide. Don’t go overboard though. Keep it simple and follow a 1:1 ratio. One image per slide.

3) Focus on your audience

Throughout your career, you’ll be presenting material to different audiences. Not every audience is the same. For younger audiences, you’ll want to use more visuals and use more vocal energy to keep the audience’s attention. For an older demographic, you might want to keep things more succinct, to the point and talk at a slower pace. It’s one thing to know the content and create a great presentation but it’s useless if you’re not sympathetic to how your audience gathers information.

4) Be dynamic

Keep the attention of your audience by being dynamic and not static. If you’re able to present with a webcam, then do so. Take advantage of as many tools and features as the video web conferencing software you decide to use will allow. For example, some software allows you to have the audience interact with your screen and slides. Depending on the content you’re delivering, you can even have the attendees break out into smaller groups. This will keep the presentation lively, unique and encourage audience participation. Ultimately, you want to keep it fun.

Get inspired with slide ideas from our portfolio

Our Top 10 Best Virtual Presentation Tips

Before you deliver your next virtual presentation , be sure to review these ten tips to help you prepare.

1) Proper Webcam & Lighting

First, check your webcam and lighting. Before you present, turn on your webcam and make sure you’re visible. Even if you think you have sufficient lighting, it’s always best to double-check as some webcams aren’t calibrated correctly. If you’re using a ring light, it may appear like a harsh, blue light is being used. Use this time to also check your microphone and audio source. You’ll be able to check the sound quality and ensure the audio pick-up levels are correct.

2) Familiarize Yourself With The Technology

If you’re not used to presenting virtually or you’re using new software, try practicing your delivery with the technology you’ll be using. If you run into any technical issues, you’ll be able to resolve them beforehand.

3) Check Internet Connection

This is absolutely critical . A virtual meeting or presentation is only possible with an internet connection. If you don’t have a proper internet connection, you won’t have a presentation. It’s also a good idea to practice presenting with all the technology you’ll be using as more software usage requires more internet bandwidth. If you plan on presenting with your webcam on, test your internet connection with your webcam on so you have an accurate measurement.

4) Talk To The Camera

When you’re delivering your message, make sure you keep eye contact with the camera . This will allow the audience who is watching your presentation to feel more connected and engaged. If you’re simply reading from a screen, it makes the presentation feel inauthentic, unpolished and it makes it seem like you’re not confident in the content you’re presenting.

5) Present As You Would In-Person

If you have the ability to stand up while presenting, you should . Standing is beneficial because it allows your airways to be fully open. While you’re sitting, your core is typically tight and you might find yourself hunched over. This will restrict your diaphragm from moving to its fullest potential. If you stand, you’ll have a much clearer voice when speaking.

6) Use Body Language

Keep your presentation dynamic. Your body is a communication tool. Use hand motions to emphasize key points. Use facial expressions to deliver emotion . The combination of body language with your words will help connect the audience to your message on a much deeper level.

7) Engage Your Audience Members

Keep your audience engaged and allow them to participate. Some ways you can keep your audience engaged is by using polling software to ask the audience questions. You can host a Q&A at the end of your meeting , or you can have them play games like Kahoot! to win prizes.

8) Have A Moderator

Having a moderator helps you stay focused. A moderator can help monitor the chat and gauge audience engagement. If you’re conducting a Q&A session, depending on the software you use, a moderator can help filter questions that might be inappropriate. They will screen questions before they are made public to the rest of your audience.

9) Use Evaluation Tools & Learn

This is a tip not many presenters take advantage of that will help you stand out amongst the rest and will make your next presentation even better. At the end of your presentation, consider sending out a poll. Ask for feedback from your audience to see how well you did . You might want to ask their opinion on the visuals, see what information they retained or see how you presented as a whole. If done correctly, for your next virtual presentation, you’ll know if you need to slow down if you’re a fast talker or if you need to add more visuals.

10) Be Yourself

The most important tip of them all is to be yourself . When you’re yourself, you’ll have fun. Presenting and everything will appear natural.

Are You In Need Of A Custom Presentation? We Can Help

Now it’s about you! Are you in need of a fresh, engaging presentation that captures your audiences attention? Whether you need a clean up, a re-design or a completely custom build we have you covered. You can find our presentation packages and pricing options here . Want to speak to a geek, click the button below.

Author:  Ryan

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23 presentation examples that really work (plus templates!)

• 30 Mar 2023

To help you in your quest for presentation greatness, we’ve gathered 23 of the best business presentation examples out there. These hand-picked ideas range from business PowerPoint presentations, to recruitment presentations, and everything in between.

As a bonus, several of our examples include editable video presentation templates from  Biteable .

Biteable allows anyone to create great video presentations — no previous video-making skills required. The easy-to-use platform has hundreds of brandable templates and video scenes designed with a business audience in mind. A video made with Biteable is just what you need to add that wow factor and make an impact on your audience.

Create videos that drive action

Activate your audience with impactful, on-brand videos. Create them simply and collaboratively with Biteable.

Video presentation examples

Video presentations are our specialty at Biteable. We love them because they’re the most visually appealing and memorable way to communicate.

1. Animated characters

Our first presentation example is a business explainer from Biteable that uses animated characters. The friendly and modern style makes this the perfect presentation for engaging your audience.

Bonus template:  Need a business video presentation that reflects the beautiful diversity of your customers or team? Use  Biteable’s workplace scenes . You can change the skin tone and hair color for any of the animated characters.

2. Conference video

Videos are also ideal solutions for events (e.g. trade shows) where they can be looped to play constantly while you attend to more important things like talking to people and handing out free cheese samples.

For this event presentation sample below, we used bright colours, stock footage, and messaging that reflects the brand and values of the company. All these elements work together to draw the attention of passers-by.

For a huge selection of video presentation templates, take a look at our  template gallery .

Business PowerPoint presentation examples

Striking fear into the hearts of the workplace since 1987, PowerPoint is synonymous with bland, boring presentations that feel more like an endurance test than a learning opportunity. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Check out these anything-but-boring business PowerPoint presentation examples.

3. Design pointers

This PowerPoint presentation takes a tongue-in-cheek look at how the speakers and users of PowerPoint are the problem, not the software itself.

Even at a hefty 61 slides, the vintage theme, appealing colors, and engaging content keep the viewer interested. It delivers useful and actionable tips on creating a better experience for your audience.

Pixar, as you’d expect, redefines the meaning of PowerPoint in their “22 Rules for Phenomenal Storytelling”. The character silhouettes are instantly recognizable and tie firmly to the Pixar brand. The bright colour palettes are carefully chosen to highlight the content of each slide.

This presentation is a good length, delivering one message per slide, making it easy for an audience to take notes and retain the information.

Google slides examples

If you’re in business, chances are you’ll have come across  slide decks . Much like a deck of cards, each slide plays a key part in the overall ‘deck’, creating a well-rounded presentation.

If you need to inform your team, present findings, or outline a new strategy, slides are one of the most effective ways to do this.

Google Slides is one of the best ways to create a slide deck right now. It’s easy to use and has built-in design tools that integrate with Adobe, Lucidchart, and more. The best part — it’s free!

5. Teacher education

Here’s a slide deck that was created to educate teachers on how to use Google Slides effectively in a classroom. At first glance it seems stuffy and businessy, but if you look closer it’s apparent the creator knows his audience well, throwing in some teacher-friendly content that’s bound to get a smile.

The slides give walkthrough screenshots and practical advice on the different ways teachers can use the software to make their lives that little bit easier and educate their students at the same time.

6. Charity awareness raiser

This next Google slide deck is designed to raise awareness for an animal shelter. It has simple, clear messaging, and makes use of the furry friends it rescues to tug on heartstrings and encourage donations and adoptions from its audience.

Pro tip: Creating a presentation is exciting but also a little daunting. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed — especially if the success of your business or nonprofit depends on it.

Prezi presentation examples

If you haven’t come across  Prezi , it’s a great alternative to using static slides. Sitting somewhere between slides and a video presentation, it allows you to import other content and add motion to create a more engaging viewer experience.

7. Red Bull event recap

This Prezi was created to document the Red Bull stratosphere freefall stunt a few years ago. It neatly captures all the things that Prezi is capable of, including video inserts and the zoom effect, which gives an animated, almost 3D effect to what would otherwise be still images.  

Prezi has annual awards for the best examples of presentations over the year. This next example is one of the 2018 winners. It was made to highlight a new Logitech tool.

8. Logitech Spotlight launch

What stands out here are the juicy colors, bold imagery, and the way the designer has used Prezi to its full extent, including rotations, panning, fades, and a full zoom out to finish the presentation.

Sales presentation examples

If you’re stuck for ideas for your sales presentation, step right this way and check out this video template we made for you.

9. Sales enablement video presentation

In today’s fast-paced sales environment, you need a way to make your sales enablement presentations memorable and engaging for busy reps.  Sales enablement videos  are just the ticket. Use this video presentation template the next time you need to present on your metrics.

10. Zuroa sales deck

If you’re after a sales deck, you can’t go past this example from Zuora. What makes it great? It begins by introducing the worldwide shift in the way consumers are shopping. It’s a global phenomenon, and something we can all relate to.

It then weaves a compelling story about how the subscription model is changing the face of daily life for everyone. Metrics and testimonials from well-known CEOs and executives are included for some slamming social proof to boost the sales message.

Pitch presentation examples

Pitch decks are used to give an overview of business plans, and are usually presented during meetings with customers, investors, or potential partners.

11. Uber pitch deck

This is Uber’s original pitch deck, which (apart from looking a teensy bit dated) gives an excellent overview of their business model and clearly shows how they intended to disrupt a traditional industry and provide a better service to people. Right now, you’re probably very grateful that this pitch presentation was a winner.

You can make your own pitch deck with Biteable, or start with one of our  video templates  to make something a little more memorable.

12. Video pitch template

This video pitch presentation clearly speaks to the pains of everyone who needs to commute and find parking. It then provides the solution with its app that makes parking a breeze.

The video also introduces the key team members, their business strategy, and what they’re hoping to raise in funding. It’s a simple, clear pitch that positions the company as a key solution to a growing, worldwide problem. It’s compelling and convincing, as a good presentation should be.

13. Fyre Festival pitch deck

The most epic example of a recent pitch deck is this one for Fyre Festival – the greatest event that never happened. Marvel at its persuasion, gasp at the opportunity of being part of the cultural experience of the decade, cringe as everything goes from bad to worse.

Despite the very public outcome, this is a masterclass in how to create hype and get funding with your pitch deck using beautiful imagery, beautiful people, and beautiful promises of riches and fame.

Business presentation examples

Need to get the right message out to the right people? Business presentations can do a lot of the heavy lifting for you.

Simply press play and let your video do the talking. No fumbling your words and sweating buckets in front of those potential clients, just you being cool as a cucumber while your presentation does the talking.

Check out two of our popular templates that you can use as a starting point for your own presentations. While they’re business-minded, they’re definitely not boring.

14. Business intro template

Modern graphics, animations, and upbeat soundtracks keep your prospects engaged as they learn about your business, your team, your values, and how you can help them.

15. Business explainer template

Research presentation examples.

When you’re giving a more technical presentation such as research findings, you need to strike the perfect balance between informing your audience and making sure they stay awake.

As a rule, slides are more effective for research presentations, as they are used to support the speaker’s knowledge rather can capture every small detail on screen.

With often dry, complex, and technical subject matter, there can be a temptation for presentations to follow suit. Use images instead of walls of text, and keep things as easy to follow as possible.

16. TrackMaven research deck

TrackMaven uses their endearing mascot to lighten up this data-heavy slide deck. The graphs help to bring life to their findings, and they ensure to only have one bite-size takeaway per slide so that viewers can easily take notes.

17. Wearable tech research report

Obviously, research can get very researchy and there’s not a lot to be done about it. This slide deck below lays out a ton of in-depth information but breaks it up well with quotes, diagrams, and interesting facts to keep viewers engaged while it delivers its findings on wearable technology.

Team presentation examples

Motivating your team can be a challenge at the best of times, especially when you need to gather them together for….another presentation!

18. Team update template

We created this presentation template as an example of how to engage your team. In this case, it’s for an internal product launch. Using colorful animation and engaging pacing, this video presentation is much better than a static PowerPoint, right?

19. Officevibe collaboration explainer

This short slide deck is a presentation designed to increase awareness of the problems of a disengaged team. Bright colors and relevant images combine with facts and figures that compel viewers to click through to a download to learn more about helping their teams succeed.

Recruitment presentation examples

Recruiting the right people can be a challenge. Presentations can help display your team and your business by painting a dynamic picture of what it’s like to work with you.

Videos and animated slides let you capture the essence of your brand and workplace so the right employees can find you.

20. Company culture explainer

If you’re a recruitment agency, your challenge is to stand out from the hundreds of other agencies in the marketplace.

21. Kaizen culture

Showcasing your agency using a slide deck can give employers and employees a feel for doing business with you. Kaizen clearly displays its credentials and highlights its brand values and personality here (and also its appreciation of the coffee bean).

Explainer presentation examples

Got some explaining to do? Using an explainer video is the ideal way to showcase products that are technical, digital, or otherwise too difficult to explain with still images and text.

Explainer videos help you present the features and values of your product in an engaging way that speaks to your ideal audience and promotes your brand at the same time.

22. Product explainer template

23. lucidchart explainer.

Lucidchart does a stellar job of using explainer videos for their software. Their series of explainers-within-explainers entertains the viewer with cute imagery and an endearing brand voice. At the same time, the video is educating its audience on how to use the actual product. We (almost) guarantee you’ll have more love for spiders after watching this one.

Make a winning video presentation with Biteable

Creating a winning presentation doesn’t need to be difficult or expensive. Modern slide decks and video software make it easy for you to give compelling presentations that sell, explain, and educate without sending your audience to snooze town.

For the best online video presentation software around, check out Biteable. The intuitive platform does all the heavy lifting for you, so making a video presentation is as easy as making a PowerPoint.

Use Biteable’s brand builder to automatically fetch your company colors and logo from your website and apply them to your entire video with the click of a button. Even add a  clickable call-to-action  button to your video.

Share your business presentation anywhere with a single, trackable URL and watch your message turn into gold.

Make stunning videos with ease.

Take the struggle out of team communication.

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12 virtual presentation tips to get your audience’s attention

Delivering an effective virtual presentation is no easy task. 

Whether it’s for pitching to potential clients or discussing project goals with your team, you’ll have to compete for your audience’s attention and ensure your message gets through.  

In this article, we’ll cover the top 12 virtual presentation tips and best practices for your next virtual meeting. We’ll also look at some of the key benefits of virtual presentations.

This article contains: 

(Click on the links below to jump to a specific section)

• Research your Audience Well in Advance
• Be Vigilant with Technical Checks
• Embrace the Use of Technology and Visual Aid Tools
• Start with an Agenda in Mind
• Reduce and Eliminate Distractions
• Stick to Short, Punchy Sentences
• Interact with your Audience
• Pace Yourself and Plan for Delays
• Incorporate Back-Up Systems
• Allot some time for Q&A Sessions
• Know When to Stop
• Reach Out for Feedback and Reflect
• 3 Useful Benefits of Virtual Presentations

Let’s begin! 

12 practical tips for your next virtual presentation 

Virtual presentations can be intimidating for someone just starting out with them. 

But don’t worry. 

Here are some practical tips and best practices to ace your next virtual presentation. 

1. Research your audience well in advance

With virtual presentations, you need to do a little more research than you’d usually do. It’s best to know your audience and their expectations from the presentation. 

For a webinar or similar events, you can create a registration page or an electronic submission form a week in advance. 

Collect general information about who’s attending the event; ask questions about what they expect to gain from the meeting, or if they have any pressing questions. 

If you’re giving an office presentation, you can set an agenda for the concepts you’ll be covering. For example, think about what your keynote will be.  

Seek input from team members about your presentation structure and prioritize the action items that need to be addressed. If possible, send your meeting agenda in advance and have your managers/seniors glance through the key points. 

2. Be vigilant with technical checks

You cannot control an unexpected power-cut or internet connectivity issue no matter how much you prepare. So, your best bet is to be super precise with technical checks. 

Here are some things you should consider: 

• Is your camera working? Can the audience see you clearly?
• Do you have a proper mic and speaker installed? 
• Are you well-versed with the tools you’ll be using? For example, can you switch between google slides or enable screen sharing? 

These are some questions you should ponder over.

Most importantly, make sure you have solutions for any last-minute technical glitches. Prepare to have a backup or appoint someone who can handle the IT. 

3. Embrace the use of technology and visual aid tools 

The entire concept of a virtual presentation is based on the premise of technology. So naturally, you want to make good use of as many tools as possible.

You can use Canva to create a Canva QR code , Microsoft Powerpoint, Google slides, etc., to create an interactive presentation . 

You can also integrate your virtual meeting software with various tools for better audience engagement during the presentation. For example:

• Tools like Zoom , WebinarNinja, etc, let you conduct virtual polls and quizzes during video conferencing.
• You can also use a tool like Poll Everywhere to create word clouds in real-time. 
• Online game tools like Kahoot are great for creating group quizzes.
• Zoom or ClickMeeting can be useful as a whiteboard tool .

Another advantage of being well-equipped with the right tools is having better control over your audience. Virtual presenter tools can help with audience engagement. You can also monitor any distractions and eliminate them. 

For example, virtual presenters can mute an audience member due to disturbances or pin an important comment for everyone to see.

4. Start with an agenda in mind

In virtual meetings, if you do not start out with an agenda in mind, you’re setting yourself up for distractions. 

A good rule of thumb is to prepare a chronological list of things to be achieved during the presentation. What’s the most important concept you need to cover? Take notes, and make sure that all your other points transition back to your main concept and flow with the structure. 

Next, try to simplify your data points. Use visual imagery, gifs, videos, or animations to attract attention to the key points. 

Define the outcomes of your presentation, and set a time limit for each goal. For example, if the schedule has four points in total, don’t spend more than 30 minutes on each. 

5. Reduce and eliminate distractions

A remote audience is always multitasking between work, so there are bound to be some distractions. 

You can brief your audience about these best practices to minimize distractions: 

• Everyone stays on mute while the presenter is speaking.
• Instead of directly interrupting the host, people can ‘raise’ their hand on the virtual platform if they wish to speak.
• Request your audience members to limit any distraction on their end. This could be due to background noise, kids, pets, social media, or another family member.

Apart from this, make sure that you run technical checks and prepare for any possible problems. For example, close down all unnecessary tabs if you’ll be using screen sharing features. 

On your part, your chats will probably be filled with queries, doubts, or suggestions while you’re interacting with the audience. Instead of getting side-tracked by these chats, it’s a good idea to let a colleague or co-host moderate them for you.

6. Stick to short, punchy sentences 

When explaining concepts to a remote audience, you should always stick to shorter, more humorous sentences. That’s because most audiences often tune out after 10 minutes . 

Especially in a remote work environment, you have to capture and re-capture your audience’s attention while talking. Shorter sentences are easier to understand. But if it’s your first time being a virtual presenter, you can try these tips: 

• Maintain eye contact with the audience (through the webcam).
• Use appropriate hand gestures , facial expressions, and body language. 
• If possible, the person presenting should stand up. Set up your webcam accordingly.
• Ensure that your lighting is bright and lively. Make use of natural light for a better virtual background.

Moreover, keep your content prompt and precise. Avoid repetition of points, and do not over-evaluate any concepts. Ideally, do not speak for more than 10 minutes without some form of audience engagement (a story, quiz, or question).

7. Interact with your audience

According to a 2019 Duarte survey , over 68% of people believe that an engaging virtual presentation is more memorable than traditional one-way presentations. 

That’s because virtual users have a very limited attention span. It’s fairly easy for them to get distracted, especially if they have to sit through a presentation without any form of interaction. 

Interacting with the audience also makes you more ‘human’ in their eyes; you become more relatable. You can also plan your interaction activities in advance. 

For example, you can host a quiz or poll or use a whiteboard session every 10 minutes to encourage virtual participation. You can also encourage the use of breakout rooms for audience discussions. 

8. Pace yourself and plan for delays

There are little to no social cues to rely on from your audience in a virtual environment. You’ll need to practice and maintain a good pace to not speed through your presentation. 

Ideally, rehearse with someone virtually. Take notes of any delay in response you may experience or points that come across as confusing to the attendees. 

A remote audience often takes more time to respond. This could be due to technical issues, network delays, or unfamiliarity with the tool. But on your part, you can pace yourself according to your audience. 

For example, you’ll need to incorporate longer pauses after questions or slow down your talking speed for better clarity. These changes can be observed during your practice run so that you’re better prepared for your live presentation. 

9. Incorporate back-up systems

It’s important to plan for a worst-case scenario while presenting virtually, i.e., if you lose access to the meeting or content. In this case, it’s handy to share your presentation material with a co-host or a moderator. 

If you’re giving a video presentation, your co-host can have access rights to the meeting if you accidentally go offline. They can interact with the audience or present the video slides while you go back online. 

It’s also a good idea to be well-versed with your content. If you ever face a delay or glitch in your tools, you can always continue presenting the points with the help of a whiteboard. 

10. Allot some time for Q&A sessions

When conducting a virtual presentation, it’s good to allot a specific time slot for all the doubts and queries. You can do this before or during the event. 

In addition to having your own set of potential questions, inform your audience that you’ll be solving all the queries towards the end of the session. 

This serves two purposes:

• Your attendees can pay full attention to the presentation, knowing that their doubts will be cleared towards the end. 
• You do not get distracted by stopping and answering questions after every concept. 

A Q&A platform like Tribe or BoostHQ can be useful for noting down everyone’s questions. Participants can even ask anonymous questions. This way, all your queries are stored in a single database, and you can run a more organized, distraction-free Q&A session. 

11. Know when to stop 

Knowing when and how to close a presentation is one of the most important virtual presentation skills you could pick up. 

In a virtual event, you are bound to get distracted or carried away, so much so that you may lose track of your points. In that case, you should be precise with how much time you spend on each topic and when you should stop. 

Towards the end of the presentation, it’s more productive to be brief and to-the-point and conclude with an informative synopsis. You should properly summarize the conference proceedings, highlight key points, and create a lasting impression on your virtual audience. 

Here’s how you can do that:

• Prepare a clear and concise closing statement.
• Include a summary of your main agenda.
• Include a call to action.
• Include a powerful quote/message.
• Allow your audience to stay in touch with you. Consider adding a QR Code linked to your business card to your presentation.

12. Reach out for feedback and reflect

When you’re done with your presentation, a great practice is to reach out to the participants or attendees for any feedback. 

If you’re presenting to your office colleagues, you can ask for feedback on your talk. Note down how you can improve, including your content, speech, engagement, or presentation structure.

You can also provide post-presentation support. This could include: 

• Extra materials/data to support the topic you covered.
• A brief recap or summary of your presentation.
• Recordings of the online presentation.
• A link to a survey to note the material you could cover in the next presentations, ways you could improve, etc. 

Now, let’s take a look at some of the advantages of virtual presentations.

3 useful benefits of virtual presentations

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual presentations have been the norm for most organizations and companies. They’re more accessible and can accommodate a larger audience. 

Here’s how you can benefit from an effective virtual presentation. 

1. Higher inclusivity 

Virtual presentations offer more room for individuals to collaborate and learn. 

In a traditional presentation, most of the audience is limited by their geographical location. Only people who can access the location, and manage the time, can attend. 

In contrast, a virtual presentation has no bounds. 

People from all over the world can join in at the same time. It’s also highly accessible for people who otherwise wouldn’t attend physically due to health, childcare, or disabilities. 

2. More flexibility

Virtual presenters often offer recordings of the event for those who can’t attend. Moreover, you can also choose to keep your camera off while still attending. 

This makes it easier to participate in meetings. You also save more time by hosting shorter, more effective presentations. 

3. More economical 

When you’re virtually connecting with an audience, you use fewer resources than regular presentations. Organizers incur fewer electricity/venue costs, while participants have no travel costs at all. 

Virtual presentations also lower the company’s carbon footprint by lowering the number of unnecessary travel trips. They’re a great way to practice sustainable business practices.

Final thoughts

Virtual meetings and webinars often test your public speaking and presentation skills. 

You need to plan your presentation design and slide structure, manage distractions, and effectively deliver the content to the audience. You can also make good use of online presentation software to engage your audience better.

Use the tips and tools we covered here to understand how you can deliver effective virtual presentations today.

Book a free demo of Time Doctor

Liam Martin is a co-founder of Time Doctor which is software to improve productivity and help keep track and know what your team is working on, even when working from home.

Hiring flexible staff: Everything you need to know

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A Deep Dive Into Virtual Presentations

Head of Product at Gloww

• Published on November 1, 2023

Virtual presentations are becoming increasingly common. With more businesses now embracing remote work, they’re an unavoidable adaptation that is essential for onboarding , employee development , and more. However, it’s not as straightforward as transplanting in-person presentation scripts into the virtual world. If you want to host virtual presentations that strike the right note, you need to think carefully about readying your material for online audiences. 

What is a virtual presentation? How can you keep online audiences engaged? These are the questions you should be asking yourself if you want to make effective use of the virtual format. 

How Are Virtual Presentations Different From Regular Presentations?

While the ultimate goal of virtual presentations is the same as in-person presentations, there are a lot of differences between the two formats . For starters, there’s generally less performance involved. When delivering an in-person presentation, a lot of focus is placed on keeping an audience engaged . A good presenter needs to be comfortable with public speaking and a master when it comes to body language. 

When presenting online, there’s far less pressure when it comes to performance. This is despite the fact that a presenter may be broadcasting to dozens, if not hundreds of people. An effective virtual presentation is generally more informal and relaxed. 

However, there are some downsides to delivering a presentation online. One of the biggest issues that presenters face is that they’ll have to contend with more distractions than if they were presenting to an in-person audience. These same distractions are what can render a standard conference call a challenge, and presenters often have to work extra hard to maintain audience engagement. 

What’s more, while the usual presentation skills aren’t always necessary, different proficiencies come into play. Body language doesn’t read as well when presenting online, but a speaker will still need to project a message virtually. Tone of voice is crucial, and a speaker needs to consider pauses carefully. Additionally, it’s important to constantly engage the audience if you want to maintain their interest levels. Relying too heavily on slides or failing to interact with an audience is a surefire way of dooming a virtual presentation to failure. For some inspiration you can find our employee engagement calendar on our blog too.

Why Are Virtual Presentations Important?

If your business operates in the virtual space and your teams are working remotely, you need to be thinking seriously about virtual presentations . It’s simply not practical to bring remote teams together for in-person training and team-building exercises, especially if employees are dispersed across the globe. 

Virtual presentations can be used as a learning tool to develop your workforce and introduce them to new ideas and ways of working. Some businesses utilize digital training documents for this purpose, but there’s little scope for interactivity here. With virtual presentations, you’re giving yourself the chance to connect with remote teams . As well as being a powerful tool for communication and instilling a sense of company culture , a live virtual presentation provides you with the chance to gauge engagement and understanding levels. 

How Do You Create a Virtual Presentation?

Is this your first time staging a virtual presentation ? Adapting your in-person approach to the virtual world might seem like a good idea, but you won’t achieve good results this way. To make your next virtual presentation a success , we’ve put together some handy tips. 

Start with Your Content 

This is the most important thing to consider when readying your presentation material for an online audience . While the bare bones of your in-person presentations can be used, they’ll need to be refined for the virtual space. Are you delivering training content to an online audience? All the key information can be captured here, but make sure it’s accessible and not overbaked. Is your presentation more client-facing? Make sure you’re capturing key selling points and considering what can be shared in other formats. 

Think About Your Slides 

Cramming too many slides into your presentation is a guaranteed way of sending your audience to sleep. If you want to maintain high engagement levels, keep slides sparse . During an in-person presentation, it’s easy to read the room and elaborate on complex slides if you feel the need to. When presenting online, this isn’t always possible. If your presentation has to be slide-heavy, try and stick to a single slide for every minute of speech. Ensure the slides you are using are concise and capture key information. 

Focus On Your Audience 

When presenting to an audience, you need to constantly reaffirm the fact that the information you’re discussing is relevant to them. Reading body language and audience responses can be a little tricky when presenting online, but keeping the focus on participants is crucial if you want to achieve good results. Regular interaction is a good way of keeping presentation material focused on your audience. Make a point of underlining how what you’re talking about applies to them and how it can help them achieve their everyday goals. 

Even if the material you’re covering in a presentation is pretty dense, you need to remain lively and dynamic to capture audience attention. Avoid leaning on your slides too heavily and make sure you’re not bound to a script. A little deviation can work wonders for audience engagement. 

Involve Your Audience to Avoid the Ringelmann Effect 

The Ringelmann Effect is something you might encounter if you’re presenting to a large audience. The bigger an audience gets, the less likely it is that individual participants are going to engage. By constantly involving your audience, you can overcome this. If you need to bring a hypothetical scenario into play , put someone on the spot. This way, everyone’s kept on their toes and constantly braced to interact. 

Remove External Distractions

While there’s not much you can do to ensure participants aren’t dealing with their own distractions, you can eliminate distractions from your presenting environment . Make sure your schedule is completely cleared to avoid any unwanted phone calls or interruptions. Are you presenting from an office location? Let anyone who is sharing your space know you need complete quiet so you can concentrate on delivering the best virtual presentation possible. 

Be Enthusiastic 

Even if the content of your presentation is on the dry side, you need to be able to sell it to your audience . If you’re not animated and engaged with the material, you can’t expect your audience to show an interest. Familiarizing yourself with presentation content will go a long way in ensuring you can deliver a lively and passionate event for participants. 

Professional Surroundings and Backgrounds 

No matter how animated you are during a presentation, you’ll still need to keep things professional . A low-key background will not only eliminate distractions but set the right tone for learning and development. Here’s our list of best backgrounds .

Best Virtual Presentation Tips

Now you’ve created a compelling outline for your virtual presentation , you’ll need to work on your presentation skills and deliver a memorable event. Below are some handy tips to get you started. 

Proper Webcam and Lighting 

Production values count when it comes to virtual presentations. A standard laptop webcam probably isn’t going to cut it if you want to make the right impression. An external webcam is therefore a must. You’ll also want to play around with lighting to make your presentation as effective as possible. 

Check Your Internet Connection 

Technical issues are sometimes unavoidable. However, even the slightest lag can render a virtual presentation pointless. Check your internet connection ahead of time to ensure you’re not going to have to contend with this issue. 

Talk to the Camera

It’s tempting to check the reactions of your online audience, but this isn’t really practical if you’re delivering a presentation to a large number of people. Rather than work overtime in an attempt to make a personal connection, talk to the camera instead. This gives you the best chance of making a connection with everyone who’s watching.  

Use Body Language 

Body language is very important when presenting online. While you won’t be able to make eye contact with individual audience members and use the space around you, you can make use of hand gestures and facial expressions to strengthen your message. However, remember to keep things simple.  

Engage Your Audience Members 

If you’re planning a longer virtual presentation or covering a lot of key topics, you need to make sure your audience is engaged . Constantly reach out to participants to hammer out specifics with examples or use quick-fire quizzes to keep everyone engaged. You can even use one of the 49 icebreakers to spice things up .

Be Yourself 

Authenticity matters when presenting online. It’s particularly important if you’re an employer presenting to remote teams. Make sure the persona you’re projecting is true to the one you’ve already established. The more authentic you are, the more credible your message will seem. 

What is the Optimum Amount of Time You Can Keep People Engaged Online? 

Most people will struggle to remain engaged with a single topic beyond five minutes. Your presentation is going to be longer than this, so avoid dwelling on specific topics for too long. For best results, try and keep your overall presentation no within 45 minutes . 

How Often Should Your Audience Share Their Thoughts?

Reach out to participants once every five minutes or so. You can ask individual participants to reflect on topics you’ve just covered, or break things up with more interactive elements like quizzes and polls. 

How Many Presenters Should There Be in a Virtual Presentation? 

With shorter presentations, it makes sense to keep things simple with a single presenter. If you’re planning a longer event and want to keep things as dynamic as possible, consider using two or three speakers. 

Host Your Next Virtual Presentation with Gloww 

Ready to unlock the potential of virtual presentations? Whether you’re presenting to prospective clients or need to reach out to remote teams, virtual presentations are the way forward . However, you’ll need a reliable video conferencing solution to stage a successful virtual presentation. 

With Gloww, you have everything you need to deliver memorable presentations that strike the right note with audiences. You can adapt your existing presentation material for the virtual space or explore brand-new elements to bring interactivity to your sessions. Add existing slide decks to readymade templates, make things more interesting with polls and quizzes, or integrate multimedia assets to take your presentations to a whole new level. You can get started with Gloww today. If you want to learn about Gloww can help you fine-tune your virtual presentations, explore our pricing plans , and discover more about our premium features. Do you still have questions about Gloww? Get in touch with the team.

Want to learn more? Here’s everything you need to record your meeting , a template for your monthly business review meetings , virtual meeting etiquettte , and all about how video conferencing works .

Ben Aflalo heads Gloww's product team with over two decades of leadership experience. Passionate about leveraging innovative technology, he is committed to building products for the greater good.

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7 Examples of Stunning Online Presentations

Updated: December 11, 2017

Published: September 20, 2011

And equally tiresome, having to share presentations via bulky attachments and countless versions, which makes presentations awkward to assemble and distribute. Then there’s the lack of interactivity. Today’s world is social and hands-on, but traditional presentations are typically a one-way monolog.

Online Presentations

In sales and marketing, presentations are where the message hits the market. If you fall short there, you'll stall at the goal line. This is why creating a great presentation is so important.

It’s with welcome relief that web-based presentations now zip around on blogs, websites, Twitter, Facebook, mobile devices, and even Google’s organic search results. Online presentations are more interactive and media-rich and can ignite a conversation with your audience.

I’ve recently come across SlideRocket’s online presentation program and found some amazing presentations to share with you. These presentations demonstration the use of slick graphics, real-time Twitter feeds, embedded video clips, and registration forms for lead generation (all great for inbound marketing!).

1. Clean Pitch to the Enterprise

2. Beautiful Media Barons

It's always great to link great content with your press releases, and a "presentation news release" may just fit the bill for you. With pleasing music and slide transitions, this presentation no doubt was a boost for Rumblefish.

What ideas have these presentations sparked for the creation of your own marketing presentations ?

Don't forget to share this post!

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10 Virtual Presentation Ideas

June 30, 2022

Erika Operiano

Virtual presentations come with the ease of being able to learn and collaborate remotely, as opposed to traditional methods. However, you’ll need more than just a reliable internet connection to meet your learning outcomes successfully. This is where creative video presentation ideas come into play, as they can help capture your learners’ attention and get your message across, even in an online setting. In this article, we’ll look into 10 virtual presentation ideas that you can apply to ace your next virtual presentation.

1. Outline your objectives

Start your presentation activities for students by laying down the objectives so your audience will already know what the session is all about. This is where you set their expectations, so the training will be fruitful for you and the employees since both sides are on the same page. Oftentimes, if the objective of the presentation is not outlined from the very start, the audience may get lost and get off track, which is something you should avoid. This creative presentation idea is often overlooked, but it makes a lot of a difference in the learning experience of your employees.

2. Make learning fun with gamification templates

Another virtual presentation idea to spice up your content is to use gamification templates. Using game-like elements in your virtual presentation makes it more engaging for your audience, and it will retain their attention the entire time. This will give the learners the same enjoyment they’ll get in a normal game, but this time, there are lessons included. You don’t need to worry if the learners will get bored as long as you gamify the presentation. 

EdApp contains gamification templates that you can use in your next presentation. Check it out here .

3. Simplify complex concepts with microlearning content

To make your visual presentation easy to read and understand, try using a microlearning approach. You break down long texts into bite-sized modules so only key takeaways are left for your employees to consume. This idea for group presentation activities is most effective for those with short attention spans as they can easily see the main idea quickly, without having to read filler sentences. By doing so, it allows the learners to retain the information in their long-term memory.

EdApp is known for its microlearning approach. They have several microlearning templates that are carefully designed to keep the learners engaged. You’ll also find microlearning courses like hazard communication training courses, workplace health and safety , and more. Try it out for free.

4. Capture learner attention with a pleasing color palette

Have you ever seen a presentation with a bright color background or color combinations that are not pleasing to the eye? While some will say that color schemes are not a big deal, they do have an effect when catching learners’ attention. Humans tend to look at things that are pleasing to the eyes as compared to those that are not. This is to say that using an aesthetically pleasing color palette in your presentation is something you must consider.

EdApp’s intuitive authoring tool makes it easy for trainers to build their courses as it’s highly customizable. There’s no need for a coding background for you to create your course. This is one of the best presentation ideas.

5. Use the appropriate presentation format

One of the most important video presentation ideas is the use of the proper format when building your material. It doesn’t matter if you have very good content if the audience can’t read it. The readability of the content is as important as the information itself. Make sure that the font size is big enough and that the contrast in colors is easy on the eyes. The placement of the text and other media should also be taken into consideration so as not to distract the learners.

If you’re looking to expand your options, Envato Elements offers professional PowerPoint, Google Slides, and Keynote presentation designs with flexible formats and styles.

6. Engage learners through different forms of media

Any forms of media such as images, video, and audio are very powerful and it is important to consider this virtual presentation idea for fun. Everyone has a different learning style, and accommodating those who are visual and auditory learners increases the chances of them remembering the knowledge that is instilled in them. This approach makes them understand the lesson much better as compared to just giving them a text to read. 

EdApp supports different media formats in their instructional materials . It’s as easy as uploading your images and videos. Try it out for free .

7. Support your learning content with relevant data

Backing up your presentation with data is always a good idea. This statistics presentation idea increases the validity of your training. If you provide charts and sources in your content, the learners will see that the trainer is reliable, and it will give them confidence in listening to the whole virtual presentation. This is especially effective if there are people in the audience that are critical of the information being shown to them. After all, it is better to be prepared than to look less credible in front of the employees. To further increase credibility, you can use QR codes in the presentation. Make it point to a case study or your website. These codes are easy to manage and can be easily created using any of these best QR code generators .

8. Encourage participation with Q&A portions

To complete the learning experience of the employees, it would be beneficial if you included a question and answer portion in your session. Creating this opportunity for participation makes for a good discussion among the learners. It’s a chance for everyone to voice out what confuses them, and others may be able to impart valuable insights from the presentation. This virtual presentation idea is a good way for the learners to digest their learning for the day. 

9. Check for understanding through quizzes

One way to see what the employees learned in your training is to make them answer an assessment. This is where you identify the learning gaps, and you can further enhance your materials based on the areas that you see they have difficulty in. This gives you a chance to go over what needs to be addressed so that the learners will be able to understand the lessons more effectively.

EdApp has a quiz maker called Rapid Refresh . It makes quiz creation a breeze as it already has a quiz template and all you have to do is upload your questions and watch it transform into a quiz format. 

10. Reinforce important points with a summary

To wrap up your virtual presentation, providing a summary will be helpful for your learners. Just as you include objectives at the start of your presentation, providing a short recap glues all of the learning together. This makes the learners remember the main points of the presentation and it refreshes their minds about what they have learned from the whole training. Giving a summary is the best way to end your virtual presentation.

Erika is a learning expert at EdApp, a mobile-first microlearning LMS for everyone's training needs. She also has experience in training & development, project management, and digital marketing. During her free time, she enjoys several hobbies such as watching series, fine arts, music, and some sports.

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Visual Aid Examples for Both In-Person and Virtual Presentations

Contrarily, if you are starting your presentation design here, well, you may want to organize your thoughts first. Then, come back.

In this session, I’m going to give you a few visual aid examples. The examples include those for both in-person meetings where everyone is in the same room and virtual delivery. These mediums are actually fairly different. So, if you are using the same types of visual aids for both, this session may help you connect better with your given audience.

Visual Aid Examples for In-Person Meetings and training Sessions.

Let’s start with a few visual aid examples for in-person meetings.

PowerPoint and Digital Visual Aids.

Often today, presenters think of PowerPoint as their only visual. It is still a very important part of the presentation, so I will spend more time on this medium in the next couple of weeks.

PowerPoint has been around since the 1990s. Until recently, though, the software hadn’t changed a whole lot in that 20+ years. Prior to laptop computers, presenters used to have an ancient visual medium called the “slide projector.” It was similar to an old-timey film projector. However, this version was filled with a series of tiny photographs printed on tiny clear squares called slides.

Years later, the “overhead projector” was invented. This allowed the presenter to place paper-sized transparency onto the projector to present. Now presenters could interchange photos and/or bullet-pointed text. In addition, the presenter could write on the transparency.

So when PowerPoint came around, it was a digital version of both the slide projector and overhead projector. Presenters would digitally create “slides” with bullet points and images as examples of visual aids.

All of that changed when Prezi came on the scene. For a few years, the online software Prezi began to exert itself into the visual aid market. The concept was simple. Make the visual aid… well… visual. It uses images and a Zoom function. So instead of slides and bullet points, Prezi used a canvas and images to create visuals for the presentation. Then the software Zoomed in on the image while the presenter provided the “text.”

PowerPoint finally caught on. It now has a Zoom function which is pretty cool. Below are a few examples of what this Zoom function can do.

DOWNLOAD THE EXAMPLE POWERPOINT SLIDESHOW

Boards and posters..

For example, I had a client who was preparing a sales presentation. They were competing to win a contract with a school district. In the past, they had worked with hundreds of other districts. So, they decided to create hundreds of posters mounted on boards. In fact, they made one for each district that they had previously worked for. When they started the presentation, they set up all of the boards in a U-shape around the walls of the presentation area.

As each presenter spoke, he or she would pull one of the boards from the stack that corresponded to the story. Throughout the speech, they told about six success stories about these former clients. Since there were hundreds of other posters that weren’t used, the audience naturally assumed (correctly) that there were hundreds of other success stories as well. It was a fantastic way to dramatize their experience.

Samples, Models, and Demonstrations as Visual Aid Examples.

If you are presenting about a product, then a sample can be a great visual aid. Models can be a great alternative if you are explaining a concept that hasn’t yet been made. And finally, if you are explaining a service, a demonstration might be more illustrative.

• A Sample : If you ever watch the TV show Shart Tank, you will see inventors use samples as visual aids quite often. If you are presenting something physical, then giving your audience something they can see, touch, and feel adds value.
• A Model : Architects, marketers, and software engineers use this visual aid a lot. If you are proposing a solution and that solution is costly to produce, a model might be a good alternative. This will help the audience create a visual image of what you are suggesting without incurring a huge expense.
• A Demonstration : As a trainer, I use this one a lot. For example, if I am teaching a class on how to design presentations, I will often demonstrate the process myself. Or, if I’m teaching how to answer hostile questions, I may have the group ask me tough questions to demonstrate.

Your Handouts Are Also a Valuable Visual Aid for Your Audience.

Canva is one of my favorite tools for creating images and handouts. You can import your corporate colors and logos. Then, you can skim through hundreds of design templates to make your handouts look really professional. Don’t worry about finding a design that matches your colors. You can alter the colors of even a fully-completed document in seconds.

If you like PowerPoint, you can also create some pretty nice handouts there as well. The advantage is that you can more easily match the style of your slideshow if you are using one.

The point is, though, that if you have a bunch of content and a short time to present, don’t try to cram all the data into your presentation. Go through your speech strategically and determine what is most critical for the audience. Then use a handout as a mechanism to deliver the additional content to the audience members. This way, if the listener wants to know more, then he or she has access. If they don’t, then they will like the presentation better.

For additional reading on this subject, Take a look at How to Create the Perfect Presentation Handout. This post has additional ways to organize and create great handouts.

A Good Story or Example Is Often the Best Type of Visual Aid.

Sometimes, a visual aid isn’t visual at all. It can also be auditory. Just like when I mentioned that a demonstration of a service is a “visual aid,” sometimes a vivid description works better than an actual image. For example, a good story engages a different part of the brain than a photograph. Stories can also add emotion to your presentation delivery.

The truth is that stories are very powerful visual aids. The audience has to pay attention to create the vision in their own head. Watch how Will Smith captivates the audience with this simple story and creates an emotional impact at the same time.

Often, speakers will think things like, “Well my experiences just aren’t that interesting.” Will Smith just spent two minutes telling us how he built a brick wall. That is not a very interesting thing to talk about. However, he makes it interesting because he paints a picture for us about what he was feeling. We are experiencing the event as if we were there ourselves. You can do the same thing in your presentations.

For additional reading on this subject, Take a look at 5 Steps to Great Storytelling. This post has additional ways to creat and deliver great stories.

Visual Aid Examples for Virtual Meetings.

Your powerpoint slides should have more images and action than a typical slideshow..

People tend to have a shorter attention span on virtual meetings. Because of this, I tend to use more images and change them more frequently. This causes the audience to be engaged more.

For instance, when I am presenting in person, my slide might have three key bullet points and a single image. However, if I deliver a similar presentation through a Zoom meeting or webinar, I will likely use three images — one for each piece of text. In addition, I will often hide my bullets or text until the image appears.

Some of you may be wondering, “Why not use multiple images in the in-person meeting as well?” Well, you could do that. However, when you are in the same room with your audience, you can use your voice, gestures, and movement to keep the audience engaged. These tools are way more powerful than the visual aids, so if you are in the same room, use your gestures and voice.

No need to overdo it, by the way. The key is to add some movement every one or two minutes. If you watch a good YouTube video, the producer will use slight zooms in and out and change video angles. They do this to keep the viewer engaged.

If you are using a single webcam for your online meetings, though, you lose a lot of your tools. So adding additional images and visual aids can make up for some of this loss.

Videos or Animations without Sound Can Make Very Interactive Visual Aids.

PowerPoint and Prezi both have great animations that you can use as one of these “eye-catching” movements. So, instead of changing or adding images, you can make the images bigger as you reference them. Or, you can move them slightly or “shake” them up as you reference them. Prezi’s original “zoom” function is great for this.

However, recently, Prezi has created an entirely new platform called Prezi Video that is pretty cool. Basically, the slideshow or visuals are integrated into the speaker’s screen. So instead of sharing your screen and showing a slideshow, the visual aids appear to the side of the speaker.

In addition to Prezi, there are a number of video animation apps that either draw your images or animate them. The one that I use is Video Scribe . I use it because it was the first one that I found years ago. However, there are a number of these apps such as Doodley and Powtoon. There are a lot of these apps, though.

The way that you can use these is to add the image to your cartoon creator. Then, have the creator draw or animate the image. You can make the drawing process last as long as you want. However, five to 10 seconds usually works fine. So instead of adding a bunch of additional images, you can make the images more interesting using some of these apps.

Live Website Visits.

Don’t forget that since you are meeting online, you can always access additional information online as well. For example, when I’m meeting with a potential client, I will often answer questions for them by going https://www.fearlesspresentations.com . Instead of just quoting an expert who agrees with me, I might go to that expert’s website.

By the way, when I do this, I will have the websites open in my browser already. This way, I can just share my screen. A little trick for doing this is to click the browser tab and open it in a new window. That way, when you look at Share My Screen, that single webpage is available to share. (This makes the sharing a little cleaner and professional looking.)

Another tip here is to share videos with additional information or sometimes funny videos during session breaks. When I teach virtual or remote presentation classes, I will give the class a 10-minute break every hour or so. Sometimes, I will open up old Saturday Night Live clips that correspond to the previous or next lesson. For instance, if I am teaching about enthusiasm, I will show the old Chris Farley clip where he is pretending to be a motivational speaker.

Collaborative Shared Documents Such as Google Docs.

Spontaneity is a nice surprise in a virtual meeting. Sometimes, it is better to move away from the pre-created visual aids and use something more instant. For instance, when my team is meeting to assign instructors for upcoming sessions, we use Google Calendar. The corporate calendar is a combination of all of the instructors’ individual calendars. So, when I share my screen showing this collaborative calendar, it is unique every time.

It shows the whole group which of them are free during the time we are filling. If there are multiple instructors available, we can discuss the assignments to make the distribution more fair.

We also have reports that are created on multiple spreadsheets. As the team members insert their individual numbers, the data appears on the cumulative spreadsheet.

While this type of visual aid isn’t as fun and exciting as some of the others, it can add to collaboration very effectively.

Breakout Room Discussions Are Examples of Verbal Visual Aids.

Just as with stories and examples in the in-person meetings, discussions among the participants can replace the need for some visuals. Zoom has the ability to break the participants into breakout rooms. Participants are more likely to communicate in smaller groups. So, if you break your meeting into smaller teams and assign each new team to tackle a problem, you will get better results. Then, after a few minutes, close down the breakout rooms. Finally, have a spokesperson from each group give a summary.

This little technique fulfills the same need as I mentioned when I suggested you add more images. Instead of the entire group listening to one person for the entire meeting, they change their focus more quickly. Having multiple people present makes meetings more interactive.

If You Want More Visual Aid Examples, Let Us Know.

If you need help creating presentations or making your presentations better, invest in our virtual training. You get access to world-class public speaking coaches for hours at a time. They customize the content to your specific needs. It is a very economical way to develop presentation skills!

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14 Fun & Interactive Presentation Games for Teams and Students

So you've got an audience to energize, students to engage, or a team that needs a little extra fun — playing an interactive presentation game is an easy way to do just that.

We've done the research and found the best of these games for you: we looked specifically for games that are simple to set up, fun to play, and flexible enough to be used with a variety of presentations and audiences. Most of these activities work virtually with Zoom/PowerPoint and can also be used in person.

Which of these 14 presentation games do you like best? Take a look and let us know your favorites:

1. Live Trivia Competition

A great way to ramp up the excitement and engagement is to enable a little bit of friendly competition. Trivia is an easy way to do this—plus, it can be whole-group inclusive and large-audience friendly (if you use the right tools).

Here's a great trivia game you can run with your team, students, or any large audience. It's already created for you with questions and scoring built in to make it even easier:

Here's how to play:

• Make a free account here: https://slideswith.com/  
• Click the slide deck and copy it. 
• Launch the trivia game by clicking "Start Event."
• Invite your group to join in and submit answers using their mobile devices (show the winners automatically).
• Interact and play during your presentation!

This trivia game has questions on many topics to keep your audience's attention and appeal to everyone. It only takes 10-15 minutes to play, so it's a great game for long discussions! Also, this interactive activity is free for up to ten participants and is totally customizable.

2. Sing and Swing 

To really liven up your group, encourage your listeners to play Sing and Swing. This activity is best for long presentations because it boosts energy, creates a fun, light-hearted environment, and makes people laugh a lot. 

Here's how to play: 

• Before your presentation, pick a well-known song and rewrite the chorus (replace parts of it with words and phrases from your presentation) 
• When you're ready to play, show the song on your screen. 
• Invite your audience to sing it with you!

If you have a fun group or a class of energetic students, consider adding choreography to engage your audience even more. 

3. 20 Questions

If you want a presentation game that requires your listeners to talk more than you, 20 Questions is the one to play! A classic and simple activity, this game immediately boosts engagement and gets people laughing. 

Here's how to play: Have someone put an appropriate image or word on the screen behind you (this can be an audience member you trust or a colleague or co-presenter). To make things more fun, put on a blindfold so that everyone knows you can't cheat. From there, ask 20 "yes or no" questions to guess what's displayed on the screen. Your group should respond "yes" or "no" to guide you to the correct answer. 

4. Scavenger Hunt Challenge

To get your audience out of their seats, a scavenger hunt challenge is one of the best interactive games for presentations. It'll immediately energize your audience , team, or students while giving them a fun way to learn.  

There are tons of in-person and virtual scavenger hunt ideas you can use to dive deeper into your topic or help everyone learn about one another. But if you want a ready-to-play game that you can instantly launch without having any tech skills, here's a fun one to play: 

• Use an email address and password to create a free account here: https://slideswith.com/ (a free account guarantees up to ten people can play at no charge). 
• Click the game and press "Copy and use this slide deck." 
• In the top right corner, click "Start Event."
• Ask listeners to join the game by using their mobile devices to scan the QR code. Players should continue using their mobile devices to submit answers to questions.
• Have everyone start hunting for items! 

This activity is a particularly fun game because it's a photo-hunt, show-and-tell challenge! That means your audience will not only get out of their seats to find items, but they'll also get to take pictures and share and discuss photos of what they find. This conversational element will help engage your group! 

5. Group Word Clouds

Whether you're speaking to team members, students, or conference-goers, this activity lets you ask questions and get your listeners' thoughts on specific topics. 

This game is the perfect way to start your presentation, especially if you're discussing something with a wide range of opinions or are unsure how much your listeners know about a certain subject. Group Word Clouds is also beneficial if you want to do a quick meeting pulse or know how your listeners feel going into your presentation—understanding their energy levels and mood can help you adjust (if necessary) to get maximum engagement and excitement.

To enjoy this activity, keep things simple by using a tool that already offers a ready-to-play Group Word Clouds game. Here's a popular one you can launch immediately: 

• Create a free account by entering an email and password here: https://slideswith.com/  
• Click the game and then copy it (the button to do so is right underneath the slide deck).
• Press "Start Event" in the top right corner. 
• Tell participants to play by scanning the QR code. 
• Create word clouds and have fun!

This interactive game only takes 5-10 minutes to play, so it's a fast, fun way to engage your audience and feel out the room. Players can use their mobile devices to answer questions. This activity is also free for up to 10 people and is easy to personalize.

6. The Get to Know You Game

This activity is one of the best presentation games if you have a small group that doesn't really know each other. The Get to Know You Game is a creative way to do introductions, and it's really simple.

Here's how to play the game: Before the event, ask group members to bring a favorite song or item to the presentation (you can do this by emailing them). When you're ready to play, ask each person to introduce themself, present their song or item, and explain why they picked it. For those sharing a song, have them play it on their phones before they explain why it's their favorite. 

7. Live Poll Questions 

When you have a large group, it's not easy to find ways to boost engagement—but poll questions are the solutions, especially when they're live and interactive. With this unique setup, large groups engage by answering questions and seeing their answers displayed in a fun way. 

Your job is to make sure you actually find a game that showcases responses uniquely to captivate your group. For a quick and great option, here's a popular icebreaker activity that promises to display responses using fun formats like word clouds, donut charts, live graphs, and per-player: 

• Create an account for free to access the game:  https://slideswith.com/  
• Click the slide deck and press the button to copy it. 
• Look in the top right corner of the deck and press "Start Event."
• Invite your group to play the game. They only need to use their mobile devices to scan the QR code. 
• Start polling your audience!

This activity is one of those fun presentation games everyone will want to enjoy, so invite all of your team members and students to participate. This game can accommodate up to 250 players and takes 5-10 minutes to complete. Tell your group to use their mobile devices to submit their responses. 

8. Assumptions 

This interactive game is a great way to break up your presentation to see who's paying attention and who can answer questions pertaining to your topic. 

• Ask your audience to stand up (for virtual presentations, make sure everyone's video is on). 
• Show true or false statements on the screen one by one. 
• Tell people to raise a hand if they think the statement is correct and sit down if they think it's incorrect.
• Continue until one person is left standing.
• Award the winner. 

This activity can be as short and challenging as you want. Also, if your presentation is long, you can play multiple rounds to break up your speaking time and test your audience throughout your discussion.  

9. Controversial Questions 

Want to see where your audience, students, or team lands on controversial topics? Then, energize your presentation with a fun, creative game called Controversial Questions. This activity has prompts that inspire lively debates, so it's a great way to get your group excited and chatty. 

However, to maintain a positive environment, make sure to find a tool that offers an office-friendly, classroom-friendly, and conference-friendly game. You don't want to sour the mood by creating uncomfortable division during your presentation. To make sure this game is fun and light-hearted, here's a popular one that's suitable for all audiences and ages: 

• Sign up for a free account by inputting an email address and password here:  https://slideswith.com/pricing  
• Click the game and press the button that says, "Copy and use this deck." 
• Press "Start Event" (the button is in the top right corner). 
• Have participants join the fun by asking them to scan the QR code with their mobile devices. 
• Get controversial and play! 

This interactive game for presentations asks fun (but appropriate) questions like:

• Does pineapple belong on pizza?
• Does the person flying in the middle seat get both armrests?
• Should the toilet roll go over or under? 

Players should use their mobile devices to submit answers. Up to ten people can play for free, and you can customize the game by updating the questions!

10. Word of the Day 

With this activity, you can keep your audience, team, or students engaged throughout your entire presentation. This  game requires listeners to be alert and recognize whenever you say the word of the day. 

Here's how to play: At the beginning of your presentation, tell your group the word of the day (it can also be a phrase if you'd prefer). Say that you'll weave the word into your presentation and that your audience must shout it out whenever you mention it. 

11. Mini Activity: Group Icebreaker

Whether you're doing an in-person or virtual presentation, you need to warm up your audience to get things started on a positive note. The best way to do that is with a quick icebreaker game. 

However, make sure your questions are fun, positive, and engaging. You can easily do this by finding a game that already has the best icebreaker questions included. Here's one that's ready to play (and requiring no tech skills to launch): 

• Input an email address and password to make a free account here: https://slideswith.com/  
• Click the deck and copy it (press "Copy and use this deck). 
• Click the button in the top right corner that says "Start Event."
• Invite participants to play by asking them to scan the QR code. 
• Break the ice to warm up your audience!

Your group should use their mobile devices to submit responses to poll questions. Also, this game accommodates up to 250 players, but only ten people can join for free.

12. Process of Elimination 

This activity is one of the best games for presentations because it's simple yet fun and great at helping listeners get to know each other. You can play it at the beginning of your presentation or in the middle to give your group a chance to stretch their legs. 

• Before your event, create a list of "yes or no" questions. 
• Once you're ready to play, tell your group to stand up (if you're doing a virtual presentation, make sure everyone's video is on). 
• Ask each question one by one. 
• Tell attendees to stand if their answer is "yes" and sit if their answer is "no." 

The questions can relate to your topic or be totally random. Also, if you'd prefer to thin out the number of people standing, you can take a creative twist and ask your questions by saying something like this: "Stay standing if (insert scenario)." When phrasing each question this way, the game will end with one person standing. To acknowledge the winner, you can give them a round of applause or award them a prize. 

13. Conference Opener Icebreaker 

If you're speaking at a big conference, you need an interactive game for presentations that can get everyone involved and ensure every voice is heard. To achieve these goals, you should create an icebreaker game that works for large groups . 

Using an easy, intuitive template is the best step to take. That way, you don't have to start from scratch or spend hours making your game. For a template that requires no code or tech-savviness to build on, here's the best option: 

• Sign up by making a free account here: https://slideswith.com/  
• Click on the game. On the next page, click the button to copy and use the deck. 
• Customize the template using the instructions HERE . 
• During your presentation, press "Start Event" in the top right corner. 
• Ask the group to use their mobile devices to scan the QR code and join the fun. (Also, make sure participants use their mobile devices to submit answers.) 
• Play and engage your audience!  

This template has fun, interactive features built in to keep your large audience engaged. Those features include polls, word clouds, and ratings. Just make sure you sign up for a paid plan to accommodate the large number of people in your group—the free account only works for up to ten players. 

14. Two Truths and a Lie 

This classic game is a fun, energizing way to help your listeners get to know one another. It's perfect for small in-person or virtual groups and is an ideal activity for the beginning of your presentation. 

Here's how to play: Pick any topic (for the purposes of this article, the topic will be "movies"). In no particular order, say two movies you've really watched and one you haven't watched. Ask your audience to guess which statement is the lie. The winner picks the next topic and says two truths and a lie. 

Be Memorable With Presentation Games

Oftentimes, people forget presentations within a week or even days, and that's because the discussions are boring. But you don't work hard preparing a presentation for it to be forgotten. If you want your message to stick, all you have to do is make it enjoyable without being corny.  

If you want to be remembered and actually get people engaged, you need to make your presentation fun and enjoyable, without coming off as corny or desperate to please. Ivan Dimitrijevic, 10 Secrets of Making Every Presentation Fun, Engaging, and Enjoyable

Luckily, the interactive presentation games in this article are unique and exciting—they're far from corny. So, use them for your upcoming presentations to make your messages compelling and memorable. 

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Persuasive Speech Outline, with Examples

March 17, 2021 - Gini Beqiri

A persuasive speech is a speech that is given with the intention of convincing the audience to believe or do something. This could be virtually anything – voting, organ donation, recycling, and so on.

A successful persuasive speech effectively convinces the audience to your point of view, providing you come across as trustworthy and knowledgeable about the topic you’re discussing.

So, how do you start convincing a group of strangers to share your opinion? And how do you connect with them enough to earn their trust?

Topics for your persuasive speech

We’ve made a list of persuasive speech topics you could use next time you’re asked to give one. The topics are thought-provoking and things which many people have an opinion on.

When using any of our persuasive speech ideas, make sure you have a solid knowledge about the topic you’re speaking about – and make sure you discuss counter arguments too.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• All school children should wear a uniform
• Facebook is making people more socially anxious
• It should be illegal to drive over the age of 80
• Lying isn’t always wrong
• The case for organ donation

Read our full list of  75 persuasive speech topics and ideas .

Preparation: Consider your audience

As with any speech, preparation is crucial. Before you put pen to paper, think about what you want to achieve with your speech. This will help organise your thoughts as you realistically can only cover 2-4 main points before your  audience get bored .

It’s also useful to think about who your audience are at this point. If they are unlikely to know much about your topic then you’ll need to factor in context of your topic when planning the structure and length of your speech. You should also consider their:

• Cultural or religious backgrounds
• Shared concerns, attitudes and problems
• Shared interests, beliefs and hopes
• Baseline attitude – are they hostile, neutral, or open to change?

The factors above will all determine the approach you take to writing your speech. For example, if your topic is about childhood obesity, you could begin with a story about your own children or a shared concern every parent has. This would suit an audience who are more likely to be parents than young professionals who have only just left college.

Remember the 3 main approaches to persuade others

There are three main approaches used to persuade others:

The ethos approach appeals to the audience’s ethics and morals, such as what is the ‘right thing’ to do for humanity, saving the environment, etc.

Pathos persuasion is when you appeal to the audience’s emotions, such as when you  tell a story  that makes them the main character in a difficult situation.

The logos approach to giving a persuasive speech is when you appeal to the audience’s logic – ie. your speech is essentially more driven by facts and logic. The benefit of this technique is that your point of view becomes virtually indisputable because you make the audience feel that only your view is the logical one.

• Ethos, Pathos, Logos: 3 Pillars of Public Speaking and Persuasion

Ideas for your persuasive speech outline

1. structure of your persuasive speech.

The opening and closing of speech are the most important. Consider these carefully when thinking about your persuasive speech outline. A  strong opening  ensures you have the audience’s attention from the start and gives them a positive first impression of you.

You’ll want to  start with a strong opening  such as an attention grabbing statement, statistic of fact. These are usually dramatic or shocking, such as:

Sadly, in the next 18 minutes when I do our chat, four Americans that are alive will be dead from the food that they eat – Jamie Oliver

Another good way of starting a persuasive speech is to include your audience in the picture you’re trying to paint. By making them part of the story, you’re embedding an emotional connection between them and your speech.

You could do this in a more toned-down way by talking about something you know that your audience has in common with you. It’s also helpful at this point to include your credentials in a persuasive speech to gain your audience’s trust.

Obama would spend hours with his team working on the opening and closing statements of his speech.

2. Stating your argument

You should  pick between 2 and 4 themes  to discuss during your speech so that you have enough time to explain your viewpoint and convince your audience to the same way of thinking.

It’s important that each of your points transitions seamlessly into the next one so that your speech has a logical flow. Work on your  connecting sentences  between each of your themes so that your speech is easy to listen to.

Your argument should be backed up by objective research and not purely your subjective opinion. Use examples, analogies, and stories so that the audience can relate more easily to your topic, and therefore are more likely to be persuaded to your point of view.

3. Addressing counter-arguments

Any balanced theory or thought  addresses and disputes counter-arguments  made against it. By addressing these, you’ll strengthen your persuasive speech by refuting your audience’s objections and you’ll show that you are knowledgeable to other thoughts on the topic.

When describing an opposing point of view, don’t explain it in a bias way – explain it in the same way someone who holds that view would describe it. That way, you won’t irritate members of your audience who disagree with you and you’ll show that you’ve reached your point of view through reasoned judgement. Simply identify any counter-argument and pose explanations against them.

• Complete Guide to Debating

4. Closing your speech

Your closing line of your speech is your last chance to convince your audience about what you’re saying. It’s also most likely to be the sentence they remember most about your entire speech so make sure it’s a good one!

The most effective persuasive speeches end  with a  call to action . For example, if you’ve been speaking about organ donation, your call to action might be asking the audience to register as donors.

Practice answering AI questions on your speech and get  feedback on your performance .

If audience members ask you questions, make sure you listen carefully and respectfully to the full question. Don’t interject in the middle of a question or become defensive.

You should show that you have carefully considered their viewpoint and refute it in an objective way (if you have opposing opinions). Ensure you remain patient, friendly and polite at all times.

Example 1: Persuasive speech outline

This example is from the Kentucky Community and Technical College.

Specific purpose

To persuade my audience to start walking in order to improve their health.

Central idea

Regular walking can improve both your mental and physical health.

Introduction

Let’s be honest, we lead an easy life: automatic dishwashers, riding lawnmowers, T.V. remote controls, automatic garage door openers, power screwdrivers, bread machines, electric pencil sharpeners, etc., etc. etc. We live in a time-saving, energy-saving, convenient society. It’s a wonderful life. Or is it?

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Example 2: Persuasive speech

Tips for delivering your persuasive speech

• Practice, practice, and practice some more . Record yourself speaking and listen for any nervous habits you have such as a nervous laugh, excessive use of filler words, or speaking too quickly.
• Show confident body language . Stand with your legs hip width apart with your shoulders centrally aligned. Ground your feet to the floor and place your hands beside your body so that hand gestures come freely. Your audience won’t be convinced about your argument if you don’t sound confident in it. Find out more about  confident body language here .
• Don’t memorise your speech word-for-word  or read off a script. If you memorise your persuasive speech, you’ll sound less authentic and panic if you lose your place. Similarly, if you read off a script you won’t sound genuine and you won’t be able to connect with the audience by  making eye contact . In turn, you’ll come across as less trustworthy and knowledgeable. You could simply remember your key points instead, or learn your opening and closing sentences.
• Remember to use facial expressions when storytelling  – they make you more relatable. By sharing a personal story you’ll more likely be speaking your truth which will help you build a connection with the audience too. Facial expressions help bring your story to life and transport the audience into your situation.
• Keep your speech as concise as possible . When practicing the delivery, see if you can edit it to have the same meaning but in a more succinct way. This will keep the audience engaged.

The best persuasive speech ideas are those that spark a level of controversy. However, a public speech is not the time to express an opinion that is considered outside the norm. If in doubt, play it safe and stick to topics that divide opinions about 50-50.

Bear in mind who your audience are and plan your persuasive speech outline accordingly, with researched evidence to support your argument. It’s important to consider counter-arguments to show that you are knowledgeable about the topic as a whole and not bias towards your own line of thought.