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

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

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

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

3 General Types of Business Presentations

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

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

• Informative
• Persuasive 
• Supporting 

Informative Business Presentation 

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

Examples of informative presentations:

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

Helpful templates from SlideModel:

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

Persuasive Business Presentation 

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

Examples of persuasive presentations:

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

Supporting Business Presentation 

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

Examples of supporting presentations:

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

What Should Be Included in a Business Presentation?

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

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

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

How to Make a Business Presentation: Actionable Tips

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

1. Get Your Presentation Opening Right 

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

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

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

Standard Informative Opening 

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

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

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

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

Story Opening 

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

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

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

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

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

Dramatic Opening 

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

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

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

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

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

2. Get Your PowerPoint Design Right

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

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

Use Images, Instead of Bullet Points 

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

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

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

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

Fewer Slides is Better

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

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

Here are several quick tips to shorten your slides:

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

Consistency is Key 

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

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

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

3. Make Your Closure Memorable 

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

Use the Rule of Three 

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

Many famous authors and speakers use this technique:

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

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

Try the Title Close Technique

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

Ask a Question 

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

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

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

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

12 Business Presentation Examples and What Makes Them Great 

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

1. N26 Digital Bank Pitch Deck 

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

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

2. WeWork Pitch Deck

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

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

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

3. Redfin Investor Presentation 

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

4. Google Ready Together Presentation 

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

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

5. Salesforce Business Presentation Example 

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

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

6. Mastercard Business Presentation

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

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

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

7. McKinsey Diversity & Inclusion Presentation 

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

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

8. Accenture Presentation for the Energy Sector

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

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

9. Amazon Web Services (AWS) Technical Presentation 

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

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

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

10. Snapchat Company Presentation

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

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

11. Visa Business Acquisition Presentation 

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

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

12. Pinterest Earnings Report Presentation 

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

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

To Conclude 

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

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

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

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How to Give a Killer Presentation

• Chris Anderson

For more than 30 years, the TED conference series has presented enlightening talks that people enjoy watching. In this article, Anderson, TED’s curator, shares five keys to great presentations:

• Frame your story (figure out where to start and where to end).
• Plan your delivery (decide whether to memorize your speech word for word or develop bullet points and then rehearse it—over and over).
• Work on stage presence (but remember that your story matters more than how you stand or whether you’re visibly nervous).
• Plan the multimedia (whatever you do, don’t read from PowerPoint slides).
• Put it together (play to your strengths and be authentic).

According to Anderson, presentations rise or fall on the quality of the idea, the narrative, and the passion of the speaker. It’s about substance—not style. In fact, it’s fairly easy to “coach out” the problems in a talk, but there’s no way to “coach in” the basic story—the presenter has to have the raw material. So if your thinking is not there yet, he advises, decline that invitation to speak. Instead, keep working until you have an idea that’s worth sharing.

Lessons from TED

A little more than a year ago, on a trip to Nairobi, Kenya, some colleagues and I met a 12-year-old Masai boy named Richard Turere, who told us a fascinating story. His family raises livestock on the edge of a vast national park, and one of the biggest challenges is protecting the animals from lions—especially at night. Richard had noticed that placing lamps in a field didn’t deter lion attacks, but when he walked the field with a torch, the lions stayed away. From a young age, he’d been interested in electronics, teaching himself by, for example, taking apart his parents’ radio. He used that experience to devise a system of lights that would turn on and off in sequence—using solar panels, a car battery, and a motorcycle indicator box—and thereby create a sense of movement that he hoped would scare off the lions. He installed the lights, and the lions stopped attacking. Soon villages elsewhere in Kenya began installing Richard’s “lion lights.”

• CA Chris Anderson is the curator of TED.

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How To Make a Good Presentation [A Complete Guide]

By Krystle Wong , Jul 20, 2023

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

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

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

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

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

Click to jump ahead:

What are the 10 qualities of a good presentation?

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

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

1. Clear structure

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

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

2. Engaging opening

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

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

3. Relevant content

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

4. Effective visual aids

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

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

5. Clear and concise communication

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

6. Engaging delivery

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

7. Interaction and audience engagement

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

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

8. Effective storytelling

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

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

9. Well-timed pacing

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

10. Strong conclusion

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

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

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

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

1. Understand the audience and their needs

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

2. Conduct thorough research on the topic

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

3. Organize the content with a clear structure

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

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

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

4. Develop visually appealing and supportive visual aids

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

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

5. Practice, practice and practice

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

6. Seek feedback and make necessary adjustments

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

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

7. Prepare for potential technical or logistical issues

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

8. Fine-tune and polish your presentation

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

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

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

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

1. Confidence and positive body language

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

2. Eye contact with the audience

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

3. Effective use of hand gestures and movement

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

4. Utilize storytelling techniques

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

5. Incorporate multimedia elements

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

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

6. Utilize humor strategically

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

7. Practice active listening and respond to feedback

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

8. Apply the 10-20-30 rule

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

9. Implement the 5-5-5 rule

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

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

1. How to start a presentation?

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

2. How to end a presentation?

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

3. How to make a presentation interactive?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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.

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Take the struggle out of team communication.

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How to Write Great Business Presentations: 6 Tips to Win New Business

Alice Musyoka

Many people hate making presentations for a reason. You have to define your presentation style, put together captivating slides, handle unexpected questions, get your point across very clearly, and try to squeeze a laugh out of the audience.

It can be overwhelming for any person.

However, most of us have to make business presentations every now and then, especially salespeople. Whether you’re a sales rep who tops the leaderboard every month or a seasoned speaker who headlines at conferences, you can always improve your presentations and deliver your message more clearly.

There are lots of tips on business presentations out there, so we've collected the very best that will make a big difference to your presentations.

Here's how to go about creating a great business presentation.

Tip 1: Create an Outline

Tip 2: write the way you speak, tip 3: start with a compelling story and inject some humor, tip 4: use multimedia, tip 5: avoid writing errors, tip 6: less is more, start winning over customers with your business presentations.

If you want things to go according to plan, you have to create a plan in the first place. Come up with an outline that covers the main points you would like to get across. This outline will serve as your anchor and help you to build a slide deck. It will also help you to know the key arguments you need to touch on.

First, start with the bare bones. Write the introductory remarks, then the three main points you would like your audience to remember from your presentation, and then the concluding remarks. A well-delivered introduction and conclusion are crucial parts of a presentation. You shouldn't overlook them when writing your outline.

To create the body of your presentation, add sub-points to each of the three main points. These sub-points will be helpful later when you're putting together your slides. You'll be able to see how much material you have for each takeaway and split the content into the right number of slides.

When you create an outline before you start creating the slides, you have confidence from the get-go that you'll come up with material that will stick in people’s minds.

Before you start typing away, let's talk about tone. Some people think that a business presentation should look like a college essay. But if you want to win over customers, you have to write like you speak. Picture yourself having a conversation with a friend. The words would flow freely and you would use very few fancy words.

When making a presentation, your goal is not to sound smart, it is to be clear. Aim for a conversational tone that is well-thought-out. Write like you speak when you speak at your best.

The words you use in the presentation should sound like they are coming from you. If you use a lot of contractions when speaking (like can't , won't , wouldn't ), write your presentation that way. If you never use adverbs, omit them.

While we’re usually unaware of our verbal habits, the people who know us are aware of them. After creating the presentation, ask a close friend or spouse if it sounds like you.

When writing the first draft of your presentation, aim for simplicity. Don't pay attention to eloquence as it doesn't have to look great the first time. Turn off your inner editor and just write.

There is one reason TED talks are so popular. Every presenter starts with a captivating story—whether it is a heartwarming story about their daughter's first day of school or a heart-rending story about a near-death experience.

A great story captures the attention of your audience and allows you to build a personal connection with them. It acts as an unforgettable cornerstone of the presentation. After sharing the story, connect it to the main point of your presentation.

You don't have to tell a story that is unique or groundbreaking. In fact, the most effective stories are those your audience can relate to. People relate to stories emotionally and remember them long after they're told.

The success of your presentation will be determined by your ability to deliver information in a way that is compelling. Stories make you, the speaker, appear more approachable and they also make facts more digestible. If you want customers to remember your business presentation, reach into your bag of stories and bring the presentation to life.

Making people laugh can also be a powerful tool for success. Research has shown that if you can make people laugh, they will lower their defences and will see you as a competent and confident leader. They will also be more likely to pay attention to the serious things you have to say. Inject humour into your presentations using personal anecdotes or analogies.

You can give the best advice in the world, but in order for people to believe it, they need to see it in practice. Multimedia can help you capture the attention of your audience and maintain it. You may not know it, but humans process images quicker than text.

If you only use words and numbers in your slides, you may cause people to squint their eyes as they try to read them. Some may try to scribble down as much information as they can before you move to the next slide. Include images and charts in your slides, not just text and tables. Make sure the attention stays on you, the expert, by adding an image or two to drive your point home.

Another multimedia format you can use is audio. Play some background music to keep your audience glued to your presentation. A simple Google search can yield free high-quality instrumental music you can use in your presentations. You can also use the music to create a welcoming atmosphere before you start your presentation and afterwards.

I'd recommend including at least one video in the presentation as videos are valuable visual content that keep audiences engaged. The demand for video content is always increasing. Most marketers use videos because they are an effective marketing tool: A video can help you explain a concept in a way that images and written words can't.

These are the four most common writing mistakes people make when creating slides:

• Grammatical mistakes
• Improper capitalization
• Mixing up homophones
• Incorrect punctuation

Seeing these errors in your presentation will lead customers to question your credibility. If you're pitching to them, they may think you are not thorough in your work and that you didn't put a lot of effort into your presentation. Or they may think you don't know how to write properly. The response you get from them may not be what you had in mind.

Writing errors dilute your message and have a negative impact on what you're trying to achieve. When creating slides for your presentation, you can use a digital writing tool like ProWritingAid to improve your grammar. It is more advanced than your average spellchecker and will tell you how readable (and therefore memorable!) your slides are.

SlideShare , a hosting service for professional content, is popular for a reason. It displays information in a clear presentation format, ensuring people don’t go elsewhere to find it.

When you're delivering a presentation, one of the reasons people come to see it is because they care about the topic. But there's also another reason. They are curious about the person giving the presentation.

When giving a business presentation to an audience in person, it's important to keep your slides simple. This ensures that people focus on you and your message and not on the slides themselves. Make sure the slides cover the topic well but are also simple enough so that people can pay attention to what you're saying. And like we said before, support your message with visuals.

One way you can keep things simple is by reducing the amount of text in the slides. If you want people to remember the information you give, add an image to every slide. When information is paired with images, people recall it better.

Many high-level executives, even Google's CEO Sundar Pichai, avoid a lot of text in their presentations. At Google I/O 2017, he said that text-heavy slides are avoided at Google for the very reasons outlined above.

A business presentation gives you an opportunity to inform, persuade, demonstrate, and sell your ideas to an audience. If the purpose of your presentation is to win new business, it should be clear and focused. Nothing feels as bad as spending a lot of time on a presentation only for it to fail. A bad presentation can damage your brand.

Make sure that you know your audience and the topic you're discussing well, and ensure that your presentation grabs attention, follows a logical order, and flows with clarity. It should identify problems, explain the solutions, and create a sense of urgency in order for people to act. Explain why "right now" is the best time for them to take the action you want them to take.

Now that you know what you need to create a great business presentation, check out our 7 mistakes to avoid next time you present!

Want to learn more more great business writing hacks? Download this free book now:

Business Writing Hacks for Flawless Communication

Writing is an essential element of nearly every profession today. whether you are drafting a proposal for a major prospect or collaborating by email, strong communications help colleagues and clients understand your ideas. errors and awkward writing can make you lose credibility., download this guide to learn the techniques professional writers use to write clearly and persuasively..

Be confident about grammar

Check every email, essay, or story for grammar mistakes. Fix them before you press send.

Alice Musyoka is a versatile copywriter and content strategist who helps businesses see results from content marketing. Her goal is to make people pause, smile, and read. She's a previous contributor for [Stagetecture](https://stagetecture.com/author/ndanuaj123/). When she's not working, she usually goes for long walks with her son and reconnects with nature. She also loves watching funny movies.

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120 Presentation Topic Ideas Help You Hook Your Audience

Updated: January 15, 2024

Published: August 09, 2023

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

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

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

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How to Choose a Great Presentation Topic in 5 Steps

120 presentation topic ideas, 5 presentation tips.

4. Choose an appropriate presentation style.

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

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

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

5. Engage with your audience.

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

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

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

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

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

Feeling Inspired Yet?

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

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

Don't forget to share this post!

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The definitive guide to creating a high impact business presentation (with examples)

How to give a business presentation

Have you ever watched a presentation and been blown away by the presence or charisma of the speaker?

The truth is that the best speakers included,use a set of specific skills which they have learned and developed over time. It’s not a fluke that they have taken you on a journey, made you feel like the only person in the room, and inspired you to take action on what they say. They are following a process and using a set of tactics that elicit this reaction. And our goal here is helping you achieve that.

Each component of their presentations is still deliberate and learned. Even the very best comedians, who appear to display the epitome of “off-the-cuff” commentary, meticulously plan and practice every aspect of their shows so that they come across as natural and witty.

Jerry Seinfeld, for instance, is renowned for being one of the most well-prepared speakers in the world.

‍ Seinfeld says , “Every comedian, like every athlete, has a little routine… I never vary it. It just feels comfortable.” ‍ From pitching a potential client to persuading your CEO to ramp up the marketing budget, each presentation has subtle differences which determine whether or not they are effective in achieving the desired outcome.

With that said, there are a few universal guidelines when it comes to delivering an effective business presentation. This guide will provide an overview of the different types and delve deeper into the elements that work together to deliver impact. 

Here are some of the most important business presentation skills you should learn and improve over time:

Practice and prepare

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking “I know this stuff” and “winging it” when it’s time to present. Some may even think that an delivering an excellent business presentation is as easy as speaking. However, the best presenters prepare meticulously.

For important presentations, plan on a minimum of 10 run-throughs . By doing so, you increase your chances of the presentation going off without a hitch and your ability to ability to engage with the audience in the moment.

When presenting, it’s easy to get lost in your slides, caught reading notes or worried about what you will say next. But if you prepare appropriately, you can truly be present during the presentation–the most effective way to engage an audience and maintain their attention. 

However, we know that is easier said than done. Here’s a quick but effective guide to help you give killer presentations without notes:

Tell a great story

Studies suggest that stories are up to 22 times more memorable than facts. Stories connect with us on a personal level, tapping into emotion–just one reason they have been a crucial foundation of human society, passing on knowledge for generations.

Storytelling, however, isn’t as easy as it sounds. It’s a skill and a formula that the best presenters use to capture an audience.

This TED Talk by Nancy Duarte showcases not only an impactful presentation, but highlights the power of storytelling in conveying a message.

The 10-20-30 rule

Helping others understand a complex topic in simple language is perhaps the greatest skill of an effective presenter. If you overload a presentation with information, the people watching are more likely to leave being confused or simply disengage during the presentation. Guy Kawasaki’s 10-20-30 rule is a good structure to follow: ‍

Inexperienced presenters have a tendency to overload their slide deck with information and run out of time right before they get to the juicy part of their message. Using the 10-20-30 rule is a good way to condense a presentation and reduce the chance of running out of time.

Physical awareness, eye contact, and voice projection

Did you know that 55% of the way someone interprets your communication is attributed to body language, and 38% attributed to your tone of voice? That leaves only 7% of interpretation based on the actual words said.

Given these statistics, the way we prepare for presentations should be weighted towards understanding how what our body language and tone of voice says, rather than obsessing over simply the words we say. 

As with any new skills, these presentation skills won’t develop overnight. To truly become an excellent presenter and communicator in the workplace, you need to practice and refine your skillset habitually.

Now let’s talk about how to create the presentation deck itself.

How to make a business presentation slide deck

What is the audience looking at when you are presenting? Your slides.

There will be moments when you engage one-to-one in eye contact with people, but for the most part, they are using their visual senses and looking at your slides to better understand what you are talking about.

Given this behavior, the look and feel of your slides can either help or hinder the consumption and retention of your message. As a result, the way you design your slide deck is critical. If you’re short on time or resources, SketchDeck just might be the perfect solution to get high-quality, on brand presentation design.

Here are some best practices to follow when it comes to presentation design:

Types of business presentations

There is a fairly broad spectrum of pitches, speeches, and meetings that business professionals both encounter and carry out in their day-to-day work. As a result, it is important that before we talk about how to create one, we define what it is.

A business presentation is the delivery of a message to a group or individual with the purpose of influencing their perception of a topic so that it aligns with a desired set of outcomes. While these presentations take several forms, we can group them into three primary categories: ‍

• Sales presentation : A sales presentation or sales pitch refers to a structured message which attempts to persuade someone to buy a product or service. ‍
• Marketing presentation : Unlike a sales pitch, a marketing presentation is typically delivered to other representatives within a business. The purpose of this business meeting presentation is to educate and influence internal decision-makers or budget holders to buy into a plan for promoting a product or service. ‍
• Other business presentations : ‍ On top of marketing and sales presentations, there are any number of professional presentations that could be categorized as business presentations. These include information sessions, training initiatives, reporting on results, innovation brainstorms, problem-solving collectives, and much more.

Use brand guidelines

Your business should have a set of design guidelines in place which all collateral, including presentations, abide by. Things such as primary colors, secondary colors, layout, fonts, style, and flow should all be itemized and described in this document.

For an example, check out the SketchDeck Brandbook.

Business presentation templates are your friends

In addition to using your brand’s set of design guidelines, it’s helpful to create a series of themed templates for each type of business presentation. This way, whenever someone in your organization is conducting a presentation they have an on-brand framework to work from.

Have a design library

To ensure consistency across your brand, develop a design library for employees that is hosted in the cloud. This library will provide quick and easy access to your guidelines, templates, and a set of pre-approved images and graphics. 

PowerPoint best practices

For our next step, let’s check a few PowerPoint best practices (works for Google Slides and pretty much any other presentation software, too):

Adopt the KISS approach

Say it with us–keep it short and simple and you’ll keep your viewers happy. Limit yourself to one key idea per slide:

Not only will this allow you to inform your audience without overwhelming them, but it will also keep you from diluting the importance of each piece of information with tangents.

This doesn’t apply to only text, though–crowding every corner with graphs, animations and even logos prevent the key points from being communicated. As posited by Edward Tufte, “ PowerPointPhluff ” is a trap many presenters fall prey to, replacing serious analysis with chart junk, over-produced layouts, cheerleader logotypes, and branding, not to mention corny clip art.

As a general rule, you should aim to include no more than three pieces of information on one slide–all of which contribute to one idea.

Draw attention to key points

Use contrasting colors, font variations, and moving graphics to draw people’s attention to the most important points in your presentation.

In the example below, you can see how a simple variation in fonts can have a powerful visual impact on the way someone interprets a slide:

Additional business presentation tips

Once you’ve practiced your presentation skills and refined your design, you may ask: what else can you do to deliver a powerful presentation? Here are some additional tips, ideas and best practices:

Seek feedback

As with anything, if you want to get better at presenting, the best way to do so is to seek constructive feedback and use that feedback to improve.

For best results, go beyond asking a friend or colleague “how it went” or “how you did.” Instead, enlist a coach, mentor, or accountability partner who can provide structured and meaningful feedback.

‍ Even though you are conducting a business presentation, don’t neglect the entertainment factor.

People like to feel –whether it be laughing, crying, being held in suspense, and/or drawn to the edge of their seat. Entertainment and emotion are components that grab attention and will inevitably help you convey your message. 

Make it visual

Research suggests that a staggering 65% of people are visual learners. Not only that, but studies show that the retention of knowledge is significantly increased when visuals are used rather than text, so keep this in mind when creating your slide deck.

This presentation from Andreas von der Heydt shows off the power of visuals in presentations with only minimal text on each slide. 

Now let’s get visual and check a few great business presentation decks available online!

Here is a collection of 15 of the best business presentations, including key insights and takeaways for your next deck.

Sample business presentations

1. how google works.

Putting together a presentation like this one is no easy task. It is lighthearted but extremely professional and relevant at the same time. Each slide makes you curious to see what’s next, and they keep it fun without fluff. Bravo!

2. Zuora Sales Deck

Some say this is the best sales deck ever . For us, it’s hard to say this is the best business presentation we’ve seen, seeing as we’ve designed over 4,000 presentations for amazing clients–but it is surely one of the more powerful presentations out there. 

We like how Zuora’s deck tells a compelling story through great visuals and a perfectly structured narrative. They press the right buttons throughout to make their target audience uncomfortable enough to pay attention, yet hopeful enough to crave for their solution.

And while finding good business pictures for presentations can be challenging, Zuora takes it to the next level by using on-brand visual aids to support their message on each slide. 

PowerPoint is not boring–dull slides and corny animations are. 

With creativity and skill, you can make wonderful presentations in PowerPoint. This presentation we made for Dialpad was a big hit thanks to the engaging animations that both embodied the brand’s exceptional quality and displayed in-depth service details in a clean, dynamic way. (Again, all in PowerPoint!) 

In order to resonate with your audience, you must know your audience–something Reddit excels at.

Not only is this deck 100% on-brand, it’s also funny and interesting in a relevant way for their audience. They did a great job with their company presentation, showing how Reddit works and their strong policies against spammers and attempts to “game” the platform.

The deck also excelled at showing success cases, using both creative and down-to-earth ads to show that their platform brings a good ROI if you follow their guidelines, whether you have a brilliant marketing campaign or a set of simple, on-point ads.

5. Hiperdist ‍

This deck is living proof you don’t need to toot your own horn in a professional business presentation.

In this 9 slide deck about key reasons to move your clients to Microsoft Office 365, Hiperdist remained laser focused on the solution that was relevant to their audience. They only mentioned their own brand in the final slides, with contact information and a one-sentence description.

Perhaps the only area that they could’ve done better in is following the golden rule–one key point per slide! To ensure you are concise and not wordy in your own presentation, create a business presentation outline before designing your deck. 

6. Snapchat

This deck does a magnificent job by cutting to the chase quickly and presenting relevant data without clutter. Simple, on-brand, to the point and well-designed–a great example of how business presentation slides should look and feel.

7. Adgibbon

After providing top-notch business presentation services for years, we’ve developed a sixth sense when it comes to great presentations. We can usually tell if a deck is good or bad from the first slides.

Adgibbon was a hit from head to tail, dynamically showcasing their product, one feature per slide and keeping things light, fun, and 100% on-brand. 

8. Launchrock ‍

With a clean, on-brand look and feel, Launchrock showcases everything they need in 16 crisp slides. 

And the best thing about their clean design? If they need new business presentations, all they need to do is use this one as a template and they’re ready to go!

That’s one of the major benefits of a professional business presentation PPT template: you can easily streamline outstanding decks, keeping guesswork out of the equation.

9. Schmidt Ocean Institute

Giving a presentation about something as complex as marine science and conservation could be considered overwhelming. That didn’t stop Schmidt Ocean Institute, however, from killing it with their 2018 Visions to Reality deck.

This deck is a masterclass on how to make a business PowerPoint presentation look great by harmonizing beautiful photography, illustrations, data points, blockquotes, technical knowledge and company achievements without clutter, fluff or dullness.

10. Greylock Partners

With major companies like Dropbox and Okta on their portfolio, Greylock Partners has in-depth knowledge and experience in their field. They also know how to show their expertise in a digestible and compelling manner. 

If you’re stuck and need some tips on how to give a powerful presentation, take a deep dive into this deck. They use subtle background authoritative images to build trust with their audience…  

And not only do they ask the billion dollar question…

But they also answer it with uncanny precision and great visual aids.

Finally, they use data-driven graphs to back up their answer and simultaneously show the audience their expertise.

Pitching investors demands your A-game. And since 91% of professionals feel more confident when they have a beautifully designed presentation, design plays a major role in prepping for success.

When Air was preparing for an important presentation for a group of investors, they decided they needed a new look. Within two weeks, we had worked together to create a beautiful final presentation. The presentation was a hit, and they wowed their investors!

Remember: beautiful design is not only an aesthetic need, but also a profitable decision that can make or break huge opportunities.

12. Office Vibe

With vibrant colors and fun illustrations, each slide from Office Vibe’s deck is delightful and informative. It’s captivating enough to make you want to flip through the entire deck more than once–a good marker of a winning PowerPoint business presentation deck.

13. Degreed

Degreed’s takeaway slides are just what every audience needs–a breakdown of data-heavy slides into digestible tidbits. 

Their capacity to illustrate data is also worth mentioning, as it increases information retention.

14. Hubspot

Hubspot presentations are on-brand, fun, and engaging, and their Zero to IPO deck is no different.

And of course, full of memes.

Disclaimer: we’re not saying you should use memes, but they can help engage the audience if on-brand (assuming your audience is as fond of memes as many marketers are!)

15. Thrive Savings

Have a tight timeline for an important business presentation, but not confident your current deck is good enough to make a stand for your brand?

That’s why we exist! Thrive Savings was a young startup without firm brand guidelines, but that didn’t stop us from creating a pitch deck that personified their brand. Taking inspiration from their social media marketing, we worked together to create a fresh and dynamic deck design in under a week, from start to finish. 

Aislinn Barry

• Originally published on September 11, 2019

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List of the famous landmarks that make up the Moscow skyline, listed alphabetically with photos when available. Moscow architectural landmarks as well as other major buildings, dwellings, and other structures in Moscow are included on this list. Information about these Moscow buildings is included on this list, such as when the building first opened and what architectural style it falls under. List includes both new buildings in Moscow and older historic landmarks.

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Moscow - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The capital of Russia is Moscow. Moscow is an old city. It is more than 850 years old. The city is situated on seven hills. On one of them is the Kremlin with its ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

• The capital of Russia is Moscow. Moscow is an old city. It is more than 850 years old.
• The city is situated on seven hills. On one of them is the Kremlin with its beautiful red walls and famous towers.
• The Kremlin is the heart of Moscow.
• There are a lot of beautiful churches, cathedrals, bell towers and temples in Moscow.
• Now Moscow is the biggest and most wonderful city in Russia. There are many modern buildings, streets and bridges.

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