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

Jane Ng • 05 April, 2024 • 9 min read

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

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

So, let's dive in!

Table of Contents

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

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

Key Takeaways

Tips for better presentation.

• How to start a presentation
• How to introduce yourself

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Presentations are all about connecting with your audience. 

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

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

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

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

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

How To Write A Presentation Script (With Examples)

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

1/ Understand Your Purpose and Audience

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

2/ Outline the Structure of Your Presentation

Strong opening.

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

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

Main Points

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

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

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

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

3/ Craft Clear and Concise Sentences

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

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

4/ Use Visual Aids and Supporting Materials

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

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

5/ Include Engagement Techniques

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

6/ Rehearse and Revise

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

7/ Seek Feedback

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

More on Script Presentation

How to Write A Presentation Introduction with Examples

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

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

1/ Start with a Hook

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

2/ Establish Relevance and Context

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

3/ State the Purpose

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

4/ Preview Your Main Points

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

5/ Establish Credibility

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

6/ Engage Emotionally

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

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

For example, Topic: Work-life balance

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

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

🎉 Check out: How to Start a Presentation?

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

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

Frequently Asked Questions

How to write a presentation step by step .

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

How do you start a presentation? 

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

What are the five parts of a presentation?

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

A writer who wants to create practical and valuable content for the audience

Tips to Engage with Polls & Trivia

More from AhaSlides

How to write an engaging and effective presentation script?

Explore expert tips and techniques to elevate your script, ensuring it resonates with your audience and enhances your message.

Bharti Jain

Delivering presentations

In today's world, presentations are a crucial part of professional communication, whether for pitching a new idea, educating an audience, or persuading potential clients. However, the backbone of any successful presentation is its script. A well-crafted presentation script can captivate your audience and deliver your message effectively. In this blog, we’ll explore the intricacies of crafting such a presentation that not only delivers information but also engages your audience, drawing insights from the tools and strategies provided by Prezent.

What is a presentation script?

It is much more than a mere set of words to be read or spoken; it is a strategic narrative designed to communicate ideas effectively. It’s the roadmap of your presentation content, detailing every turn of your story, every fact you want to highlight, and every emotion you wish to evoke. A well-written script aligns with your visuals and delivery, creating a harmonious and impactful presentation.

Here’s an example of presentation script containing key points only:

What are the key elements of a compelling presentation script?

When we talk about crafting a presentation script that captivates and engages, it's essential to focus on the following elements.

1. Write a script with a clear objective

It's a common misconception that the sole purpose is just to relay whatever is on your mind. Every presentation has a specific goal, and it's crucial to identify this goal right from the start. Are you looking to inform, persuade, inspire, or motivate your audience?

For example, if your goal is to persuade your audience, you need an approach as if you're a lawyer making a closing argument. This means your script should be filled with strong, convincing evidence and delivered in a tone that's persuasive and compelling. On the other hand, if your aim is to inform, it should resemble a teacher's lesson plan: well-organized, clear, and educational. Here, the focus is on clarity and thoroughness.

2. Audience-centric approach

Tailoring your content to resonate with your audience's interests and level of understanding is crucial. It’s similar to a chef knowing his diners' preferences before crafting a menu.

For example, If your audience comprises young entrepreneurs, using startup success stories and Silicon Valley anecdotes can make your content more relatable and engaging.

Ignoring the audience’s background and interests is like serving a steak to a vegetarian – it just won’t connect. So you need to ensure that you get your audience to listen.

3. Need to write a strong narrative

A strong narrative structure in your script is essential – consider it the spine of your presentation. It should have a compelling introduction (like the opening scene of a gripping movie), an informative body (similar to the plot development of a novel), and a memorable conclusion (the final scene that leaves the audience thinking).

For instance, Steve Jobs’ iconic iPhone launch presentation in 2007 masterfully followed this structure in his presentation speech, captivating the audience from start to finish.

4. Emotional engagement

Creating an emotional connection with the audience can be achieved through storytelling , anecdotes, or humor.

Take, for instance, the iconic "I Have a Dream" speech by Martin Luther King Jr. His powerful storytelling and emotional appeal transformed statistical data about racial injustice into a palpable narrative that moved an entire nation.

Similarly, humor can play a significant role in keeping the audience engaged. Ellen DeGeneres' commencement speech at Tulane University in 2009 is a prime example. She skillfully blended humor with her personal life story, especially her struggles and achievements.

5. Simplicity and clarity

Conveying your ideas in a straightforward and understandable manner is vital. Think of it as the principle of KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Your presentation should be like clear, concise instructions, not a complex, hard-to-decipher manual. Avoid jargon and technical terms unless absolutely necessary.

Remember, Albert Einstein once said,

If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.

Your script should reflect clarity of thought and simplicity of expression.

How to write a presentation script that is effective?

Crafting an engaging presentation script is a multifaceted process that requires attention to detail, a deep understanding of your subject, and a keen sense of audience engagement. Here are some crucial strategies that you should know:

1. In-depth research

To lay a solid foundation for your presentation, start with comprehensive research. Dive deep into your topic to ensure every aspect of your script is well-informed and accurate. This doesn't mean just skimming through the top Google search results. Explore various sources, from scholarly articles to industry reports, to gather a rich array of information.

This depth of understanding not only boosts the credibility of your presentation but also prepares you to confidently handle any questions that might arise during or after your presentation.

2. Conversational tone

A key aspect of a good script is its tone. Aim for a conversational style – as if you're talking to a friend over coffee rather than memorising & lecturing in a formal setting. This approach makes your presentation more relatable and engaging. Avoid complex jargon and technical terms unless necessary, and instead, opt for simple language that flows smoothly. Think of it like storytelling with data.

Check this example to understand better:

Without conversational tone

“In today's discourse, we shall examine the multifaceted and intricate ramifications of digital transformation on global business paradigms."

With conversational tone

"Let's talk about how digital transformation is changing the way we do business around the world. It's pretty fascinating stuff!"

In the first sentence, the formal tone and complex language create a barrier, making the content feel distant and academic. The second sentence, conversational in nature, uses simple language and a friendly approach, inviting the audience into an engaging discussion.

3. Proper visual integration

Visuals are not just decorations; they are integral to reinforcing your message. While scripting, think about how each segment of your speech can be accompanied by relevant visual aids, whether it's a slide, an infographic, or a short video clip. For instance, when discussing a complex process, a diagram can make it easier for your audience to grasp. The key is to ensure that your visuals complement your words, adding clarity and keeping the audience visually engaged.

4. Interactive elements

Engaging your audience is crucial, and interactive elements can significantly boost this engagement. Incorporate rhetorical questions to provoke thought or invite audience participation at certain junctures. You might include a quick poll, a show of hands, or even a brief Q&A session. These elements transform your presentation from a monologue into a dialogue, making it a two-way interaction that keeps your audience actively involved.

5. Rehearse and practice your presentation

The final and perhaps most critical step for the presenter is to refine and rehearse the script several times . This is where you fine-tune your pacing, adjust your tone, and smooth out any rough edges. Rehearsing out loud, ideally in front of a mirror or a test audience, helps identify parts of the script that may need reworking. Pay attention to timing, pauses, and emphasis on key points. Remember, practice doesn’t just make perfect; it builds confidence, ensuring that when it's showtime, you deliver with poise and impact.

How to enhance the effectiveness of a powerpoint presentation through engaging designs?

The integration of engaging presentation designs in your presentation can significantly boost it's effectiveness. Thoughtfully chosen visuals and layout strategies not only grab attention but also make your message more impactful. Let’s delve into how to achieve this synergy:

1. Slide with complementary visuals

Utilize design elements like relevant images, charts, and infographics that reinforce your script’s message. For example, if you're discussing market growth, a well-designed graph can visually represent the data you're talking about, making complex information more accessible and engaging. The key is to choose visuals that directly support and enhance what you're saying.

2. Consistent theme

Maintaining a consistent design theme throughout your presentation helps in creating a visually cohesive experience and makes your brand image stronger. This includes consistent use of color schemes, fonts, and graphic styles that align with the tone and content of your presentation. A uniform theme not only looks professional but also helps in keeping the audience’s attention focused on your message.

3. Focus on readability

Ensure that any text on your visuals is clear and easy to comprehend. Overloading slides with text can overwhelm your audience. Instead, opt for key phrases or bullet points that complement your spoken words. The text should be large enough to be easily readable from a distance, and the color contrast should make it stand out against the background.

4. Balanced layout

Achieving a balance between visual elements and white space is crucial for a clean and effective slide design. A cluttered slide can distract and confuse your audience, while too much white space may lead to a lack of visual interest. Aim for a layout that emphasizes key elements, using white space to highlight important information without making the slide feel overcrowded.

Expert tips for great presentation speech

Delivering a strong presentation is more than just writing; it involves a nuanced blend of delivery techniques, audience interaction, and adaptability. Here are some expert tips presentation style:

1. Dynamic pacing

Varying the pace of your delivery keeps your audience engaged. For example, slow down during complex topics for better understanding, and speed up during familiar or lighter segments to maintain energy. This dynamic pacing ensures that important points are emphasized and the audience remains attentive throughout.

2. Feedback loop

Gathering feedback on your script and presentation style can offer invaluable insights. It’s like holding a mirror to your performance. Present it  to a small group or a trusted colleague and solicit a honest feedback from your audience. Pay attention to their responses and suggestions - they can help you identify areas for improvement that you might not have noticed on your own.

3. Body language and voice modulation

Being conscious of your non-verbal cues and voice modulation can dramatically enhance the effectiveness of your delivery. Your body language should complement the tone of your message.

For instance, use open gestures for welcoming or inclusive points, and firmer gestures for strong, decisive statements. Similarly, modulate your voice to match the content - a softer tone for sensitive topics, or a stronger, more assertive tone for key arguments. This congruence between your words and your delivery makes your presentation more convincing and engaging.

4. Stay adaptable

Adaptability is crucial in presentations. Sometimes, despite all the planning, the audience's reaction may not be what you expected, or technical issues may arise. Be prepared to improvise your approach on the fly.

For instance, if a particular part of your presentation isn't resonating as expected, be ready to shift gears, perhaps by moving to an interactive Q&A earlier than planned.

Staying adaptable ensures that you maintain control of the presentation, no matter the circumstances.

What are the benefits of a good presentation script?

It enhances your ability to connect with the audience. It serves as a guide, ensuring that you deliver your message in a clear, engaging, and relatable way. When you have a well-crafted script, it's easier to explain complex topics in a way that's easy for everyone to understand. This not only keeps your audience attentive but also makes your presentation more memorable.

Additionally, as the presenter, you get confidence boost. Knowing that you have a solid foundation for your presentation helps reduce anxiety and allows you to focus on delivery. As a result, your message doesn't just get heard; it resonates with the audience, leaving them informed, inspired, and often impressed by the clarity and effectiveness of your communication.

How can Prezent help with great presentation scripts?

Prezent, the communication productivity platform for enterprise teams, can significantly enhance the process of writing and delivering presentation scripts in various ways:

1. Efficiency in slide creation: Prezent's AI capabilities streamline slide creation. With a library of over 35,000 slides , presenters can quickly find and customize them, allowing more time to focus on writing a script with great content and delivery.

2. Consistency and brand alignment: Prezent ensures that all slides adhere to brand guidelines , maintaining a professional and cohesive look throughout the presentation. This consistency is crucial for the visual elements.

3. Enhanced storytelling through visuals: The AI-driven slide creation tools in Prezent suggest visual storytelling elements relevant to the script. This enhances audience engagement and understanding, particularly when complex points need to be conveyed.

4. Best practice examples and learning: Prezent offers a feature of best practice examples – a curated collection of exemplary presentations. These examples showcase industry norms and creative approaches, providing valuable insights into effective presentation styles and structures.

5. Personalized insights with fingerprints: The ' Fingerprints ' feature in helps understand your and your audience's strengths, preferences, and areas for growth. This leads to personalized insights, enhancing communication skills and ensuring that the presentation resonates with the audience. Create your Fingerprint today !.

6. Adaptability to content: Prezent adapts slide design based on the script's content, suggesting appropriate charts for analytical sections or illustrative visuals for narrative parts, ensuring the slides are in perfect harmony.

7. Feedback and improvement suggestions: With its advanced AI capabilities, Prezent can offer feedback and improvement suggestions on both the content and design of the presentation, based on communication and design best practices.

Overall, Prezent acts as a comprehensive tool for enhancing presentation scripts, ensuring that the visual components effectively support and elevate the spoken content, while also offering insights and suggestions for continuous improvement. To see Prezent in action you can sign up for our free trial or book a demo today!

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4 Tips to Write an Effective Presentation Script

• By Judhajit Sen
• May 31, 2024

Writing a presentation script might seem difficult, but it’s not impossible. Start by making a plan. Learn how to write the main points you want to make and decide the order in which you will discuss them. Then, do some research on your topic so you know what you’re talking about.

Use simple language and avoid jargon. Use facts and numbers to back up your points. Practice your presentation many times so you feel confident when you speak. With some prep and practice, you can nail your script.

Writing a script of a speech is not easy. It takes time to learn and prowess that needs to be honed. Just like making templates, there are rules to follow. You must ensure your words meet your needs and don’t sound automated.

Crafting a great presentation isn’t just about the content. You also need a script. Learning to write one takes time. Like making templates, there are rules to stick to. This means you need to write a good story and breaks in your presentation speech. Make sure your words match your slides and sound natural.

Key Takeaways

• Plan Ahead: Crafting a compelling script requires careful planning and organization. Start by outlining your main points and backing them up with research to ensure clarity and coherence.
• Sync with Slides: Align your script closely with your presentation slides as an audience engagement strategy to facilitate understanding. Avoid discrepancies between your spoken words and visual content that leaves the audience puzzled.
• Include Pauses: Incorporate breaks strategically in your script to allow your audience time to process information and absorb visual content. Breaks also help control the pace of your speech and maintain the audience’s attention throughout.
• Practice Diligently: Rehearse your script multiple times, integrating your final templates to refine your delivery and boost confidence. Adjust your delivery to sound natural and engaging, ensuring a good presentation .
• Storyboarding Matters: Start by creating a storyboard to map out the flow and structure of your presentation. This essential step helps ensure a well-structured and engaging delivery, guiding your audience smoothly from start to finish.
• Focus on Delivery: Remember, presentations are not just about the content on your templates; they’re about how you deliver your message. Your script is your roadmap to guide your presentation and make a lasting impression.

Defining a Presentation

A presentation is when someone talks to a group to share information. They do this to explain ideas, teach, or convince others to do something. Presentations can happen face-to-face, on video calls, or online. They’re common in business meetings or school classes.

Presentations can tell, teach, or amuse, depending on what they’re for. They can be slideshows, videos, or things you can interact with. But no matter how they’re done, a smooth presentation needs planning, preparation, and public speaking skills that needs practice.

Components Of A Successful Presentation

Every presentation can be divided into three parts: the beginning, the main part, and the end. About 10-15% of your time talking is usually spent on the beginning, approximately 75% on the main part, and the remaining 10% on finishing up.

The main part of the Google slide or PowerPoint presentation should include facts and evidence supporting the key points, presented logically and easily understood. Use presentation design elements like pictures, graphs, and charts to help explain the points.

Finally, end a presentation by summarizing the main points and with an  effective call to action . With these parts done well, your strong presentation will surely grab the audience’s attention and leave them feeling positive throughout the presentation.

Presentation Script

A presentation script is like a roadmap for a presentation. It’s a written plan that helps the presenter know what to say when to show visual aids like templates, and how to keep things organized.

In a script, you’ll find the main things the speaker needs to talk about, details about the stuff they’re presenting, and tips on how to talk about it. This helps the company get its message across and connect with the audience from start to finish.

Presenters write their scripts using tools like Google Slides or PowerPoint. These different types of presentation tools let them jot down notes only they can see and even add voice recordings. For instance, in a financial presentation for shareholders, the script might include extra info to explain tricky money stuff and when to switch templates or use visuals.

Following are four tips on how to write a killer script.

Freeze the Storyboard

Planning is crucial when writing a script. To make the content flow naturally, a presenter needs enough time to prepare and practice before the event. The key to an excellent presentation content is clear and concise storyboarding.

Start with storyboarding before writing the business communication script. This is especially important if you’re also designing the presentation. It’s tempting to write the content first and then fit the design elements to match. However, this approach often leads to frustration and stress.

Using a storyboard helps you effectively plan the presentation’s length and content word for word. It serves as a guide, allowing you to lead your audience smoothly from start to finish. By prioritizing storyboarding, you’ll ensure a well-structured and impactful presentation.

Follow the Slide Content

When crafting an engaging presentation script, make sure it matches the content of your slides. This will keep your audience engaged and help them follow along without getting lost.

Start by using your templates as the foundation for your script. If your presentation doesn’t match the content of your script, it can confuse your audience. If the script doesn’t match much of the information in the presentation, people will have trouble keeping up and lose interest.

Always keep your presentation materials nearby when writing your script to prevent this. Break your script into sections or bullet points that match the order of your slides. This way, your script and templates will complement each other perfectly, making your presentation conversational and easy to follow.

Add Pauses to Your Script

When crafting a presentation script, remember that your audience has two main tasks: listening to your words and understanding the visual content. To help them do this effectively, you need to add pauses to your script’s content.

Putting yourself in the audience’s shoes can make a big difference. Breaks give them time to process what you’ve said and absorb the information from your templates or visuals, helping them absorb more of the content you are presenting and not forget something.

Including breaks in your speech with script also helps you as a speaker. Breaks allow you to improvise the rhythm of your speech and maintain the attention of the audience from start to finish. Planning these breaks can create a more engaging and effective presentation.

Rehearse the Script

Once your script is ready, set aside plenty of time to say the words, practice and memorize. Remember, the script is just one part of your presentation, so always practice with your final slides. This helps you see how everything fits together.

Practicing with your templates allows you to make last-minute changes to the script and practice your delivery. Persuasive speech is a skill so pay attention to how you stand, make eye contact , and use body language .

Scripts for presentations are often written more formally than how we naturally speak. If you don’t adjust this, your delivery might sound awkward and unnatural, and the audience will notice.

Practice your script several times to become comfortable with the material. This will help your smooth delivery, boost your confidence, and reduce fear of public speaking on the day of the presentation. Doing this helps make a persuasive presentation , ensuring you effectively convey your message and captivate your audience throughout your presentation.

Mastering Presentation Scripts: Your Path to Successful Presentations

Creating a good script isn’t rocket science but requires some savvy moves. Start by crafting a plan, laying out your main points, and backing them up with solid research. Explain complex jargon in simple language and practice until you feel like a pro.

Presentations aren’t just about what’s on your templates but about how you want to present. Whether you’re pitching an idea or teaching a concept, your script is your roadmap.

Remember the basics: a solid beginning to grab attention, a meaty central part supported by evidence, and a memorable ending to leave a lasting impression.

But how to write a presentation script that hits all the marks? Here are four game-changing tips:

First off, freeze that storyboard. Planning is critical, and storyboarding ensures your content flows seamlessly.

Next, sync your script with your slides. Ensure your words match what’s on the screen to keep your audience in the loop.

Remember to add breaks. Let your audience digest what you’re saying and absorb those visuals.

Lastly, rehearse like your presentation depends on it (because it does). Practice with your templates, tweak your delivery and own that stage.

With these tips in your arsenal, you’ll be armed and ready to write killer scripts that mesmerize your audience and drive your message home.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is a presentation script, and why is it important? A script is a written plan that guides the speaker on what to say during a presentation. It helps maintain organization and clarity and effectively communicates the message to the audience. Without a script, presenters might struggle to deliver coherent presentations, risking confusion among the audience.

2. How can I start writing a script for a presentation? Begin by crafting a storyboard to outline the flow of your presentation. This step is essential in ensuring your content is well-structured and engaging. Storyboarding allows you to plan the length and content effectively, providing a roadmap for your presentation.

3. Why is it essential for a script for a presentation to match the slide content? Matching the script with slide content is vital to keep the audience engaged and facilitate understanding. When the script aligns with the visuals, it helps the audience follow along smoothly without getting lost or confused.

4. Why should I add pauses to my presentation script? Adding pauses allows the audience time to digest the information presented and absorb visual content. It helps maintain audience engagement and ensures they can process the message effectively. Breaks also benefit the speaker by allowing them to control the rhythm of their speech and sustain the audience’s attention.

5. How important is rehearsal when preparing a presentation script? Rehearsal is crucial in delivering a polished and confident presentation. It allows the speaker to familiarize themselves with the script, practice delivery, and make necessary adjustments. Practicing with final templates helps ensure everything flows smoothly and enhances the overall impact of the presentation.

6. What are the critical elements of a killer presentation script? A killer script incorporates clear storytelling, matches slide content, includes strategic breaks, and undergoes thorough rehearsal. These elements ensure the script is engaging, easy to follow, and effectively delivers the intended message to the audience.

Master the Art of Persuasion: How Prezentium Can Elevate Your Presentation Scripts

Crafting a stellar presentation script is essential to delivering your message with impact. But fear not, because Prezentium is here to revolutionize your approach to presentations.

With our AI-powered services, including Overnight Presentations, Presentation Specialist expertise, and Zenith Learning workshops, Prezentium is your ultimate partner in creating stunning scripts that leave a lasting impression.

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Harness the power of structured problem-solving and visual storytelling with our Zenith Learning workshops, designed to elevate your presentation skills to new heights. From crafting compelling narratives to mastering the art of delivery, Prezentium provides the tools and expertise you need to succeed.

So why wait? Elevate your presentations with Prezentium today and unlock the potential of persuasive communication. Let’s work together to create scripts that captivate, educate, and inspire. Your audience awaits – are you ready to dazzle them?

Why wait? Avail a complimentary 1-on-1 session with our presentation expert. See how other enterprise leaders are creating impactful presentations with us.

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How to Start a Presentation: 5 Templates and 90 Example Phrases

By Status.net Editorial Team on February 27, 2024 — 11 minutes to read

Starting a presentation effectively means capturing your audience’s attention from the very beginning. It’s important because it sets the tone for the entire presentation and establishes your credibility as a speaker.

Effective Openers: 5 Templates

Your presentation’s beginning sets the stage for everything that follows. So, it’s important to capture your audience’s attention right from the start. Here are some tried-and-true techniques to do just that.

1. Storytelling Approach

When you start with a story, you tap into the natural human love for narratives. It can be a personal experience, a historical event, or a fictional tale that ties back to your main point.

Example Introduction Template 1:

“Let me tell you a story about…”

Example : “Let me tell you a story about how a small idea in a garage blossomed into the global brand we know today.”

2. Quotation Strategy

Using a relevant quote can lend authority and thematic flavor to your presentation. Choose a quote that is provocative, enlightening, or humorous to resonate with your audience.

Example Introduction Template 2:

“As [Famous Person] once said…”

Example : “As Steve Jobs once said, ‘Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.'”

3. Questioning Technique

Engage your audience directly by opening with a thoughtful question. This encourages them to think and become active participants.

Example Introduction Template 3:

“Have you ever wondered…”

Example : “Have you ever wondered what it would take to reduce your carbon footprint to zero?”

4. Statistical Hook

Kick off with a startling statistic that presents a fresh perspective or underscores the importance of your topic.

Example Introduction Template 4:

“Did you know that…”

Example : “Did you know that 90% of the world’s data was generated in the last two years alone?”

5. Anecdotal Method

Share a brief, relatable incident that highlights the human aspect of your topic. It paves the way for empathy and connection.

Example Introduction Template 5:

“I want to share a quick anecdote…”

Example : “I want to share a quick anecdote about a time I experienced the customer service that went above and beyond what anyone would expect.”

How to Start a Powerpoint Presentation: 45 Example Phrases

Starting a PowerPoint presentation effectively can captivate your audience and set the tone for your message. The opening phrases you choose are important in establishing rapport and commanding attention. Whether you’re presenting to colleagues, at a conference, or in an academic setting, these phrases will help you begin with confidence and poise:

• 1. “Good morning/afternoon/evening, everyone. Thank you for joining me today.”
• 2. “Welcome, and thank you for being here. Let’s dive into our topic.”
• 3. “I’m excited to have the opportunity to present to you all about…”
• 4. “Thank you all for coming. Today, we’re going to explore…”
• 5. “Let’s begin by looking at the most important question: Why are we here today?”
• 6. “I appreciate your time today, and I promise it will be well spent as we discuss…”
• 7. “Before we get started, I want to express my gratitude for your presence here today.”
• 8. “It’s a pleasure to see so many familiar faces as we gather to talk about…”
• 9. “I’m thrilled to kick off today’s presentation on a topic that I am passionate about—…”
• 10. “Welcome to our session. I’m confident you’ll find the next few minutes informative as we cover…”
• 11. “Let’s embark on a journey through our discussion on…”
• 12. “I’m delighted to have the chance to share my insights on…”
• 13. “Thank you for the opportunity to present to such an esteemed audience on…”
• 14. “Let’s set the stage for an engaging discussion about…”
• 15. “As we begin, I’d like you to consider this:…”
• 16. “Today marks an important discussion on a subject that affects us all:…”
• 17. “Good day, and welcome to what promises to be an enlightening presentation on…”
• 18. “Hello and welcome! We’re here to delve into something truly exciting today…”
• 19. “I’m honored to present to you this comprehensive look into…”
• 20. “Without further ado, let’s get started on a journey through…”
• 21. “Thank you for carving time out of your day to join me for this presentation on…”
• 22. “It’s wonderful to see such an engaged audience ready to tackle the topic of…”
• 23. “I invite you to join me as we unpack the complexities of…”
• 24. “Today’s presentation will take us through some groundbreaking ideas about…”
• 25. “Welcome aboard! Prepare to set sail into the vast sea of knowledge on…”
• 26. “I’d like to extend a warm welcome to everyone as we focus our attention on…”
• 27. “Let’s ignite our curiosity as we begin to explore…”
• 28. “Thank you for your interest and attention as we dive into the heart of…”
• 29. “As we look ahead to the next hour, we’ll uncover the secrets of…”
• 30. “I’m eager to share with you some fascinating insights on…”
• 31. “Welcome to what I believe will be a transformative discussion on…”
• 32. “This morning/afternoon, we’ll be venturing into the world of…”
• 33. “Thank you for joining me on this exploration of…”
• 34. “I’m delighted by the turnout today as we embark on this exploration of…”
• 35. “Together, let’s navigate the intricacies of…”
• 36. “I’m looking forward to engaging with you all on the subject of…”
• 37. “Let’s kick things off with a critical look at…”
• 38. “Thank you for your presence today as we shine a light on…”
• 39. “Welcome to a comprehensive overview of…”
• 40. “It’s a privilege to discuss with you the impact of…”
• 41. “I’m glad you could join us for what promises to be a thought-provoking presentation on…”
• 42. “Today, we’re going to break down the concept of…”
• 43. “As we get started, let’s consider the significance of our topic:…”
• 44. “I’m thrilled to lead you through today’s discussion, which centers around…”
• 45. “Let’s launch into our session with an eye-opening look at…”

Starting a Presentation: 45 Examples

Connecting with the audience.

When starting a presentation, making a genuine connection with your audience sets the stage for a successful exchange of ideas. Examples:

• “I promise, by the end of this presentation, you’ll be as enthusiastic about this as I am because…”
• “The moment I learned about this, I knew it would be a game-changer and I’m thrilled to present it to you…”
• “There’s something special about this topic that I find incredibly invigorating, and I hope you will too…”
• “I get a rush every time I work on this, and I hope to transmit that energy to you today…”
• “I’m thrilled to discuss this breakthrough that could revolutionize…”
• “This project has been a labor of love, and I’m eager to walk you through…”
• “When I first encountered this challenge, I was captivated by the possibilities it presented…”
• “I can’t wait to dive into the details of this innovative approach with you today…”
• “It’s genuinely exhilarating to be at the edge of what’s possible in…”
• “My fascination with [topic] drove me to explore it further, and I’m excited to share…”
• “Nothing excites me more than talking about the future of…”
• “Seeing your faces, I know we’re going to have a lively discussion about…”
• “The potential here is incredible, and I’m looking forward to discussing it with you…”
• “Let’s embark on this journey together and explore why this is such a pivotal moment for…”
• “Your engagement in this discussion is going to make this even more exciting because…”

Building Credibility

You present with credibility when you establish your expertise and experience on the subject matter. Here’s what you can say to accomplish that:

• “With a decade of experience in this field, I’ve come to understand the intricacies of…”
• “Having led multiple successful projects, I’m excited to share my insights on…”
• “Over the years, working closely with industry experts, I’ve gleaned…”
• “I hold a degree in [your field], which has equipped me with a foundation for…”
• “I’m a certified professional in [your certification], which means I bring a certain level of expertise…”
• “Having published research on this topic, my perspective is grounded in…”
• “I’ve been a keynote speaker at several conferences, discussing…”
• “Throughout my career, I’ve contributed to groundbreaking work in…”
• “My experience as a [your previous role] has given me a unique outlook on…”
• “Endorsed by [an authority in your field], I’m here to share what we’ve achieved…”
• “The program I developed was recognized by [award], highlighting its impact in…”
• “I’ve trained professionals nationwide on this subject and witnessed…”
• “Collaborating with renowned teams, we’ve tackled challenges like…”
• “I’ve been at the forefront of this industry, navigating through…”
• “As a panelist, I’ve debated this topic with some of the brightest minds in…”

Projecting Confidence

• “I stand before you today with a deep understanding of…”
• “You can rely on the information I’m about to share, backed by thorough research and analysis…”
• “Rest assured, the strategies we’ll discuss have been tested and proven effective in…”
• “I’m certain you’ll find the data I’ll present both compelling and relevant because…”
• “I’m fully confident in the recommendations I’m providing today due to…”
• “The results speak for themselves, and I’m here to outline them clearly for you…”
• “I invite you to consider the evidence I’ll present; it’s both robust and persuasive…”
• “You’re in good hands today; I’ve navigated these waters many times and have the insights to prove it…”
• “I assure you, the journey we’ll take during this presentation will be enlightening because…”
• “Your success is important to me, which is why I’ve prepared diligently for our time together…”
• “Let’s look at the facts; they’ll show you why this approach is solid and dependable…”
• “Today, I present to you a clear path forward, grounded in solid experience and knowledge…”
• “I’m confident that what we’ll uncover today will not only inform but also inspire you because…”
• “You’ll leave here equipped with practical, proven solutions that you can trust because…”
• “The solution I’m proposing has been embraced industry-wide, and for good reason…”

Organizational Preview

Starting your presentation with a clear organizational preview can effectively guide your audience through the content. This section helps you prepare to communicate the roadmap of your presentation.

Outlining the Main Points

You should begin by briefly listing the main points you’ll cover. This lets your audience know what to expect and helps them follow along. For example, if you’re presenting on healthy eating, you might say, “Today, I’ll cover the benefits of healthy eating, essential nutrients in your diet, and simple strategies for making healthier choices.”

Setting the Tone

Your introduction sets the tone for the entire presentation. A way to do this is through a relevant story or anecdote that engages the audience. Suppose you’re talking about innovation; you might start with, “When I was a child, I was fascinated by how simple Legos could build complex structures, which is much like the innovation process.”

Explaining the Structure

Explain the structure of your presentation so that your audience can anticipate how you’ll transition from one section to the next. For instance, if your presentation includes an interactive portion, you might say, “I’ll begin with a 15-minute overview, followed by a hands-on demonstration, and we’ll wrap up with a Q&A session, where you can ask any questions.”

Practice and Preparation

Before you step onto the stage, it’s important that your preparation includes not just content research, but also rigorous practice and strategy for dealing with nerves. This approach ensures you present with confidence and clarity.

Rehearsing the Opening

Practicing your introduction aloud gives you the opportunity to refine your opening remarks. You might start by greeting the audience and sharing an interesting quote or a surprising statistic related to your topic. For example, if your presentation is about the importance of renewable energy, you could begin with a recent statistic about the growth in solar energy adoption. Record yourself and listen to the playback, focusing on your tone, pace, and clarity.

Memorizing Key Points

While you don’t need to memorize your entire presentation word for word, you should know the key points by heart. This includes main arguments, data, and any conclusions you’ll be drawing. You can use techniques such as mnemonics or the method of loci, which means associating each key point with a specific location in your mind, to help remember these details. Having them at your fingertips will make you feel more prepared and confident.

Managing Presentation Jitters

Feeling nervous before a presentation is natural, but you can manage these jitters with a few techniques. Practice deep breathing exercises or mindful meditation to calm your mind before going on stage. You can also perform a mock presentation to a group of friends or colleagues to simulate the experience and receive feedback. This will not only help you get used to speaking in front of others but also in adjusting your material based on their reactions.

Engagement Strategies

Starting a presentation on the right foot often depends on how engaged your audience is. Using certain strategies, you can grab their attention early and maintain their interest throughout your talk:

1. Encouraging Audience Participation

Opening your presentation with a question to your audience is a great way to encourage participation. This invites them to think actively about the subject matter. For instance, you might ask, “By a show of hands, how many of you have experienced…?” Additionally, integrating interactive elements like quick polls or requesting volunteers for a demonstration can make the experience more dynamic and memorable.

Using direct questions throughout your presentation ensures the audience stays alert, as they might be called upon to share their views. For example, after covering a key point, you might engage your audience with, “Does anyone have an experience to share related to this?”

2. Utilizing Pacing and Pauses

Mastering the pace of your speech helps keep your presentation lively. Quickening the pace when discussing exciting developments or slowing down when explaining complex ideas can help maintain interest. For example, when introducing a new concept, slow your pace to allow the audience to absorb the information.

Pauses are equally powerful. A well-timed pause after a key point gives the audience a moment to ponder the significance of what you’ve just said. It might feel like this: “The results of this study were groundbreaking. (pause) They completely shifted our understanding of…”. Pauses also give you a moment to collect your thoughts, adding to your overall composure and control of the room.

How should one introduce their group during a presentation?

You might say something like, “Let me introduce my amazing team: Alex, our researcher, Jamie, our designer, and Sam, the developer. Together, we’ve spent the last few months creating something truly special for you.”

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Starting a presentation in english: methods and examples.

• By Jake Pool

If you’re going to make it in the professional world, most likely you’ll have to give a presentation in English at some point. No reason to get nervous!

Most of the work involved lies in the introduction. You may or may not need an English presentation PPT file, your topic, audience, or time limit may vary, but a strong opening is a must no matter what! Everything that follows can build from the opening outline you present to your audience.

Let’s look at some guidelines for starting a presentation in English. If you can master this part, you’ll never have to worry about the rest!

Opening in a Presentation in English

While it’s important to have your entire presentation organized and outlined, planning and organization are especially important in the introduction. This is what will guide you through a clear and concise beginning. Let’s look at how to start a presentation with well-organized thoughts .

Introduction Outline

• Introduce yourself and welcome everyone.
• State the purpose of your presentation
• Give a short overview of the presentation

As we say, it’s as easy as 1-2-3. (No need for a more detailed English presentation script!) Let’s examine the first step.

1. Introduce Yourself & Welcome Everyone

The self-introduction is your opportunity to make a good first impression. Be sure to open with a warm welcome and use language that is familiar and natural. Based on your audience, there are a few different expressions you can use to start your presentation.

If you’re presenting to coworkers who may already know you:

• Hello, [name] here. I would like to thank you all for your time. As you may know, I [describe what you do/your job title] I look forward to discussing [topic] today.
• Good morning/afternoon/evening everyone. Thank you for being here. For those who don’t know me, my name is [name], and for those who know me, hello again.

If you’re presenting to people you’ve never met:

• Hello everyone, it’s nice to meet you all. My name is [name] and I am the [job/title].
• Hello. Welcome to [event]. My name is [name] and I am the [job/title]. I’m glad you’re all here.

There are certainly more ways to make an introduction. However, it’s generally best to follow this format:

• Start with a polite welcome and state your name.
• Follow with your job title and/or the reason you’re qualified to speak on the topic being discussed.

2. State the Purpose of Your Presentation

Now that your audience knows who you are and your qualifications, you can state the purpose of your presentation. This is where you clarify to your audience what you’ll be talking about.

So, ask yourself, “ What do I want my audience to get from this presentation? ”

• Do you want your audience to be informed?
• Do you need something from your audience?
• Do you want them to purchase a product?
• Do you want them to do something for the community or your company?

With your goal in mind, you can create the next couple of lines of your presentation. Below are some examples of how to start.

• Let me share with you…
• I’d like to introduce you to [product or service]
• Today I want to discuss…
• I want to breakdown for you [topic]
• Let’s discuss…
• Today I will present the results of my research on [topic]
• By the end of this presentation, you’ll understand [topic]
• My goal is to explain…
• As you know, we’ll be talking about…

When talking about the purpose of your presentation, stick to your goals. You purpose statement should be only one to three sentences. That way, you can give your audience a clear sense of purpose that sets them up for the rest of the presentation.

3. A Short Overview of the Presentation

The final step in starting your presentation is to give a short outline of what you’ll be presenting. People like a map of what to expect from a presentation.

It helps them organize their thoughts and gives a sense of order. Also, it lets the audience know why they’re listening to you. This is what you’ll use to grab their attention, and help them stay focused throughout the presentation.

Here are some examples of how you can outline your presentation:

• Today, I’m going to cover… Then we’ll talk about… Lastly, I’ll close on…
• We’re going to be covering some key information you need to know, including…
• My aim with this presentation is to get you to… To do that we’ll be talking about…
• I’ve divided my presentation into [number] sections… [List the sections]
• Over the next [length of your presentation] I’m going to discuss…

That’s it! It’s as simple as 1-2-3. If you have a fear of public speaking or are not confident about presenting to a group of people, follow these three steps. It’s a simple structure that can get you off to a good start. With that in mind, there are other ways to bring your introduction to the next level too! Read on for bonus tips on how to really engage your audience, beyond the basics.

For a Strong Presentation in English, Engage your Audience

Presentations aren’t everyone’s strongest ability, and that’s OK. If you’re newer to presenting in English, the steps above are the basics to getting started. Once you’re more comfortable with presenting, though, you can go a step further with some extra tricks that can really wow your audience.

Mastering the skill of engaging an audience will take experience. Fortunately, there are many famous speakers out there you can model for capturing attention. Also, there are some common techniques that English-speakers use to gain an audience’s attention.

*How and when you use these techniques in your introduction is at your discretion, as long as you cover the 3 steps of the introduction outline that we discussed earlier.*

Do or say something shocking.

The purpose of shocking your audience is to immediately engage them. You can make a loud noise and somehow relate the noise to your presentation. Or, you can say, “ Did you know that… ” and follow with a shocking story or statistic. Either way, the objective is to create surprise to draw their attention.

Tell a story

Telling a story related to your presentation is a great way to get the audience listening to you.

You can start by saying, “ On my way to [location] the other day… ” or “ On my way here, I was reminded of… ” and then follow with a story. A good story can make your presentation memorable.

Ask your audience to take part

Sometimes a good introduction that captures attention will involve asking for help from the audience. You can ask the audience to play a quick game or solve a puzzle that’s related to your presentation. Also, you could engage the audience with a group exercise. This is a great way to get people involved in your presentation.

There are many more ways to engage the audience, so get creative and see what you can think up! Here are some resources that will help you get started.

Also, if you want to get better at public speaking (and help your English speaking too!), a great organization to know about is the Toastmasters . The organization is dedicated to helping you be a better speaker, and there are many local groups in America. They offer free lessons and events to help you master your English speaking, and also offer additional help to paying members.

The Takeaway

A presentation in English? No problem, as long as your introduction sets you up for success . Admittedly, this can be easier said than done. Native speakers and non-native speakers alike sometimes struggle with getting a good start on their English presentation. But the advice above can help you get the confidence you need to lay a good foundation for your next speech !

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From Start To Finish: How To Write A Presentation Script

• Posted On - October 24, 2023
• By - contributor

Presentation scripts have the potential to capture the attention of listeners and viewers. It can establish yourself as a credible speaker in the industry. No matter your aim to do marketing, branding, or just captivating the audience, a presentation can help you achieve all your goals. But writing presentations is an art; everyone can’t do it professionally. Let us tell you a step-by-step guide on how to write a presentation script. So read on to be a good writer.

Importance Of A Presentation Script

In any presentation, a well-written script plays a crucial role. It helps capture the audience’s attention and deliver a memorable message. A strong script enables you to articulate your ideas clearly, structure your content effectively, and engage your audience from start to finish. A presentation script also boosts your confidence as a speaker. It allows you to deliver your message with conviction and impact.

Benefits Of A Compelling Script

A script for a presentation offers benefits that can enhance your delivery and impact. Let’s explore some of the key advantages of having a well-crafted and engaging script:

Captures audience attention

One of the primary benefits of a script is its ability to maintain your audience’s attention. A well-written script helps you structure your content in a way that hooks your listeners from the beginning and keeps them engaged throughout the presentation.

Incorporate engaging storytelling or thought-provoking questions. You can also use powerful statements to captivate your audience and keep them focused on your message.

Enhances Message Clarity

A script allows you to present your ideas and information in a clear and organized manner. By carefully structuring your content, you can convey your message effectively. Your audience will easily understand it. A presentation script enables you to articulate your thoughts and concepts with clarity. It helps you avoid confusion or ambiguity.

Provides A Logical Flow Of Information

A well-structured script helps you organize your presentation in a logical sequence. By outlining key points, supporting details, and transitions between topics, you create a smooth flow of information that guides your audience through the content. This logical flow makes it easier for listeners to follow your thoughts. This way, they comprehend the overall message you are conveying.

Supports Effective Time Management

Having a script allows you to manage your time during the presentation effectively. By pre-determining the length of each section and allocating time accordingly, you can ensure that you cover all the essential points within the given time frame. This helps you maintain a good pace, avoid rushing, and prevent exceeding the allotted time.

Boosts Speaker Confidence

When you have a well-prepared script, you gain confidence as a speaker. Knowing that you have a solid structure and carefully chosen words to guide you through the presentation gives you a sense of preparedness and control. This confidence translates into a more engaging and impactful delivery. You can focus on connecting with your audience rather than worrying about what to say next.

Enables Customization For Different Audiences

You can customize any script to suit different audience demographics, needs, and preferences. By understanding your target audience, you can adapt your script to resonate with their interests, knowledge level, and expectations. This customization helps you establish a stronger connection with your listeners. It also makes your presentation more relevant and relatable.

Increases Audience Retention And Comprehension

A script that is well-crafted with compelling content increases audience retention and comprehension. By using techniques such as storytelling, visual aids, and repetition of key messages, you reinforce important concepts and make them more memorable. This results in a higher likelihood of your audience retaining the information. It helps them understand the core message of your presentation.

Step 1: Understanding The Purpose And Audience

Knowing the objective and audience of your presentation is crucial. It helps you write an effective script. Let’s delve into the importance of understanding these aspects and how they influence your scriptwriting process:

Clarify The Purpose

Before you begin writing your script, understand the purpose behind your presentation. Ask yourself what you aim to achieve through your talk. Are you seeking to inform, persuade, entertain, or inspire your audience? You can tailor your script to align with your goals by identifying the primary purpose.

Consider the desired outcome you want from your presentation. Do you want your audience to take specific actions, change their perspective, or gain knowledge?

Identify The Target Audience

The next crucial step is identifying and understanding your target audience . Who will be attending your presentation? What are their characteristics, interests, and knowledge levels? Analyzing your audience helps you tailor your script to resonate with their needs.

Consider demographic factors such as age, gender, profession, educational background, and cultural diversity. These insights will guide your tone, language choice, and content selection.

For example, if you’re presenting to a group of industry professionals, use technical terminology and delve deeper into specific details. On the other hand, if your audience consists of a general public with limited knowledge of the topic, you would need to explain concepts in a more accessible manner.

Adapting The Language And Tone

Once you understand your purpose and audience, adapt the language of your script. Use a style that resonates with your audience, whether formal, informal, or a blend of both. Consider the tone you want to convey—authoritative, enthusiastic, empathetic, or conversational. Incorporate it consistently throughout your script.

You create a sense of connection and engagement by aligning your language and tone with your audience’s expectations. Avoid jargon or complex terms if your audience is unfamiliar with them. Instead, focus on clarity and simplicity to ensure your message is easily understood.

Incorporating Relevant Content

Understanding your audience enables you to include content that is meaningful to them. Research and gather information addressing their needs, challenges, or interests. Incorporate examples, anecdotes, or case studies that resonate with your audience. It can make your presentation more relatable and impactful.

Consider the knowledge level of your audience. Strike the right balance between providing enough background information and advanced concepts. Use visuals, statistics, or examples to support your points and enhance audience understanding.

Aligning With The Expectations

Every audience has certain expectations when attending a presentation. Understanding these expectations allows you to meet them and exceed them where possible. For instance, if your audience expects a lively and interactive session, consider incorporating interactive elements such as audience participation, Q&A sessions, or group exercises into your script.

Step 2: Preparing For Script Writing

Scriptwriting is a crucial step. It sets the foundation for creating a compelling and well-structured presentation. Let’s explore the key aspects to consider during the preparation phase:

Researching The Topic

Before you start writing your script, conduct thorough research on your topic. Gather reliable information from sources like books, articles, research, or credible websites. Take notes and organize your research materials. Ensure that you have a solid understanding of the subject matter.

Defining The Key Message

Your presentation should have a clear and concise central message. Spend time defining and refining your key message, as it will serve as the backbone of your script. The key message should align with the purpose of your presentation. It must encapsulate the main idea or argument you want to convey to your audience.

Outlining The Structure

An effective presentation script follows a well-defined structure. Create an outline that outlines the main points, subtopics, and supporting details you want to cover. Consider the logical flow of information and how each section connects to the next. The structure will help you maintain focus, stay organized, and ensure a smooth delivery.

Step 3: Crafting Engaging Content

Content creation is an essential step. It captivates your audience and keeps them interested throughout your presentation. Here are some effective strategies to create compelling and impactful content:

Start With A Hook

Begin your presentation with a strong opening that grabs the audience’s attention. This can be a thought-provoking question , an interesting fact, a story, or a powerful quote. The hook sets the tone for the rest of your script and establishes a connection with your listeners.

Clearly Outline Your Main Points

Organize your content in a logical and structured manner. Outline the main points you want to convey and arrange them coherently. Each point should be clear and concise, focusing on the most critical information. Consider using headings and subheadings to guide your audience and facilitate understanding.

Tell Stories And Use Examples

Storytelling is a powerful tool to engage your audience. Incorporate relevant narratives, anecdotes, or case studies that illustrate your main ideas. Stories create an emotional connection. It makes the information more relatable and helps your audience retain the information. Additionally, examples and real-life scenarios can enhance comprehension. It can make your content more tangible.

Use Visual Aids

Visual aids such as slides, charts, images, and videos enhance presentation engagement. They provide visual support, help illustrate complex concepts, and add variety to your content. Ensure that your visual aids are clear. They must be appealing and aligned with your message. Use them sparingly and strategically to avoid overwhelming your audience. 

Use video script template s to save time. Incorporate all these elements in a script and see how it captivates your audience with an organized structure.

Incorporate Interactive Elements

Engage your audience by incorporating interactive elements in your script. This can include asking questions or encouraging participation. You can also conduct polls or surveys or incorporate hands-on activities. Interactive elements make your presentation more dynamic and involve your audience actively.

Inject Humor

Humor is a powerful tool to grab attention and create an enjoyable atmosphere. Incorporate appropriate humor throughout your script to lighten the mood. It will make your presentation memorable and build rapport with your audience. However, be mindful of cultural sensitivities. Ensure that your humor aligns with the context and tone of your presentation.

Use Emotionally Compelling Language

Use language that appeals to their emotions to evoke a strong response from your audience. Use vivid and descriptive words that paint a picture in their minds. Emphasize the benefits, the impact, and the relevance of your message. Connect with your audience on an emotional level. Express empathy and understand their needs and concerns.

Step 4: Writing For Oral Delivery

Writing for verbal communication requires a specific approach to ensure your presentation script is effective when spoken aloud. Here are some key considerations to keep in mind when writing for oral delivery:

Using Conversational Language

When writing a presentation script, aim for a conversational tone. Use simple, clear, concise language your audience can easily understand. Avoid jargon or technical terms unless necessary. Create a friendly and relatable atmosphere through your writing.

Incorporating Rhetorical Devices

Rhetorical devices such as repetition, rhetorical questions , metaphors, and parallelism can add flair to your presentation script. Strategic use of these devices can create rhythm. It can help you emphasize key points, evoke emotions, and make your script more engaging.

Balancing Script And Improvisation

While it’s important to have a well-written script, it’s also crucial to allow room for improvisation and flexibility during the presentation. Be prepared to adapt to the audience’s reactions. Address questions and engage in spontaneous interactions. Strive for a balance between following the script and connecting with the audience.

Step 5: Refining And Practicing The Script

Once you have written your presentation script, refining and practicing it is essential to ensure a smooth and engaging delivery. Here are some steps to refine and practice your script:

Review And Edit

Read through your script multiple times to identify any areas that can be improved. Look for opportunities to make your message clearer. Eliminate unnecessary details and enhance the flow of your script. Pay attention to the overall structure. Ensure that your main points are well-organized and easy to follow.

Seek Feedback

Share your script with colleagues, friends, or mentors and ask for their feedback. Their fresh perspective can help you identify any areas that may need improvement. Consider their suggestions. Make revisions accordingly to enhance the overall quality of your script.

Practice Out Loud

Once you are satisfied with the refined version of your script, it’s time to practice delivering it out loud . Stand in front of a mirror. Record yourself to observe your body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice. Pay attention to your pacing, pauses, and emphasis on key points. Practice until you feel confident and comfortable with the delivery.

Time Yourself

Timing is crucial when delivering a presentation. Ensure your script fits within the allotted time frame by synchronizing yourself during practice sessions. If necessary, make adjustments to the script by shortening or expanding certain parts. It will help you maintain a balanced and well-paced presentation.

Rehearse With Visual Aids

If you plan to use visual aids such as slides or props during your presentation, incorporate them into your rehearsal. Practice syncing your delivery with the visual elements to ensure a seamless presentation. Familiarize yourself with the order and content of the visual aids to enhance the overall impact of your message.

Seek Opportunities For Practice

Take advantage of opportunities to practice your script in front of a live audience. Consider participating in mock presentations, workshops, or public speaking events where you can receive feedback and gain experience in delivering your script to a real audience. This will help build your confidence and fine-tune your delivery.

Power Of A Well-Crafted Script

Following these 5 steps of how to write a presentation script, you can create a perfect speech to engage your audience throughout your speech. Remember, writing a script is an art you can master only with time and constant practice. Use our guide as a starting point and begin writing a compelling script.

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Crafting an engaging presentation script

Crafting a presentation goes beyond simply putting together content. It also involves mastering the art of scripting by the speaker. Learning how to write a script for a presentation can take some time and effort to master, and similar to designing Google slides or PowerPoint presentations, there are several important rules to follow.

From developing a compelling storyboard and adding strategic pauses to making sure the words match the slides and maintaining a natural flow, delivering an effective presentation speech is a skill that needs to be honed.

In this article, we aim to provide comprehensive guidance on all these aspects and more, making it easier for you to create a presentation script that effortlessly resonates with your audience.

Top 10 tips on how to write a script for PowerPoint presentation

1. finalize the storyboard.

When it comes to crafting presentation scripts, planning is vital. A speaker must be well-prepared and have ample time before the event to practice and make sure the content flows naturally. Therefore, clear storyboarding must come first if you want to produce excellent presentation content. This is particularly true when the script and design are being done by the same person.

2. Follow the KISS rule

‘KISS,’ or Keep It Short and Simple, is the number one rule for crafting a fantastic script for presentation. Short and concise sentences can help you get the message across much faster, especially if your presentation’s emphasis is placed more on the visuals than the aural aspect.

3. Make sure your script for presentation introduction is engaging

A strong introduction is critical to captivate the audience’s attention and make them interested in what you have to say. This can be done through a compelling narrative, a thought-provoking question, or a startling fact. Remember, your introduction for presentation script should be designed to hook the audience and make them want to keep listening.

4. Aim for well-structured content

The presentation script’s content needs to be well-organized and structured. It has to have natural transitions from one idea to another, as well as distinct breaks between sections. And to make each argument more convincing and relatable to the audience, you should back it up with examples or evidence.

5. Stick to the slide content

It’s important to keep in mind that the information on your slides must serve as the basis for your script. It should be closely related to the presentation material you have already storyboarded and be simple to follow.

In case your script for PowerPoint presentation doesn’t match the content on the slides, the audience will likely feel confused and lose their place. That’s why it is recommended that you always have the presentation’s material nearby. Divide the text into chunks corresponding to the slides’ arrangement so that the two complement one another perfectly.

6. Add pause breaks

When attending a presentation, an audience member has two tasks: first, taking in the speaker’s words, and second, understanding the information offered by the presentation content. Therefore, when writing a script for a presentation, it’s essential that you always put yourself in the audience’s shoes and include pauses in the script.

Remember, when the speaker pauses, the audience has a chance to digest what has just been said and absorb as much information as possible from the visual aids. Additionally, it gives you, as a speaker, more control over the audience’s attention during the entire speech.

7. Use engaging language

Whether it’s an introduction for presentation script or a closing part, your entire content should be written in clear and engaging language. Refrain from using technical or jargon terminology that the audience might not understand. Instead, speak in plain English and incorporate jokes, rhetorical questions, or storytelling to keep the audience interested throughout your presentation.

8. Don’t forget about calls to action

Strong presentation scripts always end with a clear call to action. This could be requesting that the audience takes a specific action, such as subscribing to a newsletter, making a purchase, or putting the concepts discussed into practice in their own lives or places of employment. Your call to action must be captivating and inspire the audience to do the desired action.

9. Practice and rehearse

Practice and rehearsal are essential components of a good script. That’s why it is crucial to rehearse your script several times, ensuring a smooth delivery. Additionally, practice helps boost self-assurance and ease presentation-day nervousness. By including these components in your PowerPoint presentation script, you can create a persuasive and memorable presentation that effectively conveys your message and interests your audience.

10. Enlisting key points is also an option

Writing down every word you intend to say might sometimes result in overly scripted content, which can lack empathy and prevent you from connecting with the audience. Therefore, sometimes it is enough to simply focus on the key points or even use slide content as a starting point, keeping in mind the presentation’s structure and your time limit. Now that you know how to write a presentation script, let’s look at some examples to see the above tips in practice.

Presentation script example

Detailed presentation script:

https://www.slideshare.net/aland/script-for-perfect-presentation

Presentation script containing only key points:

All in all, having a presentation script is essential for delivering a great audience experience. It gives you flow, structure, and two times more confidence than when you are simply improvising or reading off your slides.

Use the above guidelines to ensure you are starting with a strong script, and remember that our presentation design company is here to help 24/7! SlidePeak’s dedicated team can not only help you improve your old presentation but can also design a professional pitch deck with unique infographics to wow potential investors, clients, and employers.

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• Keynote VS PowerPoint
• Types of presentations

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

• Business Slides

Give a project plan presentation (expert senior-level tips)

Writing an outline: creating a presentation blueprint

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How to Structure your Presentation, with Examples

August 3, 2018 - Dom Barnard

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

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

Why is structuring a presentation so important?

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

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

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

What will affect your presentation structure?

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

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

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

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

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

What is the typical presentation structure?

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

1. Greet the audience and introduce yourself

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

Read our tips on  How to Start a Presentation Effectively

2. Introduction

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

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

In this section also explain:

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

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

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

3. The main body of your talk

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

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

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

4. Conclusion

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

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

Follow these steps:

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

5. Thank the audience and invite questions

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

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

Other common presentation structures

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

Demonstration

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

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

Problem-solution

This structure is particularly useful in persuading the audience.

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

Storytelling

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

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

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

• Great storytelling: Examples from Alibaba Founder, Jack Ma

Remaining method

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

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

Transitions

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

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

Moving from the introduction to the first point

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

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

Shifting between similar points

Move from one point to a similar one:

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

Internal summaries

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

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

Physical movement

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

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

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

Key slides for your presentation

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here are some additional resources for slide design:

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

Group Presentations

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

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

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

Example of great presentation structure and delivery

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

How Google Works – by Eric Schmidt

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

Start with why – by Simon Sinek

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

The Wisdom of a Third Grade Dropout – by Rick Rigsby

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Business writing essentials

How to write a presentation (and deliver it, even via Zoom)

Jack elliott.

31 minute read

You’ve been asked to give a presentation. Chances are, your response will be roughly one of the following:

1. It’s a subject you’re passionate about and you’re a confident speaker. You’re pleased to have the opportunity.

2. You secretly worry that your style is flat and unengaging. You’re not looking forward to it.

3. At best, the prospect makes you nervous; at worst, terrified. You’d rather have root canal surgery.

If you belong in one of the last two categories, you probably know you’re not alone. You may have heard the statistic that public speaking is more widely feared even than death .

However you feel about the prospect of presenting, this comprehensive guide will take you step by step through the process of planning, writing and delivering a presentation you can be proud of (even via Zoom).

Use the contents links below to jump to the section you need most, make your way through methodically from start to finish, or bookmark this page for next time you need it.

What is a presentation?

Essentially, it’s a story. And its origins go back thousands of years – to when our ancestors gathered around the campfire to listen to the wise elders of the tribe. Without PowerPoint!

These days, presentations encompass the glitz and scale of the Oscars or the new iPhone launch through to business briefings to smaller audiences, in person or – increasingly – online. We’re focusing on the business side.

Whatever the occasion, there’s always an element of drama involved. A presentation is not a report you can read at your leisure, it’s an event – speakers are putting themselves on the spot to explain, persuade or inspire you. Good presentations use this dynamic to support their story.

Always remember: everyone wants you to do well

If you are nervous, always remember: no one sets out to write a poor presentation and no one wants to go to one either. There may be private agendas in the room, but for the most part audiences approach presentations positively. They want to be engaged and to learn. They want you to do well.

First things first: the date’s in the diary and you need to prepare. Let’s break it down.

1. Preparing your presentation

Imagine you’re a designer in the automotive industry and your boss has asked you to give a presentation. The subject: the future of the car and how it will fit with all the other modes of transport.

Where to start? How to approach it? First you need an angle, a key idea.

We talk about ‘giving’ a presentation – and of course it’s the audience who will be receiving it. So, instead of beginning with cars (in this case), let’s think about people. That way we can root the talk in the everyday experience we all share.

Maybe you remember a time you were stuck in traffic on a motorway. Morning rush hour. No one moving. Up ahead children were crossing a footbridge on their way to school, laughing at the cars going nowhere. And you thought, ‘Enjoy it while you can! This will be you one day.’ But maybe not. Surely we can do better for future generations!

There’s your opening – the whole issue captured in a single image, and you’ve immediately engaged your audience with a simple story.

The who, the why and the what

Always begin with the people you’ll be addressing in mind. Before you start writing, answer three fundamental questions: who is your audience, why are you talking to them and what do you want to say?

The answers will provide the strong foundations you need and start the ideas flowing. Ignore them and you risk being vague and unfocused. Clear writing is the result of clear thinking and thinking takes time, but it’s time well spent.

Got a presentation to write? Before you do anything else, answer three fundamental questions: who is your audience, why are you talking to them and what do you want to say? @EmphasisWriting Share on X

Start with the audience

Are you a senior car designer talking to your team? If the answer’s yes, you can assume high-level, shared knowledge.

But if you’re talking to the sales or marketing departments, you can’t make the same assumptions – there are issues you might have to explain and justify. And if it’s a press briefing, it’s about getting the message out to the general public – a different story again.

Knowing your audience will also dictate your tone. Your presentation to the board is likely to be quite formal, whereas a talk for your team can be more relaxed.

And what’s the audience’s mood? On another occasion you might have bad news to deliver – perhaps the national economy and the company’s finances are threatening people’s jobs. Then you must empathise – put yourself in their position and adapt your tone accordingly.

I want to …

You also need a clear objective (the why ). For our car designer, the overriding objective should be to plant a key idea in the audience’s mind. Starting with that image of the schoolchildren, it’s to convince the audience that the company has a radical and distinctive design future.

That’s the takeaway. How should they do that? Should they explain, persuade or inspire – the three key strategies for any presentation? You may need to use several of them to achieve your goal.

Objectives should always complete the statement ‘I want to …’. What do you want to do ?

It’s about …

The what is the substance of your presentation – the building blocks, all the facts and figures that tell the audience ‘It’s about …’.

Back to our designer. The move away from petrol and diesel will allow a complete rethink of car design. The electric power unit and battery can lie under the car’s floor, freeing up all the space taken up by the conventional engine. And then there are all the issues around emission-free, autonomous vehicles in the ‘smart’ cities of the future.

When you’re planning, it can be helpful to get all the information out of your head and onto the page, using a mind map , like the example below (for a talk on UK transport policy).

This is an effective way of unlocking everything you know (or still need to do more research on). Start with your main topic, then keep asking yourself questions (like who, what, when, where, how and why) to dig into all the aspects.

Mind map with the topic of ‘UK transport policy at the centre. Arrows point out to six bubbles with the labels ‘Who’, ‘When’, ‘Why’, ‘How’, ‘What’ and ‘Where’. More arrows point out from each of these bubbles to explore related points in each area, and still more arrows from some of those points to expand further. The information reads:

• Special interests / NGOs
• Need for clear government direction
• What industry will do
• R&D spend
• What industry is doing
• Congestion [this leads to the sub-point ‘Wasted time and money’]
• More pollution
• More congestion
• More wasted time and money
• Climate change
• Road pricing
• Legislation
• Working together
• New technology
• Exports/revenue
• Social policy
• Rest of world
• Emerging economies

Once you’ve got it all out on the page, you can identify which parts actually belong in your presentation. Don’t try to include every last detail: audiences don’t want to process piles of information. They are more interested in your ideas and conclusions.

Now let’s put all this research and planning into a structure.

2. How to structure your presentation

On 28 August 1963, Dr Martin Luther King Jr stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC and delivered one of the most powerful speeches in history: ‘I have a dream’.

He was the leader of the civil rights movement in the US and his audience that day numbered in the hundreds of thousands. His goal was to inspire them to continue the struggle.

Presentations usually aim to either explain, persuade or inspire – sometimes with elements of all three. Your aim will determine your structure. This will be the backbone of your presentation, giving it strength and direction.

Explain in a logical sequence

When you explain, you add to people’s knowledge to build the key idea. But ask yourself, what does this audience already know?

If you’re an astrophysicist talking to an audience of your peers, you can use terms and concepts you know they’ll be familiar with. If you’re explaining black holes to Joe Public, you can’t do that. Typically, you’ll have to use simple analogies to keep the audience with you (‘Imagine you’re in a huge dark room …’).

Whether it’s black holes or new software, good explanations start with what we know and then build on that understanding, step by step, layer by layer. The audience will stay with you if they can follow your logic and you can help this with linking comments – ‘Building on that … ‘, ‘This means …’, ‘To illustrate that, I’ve always found …’.

Presentations usually aim to either explain, persuade or inspire – sometimes with elements of all three. Your aim will determine your presentation's structure. @EmphasisWriting Share on X

We need to change

If you’re writing a persuasive presentation, you also need to follow a particular sequence.

Whether you’re writing a pitch for a prospective customer or making research-based recommendations to a client, you follow the same structure. That structure is the Four Ps . It’s a powerful way of leading your audience’s thinking.

Start with the current situation – where you are now ( position ). Explain why you can’t stay there, so the audience agrees things have to change ( problem ). Suggest up to three credible ways you can address the issue ( possibilities ). Then decide which one is the optimum solution ( proposal ).

Three is a magic number for writers – not too many, not too few. But there may be one standout possibility, in which case you go straight to it ( position, problem, proposal ).

Think about how the pandemic has profoundly changed our working lives. Towns and cities are full of offices that people used to commute to. But to maintain social distancing, we’ve been encouraged to work from home where possible and to stay away from public transport.

At some point, decision-makers within organisations will have to make a call – or share a recommendation – about what to do long term. Should we go back to the office, stay at home or combine the two?

If we had to present on this choice using the Four Ps structure, we could outline the pros and cons of each possibility and then make a push for the one we recommend above the others. Or we could join the likes of Google and Twitter and simply propose purely remote working well into the future.

I have a dream

A presentation that inspires is about the future – about what could be. Scientists inspire children to follow careers in astronomy or physics with their passion and stunning visuals. Designers re-energise companies with their radical, exciting visions. Business leaders convince their staff that they really can turn things around.

An audience watching an inspirational presentation is not going to take away lots of facts and figures. What’s important is their emotional and intellectual engagement with the speaker, their shared sense of purpose. One way to build that engagement is with your structure.

From dark to light

The most inspiring presentations are so often born of shared struggle. On 13 May 1940, Winston Churchill addressed the British parliament – and the British people listening on their radios – in the darkest days of the Second World War.

He was brutally realistic in his assessment of the current position: ‘We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering.’ He then set out his policy: ‘To wage war by sea, land and air, with all our might … against a monstrous tyranny’, and the prize: ‘Victory, however long and hard the road may be.’

In difficult situations, audiences immediately see through false hope and empty rhetoric. They want honest acknowledgement, and the determination and clear strategy to lead them to the future.

We can imagine how the same structure could show up in a more business-related context:

‘I’m not going to sugar-coat the figures. We have to change to save jobs and secure our future. There will be dark days and sacrifices along the way, but what’s the hardest part of any turnaround? It’s getting started. To do that, we all need to keep asking two fundamental questions: where can we improve, how can we improve? And if we push hard enough and if we’re utterly relentless, change will come and our momentum will build.’

Are you going to appeal to your audience’s

• habits of thought (current beliefs)?

If your recommendations run counter to their current beliefs, try appealing to their emotions.

3. Writing your presentation script

You don’t have to write a script. Some people put a few PowerPoint slides together and wing it; others make do with bullets on a smartphone, laptop or cue cards. It depends on the event and the presenter.

Writing a full script takes time, but if it’s a very important presentation and you might use it again – perhaps to appeal for investment – it will be worth it.

Some people will write a full script because the company or organisation that’s commissioned a presentation will want to see a copy well ahead of the event (often for legal reasons). Others will write the script, edit it down to the required time and then edit it down again to bullets or notes.

If the presentation is to a small audience, your notes or bullets will suit a more conversational approach. There are no rules here – see what works best for you. But what you must do is know your subject inside out.

To write clearly, you must think clearly and a full script will expose the areas that aren’t clear – where an explanation needs strengthening, for example, or where you should work on a transition.

Timing is everything

A full script also helps with working out timing, and timing is crucial. TED talks, for example, have a strict 18-minute limit, whether in front of an audience or online. That’s short enough to hold attention, but long enough to communicate a key idea. (The ‘I have a dream’ speech lasted 17 minutes 40 seconds and it changed the world.)

It takes a very skilled presenter to go much over 30 minutes. If you are taking questions during or after your presentation , however, it’s fine to build in extra time.

Imagine you’re writing your presentation in full and your slot is 20 minutes. On an A4 page with a 14-point Calibri font and 1.5 line spacing, that will equate to about 10 pages.

You can also divide the page in two, with slides on the left and text on the right (or vice versa). Then you can plan your words and visuals in parallel – and that will be roughly 20 pages.

Script page with a slide on the left-hand side and text on the right. The slide has the heading ‘What is your purpose?’ and has a photo of a smiling person at a whiteboard mid-presentation. The text on the slide reads:

Do you want to:

• do a combination of all three?

The notes next to the slide read:

How should they do that? Should they explain, persuade or inspire – the three key strategies for any presentation? You may need to use several of them to achieve your goal.

The most powerful key on your keyboard – Delete

Use these numbers as your goal, but your first draft will probably be longer. That’s when you start deleting.

Be ruthless. Anything not adding to the story must go, including those anecdotes you’ve been telling for years ( especially those anecdotes). It’s not about what you want to tell the audience, it’s about what they need to hear.

Don’t feel you have to include every single issue either. Dealing with two or three examples in some detail is far better than saying a little bit about many more.

And interpret visual material you’re displaying rather than describing it, just as you wouldn’t repeat the text that’s on the screen. The audience can see it already.

It’s a conversation

Be yourself – don’t write a script that’s not in your style. We want the real you, not a supercharged version.

Some people are naturals when it comes to presenting – which can mean they’ve learned how to draw on their authentic strengths.

Sir David Attenborough is a great example. He has a wide-ranging knowledge of the natural world. He has an infectious passion and enthusiasm for his subject. And most importantly, he doesn’t lecture the camera: he talks naturally to his audience (and he’s now using Instagram to inspire new generations).

You can take a cue from Sir David and make your presentation style your own. Knowing your own strengths and really understanding your why will help you speak with purpose and passion.

And aim to speak naturally. Use conversational, inclusive language. That means lots of personal pronouns ( I believe, we can) and contractions ( Don’t you wonder …, you’re probably thinking …).

Sir David Attenborough introduces his new series, Our Planet at its premiere. He builds up our awareness by layering information alongside arresting statistics. These are framed simply, in relatable terms (‘96% of mass on the planet is us …’), so we easily grasp their shocking significance. He also uses ‘we’ and ‘us’ a lot to underline how this environmental emergency affects us all on ‘the planet we all call home’.

Finding the right words

Imagine you’re talking to someone as you write. And try saying the words out loud – it’s a good way to catch those complex, overlong sentences or particular words that will be difficult to say.

Presentations are not reports that can be reread – the audience has to understand what you are saying in the moment . Don’t leave them wondering what on earth you’re talking about, as they will only fall behind.

So avoid using long or complex words, or words you wouldn’t hear in everyday conversation (if your everyday conversation includes ‘quarks’ and ‘vectors’, that’s fine). And beware of jargon – it can exclude the audience and it quickly becomes clichéd and outdated.

Here are some more hints and tips on how to write effectively for speaking:

Syntax (word order): Disentangle your thoughts and arrange the words in your sentences to be simple and logical. Often, complex syntax shows up when the main point is getting lost inside excess information (or that the speaker is unsure what their main point is).

Pace, rhythm and tone: Varying the pace, rhythm and tone of sentences makes both the speaking and listening experience far more enjoyable.

Make sure the stress falls on the most important words. For example, ‘To be or not to be ‘ (where the stress rises and falls on alternate words) or ‘I have a dream ‘ (where the stress falls on the final word).

Vary the length of sentences and experiment with using very short sentences to emphasise a point.

Play with rhythm by arranging words in pairs and trios. Saying things in threes gives a sense of movement, progression and resolution: Going, going … gone . Saying words in pairs gives a more balanced tone (‘courage and commitment’, ‘energy and effort’) or a sense of tension between the words (‘war and peace’, ‘imports and exports’).

Analogies: Good analogies can work well in presentations because they paint vivid pictures for the audience. The best way to do it is to use either a simile (‘It wasn’t so much a dinner party, more like feeding time at the zoo’) or a metaphor (‘He was the fox and the company was the henhouse’).

Alliteration: This means using two or more words that start with the same sound, like ‘big and bold’, ‘sleek and shiny’ or ‘key components’. On the page alliteration may look contrived, but it can effectively highlight important phrases in a presentation.

Words to avoid: Be careful about using clichés like ‘pushing the envelope’, ‘playing hardball’ and ‘thinking outside the box’. And think carefully about using any word that ends with -ism, -ise, -based, -gate, -focused and -driven.

Be careful with humour too: don’t write jokes unless you can naturally tell them well. Keep the tone light if it fits the occasion, but a badly told joke can be excruciating.

4. How to start your presentation

People tend to remember beginnings and endings the most, so make sure your opening and conclusion are both strong.

You have about a minute to engage an audience. You want them to be intrigued, to want to know more, to come slightly forward in their seats. If you only learn one part of your presentation by heart, make it that minute.

A quick ‘thank you’ is fine if someone has introduced you. A quick ‘good morning’ to the audience is fine too. But don’t start thanking them for coming and hoping they’ll enjoy what you have to say – you’re not accepting an Oscar, and they can tell you what they thought when it’s over. Get straight down to business.

There are four basic types of introduction which will draw your audience in:

• News – ‘Positive Covid-19 tests worldwide have now reached …’
• Anecdotal – ‘About ten years ago, I was walking to work and I saw …’
• Surprise – ‘Every five minutes, an American will die because of the food they eat.’
• Historical – ‘In 1800, the world’s population was one billion. It’s now 7.8 billion.’

You can interpret these beginnings in any number of ways. If you were to say, ‘I have an admission to make …’, we will expect a personal anecdote relating to your main theme. And because you’re alone in front of us, it’s playing on your vulnerability. We’re intrigued straight away, and you’ve established a good platform for the rest of the presentation.

You can also combine these techniques. The historical beginning creates a sense of movement – that was then and this is now – as well as a surprising fact. It may prompt a thought like, ‘Wow, where’s this going?’ And you can trade on this with your own rhetorical question: ‘What does this mean for everyone in this room? It’s not what you think …’.

As well as setting up your story, you need to quickly reassure the audience they’re in safe hands. One way to do that is to give them a map – to tell them where you’re going to take them and what they’re going to see along the way.

Then you’re starting the journey together.

5. How to end your presentation

Your ending is what you want the audience to take away: your call to action, your vision of the future and how they can contribute.

If your presentation is online or to a small group in a small room, your ending is not going to be a battle cry, a call to man the barricades – that would be totally inappropriate. But equally don’t waste it with something flat and uninspiring.

Here are four effective ways to end your talk (like the intros, you can combine them or come up with your own):

• Predict the future – ‘So what can we expect in the next ten years? …’
• Quotation – ‘As our chief exec said at the meeting yesterday, …’
• Repeat a major issue – ‘We can’t carry on with the same old same old.’
• Summarise – ‘Continuous improvement isn’t our goal. It’s our culture.’

Predicting the future fits well with a historical beginning – it completes the arc of your presentation.

If you end with a quotation, make sure it’s relevant and credible – it has to be an authoritative stamp.

Repeating a major issue means pulling out and highlighting a major strand of your presentation, while summarising is about encapsulating your argument in a couple of sentences.

Your ending can also be a change of tone, perhaps signalled by the single word ‘Finally …’. It’s the audience’s cue to come slightly forward again and pay close attention.

As with your opening, it will have more impact if you’ve learned your ending – put down your notes, take a couple of steps towards the audience and address them directly, before a simple ‘Thank you.’

6. Creating your PowerPoint slides

We’ve all been there – watching a seemingly endless, poorly designed slide deck that’s simply restating what the presenter is saying. So common is this tortuous experience that there’s a name for it: Death by PowerPoint. But it doesn’t have to be like this.

Do you need slides at all?

As with your script, the first thing you should ask is ‘Do I actually need this?’ In 2019, Sir Tim Berners-Lee gave the Richard Dimbleby lecture for the BBC. He spoke for about 40 minutes with no autocue (he’d memorised his script) – and no speaker support.

This is a uniquely powerful form of presentation because the audience’s attention is totally focused on that one person. The call to action at the end of a presentation and delivering bad news are also best done without visuals.

Visual support

But if they’re well-judged and relevant, slides or other visuals can add enormously to a presentation – whether it’s photography, video or the ubiquitous PowerPoint. There are, however, two things everyone should know about PowerPoint in particular:

• It’s incredibly versatile and convenient.
• In the wrong hands, it can be unbearably tedious.

Your PowerPoint slides should not essentially be your cue cards projected onto a screen. They shouldn’t be packed margin to margin with text or full of complex diagrams.

If the presentation is live, the audience has come to watch you, not your slide deck. Online, the deck may have to work harder to sustain visual interest.

As with the script, keep your finger poised over that Delete key when you’re putting the deck together.

How many slides?

There’s no hard-and-fast rule about how many slides you should use, but think in terms of no more than one or two a minute on average. And don’t use more than a couple of short video inserts in a 20-minute presentation.

You might have a section where you show a few slides in a sequence or hold a single slide for a couple of minutes, which is fine. Varying the pacing helps to keep a presentation moving.

Optimise for psychology

As self-professed presentation aficionado David JP Phillips notes in his TEDx talk , people – and that includes your audience – have terrible working memories. If you don’t account for this fact in your slides, your talk will not have a lasting impact. In fact, most of it will be forgotten within around 30 seconds.

To counter this effect, David identifies five key strategies to use when designing your PowerPoint:

• Only have one message per slide: more than that and you’re splitting your audience’s attention.
• Don’t use full sentences on slides, and certainly don’t imagine you can talk over them if you do. People trying to read and listen at the same time will fail at both and absorb nothing. Move your running text into the documentation section instead, and keep the slide content short and sweet.
• People’s focus will be drawn to the biggest thing on the slide. If your headline is less important than the content below it, make the headline text the smaller of the two.
• You can also direct people’s attention using contrast. This can be as simple as guiding their point of focus by using white text (on a dark background) for the words you want to highlight, while the surrounding text is greyed out.
• Including too many objects per slide will sap your audience’s cognitive resources. (Your headline, every bullet, any references, even a page number each count as an object.) Include a maximum of six objects per slide and viewers will give a mental sigh of relief. This will probably mean creating more slides overall – and that’s fine.

More Powerpoint and visual aid tips

Here are a few more guidelines for creating your visual aids:

• Never dive into PowerPoint as job one in creating your presentation. Work out your talk’s structure (at least) before designing your slide deck. Making a genuinely effective PowerPoint requires that you know your subject inside out.
• List any visuals you’ll need as you prepare your script. That terrific photo you saw recently could be difficult to track down, and you might need permission and to pay to use it.
• It bears repeating: keep each slide to one key idea.
• Use the build effect of adding one bullet at a time (or use the contrast trick above) and try not to use more than three bullets per frame (or six objects overall).
• Strip each bullet to the bare minimum – no articles (‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’), no prepositions (‘in’, ‘at’, ‘to’ etc) and cut right back on punctuation.
• Every word that’s not there for a reason has to go. Delete, delete, delete.

‘Extra’ slides

• Use a ‘walk-in’ slide. Rather than have the audience arrive to a blank screen, this tells them who you are and your presentation’s title.
• Use occasional holding slides in between those with more content – perhaps an image but no text. They give the audience a visual rest and put the focus back on you.
• A plain white background might look fine on a computer monitor, but it will be glaring on a big screen. Invert the norm with a dark background, or use shading or ‘ghosted’ images to break up backgrounds and add visual interest.
• Some colours work better than others on-screen. Blues and greys are soft and easy on the eye. Red is a no-no, whether for backgrounds or text. And if you stick with a light background, favour a more subtle dark grey over black for the text.
• Use sans serif fonts (like Arial, Helvetica or Calibri) and think about point size – make sure it’s easily legible.
• Only use upper case where absolutely necessary.

Images and data

• Photos work well full screen, but they also really stand out well on a black background.
• Make sure your charts and graphics aren’t too complex. The dense information that’s fine on the page will not work on-screen – it’s too much to take in. Graphs behind a TV newsreader are often reduced to a single line going dramatically up or down.
• Don’t present data or graphs and expect them to speak for themselves. You need to find the story and significance in the data and present that .

And finally

• Proofread, proofread, proofread – or risk standing in front of an embarrassing spelling mistake.

Technical check

• Check what laptop they’re using at your venue. If you’ve written your deck on a PC, run it on a PC (and, of course, the same rule applies if you’ve used a Mac).
• If you’ve emailed your presentation to the venue, take a USB copy along as back-up.
• If you’re presenting online, check which platform you’ll be using and get comfortable with it. If someone else will be hosting the event, make sure you arrange a time for a rehearsal, especially if there will be a producer.

7. Delivering your presentation

You’ve put a lot of time and effort into preparing your presentation and now you’ve come to the sharp end – it’s time to stand and deliver.

Run it through

You don’t have to rehearse, but most presenters do and for good reason – it catches weak points and awkward transitions. And, crucially, it bolsters confidence.

Read your script or go through your bullets aloud – it will help to settle your nerves. If you use colleagues as a dummy audience, you can do a sense check too: ‘Does that bit work?’ ‘Have I explained it clearly?’ ‘Do you get the big picture?’ And rehearsing out loud will catch those words and sentences you thought you could say but can’t.

The more you rehearse, the more familiar and natural the presentation will become. Rehearse the technical side too – where the video is going to come in, how you’re going to vary your pace and tone to maintain interest.

Try speaking slightly more slowly than you would normally so the audience catches every word, and don’t be afraid to pause now and again. It gives a breathing space for you and the audience.

Connect with your audience

When you deliver your presentation for real, establish eye contact with the audience, just as you would in a conversation. In a small room with a small audience, talk to individuals. In a larger space, don’t talk to the first couple of rows and ignore the rest – include everyone.

And if you stumble over your words here or there, carry on and don’t dwell on it – you’ll lose your concentration. Audiences are generally forgiving and they might not even notice.

Each audience is unique: they react differently in different places. And although tomorrow might be the tenth time you’ve done the same presentation, it will be the first time this audience sees it. Your duty is to keep it fresh for them.

A final point

This is your presentation – you’re in control and the audience needs to feel they’re in safe hands.

It’s perfectly natural to feel nervous , but it’s the thought of doing it that’s the worst bit. Once you get going – and especially when you sense the audience is with you – the nerves will start to disappear. Try to enjoy it. If you enjoy it, it’s far more likely the audience will too.

And remember: everyone wants you to do well.

8. How to present online

Taking to Zoom or another online platform to present was once the exception. These days, online presenting is as essential a skill as presenting in person.

The switch to online can be nerve-wracking and cause even usually skilled presenters to falter. But there’s no need for that to happen.

Indeed, all of the advice we’ve talked about on preparing, structuring and writing for in-person presenting is equally relevant for your online delivery. You just need to be ready for the unique challenges that remote presentations pose.

An obvious one is that while you still have an audience, it will probably be muted and possibly even unseen (if webcams are switched off). This makes it far more difficult to gauge audience reaction, and if the event is pre-recorded, there might not be any at all – at least not immediately. Clapping and laughing emojis are not quite like the real thing.

Keep eye contact

But although your audience may be many miles away, there are still ways you can – and should – create a sense of connection with them. Your presentation will have much more impact if you do.

Whether the event is live or recorded, at least start with your webcam on (unless you really can only use slides). If it’s an option and feels appropriate, consider keeping your camera on throughout – remember, you are the presentation as much as any visuals.

If you will be on display, make sure you know where your webcam’s lens is and at key moments of your talk look directly into it – and out at your audience – to punctuate those points.

And don’t look at a second screen to cue up your PowerPoint – viewers will think your attention is wandering.

Engage your online audience

Being an engaging speaker is always important, but remember that the online world is already a place we associate with distraction. It’s also easier for a viewer behind their laptop to disguise their wandering attention than it would be for one in an auditorium or boardroom.

This isn’t to say your audience don’t want to give you their attention. But it is more important than ever to keep your presentation sharp and concise. Revisit your structure, your script or cue cards and your slides. Take a really critical eye to it and (as always) delete, delete, delete anything that’s not directly relevant.

If it works for your format, you can look at making your presentation interactive. You can then break the content into short segments, interspersed with comment, polls, questions and discussion. The variety will be a welcome change for your viewers.

Your visuals are part of what will keep people with you – along with the interplay you create between you and them. This means following the best-practice guidance we covered earlier is even more important.

Using Zoom for your presentation? Master the art of online delivery through this simple mix of set-up, delivery and technical tricks @EmphasisWriting Share on X

Modulate your voice

Your tone of voice is extremely important here because presenting online is like radio with pictures. When people say ‘You have a great voice for radio’ what they mean is that it’s easy to listen to, often because you’re using quite a low-pitched, warm and relaxed register.

Listen to voices on the radio and voiceovers and identify the ones you particularly enjoy. What do you like about them? Why do you enjoy some voices and not others?

A flat, unmodulated voice, for instance, is difficult to listen to for long periods (and isn’t likely to inspire anyone).

Experiment with intentionally adding energy to your voice, as internet audio can have a dulling effect. As our trainer Gary Woodward puts it: ‘Turn up the enthusiasm dial even higher than you think, to make sure it comes through.’ And always vary your pace and tone as you would in a normal conversation.

And if it suits the tone of your talk, smile now and again. Smiling is contagious, and people will hear it in your voice even if they can’t see you.

Perfect your transitions

One of the other key challenges of remote presentations is that you have another layer of technology to wrestle with: sharing your PowerPoint online.

This means that many presentations begin with the popular catchphrase ‘Can you see my screen?’

This can also cause many presenters to stumble through their transitions, making the links between their slides clunky. And while remote audiences may be forgiving, for a slick presentation it’s best to prevent these sort of fumbles.

Naturally, practice plays a part here. But you can also give yourself the advantage with your set-up.

Dave Paradi from Think Outside the Slide explains one great way of setting up Zoom so you can smoothly cue up and run your slide deck – and be certain what’s being displayed.

You’ll even be able to see the rest of your screen (but the audience won’t). As you’ll be able to see what’s coming up, your transitions can also be seamless.

The trick is to use one of Zoom’s advanced settings after you hit ‘Share screen’, to share only a portion of your screen:

Advanced screensharing options pop-up box in Zoom, with the options ‘Portion of Screen’, ‘Music or Computer Sound Only’ and ‘Content from 2nd Camera’. The ‘Portion of Screen’ option is highlighted in blue.

This will give you a frame you can move to the part of the screen you want the audience to see.

Put your PowerPoint slides into ‘presenter view’ before launching the screenshare. Then you’ll be able to see the upcoming slides and your notes throughout, and your animations (like build slides) will work as normal.

Zoom’s ‘portion of screen’ setting in action

Presenter view in PowerPoint, with the current displayed slide on the left and the upcoming slide displaying smaller on the right, with notes below it. There is a notification saying ‘You are screen sharing’ at the top and a sharing frame positioned around the current slide.

The other part of the trick? Set it up in advance shortly before you’re due to speak. Once you’re happy with the set up, you can stop sharing until it’s time to kick off your talk. When you return to ‘Share screen’ again, it will reopen the frame in the same place.

Dave shows you the process in this video:

Five practical tips for a truly professional online presentation

You’re happy with the content of your talk, you’ve ruthlessly streamlined your slides and mastered your radio voice. Now just make sure you cover these crucial practicalities for a polished presentation:

1. Create a good space Make sure you have your environment well set up:

• Keep the background on display as tidy and minimalist as possible – a plain wall or backdrop is great, if you can.
• Manage and minimise background noise (shut the window, ensure your phone’s on silent, put the cat out, make sure someone’s watching the kids in another room – whatever it takes).
• Check your lighting: have your light source in front of you, not behind you (or you’ll be in shadow).
• Set up your computer or device at eye level so that you are well-framed and facing it straight on – avoid looming above it while providing a lovely view into your nostrils.

2. Think about your appearance Dress in the same way you would if the presentation were in person, and judge your choice of attire based on the formality of the event and your audience.

3. Practise! Run through the presentation and rehearse the technical side. Practise your transitions, including the initial cueing up of your slides (perhaps using the Zoom tip above), so that you can be confident in doing it all smoothly.

4. Be primed and ready Log in early on the day of your talk. Check all your tech is working, get your headset on and ensure everything is set up well ahead of time. This will save any last-minute issues (and stress) and means you can hit the ground running.

5. Stand and deliver Even online, consider giving your presentation standing up, if you can do so comfortably (adjusting your device or webcam accordingly). This may put you more into a presenting frame of mind and will differentiate you from most remote presenters.

Are you still there?

Live audiences have a group dynamic – as soon as a few people start laughing it becomes infectious and the others join in. It’s naturally different online. But that doesn’t have to throw you.

You might not get that immediate feedback, but don’t overcompensate and feel you have to win them back.

Yes, it’s often more difficult to gauge an audience’s reaction online – especially if their audio is muted and their webcams off. Yes, this can be daunting. But they are still out there listening. You may or may not hear (or see) laughter, but they could still be smiling and very interested in what you have to say. Have faith in your own content. Whatever form your delivery will take, keep coming back to your purpose and message for giving this talk – and keep considering the people you’ll be talking to. Whether the address will be online or in person, it is keeping this focus which is the key to every powerful presentation.

Ready to learn even more? Work one-to-one on your presentation-writing skills with one of our expert trainers or join our scheduled presentation-writing courses . If your team are looking to upskill, we also offer tailored in-house training . And if fear of presenting is holding your team back, check out our in-house course The reluctant presenter .

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These days he's one of Emphasis' top business-writing trainers, but in previous career lives Jack has written for many public and private sector organisations. He has an in-depth knowledge of the engineering and manufacturing sectors, particularly the UK automotive industry. As the lead scriptwriter for chairmen and CEOs, he has been responsible for proposals, pitches and reports as well as high-profile speeches and global product launches.

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How to write an effective presentation script

If putting together presentation content wasn’t tough enough, a script also has to be written for, or by, the speaker. Learning how to write a presentation script can take some time to master, and just like a presentation design , there are some important rules to remember.

From putting together a storyboard and ensuring the words complement the slides, to inserting pause breaks and not sounding too scripted, delivering a presentation speech is a skill that needs to be honed. In this article, we will help you with all of that and more, so you can learn how to write a presentation script your audience will easily connect with.

1. Finalise the storyboarding

Planning is everything when it comes to  writing a script for a presentation . In order to make the content flow naturally, a speaker needs to be well-prepared with enough time ahead of the event for them to practise.

In order to achieve great presentation content , clear and concise storyboarding needs to be the first step. This is especially true in situations where the same person is writing the script and also putting together the design. It can be tempting to write the content first before attempting to retrofit the design elements so it matches the script.

However, following this method rarely ever works, and it only serves to increase frustration and stress levels. By using a storyboard it becomes much easier to plan the length of the presentation along with its content. It also creates a guideline that will enable the speaker to direct the audience from start to finish.

2. Stick to the slide content

A key point to remember is that the content of your slides must provide the foundation of your script. When you sit down to begin writing it can be easy to follow the flow of ideas to create a script that reads wonderfully on its own. What you can’t forget is this must tie directly into the presentation content you have already storyboarded.

Writing a script for a presentation that doesn’t match the content will leave the audience feeling confused. As the script starts wandering off into tangents that do not relate to the slides, the crowd will quickly lose their place and their concentration will soon follow.

An easy way around this is to write the script with the presentation content close to hand. Break down the words into sections that reflect the order of the slides so the two are always complementing each other perfectly.

3. Remember to add in some pause breaks

When an audience attends a presentation they have two tasks to juggle: firstly, to digest the words being delivered by the speaker, and secondly, to understand the information provided by the presentation content.

It’s important to place yourself in the shoes of the audience to remember this when writing a script for a presentation. You want as much of the information you are providing to be taken in by the audience, which means you need to factor in some time that will enable them to process your words and the visual data.

Writing pause breaks into the script plays a key role in achieving this. When the speaker pauses it gives the audience a moment to reflect on what has just been said. It also allows the speaker to create a  rhythm of speech  and have more control over the attention of the audience from start to finish.

4. Write, practice, iterate and repeat

Once you have your script ready to go, you will need to set aside a good amount of time to practice it. Don’t forget, the script is one half of the content you will be delivering to the audience, so you should always practice the material alongside the finalised slides, as this gives you a better feel for how it all comes together.

This also allows you to make final tweaks and changes to the script, as well as physically practicing how you will deliver it on the day. You can then rehearse the way you stand, your eye contact and the management of your overall body language in front of an audience.

It is also worth remembering that when you write a script for a presentation, it will be written more formally compared to the way you naturally speak. If the script isn’t changed to reflect this, it will sound unnatural and awkward and the audience will pick up on it very quickly.

5. Remember, You don’t always need to write a script

Please note that this final point isn’t intended to undermine everything we have talked about above! As we mentioned in the previous point, sometimes writing every word you are going to say can sound overly scripted, which can lack empathy and struggle to connect with the audience.

If you are experienced and confident enough, or if it fits the type of audience you will be speaking to, you can work around key points you have written down, or simply use the slide content as your start point.

This usually suits a more informal setting and you always have to be careful not to wander off on long tangents that will lose the audience in the process. Always remember the structure of your presentation and have a time limit so you will still deliver the information concisely and effectively.

Script writing is no easy task!

Just like creating content for your presentation, writing a script requires practice. With each one you write you will gain more confidence and improve the way they are structured and delivered. Use the guidelines above as a foundation for your scripts and you’ll soon be able to find a voice and style that will add real value to your presentations.

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How we write presentation scripts that captivate audiences.

• Author Chris Tomlin
• Published June 15, 2023

Having written thousands, this is our advice on how to write a presentation script and how to use scripts in your presentations.

What’s the most important factor in any presentation?

It’s got to be the design, right? Making your slides so beautiful, so chic, and so damn on-brand that your audience will weep at their magnificence?

That’s important, but no – we’re talking about something more fundamental than that.

Ok, then. How about the  animation ? Slick, professional and seamless. That premium, professional sheen that shows your quality through and through.

Again, really love your thinking here, but before that too.

Before you even open PowerPoint, Keynote or Google Slides. Before you get stuck into Photoshop, XD, or whatever design software you prefer.

In many cases, before you even fire your trusty PC or Mac up.

Which brings up back to answering that original question. The first – and most important – part of any presentation is the story. It’s the structure on which those other visual elements can hang, and with a great narrative, your design and animation can take it to another level of excellence.

But the story needs to be delivered. And in most cases, that’s down to you, the presenter. So you need a way to make sure you talk through the story in the right order. Hitting the right highs and lows. Without missing anything out. And without rambling on and going over your time limit.

What you need, my friend, is a presentation script.

The benefits of a great presentation script

OK, before we go any further, I can already see some of you grimacing at the thought of a presentation script.

I don’t need a script , you might be thinking – and you may well be right.

Scripts make presenters sound all robotic and boring , you could be muttering – and again, good point.

I want my  salespeople  to be able to think on their feet and adapt to any situation , you might be screaming into your screen. OK, chill out – you’re not wrong.

But let’s not be so black and white about things, eh?

Like presenters, presentations and audiences, each script should be different.

Your presentation script will likely be based on your experience as a presenter, your knowledge of the presentation subject, the level of detail you want to go into, the type of audience you’re presenting to, your time allowance, and many other variables.

So, it’s a good idea to start with the maximum amount you need, and then chip away as necessary. Think of it like Michelangelo’s David. To create his masterpiece, the Italian sculptor took a huge block of Tuscan marble, whittling it down for over two years to reveal the final result.

Can you imagine if he just took a small torso-shaped piece, and then glued a few bits and bobs on as he went along?

It’s the same for your presentation script: write it out in full, and see how it feels when you speak it out loud. What’s that? You probably wouldn’t speak it out loud? Well, you should – some phrases sound all wrong spoken aloud, even when they look fine on the page.

Speaking aloud also gives you a much better estimate of the time it will take to present it in full; reading it in your head, or even muttering it softly to yourself just won’t give you the same timings.

Each time you speak it aloud, it will get a bit tighter, a bit stronger and a bit more personalised to the way you speak.

And, after a few drafts, you’ll have something approaching your final presentation script. Just be careful to leave it when it’s ready – it can be tempting to tweak and tweak ad infinitum, and it’s sometimes difficult to know when to leave it alone.

Now it’s decision time. What will you do with this script? There are basically three choices here:

• Read the full script.
• Cut it down to bullet points.
• Memorise it.

Let’s look at the pros and cons of each in turn.

1. Read the full script

This is the safest method.

You separate your script out throughout your slides in the speaker notes section. This means you see them on your laptop, but your audience doesn’t on the big screen (or their Zoom screen).

Most people new to presenting, nervous of public speaking, not experts in the subject matter, or just a bit cautious, might initially choose this option, but it’s not without risks.

Yes, you won’t forget anything and yes, it gives you something to focus on other than the audience, but that can become an issue.

If you stand in front of your audience with your eyes glued to PowerPoint’s speaker notes, then it’s often not the best experience for them. People like to connect with one another, and eye contact – even over video calls – is an important part of this. So, if you don’t even glance up from time to time, you and your presentation can come across as cold, at a time when you should be sharing emotion.

And another issue is it can be hard to portray that emotion when you’re reading out loud, rather than speaking from the top of your head. It can be a bit like listening to kids reading out loud in primary school: sure, they are saying all the words right, but the speed, the cadence, the emphasis and passion can all be lost.

So how can you get around this conundrum: you’re not confident enough to go without a presentation script, but you don’t want to sound like an emotionless reading drone. The answer, whether you like it or not, is to practice.

Most people don’t practice, so most presentations aren’t very good. Don’t be that guy.

The more you practice, the more comfortable you will feel delivering your presentation script. You’ll find that certain sentences and phrases slip off the tongue a bit easier, so you are able to make eye contact from time to time. Keep practicing and there may be whole slides or sections that you can talk around – maybe not word-for-word – but close enough.

And this is where you’re getting closer to that audience connection – in fact it’s arguably better to falter every now again – it proves you’re just human like the rest of us.

It also gets you closer to option 2.

2. Cut it down to bullet points

For most of our clients , who are pretty experienced presenters, this is the best option. It gives you the flexibility to talk around the main points, but with a safety net of all the key points written down as memory aids.

These bullets, tucked away in the speaker notes, can be a presenter’s secret weapon. With just a discreet glance towards their screen every now and again, they can make sure the whole story is delivered in full, in order, and with a healthy amount of audience connection thrown in too.

Don’t forget that speaker notes – whether a full presentation script or bullet points – are really easy to edit. So, if you tend to use a presentation multiple times, you can go in each time afterwards to tighten up a word or two here, or perhaps a couple more pointers there.

Or maybe edit them beforehand to personalise the script a bit to your specific audience – it’s a good way to mitigate on blanking the company or individual names you’re meeting.

It’s still important to practice with just speaker noters though, and you’ll find those glances become fewer and the eye contact increases as you do so. And the more you practice speaker notes, the better you’ll get, perhaps ultimately getting to option 3.

3. Memorise it

Let’s face it, the best presenters don’t need any kind of script. When was the last time you saw someone delivering a TED talk with a fistful of cue cards? Or referring back to their laptop every couple of minutes?

It’s all just there, in their heads, effortlessly transitioning through and out of their mouths. Or so it appears… again, don’t kill the messenger but these people practice over and over and over.

But memorising it doesn’t always mean literally reciting every exact word. That can be useful when you have a very strict time to work within, but the best presenters can flow in and out of their memorised script at will. It’s really something to behold.

This means they can slip in relevant stories or recent events seamlessly. Or can refer back to other talks that day, personalise their story to the audience and generally make it much more of a flexible experience.

But of course, there’s a flip side. Less experienced speakers might lose their place, miss a whole chunk out, or go off on a rambling tangent that has no relevance, like that time I went to do a talk and it was really early in the morning and usually I set my alarm for 6.45 except for Thursdays when I get a lie in but actually the Thursday before I had a meeting so I turned that alarm off, but left on the 8.30 alarm and this talk happened to start at 8.15 and I didn’t realise but the alarm was still on but the talk didn’t actually start on time because there was an issue with the pastry delivery because we usually use this one company but they couldn’t deliver them so we had to use another company which was actually run by the husband of a client we used to work with who used to be a designer but then realised that he preferred to actually bake and……… you get the point there I hope.

Your presentation script. Your way.

All in all, presentation scripts are essential in creating and presenting a great audience experience. They give you structure, flow, and confidence that simply reading off your slides, or ad-libbing it can’t.

Start with a strong presentation script, and remember that it’s entirely up to you to decide how to use it to make the most out of your own style.

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The Perfect Presentation Script that inspires audience

Perfect presentation script – a key to presentation success.

Is delivering presentations on the spot a skill you must master? Absolutely not! It’s good to possess this skill, but utilizing it during crucial presentations is unadvisable. What you say during a presentation is just as important as what is on the screen which is why you need the ‘ Perfect Presentation Script ’. If you’re going to deliver a dynamic design presentation but lacks perfect presentation script , it just won’t work in your favor.

A perfect presentation script should be as dynamic and effective as your visual data, preventing you from reading off your notes or just rambling in front of your audience. Be it a Sales Presentation or Investor Pitch Meeting, crafting a perfect presentation script helps in the consistent structure and designs of the presentation slides. Many presentation software’s are available online including Visme , Canva , Prezi and much more that helps creating professional designs.

7 Key Elements to Hone Your Presentation Script

1. Clear and Concise Introduction:  The ideal presentation script begins with a clear, concise intro that grabs attention and sets the tone. It should state the presentation’s purpose and what the audience will learn/gain from it.

2. Engaging Opening:  A strong opening captivates the audience with a story, question, or statistic. It hooks them to continue listening.

3. Well-Structured Content:  The presentation script should be well-structured and organized, flowing logically between points with clear transitions. Each point should be supported by evidence or examples to convince and relate to the audience.

4. Visual Aids:  Visual aids like slides, charts, and graphs enhance presentations and engage the audience. Use them strategically to support key points and improve information understanding. Ensure they are clear, visually appealing, and easy to read.

5. Engaging Language:  In presentation script, use engaging language that’s easy to understand. Avoid jargon and technical terms. Keep it simple and concise for all. Add storytelling, humor, or questions for engagement.

6. Call to Action:  A presentation script needs a clear call to action at the end. This prompts the audience to act, like signing up for a newsletter or implementing presented ideas. The call should be compelling, encouraging action.

7. Practice and Rehearsal:  One key element in a perfect presentation script is practice. It’s crucial to rehearse the script multiple times for a smooth delivery and to become familiar with the content. Practice builds confidence and reduces nervousness during the presentation. With these elements, you can create an impactful presentation that effectively communicates your message to the audience.

9 Steps to a Flawless Presentation Script

1. Plot:  Crafting the plot of your script before you write it is essential. From your introduction to your conclusion, outline key subjects that you want to focus on. Write your perfect presentation script based on this information. This is the easiest way to write a script for any company presentation ppt.

Perfect Presentation Script – Structuring Content

2. Introduction:  Audience-focused speeches are no longer effective! Instead of meeting expectations, seize control and guide your audience to your desired destination. Craft a compelling intro and offer an exhilarating experience.

3. Crucial Information:  Audience get info in pieces, they won’t bother connecting dots or retaining it. Keep info in one place. Craft sentences creatively to capture attention and deliver data effectively.

4. Presentation Notes:  PowerPoint lets you write notes at the bottom of each slide. Take the substance of your presentation and bring it down to core keywords. These words should be capable of summing up the entire concept. Relying on these words instead of notes can help you easily communicate with your audience. The presentation notes helps you to keep a note of the key points of your perfect presentation script that aids in delivering an impressive presentation.

5. Stimulating Narrative:  The last thing your audience wants to do is witness another presenter deliver a dreary presentation. Your ppt presentation design needs to be dynamic and so does your speech. The presentation should be able to complement your compelling and persuasive narrative. Your script must be intriguing, gripping, and thoughtful to be considered as a perfect presentation script.

6. Limit your bullets:  Keep audience comprehension in mind. Don’t overload with too many points at once. Simplify content into bullets for easy recall.

7. Conversations:  Every presentation needs a script. Write a perfect presentation script in a conversational tone. It may seem strange, but greatly influences communication and audience interaction. Builds confidence and calms nerves during presentations.

8. Record your speech:  Record your presentation to identify mistakes and improve. Note hiccups, strengths, and mistakes. Consider audience reaction and enhance accordingly. This can help you ace the delivery of any corporate presentation ppt.

9. Break: Firstly, avoid being boring in presentations. Engage with your audience, interact with them, and take breaks. Use the time wisely to connect with them. Share a relevant story that aligns with your presentation’s goal.

For more on exceptional story presentations, read: https://visualsculptors.com/storytelling-approach-presentations/

Writing a perfect presentation script for Consulting Presentations

A well-chosen PPT topic captures attention and makes the presentation engaging. The best layout complements content and enhances the message. Format should be considered to ensure clear and organized information presentation. Use headings, bullet points, and visuals to convey the message effectively. Writing a great consulting presentation script involves understanding the audience and purpose. It should be concise, engaging, and convey key messages clearly. Structure it logically with an intro, main body, and conclusion. The script should have visual aids and interactive elements to engage the audience and improve the presentation’s impact. It should be well-researched, include relevant data and examples to support key messages.

Drafting a perfect presentation script for C-Level Presentations

PPT slides: popular for visually appealing presentations. Engage audience with suitable design. Neatly formatted slides are easy to understand. Minimalistic designs key for C-Level presentations. Precise, not lengthy content. When presenting to C-level execs, a perfect script is essential. It must be concise, clear, and impactful. Start with a strong opening to grab attention, followed by a clear outline of main points. The script should meet audience needs, avoiding jargon. End with a conclusion summarizing key points and encouraging discussion. Writing a perfect presentation script for C-level presentations impacts success and company goals.

6 useful tips to improve your Presentation Script

Now, We shall see the 6 useful tips to improve your presentation script.

• Crafting a compelling presentation script requires meticulous planning and attention to detail.
• A crucial first step is to finalize the storyboarding process, which lays the foundation for your script.
• When drafting your script, be sure to adhere closely to the content of your slides and incorporate appropriate pause breaks to allow your audience time to absorb and process information.
• It’s essential to devote ample time to writing, practicing, and refining your script through iteration.
• However, keep in mind that not every presentation requires a fully written script.
• A professional and effective presentation script strikes a delicate balance between preparation and flexibility to ensure that you engage and captivate your audience.

Shaping Your Presentation Script into Eye-Catching Designs

A PowerPoint presentation conveys information and ideas visually in a professional setting. Well-designed ppt presentations effectively communicate complex concepts and data. PowerPoint examples inspire and reference presentation creation, ranging from simple to elaborate designs, showcasing versatility and creativity. PowerPoint samples offer a starting point for creating professional presentations. While perfecting presentation script, it’s vital to focus on design too. Viewing PowerPoint examples, seeking design inspirations, and customizing design scheme should accompany script creation.

Once the presentation script is finalized, the focus shifts to designing the presentation. Here are key aspects of creating an effective PowerPoint design. PowerPoint design includes images, colors, and typography to enhance the presentation’s appearance. The goal is to boost readability and visual appeal. Balancing creativity with professionalism is crucial in slide design. The best PPT presentations effectively convey the message and engage the audience. They include visually appealing templates, relevant images, concise text, and effective graphics. Presenter slides in PowerPoint aid in delivering a professional presentation, leaving a lasting impression. Crafting the best PowerPoint design takes time and effort.

Transforming Your Script with a Design Agency’s Expertise

Once you start structuring your presentation script, you may be thinking of how to effectively design your content. Are you looking for a design agency that can support you in your design projects? Then look no further than VS Team. Our team of experts specializes in creating captivating PowerPoint presentation template designs that can be customized to suit your specific needs. Let us help you elevate your presentation with our exceptional presentation design services, and leave a lasting impression on your audience. You can make use of these customized templates and just transfer your contents to come up with many presentations in due course.

PowerPoint slides enhance key messages in presentations. Design keeps audience engaged. Well-crafted slides organize content effectively. Businesses create branded templates. PPT template provides consistent layout for slides. Helps presenters focus on content. Crucial for impactful presentations. Enhances design and message conveyance. Clean design, readable fonts, appealing colors are key. Offers varied layout options for content.

Be it a software presentation or educational presentation, the right PowerPoint template for presentation will have design layouts matching the industry and aligned to branding. You can read further… Professional PowerPoint Slide Designs – Visual Sculptors.  Leaving design to experts, focus on perfect presentation script. Key steps in structuring your script below. Use as inspiration and tailor to industry needs.

Don’t let your presentation end like any other. Once your discussion is done, ask specific questions. Ask if they have any queries or if there’s anything they didn’t quite understand. Find out which concepts appealed and which ones didn’t. The best PowerPoint presentation design services UK always suggest enquiring about your presentation delivery- what your audience liked and what they didn’t. Take feedback positively. Improve yourself by structuring and perfecting your presentation script. This enhances your presentation skills and audience impact.

• What is a presentation script?

A well-crafted presentation script can provide you with the structure, flow, and confidence you need to deliver a successful presentation. It’s important to start with a strong script that aligns with your personal style and goals. By using your script effectively, you can engage your audience and make the most out of your presentation. Remember, the script is a tool to enhance your delivery, not a crutch to rely on.

2. How do you write a good presentation to an audience?

Some tips for writing a great presentation include starting with a clear and concise message, using visuals to enhance your points, practicing your delivery, and engaging your audience with interactive elements. It’s also important to consider your audience’s needs and interests when crafting your presentation.

3. What are the ways to impress the audience in a presentation?

Some ways to impress your audience in a presentation include starting with a strong opening, using visuals and multimedia, telling stories, engaging the audience with questions, and being confident and enthusiastic. Other tips include practicing your delivery, keeping your message clear and concise, and ending with a memorable conclusion.

4. How do you start a perfect presentation?

There are many ways to start a perfect presentation, but some tips and tricks include starting with a powerful quote, telling a story, asking a thought-provoking question, or using a startling statistic. It’s important to grab your audience’s attention from the beginning and set the tone for the rest of your presentation.

5. How can I make my presentation more creative and attractive?

Some tips for making your presentation more creative and attractive include using visuals, incorporating storytelling, using humor, keeping it simple, and engaging with your audience. You can also try using interactive elements, incorporating music or sound effects, and using a unique and visually appealing design.

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How to Organize Your Introduction for a Presentation [+ FREE Presentation Checklist]

May 1, 2018 | Business Professional English , Free Resource , Public Speaking & Presentations

This lesson on how to organize your introduction for a presentation in English has been updated since its original posting in 2016 and a video has been added.

Getting ready to present in English? Here’s how to make sure your introduction for a presentation in English is successful.

But first… When you think about a presentation, I know you’re thinking about something like a TED video or a presentation at a conference. You’re thinking about a speech, with PowerPoint slides and a big audience.

But did you know we use the same skills when we share new information or ideas with our work colleagues? Or when we tell stories to our friends and family? The situation or speaking task may be different but we still use the same skills.

When presenting information or telling stories, we need to:

• Capture a listener’s attention
• Share information, ideas, or opinions
• Give the important details
• Make your information memorable
• Get your audience (family, friends, colleagues or strangers) to agree, to take action, to change their mind, etc.

So today you’re going to learn how to take the first big step in your English presentation: how to start with a great introduction.

The introduction is the most important part of your presentation. It is the first impression you’ll make on your audience. It’s your first opportunity to get their attention. You want them to trust you and listen to you right away.

However, that first moment when you start to speak is often the hardest. Knowing how to best prepare and knowing what to say will help you feel confident and ready to say that first word and start your presentation in English.

Be sure to include these 5 things in your inroduction.

Lesson by Annemarie

How to Organize Your Introduction for a Presentation in English and Key Phrases to Use

Organize Your Introduction Correctly

Okay, first let’s focus on what you need to include in your English introduction. Think of this as your formula for a good introduction. Using this general outline for your introduction will help you prepare. It will also help your audience know who you are, why you’re an expert, and what to expect from your presentation.

Use this general outline for your next presentation:

• Welcome your audience and introduce yourself
• Capture their attention
• Identify your number one goal or topic of presentation
• Give a quick outline of your presentation
• Provide instructions for how to ask questions (if appropriate for your situation)

Use Common Language to Make Your Introduction Easy to Understand

Great, now you have the general outline of an introduction for a speech or presentation in English. So let’s focus on some of the key expressions you can use for each step. This will help you think about what to say and how to say it so you can sound confident and prepared in your English presentation.

“The introduction is the most important part of your presentation. It is the first impression you’ll make on your audience. It’s your first opportunity to get their attention. You want them to trust you and listen to you right away.”

Welcome Your Audience & Introduction

It is polite to start with a warm welcome and to introduce yourself. Everyone in the audience will want to know who you are. Your introduction should include your name and job position or the reason you are an expert on your topic. The more the audience trusts you, the more they listen.

• Welcome to [name of company or event]. My name is [name] and I am the [job title or background information].
• Thank you for coming today. I’m [name] and I’m looking forward to talking with you today about [your topic].
• Good morning/afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I’d like to quickly introduce myself. I am [name] from [company or position]. (formal)
• On behalf of [name of company], I’d like to welcome you today. For those of you who don’t already know me, my name is [name] and I am [job title or background]. (formal)
• Hi everyone. I’m [name and background]. I’m glad to be here with you today. Now let’s get started. (informal)

Capture Their Attention

For more information about how to best capture your audience’s attention and why, please see the next session below. However, here are a few good phrases to get you started.

• Did you know that [insert an interesting fact or shocking statement]?
• Have you ever heard that [insert interesting fact or shocking statement]?
• Before I start, I’d like to share a quick story about [tell your story]…
• I remember [tell your story, experience or memory]…
• When I started preparing for this talk, I was reminded of [tell your story, share your quote or experience]…

Identify Your Goal or Topic of Presentation

At this stage, you want to be clear with your audience about your primary topic or goal. Do you want your audience to take action after your talk? Is it a topic everyone is curious about (or should be curious about)? This should be just one or two sentences and it should be very clear.

• This morning I’d like to present our new [product or service].
• Today I’d like to discuss…
• Today I’d like to share with you…
• What I want to share with you is…
• My goal today is to help you understand…
• During my talk this morning/afternoon, I’ll provide you with some background on [main topic] and why it is important to you.
• I will present my findings on…
• By the end of my presentation, I’d like for you to know…
• I aim to prove to you / change your mind about…
• I’d like to take this opportunity to talk about…
• As you know, this morning/afternoon I’ll be discussing…

Outline Your Presentation

You may have heard this about presentations in English before:

First, tell me what you’re going to tell me. Then tell me. And finally, tell me what you told me.

It sounds crazy and weird, but it’s true. This is how we structure presentations in English. So today we’re focusing on the “First, tell me what you’re going to tell me” for your introduction. This means you should outline the key points or highlights of your topic.

This prepares your listens and helps to get their attention. It will also help them follow your presentation and stay focused. Here are some great phrases to help you do that.

• First, I’m going to present… Then I’ll share with you… Finally, I’ll ask you to…
• The next thing I’ll share with you is…
• In the next section, I’ll show you…
• Today I will be covering these 3 (or 5) key points…
• In this presentation, we will discuss/evaluate…
• By the end of this presentation, you’ll be able to…
• My talk this morning is divided into [number] main sections… First, second, third… Finally…

On Asking Questions

You want to be sure to let you audience know when and how it is appropriate for them to ask you questions. For example, is the presentation informal and is it okay for someone to interrupt you with a question? Or do you prefer for everyone to wait until the end of the presentation to ask questions?

• If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to interrupt me. I’m happy to answer any questions as we go along.
• Feel free to ask any questions, however, I do ask that you wait until the end of the presentation to ask.
• There will be plenty of time for questions at the end.
• Are there any questions at this point? If not, we’ll keep going.
• I would be happy to answer any questions you may have now.

Capture Your Audience’s Attention

Do you feel unsure about how to capture the attention of your audience? Don’t worry! Here are some common examples used in English-speaking culture for doing it perfectly!

Two of the most famous speakers in the English-speaking world are Steve Jobs and Oprah Winfrey. While Steve Jobs is no longer living, people still love to watch his speeches and presentations online. Oprah is so famous that no matter what she does, people are excited to see her and listen to her.

BUT, if you listen to a speech by Steve Jobs or Oprah Winfrey,  they still  work  to get your attention!

The don’t start with a list of numbers or data. They don’t begin with a common fact or with the title of the presentation. No – they do much more.

From the moment they start their speech, they want you to listen. And they find interesting ways to get your attention. In his most famous speeches, Steve Jobs often started with a personal story. And Oprah often starts with an inspiring quote, a motivational part of a poem, or a personal story.

These are all great ways to help your audience to listen to you immediately – whether your presentation is 3 minutes or 20 minutes.

Here’s how you can do it.

Like Steve Jobs or Oprah Winfrey, start with a:

• Personal story or experience
• Motivational quote or line from a poem or book
• Joke (be careful with this – make sure it translates easily to everyone in the audience!)
• Shocking, bold statement (Think of Steve Jobs’ quote: “ Stay hungry. Stay Foolish .”)
• Rhetorical question ( =a question that you don’t want an answer to; the focus is to make someone think)

And finally, consider audience participation. Ask a question and get your audience to respond by raising hands.

Get the complete Presentations in English Series:

Part 1: How to Prepare for Your Presentation in English

Part 2: How to Start with a Great Introduction in Your Presentation

Part 3:  How to Organize Your Presentation in English

Part 4:  How to End Your Presentation Powerfully

As I mentioned in the video, I have two question for you today:

• What is the best introduction you’ve ever heard? Have you watched a TED Talk or a presentation on YouTube with a great introduction? Tell me about it. What do you think was great about the introduction?
• What frightens you the most about preparing your introduction in a presentation? Share your concerns with me so I can help you overcome any challenges you have.

Be sure to share in the comments below to get feedback from me and to learn from others in the Confident English Community.

Have a great week! ~ Annemarie

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Thank you, Annemarie. thanks for the generosity of sharing useful and systemative information and content.

This is really a very informative message thank you.. And it’s help me a lot

hi thank you for this It was helpful. You used simple english that i understood well.

How to start with a great presentation on composition

Thankyou for the information . It was much helpful . I will definitely use this information in my presentation 🤗

Hi, I am Thang Sok Do you have a Sample presentation?

This was helpful but can you please tell me how to start a presentation in college because this is for work in a company. My presentation is on laboratory skills and all that

Its informative

Thank you for this video! I’ve learned quite a lot and will want to use all these knowledge in presenting my thesis proposal in 2 months. About your question no. 2, I’d just like to share that the mere fact of presenting in front of many respected professionals makes me already nervous and shaky even if i have studied everything about my presentation. What do you think should i do to deal with my concern?

Could you give me advise, how to start learning English for beginner.How to prepare presentation on any topic and how to make interesting..

Thank u so much for valuable advice. Definitely I will used this in my presentation!!

Thank you very much for these kind of useful advice. I hope my first presentation will be exciting for the audience.Your video is helping me again thanks a lot 😊

hi, i’m B.COM student and I have to prepare presentation about identifying business opportunities. How to start and an attractive attention to my audience.. Please Help me…

very nise and educative piece of information thank you nancy nairobi kenya

i am starting a video speech shooting in night about a famouse person how do i start my speech with a good intro.

Hi again how do you do a introduction goodbye

Hi i do not know what you are talking about

Hi Kate, I’m sorry to hear you’re not sure about the content. I recommend reviewing the video carefully if you haven’t already. Is there something specific you have a question about?

thanks a lot for guiding in such an easier way.

Your write-up on introduction helped a lot, thank you Annemarie. I work for cross-geography team and greetings get lengthy as timezones are different e.g. “Good evening to those joining from US office and good morning to colleagues from India office”. I replaced that with “Thank you everyone for joining”. Is it okay?

Hi Amit, I’m so glad it was helpful. As for your greeting, both of your options are perfectly appropriate and friendly.

How to introduce group members in online presentation?

Great question! I’d love to use that for a future Confident English lesson.

its amazing. i can’t explain in wording. this material helping me a lot. i am so happy after use this website . its make easy for me preparing my presentation more interesting. i am thankful too u.

thanks! i use your materials to teach my students(clinets) how to prepare a presentation. is it ok to use them on my materials?

Hi! I am a student from the USP from Tuvaluan and i take CEE45 so our assessment 2 is to prepared a group presentation and we presented in school. so need your help for how to start an attractive introduction to my teacher and my fellow students, they already kwow me.

Thank you.. very helpful

Very useful

It was very use Gul for or presentations

Hi. I am a 1st year BIT student and I have to prepare a presentation on 3D Printing. how to start an attractive introduction to my teachers, when they already know about me? Can you please help me out? Thank you.

I just took 1st place for my paper that I presented at an international students conference. I used a lot of your techniques to improve my speech and I have no words to say how grateful I am to you. Keep up the good work!

😲WOW!! That’s awesome, Andrew. 🙌Congratulations on your presentation. What a wonderful response to your hard work. I’d love to know what you presentation was about. And thank you for sharing your new here. I’m thrilled to know that my techniques were helpful to you.

The title of the presentation was “Handling burnout: A study regarding the the influence of job stressors over military and civilian personel”. I can sent you my paper through email if you would like to see it.

Hi Andrew, what a fascinating topic. And it’s interesting because I just had a newspaper reporter interview me about burnout as a small business owner. Must be a hot topic. 🙂 And sure, I’d love to see it.

🔥❤ too goodd

Hello Annemarie, Thank you so much for one of the best content on the English presentation, I’ve seen. I have a question: Is it impolite or informal to start the presentation without a greeting? I’m asking this question because I’ve seen a lot of TEDTalks and in only a few of them, they greet the audience and in most of it, they quickly go to the “CAPTURING the ATTENTION” with numbers and pictures. I would be so thankful if you could answer this question as soon as possible, my presentation is so close. Best regards, Helia

Hi Helia, What a great question. It has definitely become more common to skip the greeting and go straight to capturing the attention of the audience and you’re right that we often see this in TED talks. I would say it’s best to know your audience and what might be expected. For example, at more formal, traditional conferences or lecture, it might be more appropriate to start with a welcome. I prefer to welcome/thank my audience quickly at the start when I give presentations. A welcome can be very brief, just one sentence, and then you can quickly go into …  Read more »

Hi Annemarie I would like to thank you for giving such types of presentation skills but I have a question can you give me some idea about vote of thinks.

I’m glad the lessons are helpful to you. Could you clarify what you mean by ‘vote of thinks?’ I’m not sure I understand that.

Please can you give me some idea about vote of thanks

Could you clarify what you’re asking for, Bello?

Thanks a lot

Glad it was helpful!

it is agood i learn alot from this english class

Hello.i would like to thank you for giving these beautiful tips to start a presentation.This article helped me a lot.

That’s great, Radha. Glad to hear it.

Thanks for your article. It’s simply for interpersonal skill development.

You’re welcome, Mithun. Glad to know it was helpful.

Hi Annemarie . Thank you so much for giving such helpful guildelines it’s really gonna help me

I’m glad it’s helpful, Swetha! 🙂

thank you for help me

You’re very welcome!

Hi Anne Marie, i ‘m from Catalonia and i came across with your site only by chance and i think it’gonna be so helpful for me to pass the next test for c1 level. Several weeks ago i did some rehersals with my presentation and i was so nervous and terrified about what was expected from me.

Some tips in your youtube channel are so cool !!! Thank you.

Hi Tom, I’m thrilled you’ve found this site in your preparations for your English exam and am glad to know it’s helpful! Best of luck as you continue to prepare.

Hi Annemarie Thanks it’s so useful to develop presentation skill. Fatima

You’re very welcome, Fatima! I’m glad it was helpful.

Awesome, especially this simple and clear motto: “First, tell me what you’re going to tell me. Then tell me. And finally, tell me what you told me.” This three sentences exactly explain the content you need to create a memorable presentation.

Hi Dzmitry,

Yes, I’ve always loved that simple motto on how to do a presentation. 🙂 It’s so easy to remember and tells you exactly what to do.

hello I need to introduce myself to language center. i am going to learn Danish Language and i want to introduce myself to them and i am little bit nervous because my grammar is not good at that level.so will you please guide me how to introduce myself to them with an example. i did go through your examples but that is for professionals and i am just a student (Graduate). I don’t have any experience . Please guide me how to do it.

I was in a confused state about starting a conversation and proceeding in it but when I read the guidelines you mentioned above I became confident. thank you for your innumerable ………….

Thank you so much…… it’s an excellent topic, and it helped me a lot

I’m so glad this was helpful to you! Thank you for sharing.

hi annemarie i have a few questions about a speech i have to make a englishi speech of what i want to become can you help me?

Hi Rebecca,

Thank you for the question. I have several lessons on the topic of presentations in English . However, for personal assistance with English or presentations, I only do that through my one-on-one classes .

thank you so much…… it’s really helpful for me….

You’re very welcome, Shalini.

Thanks its really nice to develop the presentation skills

Awesome. I’m glad it was helpful to you, Mohammed.

I have to give a demo on one of your programs next week. I would like you to check my self introduction – Good afternoon everyone and thank you for all of your presence. Before we get into the session I would like to quickly introduce myself. My name is Dinesh . I am working as a Pharmaceutical sale and promotion of the brands for Arrient Healthcare. I am in this filed for the past ten years. Before becoming trainer I worked as a medical representatives for different pharma company . I am highly interested in learning from people and …  Read more »

Please ignore my previous comment. Yea the demo was a success. So hereafter I will say”I have been in this field for the past four years. Actually I worked for different consultancies so I didn’t include an article there.

I have to give a demo on one of your programs next week. I would like you to check my self introduction – Good afternoon everyone and thank you for all of your presence. Before we get into the session I would like to quickly introduce myself. My name is Monica. I am working as a Soft Skill Trainer at Synergy School of Business Skills. I am in this filed for the past four years. Before becoming trainer I worked as a Recruiter for different job consultancy. I am highly interested in learning from people and I think teaching/training is …  Read more »

Thank you for sharing your example! One note: “I am in this field for the past four years.” –> Don’t forget, when we’re talking about something that started in the past and continues to now, we use the present perfect. How might you change this sentence to fix the grammar?

Also, we want to add an article to, “… I worked as a recruiter for [a] different job consultancy.”

I wish you much success in your demo this week! Best, Annemarie

Yea the demo was a success! So hereafter I will say”I have been for the past four years. Actually I worked for different consultancies.

I like it but I think capturing their attention is the most difficult part in preparing a presentation. From my little experience, I used to talk about something out of the scope of the presentation in order to grasp their attention. For example, I had a presentation about medical terminology and its parts (suffix, prefix —). So I provided example which is Ultra Violet then I talked about the ultraviolet in the sun and Vitamin D deficiency. They liked the talk because it is very important to them and by this topic I captured their attention more and more.

Hello Fadia, I’m sorry I’m so late in responding to your comment! I agree with you: capturing attention is very challenging to do. It requires understanding your audience, knowing what is important to them, and how to connect with them. In English-speaking culture, we often connect by telling a story or showing we understand a problem the audience has. I think you’re exactly right to talk about something that is maybe “off topic” or out of the scope of the presentation, as you said, to get their attention first. It sounds like you did a great job in your experience!! …  Read more »

hi there it was great going through your enlightening presentation skills however i would be even more delighted if you put some quotes for various PPT’s which will give us an instant ideas during the adhoc PPT like myself…just a suggestion.

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25 Great Presentation Examples Your Audience Will Love

Written by: Chloe West

If you're starting a presentation from scratch, you know that being met with a blank, empty slide can feel a bit intimidating, especially if you're meeting a deadline, overwhelmed with ideas, or not very design-savvy.

This begs the question: How and where do you even start?

One of the easiest places to start is with an idea of the look and feel you want your presentation design to have, along with a complementary layout. Once you have that, all you need to do is fill out the design with your copy and images, and voila, you're done.

To help guide you in this choice, we've put together 25 awesome presentation examples, ranging from business presentations to product presentations and a wide range of use cases in between. Plus, we'll also share ready-to-use templates to move your presentation from blank to almost done!

If you’re short on time, use Visme AI Designer to help you save time and boost your creativity. With just a simple text prompt to our AI Designer Chatbot, choose a style, and voila, your unique design is ready in under two minutes!

Presentation Example #1: Colorful Slides

Draw your audience and keep them engaged with bright, colorful slides in your presentation. This portfolio presentation showcases a designer’s collaboration with Nike. And it’s a great example of how fun and playfulness can not only look good but also draw the reader's attention to key areas you’d like them to focus on.

As great as adding colors can be, there is a right and wrong way of creating colorful presentations tastefully. In fact, it’s suggested that presentations be designed with 2-3 color schemes that are consistent and complimentary from start to finish. 

This is an example of a presentation with well-balanced colors. Tones of blue as the main color, with complementary colors of white and soft neon yellows, are all used in and around the illustrations present.

Image Source

Presentation Example #2: Embedded Video

If you aren’t physically present to give your presentation, you can still put on a show by creating a video presentation.

Adding embedding or using videos in your presentation breaks the monotony of scrolling through a sequence of static slides.

It stops the reader in their tracks to share a demonstration, product details, or essential facts that might be easily summarized in a few lines or are better visualized.

But embedding a single video within your presentation isn’t the only option; you can get creative and use videos as background images instead of regular static images.

Check out this explainer video presentation example. It’s short yet effective and filled with vivid videos, text, and animation.

Visme allows you to easily upload your own videos or import them from YouTube, Vimeo, and other platforms

Or tap into our extensive library of royalty-free stock videos and assets so you’re sure to find the perfect videos for your presentation.

For more check this quick guide on How to Embed a YouTube Video in Powerpoint & More .

Presentation Example #3: Interactivity

Not all presentations or slideshows will be or need to be presented.

If your presentation is sent to a client or stakeholder to review on their own, or is used for a self-paced training session, interactive presentations can enhance the experience.

By adding  interactivity to your presentation, you give reader autonomy and ensure that they don’t get bored reading on their own but can find and maintain their pace until the end.

Visme allows you to easily incorporate interactivity with coding. You can add a clickable table of contents, hotspots,  add links to  objects and more.

Consider this informative presentation example: Her last slide includes an RSVP button for people to learn more about the service she teased within her presentation.

This is the perfect lead generation and call-to-action for increasing your customer or membership base.

When you design your presentation with Visme, you can link text and other elements to your website. You can even create and embed a lead generating form in your presentation.

Presentation Example #4: Metaphors

If you can appeal to your audience with a metaphor from pop culture or another well-known reference, you’re sure to keep their attention.

That’s why we love this presentation example that uses superhero comparisons to talk about storytelling.

This storyline is catchy, and it gets the audience intrigued as to what comparison they’re going to make next. Plus, who doesn’t want to be compared to a superhero?

During your next presentation, see if there are any popular references that you can make easy comparisons to in your topic. But don’t try too hard to fit a comparison in, or your audience will be confused.

Create a stunning presentation in less time

• Hundreds of premade slides available
• Add animation and interactivity to your slides
• Choose from various presentation options

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Presentation Example #5: Animation

Who doesn’t love a good animated presentation? 

Animation is not only fun but memorable. Some of the best animated presentation software out there offers dozens of features to amp up your presentation design. 

However, like all things, too much of a good thing can be bad.  Just because animation is great doesn’t mean you need to add it to all your slides. Sometimes, simply adding a slight animation makes for the perfect slide.

And that’s exactly where this presentation example comes in.

While it’s not much, having each expert’s quote pop up after the rest of the information is already on the slide gives the presentation a slightly more fun air than if the entire slide content was static.

Visme has a wide range of animation features that require no coding or design skills. You can add slide transitions, animate objects or images or animated characters to highlight sections of your page

Presentation Example #6: Device Mockups

If you're a UX designer or planning to launch a new product, website, or software that's best displayed on a phone or computer, include a mock-up and screenshot in your presentation.

After all, a standalone screen grab with no formatting is a recipe for boring content, whereas a mockup of a laptop gives the reader a realistic point of view and visual experience.

This good presentation example represents exactly how well a mockup can make your content and overall presentation look professional.

When it comes to mock-ups, Visme has got you covered. Readily access professionally designed mockup presentation templates already inside or you can use the mockup generator to instantly design your own. It goes beyond device mockups and allows you to create branding, product, social media and print mockups.

Presentation Example #7: Visual Hierarchy

When we say visual hierarchy , we mean that the elements need to be organized in order of importance.

In this specific example we’re focused more on the presentation text rather than design.

Pay attention to how the header text and body content differ.

The headers on each of the above slides is in a large, all caps font while the body copy is much smaller and in sentence case. This creates a visual hierarchy that makes it obvious which font is the header, and therefore the most important part of the slide content.

Presentation Example #8: Icons

A common mistake most people make when designing their presentations is solely using words. By only using text in your presentation, you’re bound to lose your readers' or viewers' interest.

But maybe you don’t want to add all the bells and whistles that come with an elaborate design. That’s fine, but a simple alternative is to use icons.

Beautiful icons give your presentation a professional look and feel, help to illustrate your point and guide the viewers’ eyes to key points.

This is an example of a good presentation that uses icons to emphasize each of the slide points.

Access thousands of high-quality icons, shapes and graphics!

• Vector icons to spice up any Visme design or document
• Free to use , and great for print or web.
• Customize colors to fit your design needs.

Not only is this much more creative than boring bulleted slides on PowerPoint, it’s an incredibly easy thing to do on a presentation maker like Visme. Simply search for an icon relevant to your point and search through hundreds of options.

Presentation Example #9: Monochromatic Slides

A monochromatic color scheme consists of tints and shades of a single color and can be extremely visually appealing when done well.

This presentation example includes multiple bright colors in the overall presentation, but they’ve utilized one at a time to create monochromatic slides.

In other types of design, like an infographic or social media graphic, you’d stick to a single monochromatic color scheme.

But this example does a great job of utilizing monochromatic harmonies in a presentation while still keeping it engaging by focusing on more than one color the entire time.

Presentation Example #10: Use Images as a Background

The use of images as backgrounds within your presentation can elevate your presentation’s design.

With high-quality images, you can complement your storytelling and actively take your audience on a visual journey that keeps their eyes focused on important details that would have otherwise been missed by simply using text alone in your presentation.

This Nike pitch deck is an effective presentation example of how visuals can evoke emotion, keep the reader engaged and properly portray the message of your overall presentation.

Looking for the perfect image for your presentations can be frustrating. Instead of picking an image out of desperation, you can create one from your inspiration with Visme's AI Image Generator .

Enter a detailed prompt, choose from a range of styles, and in a matter of seconds, you will have a royalty-free AI-generated image ready to be added to your presentation.

And if you already have your stock of images you'd like to upload but they need a bit of editing, use the AI Touch Up Tools to resize, reshape, unblur, remove backgrounds and more, until you're completely satisfied with the results.

Presentation Example #11: Consistency

When putting together a presentation, you want it to be obvious that your slides are cohesive and meant to go together in the slideshow. This means you should be utilizing the same color scheme, fonts and overall theme throughout your presentation.

This presentation created with Visme is a great example of consistency throughout the slides.

Each of these slides follows the same design even though the content on each one differs.

Use the Brand Wizard to help maintain your presentation's visual and brand consistency. This AI-powered tool will help to create a brand kit you can easily access while you're designing.

Insert your URL in the Brand Wizard and watch it grab your assets (company logo, fonts, and colors) and add them to your brand kit. It'll also suggest templates within the Visme library that automatically match your brand.

Presentation Example #12: Fancy Fonts

If you’re a luxury or creative brand that wants to translate your style or showcase your work and add some personality to your text in your presentations, then you should incorporate fancy fonts.

When you’re using fancy fonts, they should be used sparingly, especially in a large font capacity, like a header. You don’t want to place too much text in a fancy font or it gets to be too hard to read, giving both you—as the presenter—and your audience a headache.

Here’s a perfect and practical example of how to incorporate fancy fonts into your presentation:

Using this fancy script font in their presentation gives their slides a more playful air and allows them to further connect with their audience.

Presentation Example #13: Flat Design

Another creative presentation idea you can use would be adding flat designs.

These are usually two-dimensional graphics with bright colors and a minimalist look and feel. Since they're so versatile, flat designs can be used across different industries.

Take a look at this LinkedIn presentation example. The visuals on each slide are characters illustrated in flat design. Utilizing this style can be a great way to create beautiful slides that your audience can’t get enough of.

Be sure that your illustrations are relevant to your slide content so they don’t seem out of place. Just because something looks pretty doesn’t necessarily mean it makes sense in your presentation.

Presentation Example #14: Slide Progress

Most people tend to forget about the table of contents when you’re presenting. Letting your audience know how far along your presentation they are can be a great way to keep them engaged and following along.

This can be especially useful when you’re doing a training session or a lengthy webinar presentation.

Look at this presentation example, which includes a slide progression countdown to let the audience know how many points are left to be covered.

Presentation Example #15: Data Visualization

When you’re sharing complex or detailed data in your presentations, it’s always best to use data visualization .

By adding charts, graphs and other data widgets, you make your data more digestible for your audience and effortlessly highlight key points without losing their interest.

This presentation example does a great job of using data visualization to present stats and information in a fun and approachable way.

Visme has over 40 customizable charts,  graphs, maps and data widgets for you to choose from. You can also import data manually from a spreadsheet, Google Sheets, or apps like Google Analytics into your charts.

Maybe you’d like to start using data visualization, but you’re not sure which one might be the best for your data. We have a detailed guide on 33 Data Visualization Types and how to choose the one that works best for you and your industry.

Presentation Example #16: Minimalistic Slides

You don’t have to stuff tons of information into each one of your presentation slides.

Sometimes less is more.

You can place only the most important words and visuals on a slide and let your voice do the rest. Or you can just add more slides for each of your points.

This presentation example uses minimalistic slides that only focus on a single point at a time.

You don’t have to have a ton of design elements on a slide for it to be visually appealing. This presentation includes just the basics and it still looks well designed and teaches something to its audience.

Presentation Example #17: Graphics

Another great way to create a minimalistic and visually appealing presentation is by placing equal emphasis on text and graphics.

We love the way this next presentation example utilized graphics in each one of their slides.

This presentation covers 25 need-to-know marketing stats, and while the data isn’t placed into charts and graphs, they’ve still come up with a way to add visuals.

This is a great way to incorporate graphics into their slides.

They’ve put a large emphasis on the text, especially since that’s the only white on the slide with the rest monochromatic, but they’re still adding visuals to further emphasize the content.

Presentation Example #18: Lowercase Text

Not every heading has to be in title format and not every sentence has to be in sentence case.

In fact, this presentation provides a great example of how visual hierarchy can still be achieved while utilizing all lowercase letters.

Use larger fonts for headers and smaller fonts for your body, and you can also take advantage of this unique typography design in your presentation.

Just remember that visual hierarchy is still important. The lowercase text works in this presentation because they’ve made it so obvious which text needs to be read first.

Presentation Example #19: Transition

Your transition matters. Notice how I didn’t pluralize the word “transition.” This is because you should only be using a single kind of transition per presentation.

You don’t want to overwhelm your audience or make your presentation look overly busy. Take note of how seamless this presentation example’s slide transition is.

Customize this presentation template and make it your own!

• Add your own text, images, colors and more
• Add interactive buttons and animations
• Customize anything to fit your design and content needs

Not only does the slide transition in the same direction each time, but all of the design elements also glide in the same direction creating a beautiful and visually appealing transition.

Presentation Example #20: Focus on Text

While everyone loves adding stylish graphics, photos or icons, only some presentations need to be built that way. Some presentations can mainly focus on the text while only having a few or no slides with graphics or images.

This presentation example uses only text on each slide. However, it uses two contrasting colors to highlight the speaker's main points and guide the viewer's eyes.  This makes it creative without having to add a ton of visuals.

This presentation uses different colors and different sizes to emphasize the more important pieces of text, making it creative without having to add a ton of visuals.

Presentation Example #21: Focus on Graphics

On the opposite end of the spectrum, you can also have a presentation that puts a huge focus on visuals.

While this presentation still includes text to help tell the full story, no one in the audience is going to be looking at the text. Check out the graphics in this presentation example.

These illustrations are visually immersive and draw the audience in. Creating a focus on graphics in your presentation gives your viewers something fun to look at while you speak about the content.

Presentation Example #22: Photography

Another great way to include visuals in your presentation is using photography.

There are many different ways to include images in your presentation , but this Adidas presentation example does a great job of using them as background images.

Each slide has a photo in the background and a color overlay on top so the text can still be seen easily.

Figure out how you could include photos in your next presentation.

You can hire a photographer to do a curated photo session for your brand, or you can check out the millions of stock photos available in Visme’s photo library.

Presentation Example #23: Section Headers

Each time you move onto another main point in your presentation, it’s a good idea to break it up with a new section header.

We love how this presentation example utilized section headers to make them jump out at the audience. There’s no doubt that we’re moving onto another main point in this slideshow.

Blow your text up like this next time you’re making a transition to the next section of your presentation. It’ll be sure to grab your audience’s attention.

Presentation Example #24: Pop of Color

Another design style that you might love is having a pop of color that really stands out from the rest of the design. It’s a great way to emphasize certain parts of your slides and create a focal point for your audience.

This sales budget presentation template works because it uses a black-and-white color scheme and a pop of bright color to attract the viewer's eyes to the most important parts of each slide.

Your eyes are immediately drawn to the words in blue, and it’s used strategically because of that. Try this out in your next presentation to highlight the most important words or parts of your slide.

Presentation Example #25: Strong Start

Want to keep your audience awake and engaged for your presentation? Start off with a killer first slide.

Take this presentation’s introduction slide for example. It's a great way of making people sit up a little straighter and causing ears to perk up.

Asking a powerful question or making a strong—maybe even controversial—opening statement is a great way to create a strong start to your presentation and really draw your audience in. This can be a great hook when presenting a sponsorship deck or a presentation proposal, because it helps to differentiates you from others.

Startling your audience can actually be a good way to pique their curiosity and keep them engaged.

Not sure what your bold question or statement should be?

Use the AI Writer to help brainstorm some fun suggestions. Enter a prompt explaining what you want to create. The AI writer can also edit, proofread, and summarize sections of your presentation. So, you polish your work before the big presentation.

Get Inspired With These Presentation Examples

Now that you’ve surfed through these great presentation examples, hopefully, you’ve got some inspiration to create your next slideshow.

Choose one of these examples and make it your own with Visme's presentation software . Its intuitive design makes creating professional presentations easy for anyone with little to no design experience.

And if you need a presentation ready and done like yesterday, use Visme's AI presentation maker to do the heavy lifting. All you need to do is describe your presentation's goal and look and feel, choose your designs, and voila, you'll get your presentation ready in seconds.

But Visme isn't only for presentations; you can create proposals, reports, sales and marketing material, and so much more. Try Visme for free and see how Visme can help elevate your content creation workflow and projects.

Create beautiful presentations faster with Visme.

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About the Author

Chloe West is the content marketing manager at Visme. Her experience in digital marketing includes everything from social media, blogging, email marketing to graphic design, strategy creation and implementation, and more. During her spare time, she enjoys exploring her home city of Charleston with her son.

12+ Opening Speech Examples for Presentations & Quick Tips

Last updated on June 7th, 2024

These days, most of the audience prefers an informal approach in presentations, but at the same time, it must sound professional. When people prepare for any type of presentation, they often face this dilemma: how to start a presentation? What should be the opening speech? How much time should we take for the introduction part?

The first three minutes of your presentations are crucial to get to your audience with an engaging message and make the overall presentation effective. With the proper opening speech for your presentation, you can hook your audience, win the audience’s attention and get them audience interested in what you have to say. Check out some speech introduction examples to get familiar with this topic. Undoubtedly, if the beginning of your presentation is solid and exciting, the chances of success of your presentation increase. Opening your persuasive speech entirely depends upon your style and choice because when you are giving a presentation, you are required to be yourself and avoid putting artistic elements. So, choose something with which you are entirely comfortable.

If you are looking on how to start a speech then this article can help you to get some ideas. Here is a list of opening speech examples that you can use to prepare your presentations with a persuasive speech that convinces the audience. Find useful starting lines of speech, phrases and strategies to make your presentation a success:

1. Opening Speech with Greetings

This is the very basic, common and important step in which you need to greet your audience by wish them good morning/afternoon or evening (as per the time of session in which you are giving presentation). How to start a speech? Check out some of the examples below including a simple but effective speech introduction greeting example.

Example of Opening Greetings

Hello, everyone. I’d like, first of all, to thank the organizers of this meeting for inviting me here today.

Another example of opening Greeting speech.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I am honored to have the opportunity to address such a distinguished audience.

2. Open the Speech by Giving Compliment & Show Gratitude towards your Audience

Secondly, just after wishing greeting to your audience give them compliment and choose some words which show that you are delighted to see them there.

Example: 

It’s great to see you all, Thank you for coming here today.

3. Give your introduction: Introduce Yourself

How you introduce yourself during a presentation is important. There are many ways to introduce yourself. Here we will see some examples on how to introduce yourself in a presentation. First of all, give your introduction start from telling your name. You can show some casual attitude by telling your short name or nick name, and then tell the audience more about your background and what you do.

For example, a good way to start introducing yourself could be:

My name is Louis Taylor, friends call me Lee sometimes.

Then introduce yourself professionally and give quite information about what you do and why are here today. For Example:

I am a software engineer by profession and working in ABC Corp. Today, I am here to provide you some exciting information about new technology, which is going to be very beneficial for you in future.

Another example of self-introduction speech:

For those of you who don’t know me already, my name is Louis Taylor, and I’m responsible for the software department at ABC Corp.

Using a self-introduction template and slide in your presentation, you can support your speech while presenting the information about you in the projection. You can also visit self introduction speech examples to find out some examples on how to introduce yourself and download self-introduction templates for PowerPoint & Google Slides.

4. Opening with the Topic of the Speech

Next is the part where you introduce the topic of your presentation or speech. Here are some examples of good opening speech for presentations examples on a specific topic.

What I’d like to present to you today is…

Or here is a simplified example of a good introduction for presentation in which we try to get the audience’s attention over the screen where you are presenting the content of your PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation.

As you can see on the screen, our topic today is…

5. Signpost

Put all your information in front of them and then put your proposal and its related information and key point by which you can implement and utilize that idea effectively. Now let collect these points to make a summary and concise illustration. Here is an example of presentation starting speech that you can use:

“Good afternoon every one, it’s great to see you all here, thank you for coming. My name is Louis Taylor, friends call me Lee sometimes. I am a software engineer by profession and working with ABC Ltd. Today we are here to know about new software so that we can take most of it. Firstly, we will look how it work, next we will discuss where can we use it, then we will learn what are its advantages and finally we will discuss what precautions are required to kept in mind while implementing it.”

6. Creating an Emotional Connection in Your Opening Speech

An effective opening speech is not just about presenting information or stating facts; it’s about forging an emotional connection with your audience. Building this connection can make your presentation more engaging, relatable, and memorable. Here are some strategies to achieve this:

Storytelling: One of the most powerful ways to establish an emotional connection is through storytelling. Sharing a personal anecdote or a relevant story can evoke emotions and draw your audience into your presentation. Make sure your story aligns with the overall theme of your presentation and adds value to your message.

Example of speech opening:

“Good morning, everyone. When I was a little boy, I used to watch my grandfather work tirelessly on his old typewriter. The clacking of the keys was a lullaby that lulled me into dreams of creating something impactful. Today, I am here to talk about the evolution of technology and its effect on communication, from typewriters of old to the smartphones of today.”

Relatability: Find common ground with your audience. This could be based on shared experiences, values, or aspirations. Doing so helps to humanize you, making it easier for your audience to relate to your message.

“Like many of you, I too struggle with maintaining a work-life balance in this fast-paced digital world. Today, I’ll share some strategies I’ve discovered that have significantly improved my quality of life.”

Utilizing Emotions: Use emotions like humor, surprise, curiosity, or inspiration to engage your audience. Different emotions can be used depending on the tone and purpose of your presentation.

“Did you know that the average person spends two weeks of their life waiting for traffic lights to change? That certainly puts our daily commute in a new light, doesn’t it?”

Remember, authenticity is crucial in building an emotional connection. Be yourself, share your experiences, and speak from the heart. This helps to gain your audience’s trust and keeps them engaged throughout your presentation.

7. Harnessing the Power of Visual Aids in Your Opening Speech

Visual aids are a potent tool in any presentation, particularly in your opening speech. They can grab your audience’s attention with a visually appealing cover slide, support your message, and make a lasting impression. Here are some ways you can utilize visual aids in your opening speech.

Images: An image is worth a thousand words, they say, and it’s true. An impactful or relevant image can pique the curiosity of your audience and set the tone for your presentation. Ensure the image aligns with your topic and contributes to your overall message.

“As you can see on the screen, this is an image of a barren desert. It may surprise you to learn that this was once a thriving forest. Today, I’ll be talking about climate change and its irreversible effects.”

Short Videos: A short video can be a great way to engage your audience. This could be a brief clip that illustrates your topic, a short animation, or even a quick introductory video about you or your organization.

Example of a presentation opening statement:

“Before we start, let’s watch this brief video about the incredible journey of a raindrop.”

Infographics and Charts: If you are sharing statistical data or complex information, infographic slides or charts can simplify and clarify your message. They are visually engaging and can help your audience understand and remember the information.

“Take a look at this chart. It shows the exponential increase in cybercrime over the last five years, a topic that we will delve into further today.”

Slides: A well-designed slide can provide a visual structure for your opening speech. It should be clean, easy to read, and should not distract from your speech. Avoid cluttering your slides with too much text or complex graphics.

“According to the infographic on the screen, we can see the three core areas we’ll be focusing on in today’s presentation.”

Remember, the goal of using visual slides is to enhance your message, not overshadow it. They should complement your speech and provide visual interest for your audience. Always test your visual aids beforehand to ensure they work properly during your presentation.

8. Engaging Your Audience with Rhetorical Questions

A rhetorical question is a powerful tool you can use in your opening speech to provoke thought and engage your audience. By posing a question that doesn’t require an answer, you can pique your audience’s interest, make them think, and steer their focus towards your presentation’s key points. Here’s how to use rhetorical questions effectively in your opening speech:

Spark Curiosity: Use a rhetorical question to spark curiosity about your topic. This question should be thought-provoking and relevant to your presentation.

“Have you ever stopped to wonder how much of your life is influenced by social media?”

Highlight Key Issues: A rhetorical question can help highlight the key issues or problems that your presentation aims to address. This will help your audience understand the importance of your topic.

“What would happen if our natural resources were to run out tomorrow?”

Encourage Reflection: Encourage your audience to reflect on their personal experiences or beliefs. This will make your presentation more relatable and engaging.

“How many of us truly understand the value of our mental health?”

Set the Tone: You can also use a rhetorical question to set the tone of your presentation, whether it’s serious, humorous, or contemplative.

“Is there anyone here who doesn’t love pizza?”

Remember, rhetorical questions are meant to stimulate thought, not to put anyone on the spot. Make sure your questions are relevant to your topic and are appropriate for your audience. With the right questions, you can grab your audience’s attention, keep them engaged, and guide their thinking throughout your presentation.

9. Leveraging Statistical Data in Your Opening Speech

Using statistical data in your opening speech is a powerful way to capture the audience’s attention and lend credibility to your message. Surprising or impactful statistics related to your presentation’s topic can instantly make your audience sit up and take notice. Here’s how you can incorporate statistical data effectively in your opening speech:

Relevant and Interesting Data: Choose statistics that are directly relevant to your topic and are likely to pique your audience’s interest. This data should enhance your message and provide valuable context for your presentation.

“Do you know that according to the World Health Organization, depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting over 264 million people?”

Simplify Complex Data: If you’re presenting complex or dense data, make sure to simplify it for your audience. Use percentages, comparisons, or visual aids like infographics or charts to make the data easily understandable.

“Look at this chart. It represents the staggering 80% increase in cybercrime incidents over the past five years.”

Credible Sources: Always ensure your data comes from credible and reputable sources. This not only adds legitimacy to your presentation, but it also boosts your credibility as a speaker.

“According to a recent study published in the Journal of Environmental Science, air pollution contributes to 1 in 8 deaths worldwide.”

Shocking or Surprising Data: If you have statistics that are surprising or counter-intuitive, they can be an excellent way to grab your audience’s attention and spark curiosity about your presentation.

“Can you believe that, according to the United Nations, we waste approximately 1.3 billion tons of food every year, while one in nine people worldwide go hungry?”

Using statistical data in your opening speech can help to highlight the significance of your topic, draw your audience in, and lay a solid foundation for the rest of your presentation. Remember to present your data in a clear, accessible way, and always cite your sources to maintain credibility.

10. Creating a Powerful Hook with Anecdotes and Quotations

Anecdotes and quotations can be a powerful tool in your opening speech, serving as hooks that draw your audience into your presentation. They can provide a human element to your topic, connect with your audience on an emotional level, and add depth to your message. Here’s how you can effectively incorporate anecdotes and quotations in your opening speech:

Relevant Anecdotes: Sharing a relevant anecdote, whether personal or related to your topic, can make your presentation more relatable and engaging. Your anecdote should be brief, interesting, and serve to illustrate a point related to your topic.

“When I was a teenager, my family’s home was destroyed by a fire. That experience ignited in me a passion for safety measures and awareness, which brings us to today’s topic: fire safety in residential areas.”

Inspiring Quotations: A well-chosen quote can add depth and perspective to your topic. It can inspire, provoke thought, or set the tone for your presentation. Presenting it with a visually appealing quote slide increases the chances to make a lasting impression. Make sure the quote is relevant to your topic and from a credible source.

“Albert Einstein once said, ‘The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.’ This leads us into our discussion today on the importance of mindset in personal development.”

Humorous Anecdotes or Quotations: Depending on the formality of the setting and the topic of your presentation, a funny anecdote or quote can help to relax the audience, making them more receptive to your message.

“Mark Twain once said, ‘I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.’ As a fellow writer, I can relate to this sentiment, which brings us to our topic today: the art of concise writing.”

Remember, your anecdote or quote should serve to enhance your message, not distract from it. It should be interesting, relevant, and appropriately timed. With the right anecdote or quote, you can create a powerful hook that engages your audience from the outset.

11. Integrating Storytelling in your Opening Speech

Storytelling is a compelling method to make your opening speech memorable and engaging. A well-told story can create a strong emotional connection with your audience, making your presentation more impactful. Here’s how to effectively weave storytelling into your opening speech:

Choosing the Right Story: The story you tell should be relevant to your topic and capable of illustrating the point you’re trying to make. It could be a personal experience, a case study, or a historical event.

“Years ago, I worked on a project that, at the outset, seemed destined for success. But due to a lack of clear communication within the team, the project failed. Today, we will be discussing the importance of effective communication within teams.”

Creating Suspense: Build suspense in your story to hold your audience’s attention. You can do this by posing a problem or a conflict at the beginning of your story, which gets resolved by the end of your presentation.

“One day, as I was walking through a remote village in Africa, I came across a scene that profoundly changed my perspective. But before I reveal what it was, let’s discuss the issue of clean drinking water in underdeveloped countries.”

Showing, Not Telling: Make your story more vivid and engaging by showing, not telling. Use descriptive language and paint a picture with your words to make your audience feel like they’re part of the story.

“As the sun rose over the bustling city of Tokyo, I found myself in a small sushi shop tucked away in a quiet alley, experiencing what would become a pivotal moment in my culinary journey.”

Relatable Characters: If your story involves characters, make them relatable. Your audience should be able to see themselves in your characters, or at least understand their motivations and challenges.

“Meet Sarah, a single mother of two, working two jobs just to make ends meet. Her struggle is the reason we’re here today, to discuss the issue of minimum wage in our country.”

Storytelling is a powerful tool that can bring your presentation to life. A well-told story can captivate your audience, making your message more memorable and impactful. Be sure to select a story that aligns with your overall message and is appropriate for your audience.

12. Incorporating Interactive Elements in Your Opening Speech

Involving your audience from the get-go can make your presentation more engaging and memorable. By integrating interactive elements into your opening speech, you can foster a sense of participation and connection among your listeners. Here’s how you can do it:

Audience Polling: Modern presentation software often includes real-time polling features. You can ask your audience a question related to your topic and display the results instantly.

“To start, I’d like to ask you all a question. (Show poll on screen) How many of you think that Artificial Intelligence will significantly change our lives in the next ten years?”

Questions for Thought: Pose a thought-provoking question to your audience at the beginning of your speech. It can stimulate curiosity and get your listeners thinking about your topic.

“Before we delve into today’s topic, I want you to ponder this: what would you do if you had only 24 hours left to live? Keep that in mind as we discuss the importance of time management.”

Physical Engagement: Depending on the formality and size of your audience, you can incorporate physical engagement. This can range from a simple show of hands to engaging activities.

“By a show of hands, how many of you have ever felt overwhelmed by the amount of information available on the internet? That’s what we’ll be discussing today: information overload in the digital age.”

Interactive Quizzes: Quizzes can be a fun and interactive way to engage your audience and test their knowledge on your topic. It can also serve as a hook to introduce your topic. You can use a free Quiz PowerPoint template to ease the job of creating a quiz for your presentation.

“I have a quick quiz for you all (show quiz on screen). Let’s see who can guess the most common fear among adults. The answer will lead us into our topic of discussion today: overcoming fear.”

Remember, the goal of incorporating interactive elements is to engage your audience, so it should be relevant and add value to your presentation. Tailor your interactive elements to suit the needs and preferences of your audience, and you’ll have a winning opening speech.

What are the Objectives of Preparing a Good Introduction and Opening Speech?

As we mentioned earlier, the first minutes of your presentation are crucial to hook the audience and let them pay attention to the message you want to convey. This will depend on the type of presentation (if it is persuasive presentation, informative presentation or a presentation for entertaining the audience), but in general terms, when presenting we need to:

• Capture the audience’s attention
• Present information, opinions, ideas to the audience.
• Present important details about a specific topic.
• Sell an idea.
• Make the information memorable so it can persist over the time.
• Get your audience to take action, a Call to Action. E.g. purchase a product, enroll to something, fundraise, etc.

Real-Life Examples of Effective Opening Speeches

Barack Obama started his speech in the White House Correspondents’ Dinner saying: “You can’t say it, but you know it’s true.”

In same cases, humour can be a great companion for your speech. If you can use humour in a positive way, then getting a laugh in the first seconds of a presentation can get your audience hooked. It is a great way to open your speech.

Final Thoughts

Try to make habit of starting your presentation this way, it will sound great. You may come across several more opening speech examples for presentation but, once you implement this you yourself will realize that this is the best one. Alternatively you can learn more on quotes for presentations & speech topics  to use during your presentation in PowerPoint, learn how to close your presentation , or find other relevant speech introduction greeting examples.

49 comments on “ 12+ Opening Speech Examples for Presentations & Quick Tips ”

thank you very much

Hi Kavishki, we hope the article was useful for you. Will be great to learn more about how you have used the speech examples. If you need more speech ideas, I’d recommend you free Persuasive Speech topics .

hi,good morning all of you.i’m shadi.now i’m going to do a panel discussion.we want some informations from you we believe all will support us.

Hi Kavishki, good morning. Can please provide more information about the Panel Discussion needs and if it involves a PowerPoint presentation? We’d be happy to be of help!

This was very useful to me! But i need more speech ideas!

Being a content person myself,i’ve gotta be honest.Now this was assisting,you bet…great stuffow.

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plesae i would like u my pleasure to help me with some opening celebration word,s specially greeting to the audience

It would be appreciable if you share more speech about this.thank you.

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Thank you for the information about the introduction during pesentation.Truely,i really need to study lot about how to start my presentation so that the audience are interesting to hear what i want to talk about and do not feel bored.

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Thanks for the useful information. Can I ask how can I improve my self-confidence so as not to be embarrassed when presenting? Any idea? Thank you.

thank you..i’ll try to use those information for my presentation so i’ll be the best presenter in my class

this information very nice and useful to me.i get many new thing and tips after i read this article.this information can help me to make a good and better presentation later.thank you for useful information and meaningful for me

first of all, thank you for the help. there are a lot of great idea for me to use for my next presentation

Hi please i would like you to help me write an introduction for a speech about myself to my teacher

It’s help my presentation

Thank you so so much I will tell this at the UNIVERSITY presentation

please i really love your speech but can you please throw more light on the introduction

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I need good presentation.

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Don’t Just Memorize Your Next Presentation — Know It Cold

• Sabina Nawaz

Learn it upside-down and backwards.

Knowing a script or presentation cold means taking the time to craft the words and sequence of what you plan to say, and then rehearsing them until you could recite them backwards if asked. It’s a more effective approach to public speaking than simple memorization or “winging it” because you plan not just the words but the actions and transitions between points, so it becomes one fluid motion for you, all the while allowing time for adjusting or improvising during the speech itself.

To learn your script cold, first, decide how you will craft your script, whether it’s noting key talking points or writing down every line and detail. Next, create natural sections and learn them individually, including transitions. Then, learn your script over time and rehearse. Finally, have a plan for forgetfulness, which can include acknowledging that you need to reference your notes.

The three judges beamed at me. Buoyed by their support, I anticipated winning this college elocution competition. I nailed the first verse of my chosen poem, but might as well have been under general anesthesia when trying to remember a single word of the second verse. Now the judges’ encouraging smiles only roiled my rising panic. Finally, the timer buzzed, ending my turn on stage and initiating a two-decade fear of memorization.

• Sabina Nawaz is a global CEO coach , leadership keynote speaker, and writer working in over 26 countries. She advises C-level executives in Fortune 500 corporations, government agencies, non-profits, and academic organizations. Sabina has spoken at hundreds of seminars, events, and conferences including TEDx and has written for FastCompany.com , Inc.com , and Forbes.com , in addition to HBR.org. Follow her on Twitter .

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10 Elementary School Presentation Script Examples

Welcome to our special resource dedicated to Elementary School Presentation Scripts.

In this collection, we aim to provide you with a variety of script examples across diverse topics tailored for young learners.

These scripts are more than just guidelines; they’re stepping stones for our students to express themselves, explore new ideas, and learn to communicate effectively in a supportive environment.

Let’s embark on this journey together, nurturing the budding speakers, thinkers, and leaders in our classrooms!

Elementary School Presentation Scripts and Topics

you can use the links below if you are looking for something in particular. Or check out the examples in the article.

Favorite Book Report :

Students can choose a book they love, talk about the story, and explain why it’s their favorite. It encourages reading and comprehension skills.

Book report presentations are a fantastic way for elementary students to develop both their analytical skills and their ability to communicate their thoughts and feelings about what they’ve read.

This type of presentation encourages critical thinking and helps students articulate their viewpoints in a structured manner.

Book report Script Example

What is the book about: “ This book is about a brilliant and kind-hearted girl, Matilda, who loves reading. She faces many challenges, mainly because of her mean parents and the terrifying school principal, Miss Trunchbull. “

Best Part: “ My favorite part is when Matilda discovers her magical powers and uses them to stand up to Miss Trunchbull . “

Book Report Script and Presentation Examples.

You can check out more examples and editable Book Report Scripts on our dedicated page linked here and above

News Report Scripts

This type of presentation is crucial for developing research skills, understanding the world, and learning how to communicate effectively.

News Report Script Example

The drive aims to collect books for children in need. Community members are encouraged to donate books in good condition.

Lastly, our school’s annual science fair is next week, showcasing students’ innovative projects. That’s all for today’s news, thank you for tuning in!”

News Script Samples For Students.

Weather Report Scripts

In these reports, students describe current weather conditions, forecast future weather, and explain meteorological phenomena.

“Good morning, I’m [Student’s Name], and here’s your weather report. Today, we’re expecting partly cloudy skies with a high of 75 degrees. Perfect weather for playing outside! “

Weather Script Forecast and Report Examples for Students

For more detailed scripts and fun weather facts, check out our full page and downloadable examples on our website.

Science Report Script

This process fosters critical thinking, enhances research skills, and encourages curiosity about the natural world.

Science Report Script Example:

This shows how important sunlight is for plant health.”

Science Report Script Examples

We also have downloadable examples of science reports that you can use to create your own exciting presentations.”

Dream Job Presentation Scripts

Students research a profession, discuss the responsibilities, and explain why they are interested in that career.

Dream Job Presentation Examples

Vets help take care of animals and make sure they are healthy. I love animals, and I want to help them, just like my dog when he was sick.

Dream Job Presentation Script Examples for Students

Festival Report Presentation Script Examples

Festival report presentations provide a platform for elementary students to learn about and share different cultural festivals.

Festival Report Script Example:

They also exchange gifts and sweets. I love learning about Diwali because it shows how light and goodness can overcome any obstacle.

Festival and Holidays Report Presentation Script for Students.

Environment Report Presentation Script Examples

In these presentations, students explore topics like conservation, pollution, and sustainability, helping them understand their role in protecting the planet.

Environment Report Script Example:

I started recycling at home, and it’s easy! We can all make a difference in keeping our planet clean.

Environment Presentation Script Examples for Students

My Community Presentation Examples

These presentations can cover local landmarks, community services, or notable events, helping students develop a sense of connection and pride in their community.

My Community Script Example:

Last month, our community held a clean-up day at the park, and it was a lot of fun!

My Community Presentation Script Examples for Students

My Family Presentation Examples

My Family Tree : This topic allows children to explore their family history and share it with their classmates, fostering a sense of identity and heritage.

My Family Presentation Script :

“Hello! My name is [Student’s Name], and I’m excited to tell you about my family.

If you’re interested in learning how to create your own family presentation, check out our full page.

My Family: Class Presentation Script Examples

Place I Would Love to Visit Examples

“Place I Would Love to Visit” presentations inspire elementary students to explore and dream about different destinations around the world.

Place I Would Love to Visit Script

“Hi, my name is [Student’s Name], and the place I would love to visit is Paris, France.

A Place I Would Like to Visit Scripts for Students

You can check out more scripts for travel and places to visit on the link and on the image above. We also have downloadable and printable scripts for you.

18 Presentation Tips for Kids

Our exploration of community life highlighted the importance of local engagement, while the scripts on dream destinations ignited wanderlust and curiosity about the world.

We encourage you to use these as starting points, adapting and expanding upon them to suit the unique voices and experiences of your young presenters.

Further Reading

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Sample Presentation Script

This section provides a sample script for delivering a half-day to full-day presentation covering all of the topics listed in the outline. Tailor the script to your chosen program length, content and audience.

Presentation Outline

Introduction

• Success stories
• Legal issues
• Definitions and statistics

General Library Access

• Building and physical environment

Adaptive Technology

• Hearing and speech impairments
• Specific learning disabilities
• Mobility impairments
• Health impairments
• Beginning the process of planning for adaptive technology
• Getting started: a list of adaptive technology devices

Electronic Resources

• Universal design principles
• General page design
• Graphical features
• Special features
• Web pages test

Distribute handouts .

• Making Library Resources Accessible to People with Disabilities
• Working Together: People with Disabilities and Computer Technology
• Meet the Speakers in the Videotape: Working Together: People with Disabilities and Computer Technology
• World Wide Access: Accessible Web Design
• Meet the Speakers in the Videotape: World Wide Access

Put up overhead transparency.

Universal Access: Electronic Information in Libraries

I'm here today to share with you information and issues related to people with disabilities, electronic resources, and libraries.

Put up overhead transparency .

Recent advances in adaptive computer technology, greater reliance on computers, and increased availability and networking of electronic information resources have resulted in life-changing opportunities for many people with disabilities. In combination, these technologies provide many people with disabilities better access to education, careers, and other life experiences.

Libraries play an important role in ensuring equitable access to information for all members of our society. In addition, federal legislation mandates that public institutions, including libraries, provide accommodations for people with disabilities so that they can utilize the same services and resources as other people.

What are some of the electronic resources currently in your library?

Presenter Note: Solicit audience input to list items such as CD-ROM encyclopedias and indexes, online catalogs, WWW pages, and full-text databases.

The information covered in this presentation will provide you with tools and insights that will help ensure that these electronic resources are accessible to the broadest audience. As an extra benefit, you will find that being sensitive to the needs of people with disabilities can often make access easier for everyone.

Program Outline

• Legal issues statistics
• General library access
• Adaptive technology
• Electronic resources

Our program today will cover these five topics. To begin I will share some success stories or examples of the impact that adaptive technology for computers and electronic resources has had for people with disabilities. Then we will consider the most important legislative directives on the issue and look at some statistics about people with disabilities. We will then consider the bigger picture of access to libraries and library services for people with disabilities. With that background, a videotape presentation and discussion of adaptive technology for computers will bring our focus to electronic resources in libraries. The last segment of the program will include the second videotape presentation and a discussion of universal design of electronic resources applied to the development of World Wide Web pages.

Today's presentation will help you understand the impact of these technologies for people with disabilities while giving you the tools to begin implementing them in your library. Your packet of handouts is one of the tools that will help you apply the ideas presented. Let's walk through it.

The following handouts are in your packet.

Much of the information presented today is provided in these handouts. I will let you know which handout covers the information we are focusing on as we go through the presentation. Keep the handouts handy to save from taking duplicative notes.

Success Stories

I'm going to start out today by sharing with you a few stories of people with disabilities who are able to access information resources thanks to the availability of adaptive technology and accessible electronic resources. You'll meet them in the videotape we'll view shortly.

• Ben cannot use his hands, but muscular dystrophy doesn't interfere with his use of the Internet; he uses a voice input program that allows him to talk his way through the Net - six hours a day!
• Sarah uses her library's online catalog and the Internet to research and write papers for school. Her learning disability makes it difficult for her to read so she uses a speech output system to read the screen.
• Anna is blind. She uses a screen reader and speech output system to access her library's full-text databases and CD-ROMs. Her system works well until she runs into programs not designed according to universal design principles.
• Shane surfs the Net with a small tube in his mouth. The computer obeys his every command as he inputs Morse code - sip for a dot, puff for a dash. His cerebral palsy is only a minor inconvenience as he researches information on his special interest, naval communication.
• Sherri is legally blind, but has enough sight to use enlarged screen images as she uses governmental resources on the World Wide Web in pursuing her master's degree in public administration.
• Katie is hearing impaired. She often uses a sign language interpreter. On the Internet, however, Katie communicates with the reference librarian quickly and easily through electronic mail.

These stories provide examples of people with disabilities who are successfully pursuing avocations, education, and careers thanks to adaptive technology and electronic resources. During our presentation today, we will be learning how to ensure that there will be many more success stories like these for people with disabilities.

Legal Issues

According to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (504) and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), "no otherwise qualified individual with a disability shall, solely by reason of his/her disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity of a public entity." Footnote 1

The ADA and the regulations promulgated to implement it have stressed that people with disabilities should be provided the same services as others, unless this would be less effective. The Department of Justice has stated that "Integration is fundamental to the purpose of the American with Disabilities Act." If accommodation, or an adjustment is needed to make a resource, program or facility accessible to a person with a disability, the individual's preference of accommodation must be given primary consideration. Footnote 2

In short, libraries must assure that people with disabilities can participate in library programs and utilize library resources as independently as possible. And this includes electronic information resources. As legal questions about the implications of the ADA for access to electronic information resources are tested, libraries are being required to provide access to these services.

According to decisions in recent cases on access to electronic resources, libraries in academic institutions must proactively and deliberately plan for accessibility. A recent letter from the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights noted:

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act requires a public college to take appropriate steps to ensure that communications with persons with disabilities "are as effective as communications with others" [28 C.F.R. ss 35.160(a)]. OCR has repeatedly held that the term "communication" in this context means the transfer of information, including (but not limited to) the verbal presentation of a lecture, the printed text of a book, and the resources of the Internet.

The letter continues:

"Title II further states that, in determining what type of auxiliary aid and service is necessary, a public college shall give primary consideration to requests of the individual with a disability" [28 C.F.R. ss 35.106(b)(2)]. Footnote 3

In providing guidance on expectations for libraries in providing access to electronic resources, the letter states:

Modern adaptive technology has radically affected the degree to which it is economically feasible to make printed materials and computer based information systems accessible to blind patrons. The larger and more financially endowed the library, the higher the expectation that a greater volume of information will be made available within a shorter amount of time, particularly when reasonably priced adaptive technology is available to replace tasks that previously required personnel. An important indicator regarding the extent to which a public library is obligated to utilize adaptive technology is the degree to which it is relying on technology to serve its non-disabled patrons. The more technology that has been purchased by a public library to serve non-disabled patrons, the more reasonable the expectation that it will employ technology such as scanners to serve its patrons with disabilities. Footnote 4

As libraries increasingly provide electronic resources, they are legally obligated to ensure accessibility for people with disabilities.

Definitions and Statistics

So, what exactly does "person with a disability" mean?

"Person with a disability" means "any person who has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities including walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working; has a record of such an impairment; or is regarded as having such an impairment."

Examples of qualifying disabilities covered by legislation may include, but are not limited to, spinal cord injuries, loss of limbs, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, hearing impairments, visual impairments, speech impairments, specific learning disabilities, head injuries, psychiatric disorders, diabetes, cancer, and AIDS.

The examples listed here are conditions which limit people's abilities to perform specific tasks. Some of these conditions are readily apparent; some are invisible. Some require that we provide special accommodations in the library; some do not. Additionally, some people who have conditions with the same label may have very different abilities when it comes to performing specific tasks. For example, one student who has cerebral palsy may have difficulty walking. For another student, cerebral palsy may result in no functional use of her/his hands or voice.

Now that we discussed the definition of disability according to the ADA, let's consider some statistics to gain a better understanding of this service population.

According to surveys conducted in 1991-1992, 9.6% or 1 in 10 Americans has a severe disability that substantially limits at least one major life activity. 19.4 % or 1 in 5 Americans has a disability. Footnote 5

In addition, we can expect the number of library patrons with disabilities to increase. Some reasons for this increase include:

Advances in medical technology and techniques result in greater numbers of people who survive traumatic accidents and problematic births.

Improvements in technology make it possible for more people with disabilities to live independently and have productive lives for which they will want and need library resources.

Increased awareness of people with disabilities' rights to accommodations and equal opportunities in education and employment, guaranteed by 504 and the ADA, has, and will continue to encourage more people to pursue these activities and request accommodations.

The creation of federal and state mandated K-12 and higher education academic support programs helps more students with disabilities complete high school and enter college and careers. The number of students with disabilities enrolled in universities and colleges has already increased. In 1994, 9.2% of all full-time, first-time entering freshman reported a disability, up from 2.6% in 1978.6 This trend will create a greater demand for accessible information resources in academic libraries.

The aging of the baby boomer generation will cause a significant demographic shift in our society, increasing the number of people with low vision, hearing impairments, and other disabilities related to the aging process.

Among people aged 18-44, 5% have a severe disability; among people aged 65-74, 25% have a severe disability; and among people aged 75-84, 42% have a severe disability. Footnote 7

All of these factors are leading to increased numbers of people with disabilities who are and will be requesting services at libraries.

The purpose of this introduction is to help you understand why libraries need to be prepared to serve people with disabilities. The legal imperatives of the ADA and other laws and the expected increase of people with disabilities in our constituencies and argue strongly for immediate action. Libraries will be best prepared to serve patrons with disabilities if they strive to include them in regularly provided services. This is best achieved by using universal design principles when designing facilities, equipment, services and resources; by providing a base level of adaptive technology; and by developing a policy and procedures for handling requests for accommodation. By taking these steps the library will be better able to respond quickly to more specialized requests for accommodation.

The rest of today's presentation will help you develop an understanding of adaptive technology and of universal design principles so that you can help develop accessible services and resources for your library.