how to start a zoom presentation

How to Give a Presentation on Zoom? [A Step-by-Step Guide!]

By: Author Shrot Katewa

If you’ve never used Zoom, giving a presentation on it might seem a bit challenging. But, that’s a challenge we will have to learn to overcome as the world moves digital more and more day by day. The key question really is how to give a presentation on Zoom!

To give a presentation on Zoom, first, start by joining a meeting. Now open the presentation file on your computer and share the slides on Zoom using its “Share Screen” feature. You should test your camera, mic, speaker, and internet connection before you start with your presentation.

As easy as it may seem, some of you may need further detailed instructions. So, in this article, I will provide a step-by-step guide on things that you need to do in order to deliver a presentation on Zoom successfully! Plus, I will also share some tips that can help you ace your presentation on Zoom!

So, without any further delay, let’s get started!

Understanding the Zoom Application Interface

Before we understand the steps to give a presentation using Zoom, it is perhaps a good idea to acquaint yourself with the Zoom user interface first. If you are well-versed with it, then perhaps you may want to skip this section and click here instead.

Logging into Zoom

Although you can login to your account using zoom website too, but it is best to download and use the zoom app .

Once you have download the app, you will be prompted to login to your account. If you don’t have an existing account, you can either sign up or even login using your social account such as Google or Facebook. It’s actually quite simple.

If you feel that you don’t want to sign up or even use the social accounts for your meeting, you can choose to use “Sign In with SSO” option. SSO stands for single sign on and this allows you to sign in even when you don’t have an account with Zoom just once.

Zoom Home Screen

Once you’ve logged in, you will be taken to the home screen on Zoom.

There are a bunch of different things that you ca do with the home screen on Zoom. If you have been invited for a meeting, you will need to click on “ Join “. However, you will also need the meeting ID and the password for the meeting. If you don’t have the details, you will perhaps need to contact the person hosting the meeting.

You can also host the meeting yourself by using the “ New Meeting ” button. You can set a new meeting and invite others to join using this option.

Likewise, you can also schedule a meeting in the future using the “ Schedule ” option.

Furthermore, for changing the account related information, just click on your profile picture in the top-right corner of your window.

Lastly, there are several other detailed settings that you can tweak for your Zoom application. Almost all the other settings can be found in the “ Settings ” section by clicking on the “ Gear Icon “.

Zoom Virtual Meeting Window Interface

Once you are a participant in a virtual meeting, either by joining an existing meeting or by starting a new meeting, you will be greeted with an image similar to the one mentioned above.

On this screen, you will be presented with several different options. Some of the key functions that you will need to be aware of are as follows –

• Mute – Turning on the Mute or Unmute
• Video – Toggling between your Video
• Participants – Checking the names of the Participants
• Share Screen – to deliver a presentation (more on this later)
• Record – To record a meeting session
• End – Knowing how to end a meeting and exiting a call.

All the above functions will be visible on a small bar at the bottom of the window. If you are not able to see this option bar at the bottom, just hover over at the bottom part of your screen and all the options will appear .

Although there are other features that are also available for a zoom user or a participant, however, the aforementioned features should be good enough to deliver a presentation. These 6 features are at the very least something that you should be aware of.

How to Give a Presentation on Zoom (Step-by-Step)

Zoom has become a common tool for giving virtual presentations today. It is a widely used tool at conferences, meetings, and other events! If you are giving a presentation on Zoom for the first time, then perhaps you should be aware of a few things –

Here is a quick step-by-step guide on how you can give a presentation on Zoom:

Step 1: Install Zoom

Download and install the Zoom application to your desktop. To download the application, visit https://zoom.us/download and download the Zoom Client to your computer.

Step 2: Login to your Zoom Account

After installing the application, open it and log into your Zoom account. If you don’t have one, you can sign up for free using your email account.

Zoom also has options to sign in using SSO (Single Sign-On) or with your Facebook or Google account.

Step 3: Test Audio and Video Settings

Before you start or join a meeting, you will need to configure and test your audio and video settings.

To do that click on the gear icon on the Zoom application’s home screen. This will open the settings menu.

Now click on the “Audio” tab and select the microphone you are going to use. Try our different audio settings. After the microphone, select the speaker for audio output. If you can’t hear anything, try out another speaker source.

After configuring audio, click on the “Video” tab. From there, select the camera that is connected to your desktop. Tweak different video settings and find out what works best for you.

Step 4: Join or Schedule a Meeting

Now start a meeting by clicking on “New meeting”. You can also schedule a meeting on Zoom. To do that, click on “Schedule” and set up when you want to start the meeting. After completing the set-up, Zoom will give you a URL. Share it with the team members to join the meeting.

Or you can join a meeting by clicking “Join” on the Zoom client’s home screen. You can use a meeting ID or URL to join a meeting in Zoom.

Step 5: Open the Presentation

Once you have everything setup, you then need to prepare to show your presentation with your audience. To do that, open the presentation slides on your computer.

Step 6: Share Your Presentation

The last step in giving your presentation is to make sure that you share your presentation with your audience. To do that, click on “Share Screen” from the Zoom clients meeting window , select the screen where your presentation slides are open, and click “Share”. Now start presenting your slides to the audience.

Step 7: Stop Sharing to end the Presentation

One thing to know is how to end the presentation. To stop screen sharing, simply click on “Stop Share” located at the top of the screen . This option will only appear when you start sharing your screen.

How to Share a PowerPoint with Presenter View on Zoom?

To share your PowerPoint presentation slides with presenter view on Zoom, follow the steps given below:

Step 1: Open the Zoom App and Login

The first step really is to open the zoom app and login to your account.

Step 2: Join or Setup a Virtual Meeting on Zoom

Next, join the meeting. Remember, you need the meeting ID and password to join a meeting. Make sure you have requested for the details beforehand.

Step 3: Open Your PowerPoint Presentation

First step is really to open your presentation file that you want to present on the PowerPoint application.

Step 4: Put the Presentation in Presenter View

Now select the “Slide Show” tab from the top of the screen and click on either “From Beginning” or “From Current Slide” depending on your preference. This will open the slides in the “Presenter” view.

Step 5: Switch to the Zoom Application

Now, go to the Zoom application, start or join a meeting. While you are in the “Presenter” view on PowerPoint, press “ Alt+Tab ” to switch between applications in Microsoft Windows-powered computers. For iMac, use “Command+Tab” to move through open apps.

Step 6: Share Screen on Zoom’s Meeting Window

Once you are in Zoom’s meeting window, click on “Share Screen”, select the window where your PowerPoint slides are open in the presenter’s view, and click “Share”.

And that’s all you have to do in order to share PowerPoint with the presenter’s view in your Zoom meetings.

How to Share PowerPoint on Zoom Without Showing Notes?

There are two methods that you can use to share PowerPoint slides on Zoom without sharing your presenter notes. For the first method, you will need to have two monitors connected to your computer.

As for the second one, you can still share your PowerPoint slides on Zoom without sharing your notes (and you won’t need two monitors either). I’ve briefly explained both methods below.

Method 1 – Dual Monitor Method

In this method, you will be presenting your PowerPoint file on one monitor while looking at your presenter’s notes on the other one. Here’s how you can do that:

Step 1: First of all, open your slides on PowerPoint.

Step 2: Now join or start a Zoom meeting.

Step 3: Now click on “Share Screen” and select “Screen 1”. Then click “Share”. Here, “Screen 1” is your primary monitor.

Note: If you are not sure which one is your primary monitor, select where the PowerPoint file opened in.

Step 4: Now go to the PowerPoint application, click on the “Slide Show” tab, and from there click on “Monitor” and select “Primary Monitor”.

Step 5: Open the presentation file in the presenter’s view by clicking on the “Slide Show” tab and selecting “From Beginning” or “From Current Slide”.

If you have done everything correctly, participants will only be able to see the presentation slides while you have your presenter’s notes open on the second monitor.

In case you shared the wrong monitor on Zoom, click on “Screen Share” on Zoom’s meeting window, select “Screen 2” and click on share. This should fix your problem.

When you are sharing a screen on Zoom, you will notice a green border around that screen. This indicates which monitor you are currently sharing.

Method 2 – Sharing Portion of Your Screen

Follow the steps below if you have only a single monitor connected to your computer.

Step 1: Join or start a meeting on Zoom.

Step 2: Click on “Share Screen” and from the pop-up window select “Advanced”. From there select “Portion of Screen” and click on “Share”. This will give you a green border on your screen that you can adjust. Only the things that are inside this border will be shared on Zoom.

Step 3: Now open the presentation file in PowerPoint, and go to the presenter’s view by selecting “Slide Show> From Current Slide or From Beginning”.

Step 4: Adjust the size of the green border so that it only shows the presentation slides in the presenter’s view.

And that’s all you have to do. By doing so, your audience will only see the slides that you are presenting, but not your notes.

How to Show Yourself During a Zoom Presentation?

Ensuring that you are visible from time to time during a presentation can make it slightly more engaging and much more interactive. Here is how you can do that-

Step 1: First, start or join a Zoom meeting.

Step 2: Click on “ Share Screen ” and select the “ Advanced ” option. From there, select “ PowerPoint as Virtual Background ” and select the file you want for your presentation. Then click on “ Share ”.

Step 3: Make sure your video is switched on so that you are also visible to your audience. You can do that by clicking on “ Start Video ” on the Zoom Virtual Meeting Interface.

It will take some time for your slides to appear on the Zoom client. When it is done, participants will be able to see your face in front of the slides in Zoom. Make sure that your camera is connected to your computer and configured correctly.

This feature works best if you have a green screen behind you . If you have one, go to Zoom’s settings menu, select the “Background and Filter” tab and check “I have a green screen”. If you want to stop showing yourself during a zoom presentation, click on “Stop Video” on the meeting window and that will do the job.

Furthermore, you may sometimes want to show just yourself to the audience and not show the presentation at all. For that, all you need to do is simply click on “Start Video” in the Zoom Virtual Meeting Interface.

How to Record a Presentation on Zoom?

If you want to record your presentation on Zoom, you can do it easily. After joining or starting a meeting on Zoom, click on the “Record” icon located at the bottom of the meeting window. Once the recording starts, you can pause the recording or stop it whenever you like.

After the end of the meeting, the recorded video will be automatically converted into “.mp4” format and stored on your computer.

Tips for Giving an Awesome Presentation on Zoom

Giving a presentation in front of an audience is always a challenging task. Especially if it is online, many things can go wrong during your presentation. This is why I’m sharing some tips that can help you deliver an awesome presentation on Zoom. These are as follows –

1. Make a Professional Looking Presentation

There are several ways to make your presentation look really professional and high quality. One obvious method is to outsource your presentation to a specialised design agency! But, that can become really expensive depending on your budget.

Another (non-obvious) option is to use a PowerPoint Presentation Template! There are several high-quality and professional templates that you can get quite easily! In fact, using these Presentation Designs is quite inexpensive! You can download as many presentation templates as you want for as little as $16.5/month!

My favorite one is Agio PowerPoint Presentation template. It is perfectly suited to give a professional look to your presentation and yet it is quite quick and easy to use. Check out some of the images below –

Agio PowerPoint Presentation Template

Furthermore, make the presentation as simple and straightforward as possible. Do not confuse your audience with a network of colorful texts, graphs, or other contents.

Only use data and graphs that are relevant to your presentation. Also, the clever use of transition animations can make the slide appear much more engaging.

2. Check Your Equipment Beforehand

Whenever you are giving your presentation online, many things can go wrong. For example, your camera or mic may not function properly. Such interruptions will only make you a laughing stock in front of the participants.

Check your mic, camera, and speakers to find out whether they are working properly or not. Also, check your internet connection and your laptop’s battery level. If everything is ok, then you are good to go on with your presentation.

More Related Topics

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• 7 EASY Tips to Always Make your Presentations Attractive! (Even if You are a Beginner)
• How to Reduce the Size of Your PowerPoint File? The Perfect Method!
• Auto Create Your PowerPoint Slides using Design Ideas Feature!
• Main Features of PowerPoint! [I bet You DIDN’T Know These]

Credit to Cookie_Studio for the featured image of this article

👀 Turn any prompt into captivating visuals in seconds with our AI-powered design generator ✨ Try Piktochart AI!

15 Tips for Engaging Zoom Presentations + Examples

Your next Zoom presentation is a week away. And your mind is racing.

What presentation software should you use?

What if the other attendees can hear your neighbor’s loud music?

Will they find your presentation boring?

Relax and take a deep breath.

You don’t have to figure out the answers to these questions by yourself. This guide will cover everything you need to know about planning and delivering engaging Zoom presentations without stress and anxiety!

After reading this article, you’ll be brimming with confidence and competence on your next Zoom presentation.

Table of contents :

The science behind your Zoom presentation anxiety

• Downloadable Zoom presentation checklist

Part 1: Tips on how to plan and prepare for your Zoom presentation

Part 2: tips during your zoom presentation.

• How to share your Piktochart slide deck on Zoom
• Present with ease on Zoom using Piktochart presentations

Before we get into all the other Zoom presentation tips, perhaps the most important is to deal with your Zoom presentation anxiety. And you’re not alone – anxiety over Zoom presentations is more common than you think . 

A  2021 paper  on why students have difficulties learning during synchronous presentations over Zoom found that 80 percent of the students polled experienced anxiety and trouble focusing during their virtual classes. But what causes this worry? In a peer-reviewed article, Professor Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of the  Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab , highlighted the  results of their research  and cited four primary reasons behind Zoom fatigue, stress, and anxiety:

• Your brain interprets excessive amounts of close-up eye contact during video chats as an “intense situation.”
• Like looking at the mirror, you become more critical of yourself as you see yourself on camera.
• Limited movements while you’re chained in your chair and table.
• Video chats require a higher cognitive load than face-to-face presentations. 

“You’ve got to make sure that your head is framed within the center of the video. If you want to show someone that you agree with them, you have to do an exaggerated nod or put your thumbs up. That adds cognitive load as you’re using mental calories in order to communicate,” shares Bailenson.

Finally, you have to consider tech troubles and presentation software fiascos, as well as dealing with the pressure of public speaking.

15 Zoom presentation tips and tricks to help you own the room like a pro

Now that you understand why Zoom presentations give you sweaty palms, let’s go through 15 actionable steps to prepare for the slides.

We created a checklist of the Zoom presentation tips so you can cross off each task.

Prefer video learning instead? Watch the video below.

The success of your Zoom presentation is the result of thoughtful planning and preparation.

Get ready for your online class, product webinar, or job interview on Zoom with the following pre-presentation tips:

1. Decide on the scope of your Zoom presentation

Before presenting on Zoom, ask yourself — what one particular idea or insight would you want your audience to learn from you?

“Defining the scope is the most critical step. What are the boundaries, what are the deliverables, what is the topic that you are covering?”, recommends Linda Parry Murphy , CEO of Product Launchers, Inc.

Trying to cover every subject will only make you more nervous.

Remember the Stanford study earlier about too much cognitive load as one of the reasons behind Zoom presentation anxiety?

Limiting the scope of your presentation can significantly reduce your cognitive load while keeping your audience focused on the key points.

2. Plan for the structure of your online presentation

It’s important to master the sequence and structure of your presentation as part of your preparation. Creating a framework guides the meeting participants so they understand what the data means, why it’s important, and what the implications are in this situation.

A solid structure in place also makes it easier to go back to what you’re saying. As a result, you will feel more confident because you can keep track of your talking points with a quick glance at your outline if you lose your train of thought.

Matt Abrahams, a lecturer in Organizational Behavior and author of Speaking Up Without Freaking Out , recommends the following examples of presentation structures that you can use:

• Past-Present-Future – review a process or share a timeline
• Comparison-Contrast – show the benefits of a certain idea, insight, product, or service
• Cause-Effect – explain the rationale behind a decision
• Problem-Solution-Benefit – motivate or convince your audience
• What?-So What?-Now What? – convince people to do a specific action after your presentation

Another simple presentation structure you can work on is to start with an introduction, the meat of your presentation where you can highlight 3 points, and wrap up with the summary and call-to-action.

3. Prepare your presentation visuals

Plenty of research and evidence shows that including images is more effective in getting your message across than written text or oral communications alone.

For instance, a captivating visual is  four times more effective  in conveying information than words alone. People remember 80 percent of what they see and do, compared to 20 percent through reading and 10 percent through hearing, respectively.

If your goal is to convince your audience during your Zoom presentation, you’ll also be delighted to know that using visuals can help you become more persuasive.

A Wharton School of Business research found that around a third of the audiences they polled felt that presenters who used visuals were more persuasive.

So remember that well-chosen images, even stock photos, can do wonders to augment your slides.

When making visuals for your presentation, use these questions as your guide:

• Is there an icon, illustration, or image that could represent your point in a more meaningful way?
• What types of diagrams , such as a timeline, flowchart, pie chart, arrows, or graphs, will help get your point across to your audience?
• Who are my target audiences? When choosing visuals for my presentation, are there certain cultural taboos or inappropriate humor that I should be aware of?

One more thing – consider using bullet points if you find slides with walls of text. They’ll be easier to digest without taking the focus away from you.

4. Eliminate clutter in your surroundings

Staying in one place with no room to maneuver probably doesn’t spark joy for anyone. KonMari your environment by eliminating clutter on your desk and in the space around you. This means extra keyboards, unused notebooks, pens, food boxes, and books can go.

Eliminating clutter gives your brain the impression that there’s more room for you to move around during your Zoom event.

If the space you’re presenting in makes it difficult to clear off clutter, you could find a plain wall to present against. And if that’s not an option, you can use a clean virtual Zoom background . Keeping your surroundings out of sight means it’s out of mind for you and your audience; one less thing to worry about while presenting.

5. Do a tech prep

Presenting in Zoom while you’re at home or traveling is a technological wonder in itself. But technology can be frustrating at times too.

Spending some time optimizing your Zoom settings by clicking in the toolbar while you’re in a Zoom meeting. Under video settings, you’ll find a few options that can help with the visuals, such as focus assist.

Before your presentation, double-check the following:

• Make sure that your laptop, computer, lighting, headset, webcam, microphone, and internet connection are working. Have backup equipment if possible.
• Familiarize yourself with the Zoom app and other relevant software you’re going to use during the presentation.
• Close unnecessary browsers, applications, or software before the presentation. Turn off your laptop or desktop notifications. The goal is to optimize and speed up the device to have a smooth presentation.
• Prepare a PDF version of your presentation slides and have an extra copy of your presenter notes in case of technical mishaps with your slides. It also makes sense to have a short link to your presentation that you can share with the audience.
• Position your notes in the right spot so you know where to find them while presenting.
• Check Zoom settings and do a quick audio and video check.

6. Rehearse your presentation

After taking care of your surroundings and equipment, the next step is to prepare yourself.

Practicing your Zoom presentation in advance can help boost your confidence. Here are some tips to help you rehearse well for your presentation:

• Screen record yourself. Afterward, check your recorded video for technical issues, your body language, and whether or not your voice is audible or not.
• Practice with a family member or friend who can give feedback on any distracting nonverbal communication habits like too many hand gestures.
• Rehearse in the same room where you’ll be presenting. Use the same lighting, computer setup, and everything.
• Practice speaking to the camera, not your computer screen.

If you’re not used to face-to-face presentations, you could record your presentation and watch it back. I know, I know – it can feel so uncomfortable watching yourself. But a quick analysis will reveal if you use too many hand gestures, that can be distracting, and also if you need to reposition your camera so it shows your upper body while presenting.

The time has come for presentation day! You already know the ins and outs of your presentation, and you’ve practiced your Zoom presentation skills to a T. A couple of checks you can do before you start are:

• Make sure you’re in a quiet area to minimize any potential interruptions.
• Do a test call with a friend to check the internet connection and if you’ll stay connected.

Take note of the following tips and hacks to make your Zoom presentation engaging and anxiety-free during your webinar or talk:

7. Dress the part

Wear clothes that are appropriate for your presentation and audience. It also helps to be more mindful of your accessories and hairstyle. The outfits and accessories you wear during your Zoom meeting will speak volumes about you as a person.

For example, if you’re presenting to your coworkers, wear work clothes. If you’re pitching to a group of angel investors, wearing a tie can help convey that you’re serious and trustworthy. However, this may not be a good idea if you’re presenting to a group that is more open to change and tends to be more relaxed when it comes to conventional standards.

Another benefit of dressing the part is what you wear actually impacts how you think. Wearing formal clothes can improve abstract thinking and give you a broader sense of perspective, which is influential in helping you make better decisions.

8. Ditch the chair

Standing up when presenting in Zoom rather than sitting down helps you become more confident because you’re not hunched down on your chair.

Standing straight with your shoulders back also enables you to breathe easily, making your voice sound more powerful and confident. Finally, it allows you to move more and make explanatory gestures which is a charisma boost.

The more confident you appear in your presentation, the more confident you’re likely to feel.

“When your mind starts to feel more confident and powerful — it starts to see those challenging situations not as threats but as opportunities,” shares Harvard psychologist professor Amy Cuddy.

If you can’t stand up during your presentation, try to sit straight in your chair and back up your camera a little to show your upper body and not just your face.

9. Have a memorable introduction

National best-selling author and founder at Science of People Vanessa Van Edwards specifically recommends opening your presentation with IISSAAQQ to make it more memorable. IISSAAQQ stands for: 

• I cebreaker
• I llustration
• S hort story
• S tatistic or surprising fact
• A nalogy or metaphor

Bonus points if you can weave in humor with some background information with a relevant fact. Research found that more popular talks used humor 12.92 times, whereas less popular talks used humor only 3.92 times on average.

You don’t have to force a joke – humor could just be a play on words or surprising the audience with a funny image or meme that contrasts with a statement. Nothing breaks the ice better than laughter.

10. Look your audience in the eye (or rather your webcam)

Looking your audience in the eye is easier during face-to presentations than Zoom presentations. It can be a little tricky during online meetings because we tend to look at people’s faces on the computer screen. Maintain eye contact by looking into your webcam.

“A good idea is to lower the monitor camera a little so that you don’t have to tilt your head back to gaze up at it. If you can’t help looking at someone’s face on the screen instead of their camera, it helps to move the Zoom window to the part of the screen nearest to the camera so at least you’re looking at approximately the right place when you’re looking at their face,” shares Carol Kinsey Goman , Ph.D., executive coach and international keynote speaker.

You could treat the camera as if you were doing a face-to-face presentation. This way, it’ll be a bit simpler to hold eye contact with your audience when you’re not looking at your notes.

11. Think happy thoughts

Find ways to boost your mood before your presentation. Aside from helping you feel good (which in turn can boost your confidence), you’re also likely to smile often with happy thoughts. 

When you smile at your audience, they will also likely “mirror” your action and think happy thoughts. 

“Mirroring is relevant to our tendency to be empathetic. When I see you smiling, my mirror neurons for smiling fire up, and I get your state of mind right away. I feel it as you feel it. We need that mirroring in order to create a full empathic response to other people,” describes Marco Iacoboni , author of  Mirroring People  and UCLA professor. 

When you’re having a good time and sharing enthusiasm with your audience, they’ll reciprocate through their nonverbal communication. This means fewer folded arms and blank stares and more nodding along and smiles.

12. Delegate the chatbox

Have someone else take care of Zoom chat or manage the waiting room to keep you from being distracted. This person could be the meeting host, a colleague, or someone you trust who has your back during your presentation.

13. Engage your audience

A boring presentation is when there’s no interaction, and you’re being spoken at (hello, university lectures). You’ll be able to tell from everyone’s body language in the meeting room.

Make your presentation a two-way street. Here are some ways to encourage interaction and participation amongst your audience during your Zoom meetings:

• Ask questions. For example, if you’re presenting a team productivity software in Zoom, ask your audience about their top productivity problems at work. You can also use this time as an opportunity to transition to your next presentation slide.
• If you have a small audience, remember each person’s name and address them using their first names.
• Use visuals like illustrations, infographics, or a short video clip in your slide show. Tool recommendation : Use Piktochart Video to transform a long video into short clips.
• Use interactive quizzes while presenting online to change the pace and keep your audience engaged.

14. Talk like a human and avoid too much jargon

Alright, what does talking like a human mean in Zoom presentations?

For a start, avoid talking too much jargon and corporate speak. It makes you more relatable, keep your audience’s attention longer because your points will be easier to understand, and also helps you stand out from other presenters.

Just because you’re presenting in virtual meetings doesn’t mean you’re not talking to people. The only difference is you’re sharing your presentation in front of your camera instead of in front of the lecture room.

Next, improve your visual storytelling skills . Your presentation will be more memorable if you briefly share a story and pair it with visuals. Sign up for our free visual storytelling course . Check out the teaser video below.

15. Slow down

When you’re anxious and not too confident about your Zoom presentation, you’ll tend to speak fast, which in turn will make you more nervous. It’s a vicious cycle.

When presenting in Zoom, be mindful of your pace. Slowing down will not only take the edge off your nerves but also make you appear more confident.

Don’t be scared of pauses or gaps between your statements. Sometimes, you might need a sip of water to hydrate your throat. Other times, you could use the pauses as extra emphasis to drive key points.

Slowing down and changing up your talking pace will help you deliver an impactful presentation because you’ll have more control and be better able to drive the point home.

5 presentation examples and templates

To make presenting your Zoom presentation easy, here are some presentation templates and examples for inspiration.

Quarterly finance update

Have a big meeting coming up where you need to share sales performance and revenue figures? We’ve got you covered with this template.

It’s equipped with graphs where you can easily drop your revenue figures in and share performance with customizable graphs. There are also template slides for customer feedback and if your team is planning to introduce new processes.

Marketing strategy plan template

This marketing strategy slide deck is perfect if you’re onboarding a new client and want to walk them through your research, analysis, and proposed actions.

Group project

Presenting your collaborative project in a Zoom meeting to your classmates? Take the worry off so you can focus on sharing the results by using this science group project template .

Despite the name, you can use it for any kind of school or university project because the structure works for any type of research presentation. The template has slides for:

• Group introduction
• Your hypothesis/basis for the project
• Your theory
• How you tested the theory
• Key takeaways

Buyer persona template

The customer buying journey is always evolving, and you might need to present a case study to leadership or your team on recent findings. Our template makes it simple to share your customer’s story, as the template has slides for:

• The customer profile
• Motivations/goals
• Personal insights
• Responsibilities

Team update in the all-hands meeting

It’s common for managers, or project leads to update the company with their results in company meetings. In these cases, you might just need a single slide to share your progress.

This work breakdown structure template does the job, giving you space to share what your team’s objectives were, what the key results were, who was involved, and what the shipping date was for these goals.

How to share your Piktochart slide deck on Zoom 

Step 1 : On the Piktochart editor, click Share to get the link to your presentation. 

By default, your presentation is not publicly visible.

Step 2 : Copy and paste the link into your browser bar. Then, click the Show Presentation button. This will launch in fullscreen presentation mode, and now you’re ready to shine. 

Step 3: Click Share Screen on your Zoom account and choose the browser with the Piktochart link.

For a visual demonstration, watch the short tutorial below with detailed instructions.

Ready to deliver your presentation? 

That’s it for our Zoom presentation tips; now over to you.

You have a brilliant idea or insight to present, and you need to share them with your audience in your next Zoom presentation. It’s high time you nail it with the virtual presentation tips we outlined in this guide. 

Take Piktochart for a test drive  today and create your next presentation slide minus the stress using our free presentation maker .

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What is Internal Communications?

8 tips on how to present over Zoom like a pro

Today, Zoom is a central part of the remote workplace. It and other video conference platforms are widely used for meetings, job interviews, webinars, and presentations.

In-person presentations can be stressful enough, and having to conduct them virtually can seem even more daunting. 

But it doesn't have to be that way. Our eight pro tips for presenting over Zoom may help you feel more prepared, comfortable, and confident. Read on to find out more. 

1. Plan out your Zoom background/location ahead of time.

You can use a location in your home or a virtual Zoom background. If you select a place in your house, make sure it is uncluttered and clean. A plain wall or shelves with neatly arranged books provide a professional setting. 

Consider lighting. Soft lighting placed in front of you illuminates you evenly; sitting in front of a window can cause glare and shadows.

Make sure your background doesn't distract from you and your presentation. You don't want your audience focusing on a family photo or the dishes in the sink.

2. Test your equipment before your presentation.

Your equipment can make or break your Zoom presentation. 

To avoid surprises, check your internet connection, plug in your laptop, and ensure that your camera angle is correct and that the microphone works. 

You can confirm your internet connection, audio, and visual with a Zoom test meeting . Using a hard-wired connection rather than wifi is the safer option. And closing any applications you won't need during the presentation can conserve bandwidth. 

Taking precautions can avoid or minimize frozen screens, views of the top of your head, dead batteries, and sound problems.

3. Put notes in the right place on your screen(s).

Zdnet recommends, the best webcams for remote-working video calls.

The pandemic lockdown will leave a legacy of increased remote working, so it's a good time to upgrade your webcam. Here are ten leading contenders.

You need your notes where you can see them, but you don't want to keep looking down or off to the side during your presentation. 

To combat this, you can use dual monitors . Position your presentation on one of them, visible to all, and your presenter's notes — plus the webcam you're using — on the other, visible only to you. 

Or you can present your slide show in a window and put a private view of your notes in another window on the same screen. Zoom provides step-by-step instructions for single and dual screens.

4. Practice Zoom presenting as if it were the real thing.

Zoom allows you to practice in the precise environment where you will be presenting. Set up your background, lighting, and screens as you will on presentation day. You can schedule a webinar practice session on Zoom and run through your presentation exactly as you will on the day. You can invite a friend to join you and offer feedback.

Practicing can make the difference between a smooth presentation or an awkward one. Rehearse as often as you can, and visit our page of public speaking tips . 

SEE: What tech jobs don't require public speaking?

5. Minimize clutter on your slides.

Slides are a key part of a virtual presentation and can help you and the audience stay on track. 

Slides should be easy to read and navigate. Avoid brightly colored backgrounds, complicated fonts, and too many graphics. 

Each slide should communicate one concept or idea. Avoid a long list of bullet points on a single slide.

While a slide with few words in readable, bolded font works fine, visuals like charts, maps, and illustrations or photos can be more effective and keep your audience engaged. 

6. Use easy-to-understand visuals.

Visuals liven up your Zoom presentation in ways words don't. Instead of a long list of numbers explaining company statistics, try a graph or pie chart. Visuals aid understanding and keep your audience interested. 

Explaining technical procedures with videos or illustrations rather than wordy descriptions alone enables you to show and tell. They also accommodate different learning styles within your audience.

Microsoft posts tutorials for incorporating visual elements into PowerPoint slides and inserting videos from the web or your computer .

7. Explain your agenda before you begin presenting.

Most people like to know what to expect when logging onto a meeting. Opening your presentation with a slide outlining your agenda sets the timeline for your meeting and reassures your audience. If you plan to allow audience interaction, make sure to highlight when and how in your agenda. 

You can list the points you're going to cover in your presentation on your slide(s) and/or use graphics. You can pose a question on a slide, then show how you plan to answer it. Starting off with a funny (but work-appropriate) photograph or illustration can put you and your audience at ease.

8. If appropriate, encourage your audience to interact.

Unless you have a good reason not to, encourage your audience to interact during or after your presentation. 

Some presenters ask participants to use Zoom's chat function for questions and pause the presentation periodically to answer them or wait until the end. Presenters can mute and unmute the audience and allow time for comments and questions that way. Zoom also allows for engagement through participant polls during the presentation

The size of your audience may dictate how you want to handle audience interaction.

Not allowing participant interaction risks losing your audience to their phones and other distractions.

In conclusion

The hardest part of presenting on Zoom may be the technology for some and the public speaking for others. We hope our tips help.

Online public speaking courses can help with anxiety and discomfort. Developing emotional intelligence skills can also benefit your Zoom presentations. 

Improve your practice.

Enhance your soft skills with a range of award-winning courses.

11 Essential Tips for Presenting on Zoom

January 24, 2022 - Dom Barnard

A boss unwittingly disguised as a potato during Zoom meetings, cries of “you’re on mute!” and guest appearances by kids and pets, are among the hilarious anecdotes attached to this hugely popular app.

However, it becomes serious when you need to make a good impression in a virtual meeting, job interview or presentation.

Zoom became a massively popular communications tool for business, education and social meetings during the Pandemic. In 2020, there were  485 million Zoom downloads , which is 30 times more than the year before!

Of course, some of the top Zoom presentations tips apply equally well to in-person or online delivery. Such as establishing your end goals, preparing a flowing framework and strong content, then practising your speech more than once. However, there are particular advantages and disadvantages to Zoom, to get the right results for presenting online.

These Zoom presentation tips will help grow your competence, confidence and success.

1. Put some trousers on!

One of the great things about Zoom presentations is there is a degree of informality and comfort.

You can dress just your top half smartly, have a hot beverage just off-screen, and do your best public speaking in familiar surroundings.

One of the worst things about Zoom presentations is …there is a degree of informality and comfort!

You can find yourself easily distracted, lacking in focus and slower in your responses.

The best way to present well on Zoom – when the stakes are high – is to create a wholly business-like environment and attitude. Use a space in your home or field location that’s as bland and clinical as possible, with no potential noise disturbance. Dress smartly from head to toe to create the best mindset.

Site your technology in front of you and imagine it’s a lectern and a set of multi-media tools in a meeting room or lecture theatre.

2. Use the superpower of data

While you’re using technology to communicate or collaborate, it’s common sense to optimise ways to enhance your presentations.

As part of your extensive preparation for important Zoom meetings, consider what documents, images and graphics to share, to add credibility and professionalism to your pitch. Or, simply to hold the attention of a Zoom audience from start to finish.

Familiarise yourself with the Share Screen option on Zoom, and the best ways of displaying videos during a Zoom call, including advanced share methods for online presentations.

There are good Zoom share screen tips here, including how to add a video to presentations on Zoom.

Zoom presentations with visual content are  43% more persuasive . Also, 90% of the information we process comes from visual input. So your Zoom presentation materials could be what gets you that job, funding or agreement.

3. Non-verbal communications tips for Zoom

Don’t assume that online presentations release you from many of the body language pitfalls and best practices. The opposite is true, as you need to focus on non-verbal cues even more.

If you deliver your Zoom presentation in a rigid, static and clinical way, you are missing out on some of the best ways to be successful in communications.

People respond to people. Effective communication requires warmth, authenticity and establishing a strong personal connection with your audience. Being robotic when presenting online won’t help you to succeed.

If this is an intense online meeting, then showing empathy can also increase the engagement and openness you achieve.

How do you communicate non-verbally on Zoom?

Without going over the top, be purposeful and slightly exaggerated in your body language. Sit straight and lean subtly towards the screen. Never away from it and certainly no slumping, crossed arms or chin/elbow leaning!

Smile, nod and keep strong eye contact, including showing your attention passing from person to person across a split-screen. Use hand gestures and show subtle movement in your upper body to add emphasis to key points.

4. Verbal communications skills

Zoom presentations also make it too easy to slip into a monotone voice or race through a presentation. You may even find the process of talking to technology – not live people – causes you to ramble, or get lost in your ad-libs or Q&A responses.

Make sure you articulate clearly, add emphasis when needed, and generally modify your tone regularly but logically.

Don’t be afraid to leave small pauses to drive a point home, or to take a deep breath while you construct your next point. If you look directly at the screen and hold eye contact, this ‘white space’ is perfectly acceptable.

5. Is everyone listening?

One of the most important presentation skills, in general, is reading the room. Is your potential boss or buyer looking bored? Are the panel of decision-makers getting confused? In contentious presentations, being able to spot your biggest dissenter from their non-verbal communication can help you shift your focus to winning them over.

It’s challenging to gain that sort of body language intel from online meetings. So, the best Zoom presentations compensate for that.

It can be as simple as adding more direct questions to your content and literally pausing regularly to ask your audience about queries or concerns. Make your questions open-ended, not a yes or no response.

“Let’s take a minute. What else do you need to know about that part of my presentation?”

Also, keep Zoom presentations succinct, flowing and animated. Your audience will drift away subconsciously if your delivery is pedestrian or you talk for too long without involving them.

Remember, attention spans are even shorter on technology!

Practice your video presentation and get feedback on your performance with  VirtualSpeech .

6. Opening Zoom presentations with pizazz

No, this doesn’t refer to grabbing your audience’s attention with a juggling trick or wearing your most colourful or glamourous finery.

How you start a Zoom presentation sets the tone. If you instantly engage their interest with a compelling opening, the attention and engagement last.

This should primarily be 100% clarity on the purpose of your presentation and the desired outcome. As well as establishing your credibility and methods to achieve the end goal.

Vague introductions and slowly revealing your key points drains your time and your audience’s attention.

What makes a good opening for Zoom presentations?

7. Icebreakers

You can’t shake their hand, but you can issue a quick, warm greeting and a short, relevant fact about yourself that helps them to warm to you.

8. Storytelling techniques

These work for a myriad of business communication tasks. Give a short (that word again) anecdote or illustration, to give context to your Zoom presentation. That could be about you, your product or the outcome you are requesting, for example.

9. Meaningful quotes in presentations

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” – George Bernard Shaw.

Good quotes can work!

10. High impact fact

Another great opening for Zoom presentations is a little known fact or ‘behind the scenes’ secret that grabs attention. Did you know,  one-third of adults still sleep with a ‘comforter’  like a soft toy or blanket? (Not relevant to many presentations but it’s a memorable statistic that caught OUR attention.)

Wake your audience up with something they want to remember – and share with others – and they will be alert and ready to listen.

11. End Zoom presentations correctly

One last piece of advice on Zoom presentations. Don’t get so relieved when you get to the end, that you forget your call to action.

All communication should include an invitation of some kind, in clear language. What would you like your audience to do, now your Zoom time is over? Tell them that and thank them for your attention, with one last warm smile.

Home Blog Business How to Ace Your Zoom Presentation: Tips for Successful Virtual Presenting

How to Ace Your Zoom Presentation: Tips for Successful Virtual Presenting

It’s your turn to speak during a Zoom social event in your company when your cat decides to make an impromptu appearance, climbing onto your keyboard and causing a flurry of emojis to flood the screen. Thankfully, everyone loved your feline co-worker and joked about the hilarious scene.

But what if it happens in a more meaningful setting, like a virtual sales pitch you’ve been looking forward to for weeks? You wouldn’t want to risk losing a client – and your job – just because a pet rains on your parade.

In this article, we will provide you with essential tips and tricks on how to ace your Zoom presentation like a pro. From preparing your visual aids and keeping your audience engaged to handling technical glitches with finesse, we’ve got you covered.

Table of Contents

Preparing Your Zoom Presentation

Tips for delivering a successful zoom presentation.

• How to Share PowerPoint on Zoom

Handling Technical Issues During a Zoom Presentation

Follow up after a zoom presentation.

Like in-person presentations, a successful Zoom presentation requires careful preparation to ensure you can send your audience the right message. Here are some tips to help you prepare presentations for Zoom.

Use Relevant Visuals

There are many ways you can present information besides plain boring texts. Sixty-five percent of humans are visual learners , so your audience might retain the information you share better if you present them in charts, graphs, images, or other visualizations.

You may use several types of visuals throughout your Zoom presentation, but make sure they are easy to understand in a virtual setting and are relevant to your subject.

For instance, if you present a new product, you may record a video demonstration highlighting its features. Using Zoom’s built-in video player, you can then embed the video into PowerPoint or play it during your presentation.

Use a Simple Presentation Template

A simple presentation template can help you create a cohesive and professional-looking presentation on Zoom. Choose a template that complements your content and aligns with your branding, but avoid overly complex designs that may distract your audience.

You may use a roadmap PowerPoint template or include an agenda slide to set the timeline of your presentation and provide an overview of the topics you will cover. Aside from it keeps the presentation flowing smoothly, it helps your audience orient their thoughts on what will happen in the meeting.

Make It Interactive

Just because you are the presenter doesn’t mean you have to do all the talking – you can let your audience speak too! One of the key aspects of delivering a successful Zoom presentation is to make it interactive and engage your audience.

Think of some icebreakers that will keep your audience involved. It can be a simple open-ended question or a poll to stimulate discussion. You can also use breakout rooms to facilitate small group interactions or collaborative activities.

Interactive presentations help to break the monotony of one-way communication and make your Zoom presentation more dynamic and engaging. Having no activities encouraging interaction makes losing your audience’s interest during virtual meetings easier.

Practice the Presentation and Timing

Aside from the content of your presentation, you also have to worry about the technicalities of presenting on Zoom, so having a dry run before the real thing is important to ensure a smooth delivery.

Practice your presentation multiple times before the event to ensure you are comfortable with the content, pacing, and timing. This will familiarize you with the Zoom platform and its features, such as screen sharing, chat, and breakout rooms.

You have a killer Zoom PowerPoint. Now it’s time to focus on delivering it effectively. Here are some Zoom presentation tips:

Use a Neutral Background

Your background in a Zoom presentation can impact how your audience perceives your professionalism and credibility. Choose a neutral background that is free from distractions and clutter.

If you have an office space at home, that will work even better. Pick from Zoom’s virtual backgrounds, preferably plain and clean. Make your background boring so your audience’s attention is drawn to you. Stay away from bed!

Dress Appropriately

Even though you may be presenting from the comfort of your home, it’s important to dress professionally for your Zoom presentation. It’s not bad to wear your usual duds when attending a casual game night with your team. But if it’s a formal setup, like a business proposal, you must suit up to invite success.

Dressing up smartly may improve your mood and confidence. In a 2014 study , two groups of male subjects were asked to put on business suits and sweatpants before engaging in a negotiation task. Those who dressed up obtained more profitable negotiations than the other group.

As a rule of thumb, avoid wearing loud colors or busy patterns that may distract your audience.

Keep an Eye Contact

Maintaining eye contact is essential in any presentation, whether in person or on Zoom. Making eye contact helps you connect with your audience and convey your message more effectively.

The common advice you’ll get to achieve this on Zoom is to look directly into the camera to create the impression of eye contact with your audience. We agree with these, but as the speaker, you also have to read the facial expressions of your audience and see how they react to what you are saying.

If you are using a desktop or laptop, the simplest solution to achieving these two is to reduce Zoom to a smaller window and place it directly below your webcam. This way, you can glance at their faces occasionally while keeping the illusion of eye contact.

Keep Your Notes Minimal

If you are an expert in the topic you are presenting, it would be best to ditch your notes during Zoom events. Constantly looking down at your notes can be distracting for your audience.

But if the need calls for it, make sure to keep your notes minimal and stick them in the right place. You can use a second screen or a tablet, or position your notes close to the camera to refer to them without breaking eye contact. This way, you can stay focused on engaging with your audience and delivering your presentation smoothly.

How to Share PowerPoint on Zoom (Step by Step)

How to present on Zoom? Once you understand what Zoom presentations are and the tips for Zoom presentations, it is time to give the presentation using Zoom. Let’s see this step by step:

Step 1. Open the PowerPoint file you want to present.

Step 2. Join the Zoom meeting and click on the Share Screen icon in the meeting control panel at the bottom of your screen.

[Optional] You can customize who can share their screen in the Zoom meeting. Click on the small arrow in the corner of the Share Screen icon and select Advanced Sharing Options.

Select Hosts Only or All Participants.

Step 3. Select the window you want to share – in this case, the one that contains the PowerPoint slide – and click on Share.

If you are playing audio or video within your presentation, make sure to tick Share sound and Optimize for video clip.

Step 4. Click on the Slide Show tab in the PowerPoint window and begin the presentation by selecting Play from Start or Play from Current Slide.

Step 5. To stop screen sharing of PowerPoint, hover over the meeting controls at the top of your screen and select Stop Share.

It’s not uncommon for technicalities to derail a live Zoom presentation – video, Wi-Fi, or audio may fail. But there are things you can do to prevent them, or at least minimize their impact on your presentation when they happen.

First, test your equipment before your presentation and make sure everything is in place. You can join a meeting test on Zoom to check your internet connection, camera, audio, and microphone.

You may also send a PDF copy of your presentation to the attendees before the meeting if sharing your screen won’t work. This will allow you to carry on as you or your technical team figures out the problem.

If the technical issues persist, you should have a good Plan B and be prepared to continue on a different platform like Google Meet. Send the alternative link with the meeting invitation and give clear action steps when technical difficulties happen.

Following up after a Zoom presentation is a crucial step in maintaining momentum and maximizing the impact of your presentation. For example, if you are selling a product, you can use a follow-up email to make the final push of your sales pitch.

Start your email by expressing appreciation for their participation and summarizing the key points of your presentation. Include any additional resources, such as presentation slides or a video presentation recording, to reinforce your message. Offer yourself as a resource for further questions or discussions, and encourage feedback or comments from your audience.

Here’s an example of a well-executed follow-up email for a Zoom workshop event:

Conducting a virtual presentation sounds overwhelming as you must consider technical aspects in addition to delivering your message and keeping it engaging.

Remember, there’s no such thing as overpreparing when you have bosses or potential clients to impress. Follow the tips in this article to nail your next Zoom presentation!

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• Interactive Presentation

7 Zoom Presentation Tips to Bring Your Virtual Events to Life (Best Guide in 2024)

Anh Vu • 29 July, 2024 • 9 min read

Here are 7 Zoom Presentation Tips to help you hold better Zoom events and fight off that fatigue – let’s make your next Zoom presentation the best yet!

Presenting can be extremely difficult, but virtual presentations (via Zoom or any other video meeting platform) offer their challenges.

After a couple of years of remote working, many team leaders and senior business managers are noticing Zoom fatigue amongst staff, so it’s time to reignite our presentations and ensure we’re creating engaging and memorable meetings.

Table of Contents

• Take the Mic
• Check your Tech
• Ask the Audience
• Keep it Short and Sweet
• Tell a Story
• Don't Hide Behind Your Slides
• Take a Break to Answer Questions

Tips for Better Engagement

Let's find out how to make an interactive Zoom presentation with more Zoom presentation tips!

• Pictionary on Zoom
• Zoom Word Cloud
• Complete Guide to Interactive Presentation
• Bad presentation at work
• Easy Topic for Presentation

Start in seconds.

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

Zoom Presentation Tips for the Intro

Tip #1 - take the mic.

One of the most simple and effective ways to capture your virtual audience is to take control of the conversation and ease anxieties. This doesn’t mean dictating all conversation, it’s more about creating a comfortable environment where your audience can feel focused and contribute to the discussion. 

We’ve all been in awkward pre-meeting “waiting rooms” while holding on for the last couple of people to join. As the person running the session, you can remove people's meeting anxieties and instantly get them on your side.

As the presenter and (probably) host of the Zoom meeting, others will consider you a confident leader. Make sure you welcome people in as they join your Zoom presentation, use a meeting icebreaker , and show them your personality and that they are welcome to engage with your presentation. You will have their attention from the very start.

Remember, you are presenting for a reason. You are the expert on your topic, and they are looking to you to communicate that information – You’re the pro, and you’ve got this!

Tip #2 - Check your Tech

Mic check 1, 2...

Of course, sometimes, tech fails us, and we can’t always do anything about it. But you can help reduce the chances of that happening by checking in on your presentation software, camera and mic before the Zoom presentation starts and people join.

Also, check any videos or links you’re using to give yourself the best chance of delivering a wonderfully seamless presentation with preparation.

One of the best parts of a Zoom presentation is that nine times out of 10, there isn’t anyone else in the room. This has a massive benefit for anyone presenting - you can prepare. This does not mean writing a script and reading it word for word. Still, it allows you to have extra notes with any data and information you need, and it can be right on the screen for only your eyes to see – so you can browse your messages for answers to a question without looking away.

💡 Extra presentation tip for Zoom : If you’re sending out Zoom invites ahead of time, make sure that the links and passwords you’re sending out all work so that everyone can join the meeting quickly and without added stress.

Zoom Presentation Tips for Punchy Presentations

Tip #3 - ask the audience.

You can be the most charismatic and engaging person in the world, but if your presentation lacks that spark, it can leave your audience feeling disconnected. Luckily, an easy solution to this problem is to make your presentations interactive.

So, let's discover how to make a Zoom presentation interactive. Tools like AhaSlides provide opportunities to include creative and engaging elements in your presentations to keep your audience switched on and involved. Whether you’re a teacher looking to engage a class or an expert in your business, it’s proven that interactive elements like polls, quizzes and Q&As keep an audience engaged when they can respond to each on their smartphones.

Here are a few slides you can use in an interactive Zoom presentation to pull that audience focus...

• Make a live quiz - Regularly ask audience questions they can individually answer via a smartphone. This will help you understand their topic knowledge in a fun, competitive way!
• Ask for feedback - It’s vital that we’re constantly improving, so you might want to gather some feedback at the end of your presentation. You can use interactive sliding scales to measure how likely people are to recommend your services or even gather opinions on specific topics. If you were pitching a planned return to the office for your business, you might ask, “How many days would you like to spend in the office?” and set a scale from 0 to 5 to gauge the consensus.
• Ask open-ended questions and pose scenarios - This allows your audience to engage and show off their knowledge. For a teacher, this could be as simple as ‘What is the best word you know that means happy?’, but for a marketing presentation in a business, for example, it could be a great way of asking ‘Which platforms would you like to see us use more in Q3?”
• Ask for brainstorming .  To start a brainstorming session, you can learn  how to make a word cloud . The most frequent words in the cloud will highlight common interests within your group. Then, people might start discussing the most prominent words, their meanings, and why they were chosen, which can also be valuable information for the presenter.
• Play games - Games in a virtual event may seem radical, but it could be the best tip for your Zoom presentation. Some simple trivia games, spinner wheel games and a bunch of other Zoom games can do wonders for team building, learning new concepts and testing existing ones.

These engaging elements make a huge difference to your audience's focus and attention. Not only will they feel more involved in your interactive presentation on Zoom, but it will also give you added confidence that they are absorbing your speech and enjoying it, too.

Make Interactive Zoom Presentations for Free!

Embed polls, brainstorm sessions, quizzes and more into your presentation. Grab a template or import your own from PowerPoint!

Tip #4 - Keep it Short and Sweet

Where you can, you want to try to keep your Zoom presentation digestible. While most meetings or presentations are scheduled for an hour, it’s generally agreed that most viewers can only maintain focus for around 10 minutes . This makes it important to keep meetings brief, and where you can’t keep them short, ensuring your audience is engaged is vital.

You can maximise your audience's focus by not overcomplicating your slides. Text-heavy slides will have your listeners reading rather than listening to you, and they will burn out and lose stress much more quickly. If you need to give a lot of information, break it down into a few slides or use an illustrative graphic or interactive drop to talk people through it instead.

Tip #5 - Tell a Story

More interactive Zoom presentation ideas? We must confess that storytelling is so powerful. Suppose you can build stories or examples into your presentation that illustrate your message. In that case, your Zoom presentation will be much more memorable, and your audience will feel more emotionally invested in the stories that you tell.

Case studies, direct quotes or real-life examples will be much more engaging to your audience and can help them relate to or understand the information you’re providing on a deeper level.

This isn't just a Zoom presentation tip but also a great way to start your presentation. Read more about it here !

Tip #6 - Don’t Hide Behind Your Slides

Although it’s much more difficult to present your body language via Zoom than in person, there are still things you can do to help ensure that your Zoom presentation gets your message across effectively.

Camera on! It’s tempting to hide behind your slides, but having your camera on will make a huge difference. Not only will your audience be able to see you, but it will communicate confidence and encourage others to leave their cameras on and hold the meeting in the open atmosphere of a live setting.

Although many workers remain remote, there is still a desire for that face-to-face connection we once had when working in offices and travelling for meetings and presentations. Sometimes, just seeing a friendly face will put someone at ease, creating a positive sentiment that they associate with you and your presentation.

As well as leaving your camera on, some people find that standing up to present is still effective - even on Zoom! If you have a large enough space and can find a way to make it work, standing up gives you added confidence, and it’s a great option if you're presenting virtually for a conference.

Tip #7 - Take a Break to Answer Questions

If you know you’ll be presenting for a long time, there's a lot to say about making space for a few breaks. Over Zoom, it’s not as easy to send everyone off for a quick coffee break because of how lengthy it can be to get everyone back and focused, so instead, you could end each section with a quick Q&A session.

Doing this has two advantages:

• To keep everyone up to speed by elaborating on points you may have gone over a bit too quickly.
• To give everyone a break from listening and looking.

On some live Q&A software , you can accept Q&A questions from your audience throughout your Zoom presentation and then answer them whenever.

These tiny breaks in the presentation can bring back your audience's focus as they anticipate that they need to interact.

No time like the present

So, that's the zoom presentation tips and tricks! With these tips, you should feel ready to take on the (presentation) world. We know that presentations aren’t always accessible, but hopefully, these virtual Zoom presentation tips go some way to relieving the anxieties. Try to use these tips in your next Zoom presentation. If you stay calm, stay enthusiastic and keep your audience engaged with your shiny, new interactive presentation, it will be your best Zoom presentation yet!

Tips to Engage with Polls & Trivia

More from AhaSlides

The Ultimate Guide to Giving Virtual Presentations on Zoom

Part 1: an introduction to giving virtual presentations on zoom.

PART I Introduction 1 – Cool Zoom Features 2 – Virtual Presentation Do’s 3 – Virtual Presentation Don’ts PART II 4 – Presentation Purpose 5 – Structure & Flow 6 – Slide Design PART III 7 – Connect with the audience 8 – Audience Participation 9 – Sharing Content PART IV 10 – Video & Audio Recordings 11 – Post-production 12 – Your Phone as a Webcam PART V 13 – When Things Go Wrong 14 – How to Ground Yourself PART VI 15 – Advanced Techniques 16 – Zoom Webinars vs Meetings 17 – 23 Essential Settings

There are three things I hate about Zoom…

#1 the super awkward must-click-two-buttons-to-leave-the-meeting debacle.

You say goodbye, search the bottom-right corner of the screen for the red button, click the red button, continue to stare awkwardly at the corner of the screen because the call is still open and you need to click a second red button.

Never fear, this can be turned off. In General Preferences simply uncheck the “Ask me to confirm when I leave a meeting” setting and poof! One-click exits. You’re welcome.

#2 Inviting someone and never knowing what the difference is between these two options: “Copy invite link” and “Copy invitation”.

I can sense you nodding along with me.

Just remember that it’s “invite link” you want 99% of the time vs “invitation”, and you can set an option that copies the link to your clipboard as soon as you start a meeting.

#3 The dropdown to change video settings is part of the “Stop Video” button. What the actual?!

Are you trying to make me screw up my presentation?

I also love Zoom.

Why? Because it works.

A year into our forced isolation, Zoom fatigue has set in. We’re avoiding calls and talking about concepts like Zoom holidays, just to get a break.

But the answer isn’t fewer Zoom calls, it’s better Zoom calls. Almost every Zoom presentation is boring, ugly, terribly structured, poorly executed, and designed to make you fall asleep.

In this guide I’ll show you

• How to create beautiful slides that communicate with clarity and class
• Unknown and awesome features of Zoom that you can use to your advantage
• How to overcome your nerves and survive technical problems
• And how to look like a total pro every time you give a presentation—or run a meeting—on the platform we all love to hate.

Note: for the sake of brevity, unless I’m talking about Zoom-specific functionality, these tips are applicable to any platform that offers meeting and presentation software such as GotoMeeting, Google Meet, Webinar Jam etc.

There are instructional videos throughout the guide to demonstrate the best parts in more depth. You can binge watch the videos on the “Presenting on Zoom” video channel here , or read on for the word and pictures.

If you want to stand out from your peers it’s good to understand the full power of the platform and know the features most people don’t know about.

#1 Set up your own configurable ‘personal meeting room’

It can be really distracting to hear a bunch of people talking over one another when you kick off a meeting. A good solution is to use what’s called a Personal Meeting ID (PID) which gives you control of the Zoom environment right from the start.

Features of your PID include:

• Using the same invite ID and URL whenever you start a meeting, bypassing the need to repeatedly check the settings. Note: because it’s a permanent URL,you should uncheck the “Allow participants to join anytime” setting to prevent randoms dropping in unannounced.
• Placing participants into a “waiting room” which lets them in when you are ready to begin– either individually or all at once.
• Automatically recording your meetings on your computer. Having a video of your presentation is always a good idea so you can re-use your content.

#2 Press the ‘spacebar to temporarily un-mute yourself’

You can help to ensure a quality audio recording by placing everyone on mute by default. And while this feature is more appropriate for meetings vs. presentations, it’s a great thing to know about – and to tell your audience about. It’s easy to use, hold down the spacebar to un-mute yourself and let it go to turn your audio off again. It prevents people from forgetting to re-mute when they walk off to do something else forcing you to listen to their snoring dog or screaming baby.

Even if it doesn’t get used during your presentation (unless it’s a workshop you won’t want people to randomly chime in), many of your audience will thank you for learning this tip.

Note: You may need to enable it in your Zoom Preferences.

#3 Record ‘separate audio files’ for each speaker, host, or panelist in the presentation

If you have a host or a co-presenter there will be content in the session that’s not yours. Having separate audio recordings lets you use only the audio that was from your part of the presentation.

You can enable this in Preferences > Recording.

#4 Enable the ‘non-verbal feedback’ feature to allow audience interactions

Cool zoom feature #4 – enable non-verbal feedback.

To make your presentations interactive you can enable the non-verbal feedback feature. This allows participants to express reactions to your presentation.

This is not to be confused with ‘meeting reaction emojis’ which are temporary reactions that disappear after 5 seconds. To be honest, it’s hard not to be confused when there are two sets of interactions with different names.

Non-verbal feedback is for direct feedback to the speaker or host that others can agree with by clicking the same icon. The result is that the speaker can see how many people are expressing the feedback.

The options for non-verbal feedback are shown in the image below:

An example of how this would be used in a presentation is to ask the speaker to speed up or slow down. This might seem like a weird thing to be told during your talk, and if it’s just one person asking you’d most likely ignore it. But if 50 people are saying to slow down, that’s a pretty good indication that your current presentation style isn’t working for them.

It provides a pretty amazing insight – something I wish I’d had that feedback during an on-stage talk.

You can also use it to ask binary questions to the audience that they can respond yes or no to – a great way to segment the audience so you can tailor your content based on their responses.

Combine this feature with a QTINTA audience participation question for a really engaging experience. You’ll have to watch the video to know what QTINTA means.

#5 Use the Zoom ‘beauty mode’ to soften your appearance

Zoom includes a “Touch up my appearance” filter in the “Preferences > Video” settings, which gives your skin a softer appearance. There’s a slider that lets you control how much it applies the effect. It can look weird if you crank it too much, but having just a little can really help – especially if you’re looking a big bedraggled.

Settings are maintained when you quit so you can expect to look the same way every time.

#6 Use Zoom ‘video filters’ to add a cinematic high-contrast appearance

We’re all familiar with Zoom backgrounds, but a more impressive feature in my mind are the video filters. You can access them via the “Stop Video” dropdown arrow. Yes, there are some silly ones which can be funny when in a meeting, but for presenting stick to the non-silly ones. They can help improve the quality of your on-camera look. I particularly like the first option “Boost” which kicks your contrast up a notch removing any bland washed out lighting, it also removed some warmer tones which I like as it reduces the redness I often have in my skin.

You can see that it increases the contrast but also cuts down on the redness in my face.

Unlike the “Touch up my appearance” feature, your video filter settings are not maintained between sessions, which is a frustrating extra step each time if you found a setting you like.

#7 Encourage attendees to use ‘side-by-side mode’ to view you and your slides

This can be a good setting if you want to make your talk feel more personal. It shows your camera video beside your slides, and viewers can resize the videos as they see fit.

It can be a good idea to point this out as not everyone will know.

E.g. “You should be viewing this presentation in side by side mode so you see me and the slides. If you want to make the slides bigger (or smaller) you can resize them by dragging the slider between my video and the slides.”

#8 Use Zoom ‘annotations’ to mark up your slides live, or a ‘whiteboard’ for a blank canvas

A really cool feature of Zoom is Annotations. This lets you write or draw on top of the screen you are sharing. Once the feature is activated , you can access it from the menu at the top when you are sharing your screen.

This is really helpful when you have a complex slide and you want to focus people’s attention on different areas of the screen as you talk. When presenting live on a stage you can gesture towards a particular area, but it’s not as easy in a virtual presentation which is why it’s handy.

There is also a Whiteboard feature that gives you, well, a whiteboard. This could be useful if you find that you need to dig into a point you’re making in a more detailed way or discover during your talk that you need a different way to explain it.

You might want to take a quick screenshot when you’re done if you happened to get some interesting ideas marked up.

Rock open a whiteboard and sketch a diagram. Having a tablet and pen would be very helpful for this, versus trying to draw with a mouse. It might be wise to use the non-verbal feedback feature to get folks to say “Yes” to a “Let me know if you’re ready to move on” question.

Note, this is a screen sharing feature, so in order to get to the whiteboard, you need to stop sharing your screen, then share once more but choose Whiteboard as the option. Then you’ll have to stop sharing and share your slides again. Make sure you’ve practiced this if you think you’ll be using it.

#9 Use ‘closed captions’ to increase the accessibility of your virtual presentation and video recording

Zoom has transcription features that let you add closed captions to your session. You can do it manually for free, but that means someone will have to type them live, which is a pretty specific skill to have, and requires someone to do it for you.

If you have a paid Zoom account (roughly $20/month) live transcriptions are included. An alternative is to integrate with a platform like Otter.ai, to add closed captions in real time. You can also use Otter for transcribing any other audio or video files you have which makes it a much better value.

There are several reasons why closed captions are a good thing to do.

• No headphones: if an attendee doesn’t have or forgot their headphones and they’re in an environment where they can’t have the volume on, closed captions are a life saver that could be the difference between them staying or leaving.
• Accessibility: Captions allow meetings to be accessible to all. For the deaf, hard of hearing, or non-native speakers, they are an absolute necessity to understand what’s going on.
• Attention and recall: closed captioning can increase the amount of your content that an attendee comprehends and remembers. This is because they are getting it using two senses, and you have to focus more intently when you are reading.

You can check out Otter here to set up live captions.

#10 Use Zoom ‘breakout rooms’ to split workshop participants into groups

Without question, one of the most popular Zoom features is Breakout Rooms. They are exactly as they sound, allowing you to break out attendees into separate rooms. This could be for hosting a multi-track event where there is a speaker in each breakout room, or more commonly it is to allow groups to work together away from the “Main Room” and then come back in to rejoin you as the speaker.

This is a wonderful feature if you are running workshops that require groups to work through some of your worksheets or tasks for example.

There’s a good demo of how to use Zoom breakout rooms here.

#11 Use a Zoom ‘waiting room’ to hold attendees before you let them in at the same time

Nobody shows up at the same time to a presentation, and you don’t always want to start until an acceptable threshold of attendees have arrived. Particularly if the beginning of your talk is fundamental to your big idea.

The waiting room is basically a holding area where attendees are listed as they show up. They get to see a simple welcome screen (annoyingly simple really – I’d much prefer to have the options to have a fully custom slide in there), and you can admit them one by one, or all at once, when you are ready to begin.

It also allows you to block people from entering, although for the most part there’s not much reason to do this when you are presenting to a large audience. Useful if someone becomes disruptive for any reason.

Caution: it’s very easy to forget about the waiting room and have people sitting around unable to get in after you’ve started. I recommend assigning this task to your co-host.

Cool Zoom Feature to Avoid – ‘Present with your PowerPoint or Keynote slides as a virtual background’.

This is an interesting feature that’s worth discussing both for why it’s cool and why it’s uncool.

What it does

Instead of a regular screen share, it takes your slide deck and sets it as the background much like any other Zoom background. As such it places a ‘mini you’ floating on top of the slides in cutout mode which is kinda fun. Kinda.

To access the feature (beta at time of writing) click the “Advanced” tab in the “Share Screen” popup, and select “Slides as Virtual Background”.

This is what it looks like from the attendee’s perspective. And yes, you appear twice on the screen. Once on top of your slides, and again beside them. Silly.

Note: you must download a local copy of your slide deck to your computer as it doesn’t connect to cloud-based slides.

If you have audio and video in your slides, checking the “Share Sound” option at the bottom-left of the share popup should make that transmit to the audience. However, it doesn’t. In fact I couldn’t get any video or audio to play at all.

There’s also a second “Split Video from Slides” option which kinda defeats the purpose. As you can see below, you are back with your regular background in a separate window, and you are only on the screen once.

With the split setting in place, it would be a fair to wonder why you’d use this feature as it looks just the same as the regular view.

There are however, a few key differences.

The major difference is that you don’t need to have your slides in fullscreen mode on your computer. In the screenshot below you’ll see that I’m looking at a Zoom window with my slides inside it. I can now move through my slides while having other windows open such as the chat and participant windows. This is actually pretty great as the audience doesn’t see your layout, they see what they would normally see.

A nice side effect of this setting is the audience won’t see the awkward moment at the start of your talk where your whole screen is visible until you start the slides.

Looking at the main window, you can clean up the view a bit by having attendee video off by un-checking “More > Allow Participants to Start Video” in the Participants panel, and then selecting “Hide non-video participants” from the “…” menu on one of the participant video boxes.

You can take it a step further if you select “Hide self view” from the … on your video thumbnail. This will give you a view of just your slides. As much as the layout annoys me (I’d rather pop the self view out to the side with the chat), it can be important to see yourself to make sure you’re not moving out of frame – particularly if you are speaking standing up.

However, at this point in the beta it’s just not usable enough to be a serious and professional solution because of a few technical failings:

• It’s buggy like most beta features are
• It doesn’t show any animations or slide transitions
• If you are recording the screen, the merge view while fun, is a little unprofessional looking
• Audio and video didn’t work at all for me, despite there being a setting to allow slide audio to work. I think this might be because the videos didn’t play.
• When you start the share it has to process the slides before it starts which causes a delay if you aren’t expecting it.

Overall, it’s a feature with some exciting elements, although to be perfectly honest, the good aspects are nothing to do with the feature itself, but are side effects. I’d prefer to see a new feature that allows you to avoid presenting in fullscreen to allow a much greater degree of presenter screen setup.

The chapter title says it all. Do these things and your virtual presentations will be better. If you don’t, your presentation won’t be better than the last one you did, missing an important opportunity grow your skills as a virtual presenter.

Seriously. Do these things.

#1 Test your slides from the ‘attendee perspective’ using another laptop or tablet

Your slides might look amazing on your retina laptop or 5K monitor, but not all screens are alike, and your super-detailed tiny-text “revolutionary new marketing method” process diagram might look more like a dot-matrix printout to someone with a lesser screen.

Viewing your slides on a smaller or alternative screen isn’t enough. You also need to view them on Zoom on that screen, because virtual presentation software tends to change things you wouldn’t expect.

The golden rule of presentation QA is to run through every slide on the platform you’re going to be delivering on (Zoom, GotoWebinar, etc.) watching out for the things below:

• Any virtual presentation platform will add small visual artifacts to the video stream—they’re imperfect degenerative medium where some quality will be lost in transmission. As a result, your slides will never be quite as sharp as directly viewing your slides.
• If you have audio in your slides, check that the audio levels are balanced and not too loud or quiet. Remember to also test it with headphones on as that’s a common listening scenario for your audience.
• If you have video in your slides it may not come across well when presenting virtually. There’s usually some lag or choppiness that makes it skip frames. This can make the audio look out of sync.
• If you have multiple slides with audio, set them at the exact same level so people don’t get deafened. A common problem in that scenario is that the attendees will turn down their audio if you blast them, and then the next time you have audio it’s too quiet to hear properly. Your presentation software will have a setting for the audio or video volume. The best way to make sure they are the same is to move your slides to be one after the other (you can reorder them afterwards), then step through them to gauge the balance.
• If you have complex animations or transitions, they may render more slowly or less smoothly when piped through Zoom and a wifi connection. If they don’t work the way you want them to, consider simplifying them (fewer animations) or removing them altogether – replacing them with static slides. You can still use a technique like the Progressive Reveal to create a pseudo animation effect.

To prevent an audio feedback loop when testing your audio and video slides, have your partner/friend/colleague be on the viewer/attendee side in another room.

Whatever your specific case is, there’s a good chance that on the viewer’s side it’s not as perfect. So double, triple, and quadruple check.

I guess you should also single check. Why does nobody say that?

“You should single check your work to make sure it’s awesome.”

The best way to QA is to record some video of it from the viewer’s perspective. Have your QA buddy record their screen (with audio). If you don’t have anyone to help you, just set up your extra laptop (hopefully you have one somewhere) in another room and record the screen from there. If you’re using a Mac, Quicktime is an easy way to get a recording. On a PC, you can use PowerPoint to do a screen recording (more on that later), or find some free screen recording software for a test.

If you do have a helper, you can also reverse roles where they present and you observe on their machine. This will give you the truest sense of what might need to be fixed. It’ll no doubt be quite hilarious to watch, unless they turn out to be better at it than you.

#2 Remove all hashtags from your slides

My typical advice regarding hashtags is to make sure you update them to use the current event’s hashtag if you’ve used this slide deck before. If you don’t it looks awful to the audience and makes them feel like you didn’t put in the effort to make a presentation just for them.

However, the main goal of this entire guide —primarily covered in chapters 10 and 11— is to ensure you create a professional-grade recording of your virtual presentation that you can repurpose over and over for multiple virtual events.

If you leave event hashtags in your slides they will be forever embedded in your recording, rendering it useless for re-use. And trust me, once you’ve created a high-resolution awesomely edited recording of your talk, you will feel amazing about it.

It may feel counterintuitive, but you should delete all the hashtags from your slides.

If the event mentions it and asks you why or asks you to include them, just politely let them know your rationale. I’ve found that many virtual events have interactive chat in the interface they use which tends to dilute the number of people hanging out on a Twitter hashtag anyway.

#3 Have a wired Internet connection

If attendees have a poor connection they can always leave and download the video and slides later on.

But the presenter is the one person who absolutely must have a great Internet connection, and the best way to do that is to have directly wired Ethernet.

A side benefit of this is that it will help you end the endless debate over who’s connection is causing the problem. I’m sure you’ve been in a meeting where someone suggests your Internet is slow, and you say yours is fine, and they say that theirs has been working brilliantly all week.

Just say “Yeah, but I have a hardwired Ethernet connection.” End of conversation.

If you don’t have a wired connection, work on getting one set up, and in the meantime tell your eager tech wannabe roommates NOT to reset the ******* wifi while you’re presenting.

#4 Have a backup audio input device

“Is this mic on? Can you hear me at the back?”

Sometimes your mic will stop working, and it’s one of the most uncomfortable panic-ridden things that can happen to a speaker (see When Things Go Wrong ). It could be a dead battery issue, or your headphone cable could be old and the internal wiring failed.

Whatever the cause, you need to have a way to deal with the problem.

If you are using a posh external mic that stops working, ditching it for the internal microphone of your laptop will likely degrade the audio quality significantly, but it’s better than nothing.

In a later chapter I do a deep dive comparison video about microphone options for virtual presenting .

Probably the simplest backup is another set of headphones. The classic Apple headphones are only $25 now. Make sure you get the ones with the 3.5mm jack, and not the lightning cable, (especially if you’re not an Apple person) as that’s only useful for your iPhone. And if you aren’t an Apple person, there are a million other options on Amazon.

However, be warned that these headphones are rife with audio problems such as noisy cables (you’ll need to sit still which sucks), and they should only be used on Zoom. When using them with any other audio recording software they have a horrific background hiss that destroys your audio, but Zoom’s noise removal feature (on by default) actually does a fantastic job of removing it, making them a viable last minute solution. Hopefully, you’ll never need to use them.

#5 Have a slide dedicated to encouraging non-verbal feedback

The non-verbal feedback feature of Zoom is a great way to make your talk more dynamic. But you don’t want to try and explain it in the middle of your talk as it’ll break the flow and screw up the fluidity of your recording.

Instead, consider which aspects of the feature you want to use, and have a slide at the start of your presentation (slide 2 for example) that focuses on this. You can quickly walk people through how it works, and tell them how you’ll be using it throughout.

#6 Have everyone muted by default

It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway. You don’t want attendees, whether it’s 5 or 500, to be chatting before or during your presentation. So this one is simple. Make sure you mute everyone. If you’re using your Personal Meeting ID you might have this already set up.

You can mute everyone in the Participants sidebar, or as a global default setting in the web portal administration settings “Settings > Schedule Meeting > Mute all participants when they join a meeting”.

#7 Wear confidence clothes

Just because you can present in your PJs it doesn’t mean you should present in your PJs. Treat it like an on-stage talk and get ready in your mojo outfit. You’ll gain confidence and look more professional.

Something I like to do when I’m on the road presenting, is lay out my clothes the night before. It helps me get in the right mindset and also saves time the next day when you might be stressing out.

#8 Close all of your other software to prevent your machine slowing down

Take a look at your computer right now and count A) how many different apps are running, and B) how many tabs you have open in your browser.

Here’s a screenshot of mine, for reference.

Tabs open in Chrome? 39. Apps open? 20

You need to be concerned about two things, the amount of memory and processing power being hogged by all the apps you have open, and the number of ways you might receive a notification during your talk.

For PCs running Windows 10, there’s a built-in function to silence notifications when presenting . But if you’re a Mac user the settings for this are horrendous (slightly better in Big Sur). Fortunately there’s a free app called Muzzle that silences all of your notifications as soon as you share your screen.

#9 Have two pre-made slides ready for Q&A at the end of your virtual presentation

It’s common for your host to ask questions that the audience has submitted in the chat window (or the Q&A window for Zoom Webinars) at the end of your session. The best way to utilize this opportunity—if you’re still in control of the screen—is to have two slides prepared.

The first slide should simply have Q&A written on it, really big.

The second slide should be a promo slide with a special offer you have.

I like to leave up the Q&A slide until the questions start, then flip it to the promo slide so it can sit there for the next 5-10 minutes. It’s a great way to have it visible for a long period of time without actually having to be salesy in your presentation.

It’s fairly common that an event organizer will ask you if you have something to promote, but if they don’t, ask them if it’s okay that you use a slide at the end like this.

#10 Build a background set to make your virtual presentations look professional

If you spend a lot of time on Zoom, instead of using a Zoom background, start thinking about how you can built a bit of a set where you do your presentations. Not only will it look more professional, but it will fill you with confidence and make you feel like you’re in presentation mode when you’re there.

I’m fortunate to have a space for my office/studio, and I’ve seen and felt the difference a well-designed environment makes when I show up to work. It took me months to get it right, so don’t think you have to suddenly have something perfect. Just chip away at it over time, turning on your webcam every day and giving a little thought as to how you can make the space more special. Small shelves with plants or books can work great, and Pinterest is definitely your friend for this type of thing.

Many folks won’t have a dedicated workspace to claim as your “stage”, but I’m pretty sure your significant other won’t complain if you make your home that little bit nicer.

Speaking of “stages”, I actually built a stage in my studio—almost burning down the house in the process —but that’s a story for another time. Like I said, it took months to get to this stage. I keep saying stage.

#11 Reboot your computer the night before your virtual presentation

Restarting your computer can help speed it up a bit, especially if you haven’t done it in ages. Any little performance advantage you can get is valuable for a live presentation. It will help clear out any processes that are stuck or hogging the CPU.

However, it’s best not to do this right before your talk, as you risk it doing some weird software updates that take hours to complete.

#12 Do a test Zoom meeting to check your camera angles and lighting

As Springsteen said in Dancing in the Dark—”I check my look in the mirror, I wanna change my clothes, my hair, my face.”—you should always check how you look on camera before the presentation starts. Adjust the angle of the camera for your most flattering look and the best view of your background, which of course is a well-decorated wall, and not a zoom background of a beach or mountaintop.

Make sure to turn on the lights you’ll be using to light your lovely face, wick away any sweat using blotting wipes, and apply some simple makeup to remove shiny reflections from your head. More details on those techniques in the lighting section .

Here’s the smart part, record your test meeting and play it back to make sure there are no weird things in the background, it’s often easier to analyze a recording as opposed to your webcam view.

#13 Double-check your audio for background noise

At the same time as your camera check, watch your test recording and listen very carefully for any noise in the background. You’ll be surprised at how oblivious you can be to background noise when you’re busy and/or nervous.

Sounds to watch out for:

• Laundry sounds: Depending on where your washer/dryer are it may not be an issue, but the low hum can travel far. Start a Zoom recording, making sure to use which ever audio (mic) input you plan on using, go turn on your washer or dryer or dishwasher, then come back and replay the recording to see if it’s discernible. Crank the volume to make sure. There is NOTHING worse than doing a badass presentation then finding out the recording is ruined by a persistent hum in the background, or the sound of someone’s hoody zip clattering round and round in the dryer.
• Tube lights: If you have any tube lights where you are recording, or even in a nearby room, turn them off. They can be soooo noisy. Then put in the effort to replace them with silent LED tube bulbs when you have time. It does require some rewiring, but it’s not that hard—I did it recently and I made sure to choose bulbs with the same colour temperature as the lights I’ll be using to light me up in the video–more on that in the A/V chapter .
• Ceiling fans: Another subtle and repetitive sound. Turn ’em off unless the resulting heat will make you sweat to the point of scaring the audience.
• Heating: Not all heating is noisy, but many houses in North America use what’s called forced air. It’s noisy. A low hum, yes, but it’s an audio killer.
• Noisy clothes: Your clothes can cause bad scratching sounds—even if you use a shotgun microphone that’s not attached to your clothes—which is an audio killer. What happens is that any loose clothing rubs against you when you gesticulate with your arms. Tighter clothes like a t-shirt are the solution to this. I go into more depth including a comparison video in What to do When Noisy Clothes Ruin Your Audio .
• Noisy shoes: if you’re wearing any kind of heels, they will cause irritating sounds if you shuffle your feet (while presenting standing up, which you should do). The simplest solution is to take them off and present in your socks (or bare feet).
• Analog watches: I’m kidding.

And make sure everyone in the house knows not to bother you while you’re presenting. If you are in a room with a door, hang a sign on it with the time of your event, and say not to disturb you until you take the sign off the door.

Guess what? Not every thing you can do as a virtual presenter is something you should be doing—I’m talking about you, speaker who likes to take a bathroom break while mic’d up, two minutes before the session starts.

Similarly, not every feature of Zoom has a positive impact on the audience or speaker experience. In this short and not-so-sweet chapter I’ll give you some tips about things to avoid so your talks go more smoothly.

#1 Don’t use a free Zoom account for your presentation

If you’re running the show yourself this is an important one. The free Zoom plan allows up to 100 attendees which is great, and more than enough for a small event, however there is also a 40-minute time limit, which would be very embarrassing if you didn’t know that and all of a sudden everyone gets kicked out of your virtual event.

#2 Try to avoid saying “Can you hear me?”

This is a classic intro statement that nervous presenters ask, but it makes you sound unprofessional. Instead, make a subtle change to how you position it, like this:

“Thanks {host name}, let’s get started, and let us know in the chat window if you have any issues hearing my audio.”

#3 Don’t use your laptop’s microphone if your webcam is sitting on an external monitor

When you do this, the laptop will be off to one side and your audio will be really quiet and sound like you’re in a different room.

#4 Don’t use stock photos in your slides

Just as you shouldn’t use a stock photo as the header background on your website, you shouldn’t use them in your presentations. To illustrate my point, it’s way too common for software companies to think it’s cool to use an overhead shot of a laptop and a coffee cup. It’s actually hilarious how prevalent it is. I recommend entering the URL of any image you’re considering using into tineye.com which will tell you how many times it’s been used.

If you absolutely have to use one, try hard to find one that’s not so widely used. Unsplash.com is a good resource for free photography that’s typically got less of a stock feel to it.

But all in all, the best way to avoid using stock photos is to develop an original content mindset (in chapter 6) .

#5 Don’t use a Zoom background. You heard me.

Zoom backgrounds can be fun in meetings, but when you’re presenting it can look unprofessional and can be really distracting. It can also make some of your head/hair disappear and speaking for myself, I need all the hair I can get.

#6 Don’t record the call without permission

This is a big no-no on certain types of call. For a presentation you can make a statement that it’s being recorded, as this is always helpful information for attendees to know (no permission needed) but if it’s a meeting with a client, customer, or coworker, you should be explicit that you are recording and why: “If it’s okay with you I’d like to record the call so I don’t miss any of the details.” This is important when you are a guest in an interview too. Asking for permission will add a level of trust and respect in the eyes of who you are asking – and in the very rare occasion that they say no, be graceful and say okay no worries. Then follow up with,”I may be taking notes throughout so bare with me if I’m scribbling”.

Also be aware, that if you  are recording the session, everyone on the other side will see a blinking “recording” signal in the top-left corner, so there’s no creeping allowed.

To recap, remember these rules when it comes to recordings:

• Meetings: Ask for permission, and don’t record if your guest is uncomfortable with it.
• Presentations: Let people know that it’s being recorded and that you will be making it available after. Ideally after some post-production enhancements in chapter 11.

#7 Don’t be the host if you might leave early

This is a nightmare as the other participants are suddenly without a meeting and they might not know why. Then they have to re-coordinate to set up a new meeting, which is always a chore and often involves Slack or text messages or even worse, emails.

Intro Introduction to Virtual Presentations on Zoom

Chapter 1 18 Cool Zoom Features You Should Know About

Chapter 2 12 Things You Should Do in Your Zoom Presentation

Chapter 3 8 Things You Shouldn’t Do in Your Zoom Presentation

Chapter 4 Defining Your Presentation’s Purpose

Chapter 5 How to Define Your Talk’s Structure, Story, & Flow

Chapter 6 41 Slide Design Tips for Virtual Presentations

Chapter 7 6 Ways to Make Eye Contact With an Invisible Audience

Chapter 8 How to do Audience Participation in a Virtual Presentation

Chapter 9 How to Share Content during a Zoom Presentation

Chapter 10 How to Create a Stunning Video and Audio Recording

Chapter 11 Using Post-Production to Add Value to Your Zoom Recording

Chapter 12 How to Use Your Phone as a Beautiful Webcam

Chapter 13 What to Do When Things go Wrong in Your Presentation

Chapter 14 How to Ground Yourself and Get Ready to Present

Chapter 15 Advanced & Creative Zoom Presentation Techniques

Chapter 16 The Difference Between Zoom Meetings and Zoom Webinars

Chapter 17 23 Zoom Settings to Enable or Disable for a Smooth Presentation

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CAUSE AN EFFECT

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How to give a professional presentation in Zoom

You have a presentation scheduled in Zoom – a common sight since 2020. But as it’s a pretty new phenomenon, you’ve probably seen it done badly more often than not (we certainly have..). How can you avoid that from happening to you? Don’t worry: The Online Scientist is here to help.

Use our tips and tricks to avoid the most common blunders when presenting in Zoom, and to enhance the success of your online talk! If you get comfortable with it, you will probably enjoy presenting online just as much as you do in an auditorium full of people.

Design a clear and beautiful presentation

Just like with any other presentation, the success of a Zoom presentation starts with the preparation. This is so basic and important that we’ve written an entire book on the subject: Cause an Effect . Were you planning to design slide after slide with bullet points that you’re going to read out loud? If so, we can almost guarantee that your audience sneaks off to check Twitter or the news. Use the tips from our book to come up with a good story and nice slides without too much text. Or: present without PowerPoint slides if you can.

Prevent accidental faulty clicks

No, this is not about your audience clicking away from your presentation. This is something that could happen to the best of presenters: instead of clicking the right arrow for the next slide, you click on the END button that takes you to the end of your slide deck. Awkward! A solution for this is to use a remote control for your presentation, even when you’re at home (we like this remote control by Logitech for example). It ensures that you don’t have to rely on your keyboard, and that gives peace of mind when you’re telling your story.

Be up to date and unavailable

Make sure that you’re up to speed technically: install the latest Zoom update in time for your presentation. But then, close all the tabs of your browser and other software running on your computer: an e-mail pop-up or calendar notification is not very professional…

Same goes for your phone: put it in flight mode, so you can’t be distracted nor disturbed during your talk. Finally, take care not to select the time of your Zoom meeting for any deliveries!

Put your phone on silent, and close all other programs.

Check your Zoom settings

Take your time to explore all the settings in Zoom – maybe you’ll run into something useful (and no.. we’re not talking about that feature that gives you blue lips, new eyebrows or a Santa hat). Useful functionalities are background noise reduction, lighting effects for your camera, or whether or not you want to enter any Zoom call muted and with camera turned off to see if it all works. By the way, it might be good to do this periodically, because new and handy features are added all the time.

Test your audio and video

This is also quite basic: your presentation will be better if people can see and hear you properly. Thankfully, you can test your audio and video quite easily on the Zoom website: https://www.zoom.us/test

Make sure bad audio or video can’t distract from your story

Are the webcam, speaker and microphone you have in your laptop of sufficient quality? Maybe it’s possible to increase the quality of your audio or video by using an external webcam and/or microphone. If you have online meetings more regularly, a headset, lavalier microphone or even a studio microphone might be an investment to think about. If you’ve heard more than once that you should speak louder during online meetings, then definitely take this into consideration.

Check whether you’re presenting during a meeting or a webinar

If you’re invited to present but don’t organize the meeting itself, it’s good to check the format of the event. Is it a Webinar (during which you have no interaction with the audience besides the chat function) or is it a Meeting (during which the audience can participate actively)?

Furthermore, it’s good to check how the event is set up. Is there a waiting room so that everyone enters the meeting simultaneously, or do people enter whenever they join the session? In the latter case it’s good to have a first slide up that shows information about the meeting. Another question is who will take care of the questions in the chat? Are you doing that yourself? Or do you interact with the meeting host who does it for you?

Which options for interaction are there? Is the chat turned on? Will there be break-out rooms? Does the audience have access to hand raise, reactions, annotations or whiteboard? It would be a waste if you’re counting on a whiteboard, and the setting isn’t turned on.

Change your Zoom screen name

Another thing you can change in the settings. Nobody is logging on to see ‘Karen’s iPad’ speaking! For extra clarity you could add “Speaker” behind your name to make sure people know right from the introduction who you are and that you are the one presenting.

Change your name! Nobody wants to see a presentation by ‘Karen’s iPad’

Arrange proper lighting

Find two lamps, preferably lamps that you can adjust the brightness of, and that provide diffuse light. Put them on either side of your laptop or camera, or, if you only have lamps with direct light, aim them at the wall you’re facing while presenting. This setup will ensure that you are well-lit from two sides, without sharp contrasts or shadows. An easy alternative option is to turn up the brightness of your second screen; this will also light up your face a little (tip if you do this: find a yellowish website or image to show on that screen, so the light will be softer than a bright white Google Search homepage for example).

Put your camera at eye level

As you can see above, it looks odd if you’re looking down at everybody while presenting. It’s not a very flattering angle for your (double) chin, and your background will only be interesting to ceiling fans. If you put your webcam at eye level you look at your audience and not down on them – not just unflattering but also not a nice sensation for the viewers. Even better is the next tip:

Present standing up!

Your energy levels are much higher when you are standing up to present. Consider the opposite: can you imagine doing a live presentation from a chair? It’s not professional nor engaging to watch a slouched speaker. Be inventive: if you don’t have a standing desk, shelves or cupboard, put a crate, stool, block or stack of books on your desk and put your laptop on top of it! But don’t forget the tip about eye level. If you’re not able to present standing up, you can boost the energy level of your talk by using your hands.

Present standing up for a high-energy presentation.

Check your internet connection

You’re trying to wrap up your talk with a closing statement that sweeps everybody off their feet, but….your connection falters. What a waste of momentum! To prevent this, it’s best to connect your computer using a cable instead of WiFi. If this is not an option, free up your connection by making sure your housemates aren’t using Netflix, putting your phone in flight mode, and turning off WiFi-heavy appliances.

Clean up your room!

Any speech can lose some of its luster when there’s a pile of dirty laundry in the background. Our rooms are not spotless – we’re only human – but when we present, we look for flattering angles not just for ourselves but also for the room. We turn the camera towards a wall, where we’ve created a little scene with plants and a colorful painting. An entirely white wall may seem ideal, but we think it’s a bit boring. A featureless wall reminds us of a badly designed dorm room, which is not what you want to associate with the star of the meeting! Nothing wrong with a bit of smoke and mirrors… But:

The ideal background is one that doesn’t distract from your talk.

Do you have pets? Make sure they can’t just come in (or scratch the door for ages trying to get you to open the door). A goldfish might be the only exception to this rule (do trim its nails beforehand).

Pros and cons of virtual backgrounds

If it so happens that you’re presenting from your daughter’s room in front of pink unicorn wallpaper, a virtual background might be something to consider. Zoom has a few backgrounds available, but so does Canva . Or perform a search for copyright-free “Office backgrounds” on Unsplash or Pexels . Do check if the setting doesn’t end up providing a very unnatural perspective; it looks a bit strange if you’re not sitting behind a table, but in front of it:

Don’t pick a tropical island or NASA photo as virtual background – unless you actually are a surfer or astronaut (respectively).

Watch out though: virtual backgrounds have one MAJOR disadvantage. If you’re not sitting in front of a green screen or very uniform background, or if the lighting is insufficient, then it will look very strange if you move your hands. Just look at the video below. If you use your hands as much as we do during a presentation, it’s not really an option without distracting your audience.

Dress to impress (like a professional)

Wear your nicest clothes, it’s as simple as that. We don’t get that many opportunities to show our best side anymore, so it’s most likely a welcome break from the eternal sweatpants/onesie situation. Show off that power-suit, that nice dress, the excellent jacket! It helps to choose clothes that contrast with your background. Go easy on the jewelry though, because dangling earrings, necklaces or a bracelet scraping the desk scan make quite the ruckus (especially if your microphone is also on there).

Share the right window (the most common mistake)

By now, you have probably encountered a presentation during which the speaker made the error of not sharing the PowerPoint Slide Show, but the editing window including the notes. It’s quite sloppy and – worse – distracting. Besides that, it made the slides smaller on screen and therefore harder to read.

How to prevent this? When you go to Zoom and select ‘Share screen’, you see all your open tabs and windows. This is where it often goes wrong: you accidentally select the PowerPoint presentation without it being in presenting mode.

So, make sure you put your presentation in presenting mode FIRST (using F5 or F8 or a similar button). Then go to Zoom and share your screen. If you do it like this, you see three options for PowerPoint (as shown below). There is a subtle difference: one is your editing window, one shows the presentation notes, and one is called PowerPoint Slide Show . This last one is the right one; it shows your presentation in its entirety.

Organize your windows and screens

When you turn on your PowerPoint presentation mode, it automatically maximizes your PowerPoint window to fullscreen. But then you don’t see Zoom anymore, so the chats and participants are hidden and you can’t see what everyone’s doing. This can be very annoying if you’re not prepared for this.

It’s good practice to organize your windows and screens so that they are next to each other (you may have to make the windows smaller for this). Do this right after you start to share your screen, perhaps during the introduction. This allows you to simultaneously see your presentation including notes, the participants’ video (or yourself if you like), and the chat. Now you have a complete overview of all that is important!

Make use of the handy features in PowerPoint and Zoom

Since you can’t use a real laser pointer when presenting online, you could use the laser pointer function in PowerPoint instead. You can even highlight text, or write in your presentation while you’re presenting. Keep in mind though, that if you think you really need a laser pointer to do your presentation, the real problem could be that you have too much text or data crammed on your slides…

Note that highlighting, pointing, and writing in your presentation is also possible in Zoom. If you have shared your screen, you see the “Annotate” function in your view. If you unfold that, you see all kinds of options to draw or write on the screen, or to highlight information. In the example below, you see how you can use stamps to put little hearts in your presentation. And your audience can do this too! It’s a really nice feature to use in interactive exercises (for example: use those heart stamps to vote for a correct answer or favorite design). It’s a great way to keep your audience engaged too.

Interactive presentations are appreciated more!

Plan for low-threshold interaction

Tell your audience at the beginning of your presentation whether you have time for questions at the end. Do you prefer interaction at the end? Remind them during your presentation that they can put their questions in the chat. This puts your audience at ease because they know you will deal with their questions, and also allows you to get going with the questions right away when you’re ready, instead of awkwardly waiting for the first question to pop up.

If you prefer to have more feedback, you can ask the participants to react during the presentation using the available icons (clap, thumbs up, heart, smile, etc). Compared to a live talk there is very little visual feedback to go on otherwise, so this might be good to have, but to be honest it can be distracting too.

Another kind of reaction can be found in the “Participants” menu: f.i. Yes/No replies, hand raise, thumbs up/down, coffee break icons. You can use these for creative moments of interaction to keep your audience attentive (though actual coffee might work better sometimes)

Wrap up with a call to action

What do you want people to do after your presentation? Do you want them to follow you on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram? Do you want them to use a hashtag? Do you have a book, workshop or course you want them to purchase? Whatever it is – let them know!

So, NO slide with that 3D guy with the red question mark (or his confused Clipart colleague – you know who we mean!). It doesn’t add anything for anybody. If you have a round for questions, put your name, social media handles and/or website on screen, so that participants have the time to write it down.

At the end of the day (or presentation), what do you want people to do or remember? End with that!

If you have a presentation that you give more often, and you know from experience that there are more questions than time to answer them, you can give your audience a hand-out PDF afterwards. In the hand-out you can put the most frequently asked questions with answers. It’s also good practice to share a website on which you collect all the tips and resources from the presentation. Announce this at the beginning, so that participants don’t have to take notes. Note: it’s not advisable to share the slides from the presentation, because they were (or shouldn’t be) designed as hand-out, but as a visual support for your spoken words.

Why Zoom is (or can be) so much nicer than a live presentation

If you consider the options, online presentations using Zoom are a really nice development. You have your notes at hand, and you can set it up so that you feel most comfortable and supported. You also have more options for interactivity online, and it also provides a lower threshold for those who are uncomfortable in the spotlight; they can just ask a question in the chat. It allows for people from all over the world to see you speak, and you can do it from the comfort of your own home. We don’t all relish in the attention of being center-stage in a huge auditorium… Although the downside is that the informal drinks afterwards are much better in person.

Are you ready to start making beautiful slides as well? Then buy our e-book on designing clear science presentations for just 10 euro!

Curious to see what else you can learn about making great presentations? Check out our workshop series where we inspire you to design beautiful presentations and write better stories.

About the Author: Liesbeth Smit

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More From Forbes

5 ways to make zoom presentations engaging and irresistible.

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Dry. Dull. Boring. Exhausting. Painful. Waste of time. Forgettable. Those are the words and phrases that came up when I asked people this question: What word would you use to describe the Zoom Presentations/webinars you attend?

And it’s true, most webinars are likely to be uninspiring … and forgotten shortly after you attend them. They aren’t wildly engaging, and their impact on your success is likely minimal. One thing that impedes their ability to wow is that they aren’t very different from other meetings you attend online. Also, those who create and deliver online presentations neglect the importance of understanding the medium. Online presentations have to do a lot more work to captivate you simply because:

• The screen is a poor substitute for a real person standing in front of you
• The temptation to multitask is heightened
• Participating by yourself reduces the energy and emotional connection
• Other things we watch on these very same screens—from Netflix to YouTube videos—have very high production value

To counteract the challenges that this medium imposes, consider these five enhancements:

1. Sizzle from the start

If your opening is similar to the one from the meeting your audience attended an hour before your presentations, you’ve already lost them. You need to make it clear from the moment you kick off that this is going to be different. Fun. Engaging. Valuable. Interesting. First impressions are so important. Now that everything has moved online, your presentation is being lumped into the five other meetings and events that your audience is participating in each day. You need to dazzle your audience from the very first second of your presentation. Make your start surprising, and your viewers will sit up from their slouch and take note.

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2. Banish the bullet

If the slides you’re presenting have more than 15 words on them (I challenge you to have 12 or fewer), you’re adding an extra helping of the ingredient called boring to your webinar. Bulleted slides are not effective for inspiring people or engaging them in your content. If you have information you want to share that requires the use of lots of words, make it available as a supplemental resource. Nothing says “it’s time to tune out” like a slide with 10 bullets on it. Think tantalizing tweet, not wordy whitepaper. When you do display words, use 32-point font or greater on every slide. This provides two huge benefits: First, it ensures you can’t get too many words on the slide. And second, it makes it easier for participants to see. Your slides are small on the devices of your audience members—especially if they’re using their phone.

3. Fluctuate the format

When you’re delivering a presentation online, you have to deal with one major challenge that’s much less prevalent in live sessions: the temptation to multitask. When you’re physically in a room of people, they’re less likely to answer an email while you’re presenting. But when you’re delivering online, it’s almost an invitation to multitask; after all, the device they’re watching you on has all these other tools to keep them busy: email, Instagram, instant messaging. That’s a lot of competition. To keep people from checking out other things on their device, you need to keep things dynamic. The best way to do this is to vary the way you convey your content. Move between stories, information, data, models, formulas, lists, etc. In fact, change the content format every two to four minutes to keep things dynamic and magnetic.

4. Heighten the humanity

If you’re delivering a presentation from a stage, it’s automatically more visceral and emotionally compelling. When you’re beamed onto someone’s laptop or phone thanks to the power of the internet, your humanity is diluted. The screen they’re watching you on serves as a scrim to suppress your scintillating style. To counteract that, you need to amp up the energy, double the empathy and exaggerate your expressions. Just don’t overdo it. You don’t want to seem like a parody of yourself like this.

5. Maximize the media

You’ve heard that a picture is worth a thousand words, and according to Gartner Research, one minute of video is worth 1.8 million words. When you use rich media, you make your presentation more persuasive and potent. And you make it much more visually interesting too. So as you build your presentation, ask yourself: Where can I replace words with pictures and video? Then go through it again when it’s done and ask the question again. Your audience will thank you for replacing the 26 letters of the alphabet with meaningful, magnetic media.

You need to be more deliberate when you deliver a virtual presentation if you want to have real impact on your audience. When you build and deliver your presentation with these five elements in mind, you’re sure to stand out, make your mark and add a giant deposit to your personal brand bank.

William Arruda  is a founder of  CareerBlast  and co-creator of  BrandBoost  - a video-based personal branding talent development experience.

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How to Share PowerPoint Presentations in Zoom Webinar Meetings in 2024 (+Video)

If you're one of the millions of new users, you might be wondering how to share PowerPoint presentations on Zoom. With the help of this tutorial, you'll learn how to create a Zoom PowerPoint presentation and share it with your audience.

This tutorial has all the essentials. First, you'll see resources to create great presentations that work perfectly as Zoom webinar PowerPoints . Then, you'll see tips to use PowerPoint share screen features to show your presentation.

Your Quick Start Guide to Sharing PowerPoint Presentations in Zoom (Video)

Are you ready to learn more about sharing PowerPoints in Zoom? Watch this quick screencast to learn all about Word Headers and footers.

Or study the complete written tutorial below.

Why to Host a Successful PowerPoint Zoom Presentation Online

New ways of working require re-thinking collaboration. Zoom presentations are a great way to pull everyone together, even while working remotely.

When you're hosting a teleconference, you need an excellent way to share content. Only talking through your points might bore the audience. Package your information into a PowerPoint Zoom for a more engaging way to explain your ideas.

Here are three critical reasons that PowerPoint and Zoom are the perfect pair:

• Data comes to life . Can you imagine simply explaining statistics? Data rules the world, but it needs visuals to come to life. Giving a Zoom presentation online is better with charts in PowerPoint.
• Teams can collaborate in real-time . Thanks to Zoom's audio and video features, presentations are collaborative. Work together in real-time instead of sending the deck back-and-forth.
• Ideal for training . Thanks to the record feature, your PowerPoint presentation can become a helpful training resource. Just record your Zoom webinar PowerPoint and re-use it for those who couldn't attend.

Learn more about the essential parts of creating professional slide decks that work well as Zoom PowerPoint presentations below:

How to Share PowerPoint on Zoom

Every setup differs. We're going to cover two of the most popular arrangements. First, you'll learn how to use PowerPoint share screen features in a window. Then, we'll tackle full-screen shares with Zoom PowerPoint presenter view.

In this tutorial, you'll see screenshots that use the Cubix Professional PowerPoint template . It's polished and ideal for a Zoom meeting with PowerPoint. It's got all the essentials you need for a professional presentation.

How to Configure for Successful Zoom PowerPoint Presentations

No matter how you want to share your screen, there are a few Zoom settings you'll want to configure and confirm. There's nothing worse than wasting time when you start your meeting changing settings.

Let's get started:

Open Zoom and PowerPoint. You'll need both apps running to share the presentation software on a Zoom screen.

Now, let's walk through a few Zoom settings to ensure that your PowerPoint share screen works perfectly. Click on the  Settings  icon (gear icon) on the presentation software Zoom screen. 

If you plan to use your webcam, start on the  Video  section. Make sure that your webcam is working and selected. Mainly if you use an external webcam, checking this is essential. You don't have to turn it on for every call, but it helps to know your hardware is working.

Now, let's switch to the  Audio  pane. For the best results, I highly recommend using a source other than your built-in microphone and speakers. Using even your Bluetooth earbuds or a headset is typically much better than integrated hardware for a presentation software Zoom screen.

An important step on how to present PowerPoint on Zoom is to check your speakers and microphone.  Make sure to set your speakers and microphone using the drop-down options.  Then, click on Test Speaker  and  Test Mic  to confirm the options. This is sure to make your Zoom presentation online more professional.

1. How to Share Your PowerPoint Presentation on Zoom

Let's learn how to share PowerPoint on Zoom on a single screen setup. This is helpful if you're working on a laptop, for example. This setup works if you want to run PowerPoint in a window or full screen. 

To share PowerPoint on Zoom, you'll need to start a Zoom meeting (or join one that's already in progress.) Then, click  Share Screen  at the bottom of the window.

This next screen is an important one. It shows all the windows you've got open on your computer. Notice that there are two options to show your PowerPoint window. You could show the entire screen using the  Desktop 1  option. But it's best to select the PowerPoint window instead.

In the screenshot above, I've selected the Microsoft PowerPoint window. The advantage of this approach is that even if you drag and move your PowerPoint window around, it'll remain as the presentation software Zoom screen focus.

Also, sharing only your PowerPoint window avoids sharing too much of your screen. Many of us work with information that's at least somewhat confidential, and it's best not to share the entire screen. Use the rest of the screen to keep your notes or speaking cues in view.

That's it! Your screen share is live, and your audience can see it in real-time. Start the presentation on the  Slide Show  tab to kick off your Zoom presentation online.

2. How to Share Your Presentation On Multiple Displays

One of PowerPoint's most powerful features is  Presenter View,  which is ideal to use on multi-monitor setups. When you use this feature, you can show your notes and slide previews on one screen. Let's learn how to use a Zoom webinar PowerPoint with this setup.

Use Zoom meetings and Presenter View as the perfect match. It's all about keeping your notes and cues in view so that you can present confidently.

Presenter View is full screen on both displays, so you'll want to start sharing in Zoom before you turn it on. Again, return to the Share Screen  option in Zoom. This time, choose  Desktop 1  or  Desktop 2,  depending on which screen you want to share on your Zoom presentation.

In PowerPoint for macOS, start Presenter view  from the  Slide Show > Presenter View  button. On Windows, make sure the  Use Presenter View  box is ticked on the  Slide Show  tab. Then start the presentation.

Once your presentation starts, you might need to  Swap Displays.  Make sure that you show your presentation screen and not the notes view. Click  Swap Displays  at the top of the notes view to switch the screen you're sharing.

PowerPoint on Zoom is better with this view. You've got everything you need to prompt your speaking, plus you can see upcoming slides.

Presenter View is more powerful for a Zoom presentation online when you use features like speaker notes. Learn how to create notes that stay in view with the help of this quick video:

For more tips on how to use the Zoom meeting Presenter View to its full potential, make sure to check out our guide below:

No matter which setup you prefer, Zoom and PowerPoint are a great combination. It's more effective than merely explaining the information while staring into the webcam, trying to remember all your details on the fly.

6 Design Slides for Great Zoom Presentations in PowerPoint

To lead a successful Zoom webinar PowerPoint, you need great-looking slide designs. The same principles for professional presentations apply to Zoom PowerPoint presentations, too.

Let's learn to design slides for your Zoom meeting with PowerPoint. We're going to continue working with Cubix in this section to create a fitting Zoom webinar PowerPoint.

Let's build three slides that would work well for a Zoom webinar PowerPoint. Build slides like these and pair them with our tips that show you how to share PowerPoint on Zoom. 

1. The Data-Driven Slide

Your audience is sure to appreciate showing data in your Zoom meeting with PowerPoint. But you'll lose attention during a Zoom webinar PowerPoint if you recite data and expect them to understand!

Instead, let's use slide 167 for a PowerPoint on Zoom that shows data visually. This stacked bar chart is the best option for a PowerPoint share screen session. Here's what to do:

• Update data . Sync your chart for your PowerPoint Zoom presentation. Right-click on the chart and choose  Edit Data in Excel  to update your data for your Zoom presentation online.
• Update the text . A simpler headline and supporting points are better for a Zoom presentation. Just type over the text box placeholders to match your content to prep for the Zoom presentation online.
• Simplify the takeaway.  A Zoom PowerPoint presentation needs to be decisive to keep your audience's attention. Simplify the takeaway at the bottom of the slide.

2. The Agenda Slide

Want to cut to the chase for a Zoom video presentation? Share the agenda from the get-go! It helps your audience know exactly where the Zoom presentation online is going and wastes no one's time. That commands attention.

Slide 425 is a great start, but the slide will really shine with a few customizations to match your purpose:

• Update the slide title.  Be clear that this is the slide for your Zoom webinar PowerPoint where you show the agenda. A simple title update makes the slide's intentions clear.
• Use your branding . Click on any of the shapes or objects, then use the  Shape Format > Shape Fill  drop-down option to change the shape color.
• Update the text . Use each of the key points on the timeline to set a key milestone in the Zoom webinar PowerPoint you're giving.

3. The Device Slide

Rounding out slides for our Zoom meeting with PowerPoint, let's create a device mockup that shows an app in action. Skip the high-cost photoshoot and use a device mockup for a Zoom presentation online instead!

Slide 66 already has a smartphone image that works perfectly for a Zoom video presentation. Here are three updates to bring it to life:

• Add a device image . Grab a screenshot of your app, then add it to the placeholder. Right-click on the placeholder and choose  Format Background,  then point it to your screenshot image.
• Simplify the text . Busy slides never work well for Zoom presentation online events. Remove the text at the bottom, then move the key points to the space that's left.
• Type over placeholders . The text is already perfectly formatted, just type over the boxes to make it your own.

4. Title Slide

The title slide of your Zoom PowerPoint presentation is important because it will give your audience a little preview of your presentation. The title slide should include important details such as:

• company name
• presenter name
• presenter job title
• presentation date

Slide one works well for a title slide. Here’s how to make it a customized title slide:

Replace the title . There's a placeholder title on it already, so you’ll need to replace that one. Just highlight the placeholder text and press Delete on your keyboard. Next, click inside the text box and add your text.

Add your logo . To add your logo, you need to click on the Insert tab. Next, click on the Pictures button in the toolbar. Then double-click on your file to add it to your slide. Adjust your logo.

Add your name, job title, and date . You’ll need to create a new text box to add this information. To add a new textbox, click on the Insert tab. Next, in the toolbar, click on the Text box button. Use your mouse to draw the text box. Click inside the text box and start typing.

5. Team Slide

The team slide would typically come shortly after the title slide in your Zoom PowerPoint presentation. This slide showcases the employees who worked on the project you’re sharing on PPT on Zoom. This slide should include the following:

• each team member's headshot
• team member's name,
• team member’s title
• what they did for the project

Slide 49 can be used as a team slide. If you've got more than three members in the team, slides 46, 47, 48, and 50 can also be used for team slides. Here are some customizations you can make to create your PowerPoint on Zoom:

Add the team member’s pictures . First, right-click on the image placeholder to add your team member's image. Then, after right-clicking, choose the Change Picture option. Next, locate your image file and double-click on your image file.

Add their title and description . To add the team member's title and team contribution, highlight the placeholder text that's already there and press Delete on your keyboard. Next, click inside the text box and add your text. You can also add a text box by clicking on the Insert tab and then clicking on the Text Box button.

Change the graph on the screen . To change the percentages in the graph, click on them until you see green handles. Then, drag the green handles to the percentage that you want. Of course, you’ll need to change the percentage text yourself manually.

6. Q&A Slide

If your Zoom PowerPoint covers a complicated subject or a new product, consider having a Q&A slide. This slide gives you the option to answer any questions your audience may have. You can also use this opportunity to recap your presentation. Slide 511 can be used as a Q&A slide. Here are the customizations you’ll need to make:

Delete the placeholder text . Get rid of the text that comes on the slide. Highlight the text and press Delete on your keyboard. Also, remove the placeholder text in the background.

Add a textbox . Go to the Insert tab and click the toolbar's text box button. Next, draw a textbox in the middle of the screen and click inside to add your text.

Make the text larger . After adding your text, highlight it and click on the Home tab. The font size is in the toolbar, Next to your current font. Click on the arrow next to the current font size and choose the font size that you want.

Where to Find Top PowerPoint Templates for Your Next Zoom Presentation

Let's check out a resource to help you give an excellent Zoom webinar PowerPoint. With the help of pro designs from Envato Elements, you can source designs that are perfect for Zoom presentations online .

Envato Elements has an incredible offer. One subscription gives you unlimited access to PowerPoint templates and so much more. That's sure to help your Zoom video presentation look its best and succeed in reaching your audience.

Start Sharing on Your Zoom Meeting With PowerPoint Today

Zoom and PowerPoint are two top tools, and they're better when you pair them together. Now that you've learned how to share a PPT on Zoom try using Zoom next time you need to present.

Before you start your online meeting, don't forget that your Zoom video presentation is better when you work with professional PowerPoint templates. It's better with unlimited downloads. 

Before we go, here's one more reason to use a Zoom PowerPoint presentation: you can skip webcam footage of yourself ! That's sure to convince you to use PowerPoint on Zoom. 

Why not download your favorite Zoom PowerPoint presentation template now? Start building your next Zoom presentation.

Editorial Note : This tutorial was last published in November of 2020. It's been reviewed and updated for accuracy by Sarah Joy . It's also been revised to include a video—with special help from Andrew Childress .

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How to prepare to a Zoom virtual presentation: quick tutorial and recommendations

What is a virtual presentation.

Virtual presentations might be a real torture. The audience is already tired of video calls: you can hardly see them; everybody’s on mute and waves in sad silence, waiting till the Zoom online presentation is over.

In the new reality, virtual PowerPoint presentations are necessary to organize teams, present the company to new clients, give pitches to new investors, etc. To win this race, you should master the Zoom presentation development if it belongs to your duties. However, if you lack time, it’s always better to contact a professional presentation design service to design winning virtual slides for you while you concentrate on more important tasks.

In this article, we’ll reveal virtual presentation peculiarities, explain how to make a virtual presentation that stands out, and give tips for presenting on Zoom successfully.

How to Present a PowerPoint on Zoom?

Speaking the truth, people have low expectations regarding online presentations. It is to encourage you because it means there is a large window of opportunity to shine in the online presentation world. Indeed, it is easier to impress people who expect little. Therefore, presenting Google slides on Zoom can even become your favorite activity.

Be Confident in Your Speaking

When you can bring confidence and energy to your Zoom virtual presentation, it’s half the battle. To win it, you should speak enthusiastically, so choose a topic that drives you. Dry topics exist but always try to select or transform them into something engaging, thrilling, or provocative, giving 110% of your energy.

PRO TIP: Using hand gestures to communicate during your presentation Zoom will help release all extra energy. Also, acknowledge your feelings to the audience in an unalarming way. When you name a feeling, it loses control over you.

Preparing Before Presenting

What makes an online presentation so nerve-wracking? Yes, technology. So treacherous and unexpected. It means you should practice both your speech and the technical setup and, most importantly, get acquainted with how to make a Zoom presentation.

Our recommendations include the following:

• Run your presentation 3 to 5 times to get acquainted with all Zoom features and buttons.
• Practice it conversationally, and don’t read your word for word of your notes.
• Do not write your notes in full, long sentences; people see when you read them 🙂
• Create notes in bullet points to find the necessary points quickly.
• Practice speaking into the lens of your webcam, namely into people’s eyes.
• Do a technology test run: sound quality, lightning, and background.

And remember that nobody will punish you if you forget the word or take some time to calm down before speaking on Google Slides Zoom. We all are people who relate easily, so the only thing you can do to minimize the human factor is review professional tips for Zoom presentations and PRACTICE, PRACTICE, and PRACTICE.

4 Useful Zoom Presentation Tips for Virtual Presentations

A winning virtual presentation setup requires some life hacks. Many users need to catch up on functional Zoom possibilities, but effort and planning can drastically change your presentation. The following virtual presentation tips will elevate your Zoom presentation from a simple speech to professional artwork, so let’s find out how to start a virtual presentation below!

1. Use Stream Deck

The first virtual presentation tip on Zoom is to create real magic for a big audience. You can use the stream deck to switch between as many cameras as possible. Stream deck helps to ‘be on stage’ while holding:

• Zoom for large groups.
• Virtual keynote.

There are technical details to set it up, but the stream deck helps you create more than ‘sharing a screen’ with your PowerPoint in Zoom.

• You can program any video, picture, or graphic to pop up whenever necessary.
• You can easily illustrate important points or bring up some talking points you need to text on the screen.
• Zoom can automatically take out the green screen for you, and no extra extensions are required.

Using the stream deck is simple but amazing to take your visual presentation to a new level.

2. Add a Camera Box

The next one, no less important of virtual presentation tips Zoom, is not to leave the audience with static slides while talking. You have to share a full screen, but we advise you to add an image of yourself to keep in contact and remain engaging. Thus, the camera box helps to talk through slides and control how much you want to interact with the audience.

The most popular combination is the 50/50 look, with a graphic background filling the space. Indeed, it engages your audience directly while giving your slideshow.

3. Avoid Animation

Animation works well with regular PowerPoint presentations. You get the workaround if you want to design your Google slides differently.

For example, you can piece them out. It means you break them out slide by slide. Create separate slides for each individual ‘look’ if you want some animation effect. Basically, you create more slides instead of one slide with all the animations, which doesn’t work properly in Zoom.

4. Think About Your Environment

The setting you are in matters. When delivering an online presentation, think about your background. You don’t want anything too distracting, so avoid places like the kitchen with all the kitchen crap behind you. You want something plain that looks professional.

For example, you can use standard backdrops available and affordable on Amazon. If you’re going to be doing more online presentations, you should consider this a worthy investment.

Besides, think about how quiet the area is. In some circumstances, you can turn off the camera, but remember, the presentation is pointless if people cannot hear you clearly.

Close windows, turn the light on, and concentrate on slides — that’s the last but not least tips on how to give a virtual presentation from us today!

Nowadays, Zoom presentations have become one of the best ways we can communicate our plans and ideas to each other visually. So, it’s better to get accustomed quickly and impress your audience with the tips on how to do a virtual PowerPoint presentation and the recommendations we gave you today. If that’s not enough, and you still have a “How to do a presentation on Zoom?” question, contact our service for a free consultation and a PowerPoint presentation design to help you stand out!

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• Presenting techniques
• 50 tips on how to improve PowerPoint presentations in 2022-2023 [Updated]
• Present financial information visually in PowerPoint to drive results
• How to present a research paper in PPT: best practices
• Keynote VS PowerPoint

How to make a presentation interactive

• Business Slides

Introduce a new product idea in a presentation

The importance of visual storytelling in presentations (+ effective tips to consider)

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• The Benefits of Deep Breathing
• How to Calm Your Nerves Before Speaking
• Leadership Skills: The 5 Essential Speaking Techniques
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• The Body Language Rules: 12 Ways to be a More Powerful Speaker
• 4 Characteristics of an Influential Speaker
• 6 Skills Building Exercises for Effective Body Language
• 7 Tips for Overcoming Audience Resistance
• 5 Rules for Succeeding with PowerPoint
• Great Speaking? – It's About Performance Over Content!
• 5 Key Tools of Vocal Dynamics
• 5 Secrets of Powerful Body Language
• 10 Ways to Stay Fully Focused when Speaking
• 25 Words or Phrases to Avoid in Speeches and Presentations
• 6 Rules of Effective Public Speaking
• 7 Key Components of Successful Presentations
• 12 Easy Ways to Achieve Presence and Charisma
• 6 Skills Building Exercises Video

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"Be a voice not an echo." - Albert Einstein

The Best 'Tips and Tricks' for Starting a Zoom Meeting

How can you speak with high energy if it's your sixth video conference of the day? Here are the best tips and tricks for starting a Zoom meeting.

"The show must go on."

How many times have you heard those words? According to the Cambridge Idioms Dictionary , that's a “phrase used to convey the idea that an event or activity must continue even if there are problems or difficulties, with or without regard to actual show business.” [1]

Video conferences certainly aren't show business. But if they matter to you professionally and to your company's success (and they do) . . . well, the show must go on. No matter that you've been in front of your computer for hours and you barely have enough energy to sit up straight.

Want to make your Zoom meeting contributions fresh and interesting? Get my  Free e-book , "Essential Speaking Tips for Video Conferences."

If you were in the theater, the stage manager would rap on the dressing room door right about now and exclaim "Five minutes!" And you'd let everything else go and throw yourself into the performance that's about to begin.

So, where in the world do you get the energy to do so in a Zoom meeting? Let's talk about that.

Developing a Performance Mindset

The place you need to start is not in your body, but in your head. Recently, a client said to me: "You're always the same in our Zoom meetings. You always have the exact same level of energy." Well, I had never really thought about it, but I did at that moment. And I realized the answer was that for most of my life, I've been a professional performer.

For performers, "the show must go on," never needs to be stated. It's simply understood. You have a bad cold, and tonight you have to perform your 500th performance as King Lear? Too bad. Chances are you'd never mention the cold—or if you did, you wouldn't pair it in your own mind with the show. 

When you speak as a leader, you're in the spotlight. Discover how to shine! Download my Free cheat sheet , "Leadership Skills: The 5 Essential Speaking Techniques." 

This isn't to suggest that actors are more noble human beings than, say, business professionals. It's just that they understand a simple fact:  performances need a higher level of energy than everyday interactions. So you just gather yourself and do it. In every situation with other human beings, you're performing; and if anything, that fact should be more obvious in a video conference. You might say it's your fiduciary duty to give 100% of whatever you've got left to the discussion. Truly, your organization is depending upon you to do so.

How to Create a High-Octane Performance

Now we can get to the body. The good news is that you can put your performance mindset to work through some breathing and movement. 

You won't feel energized if you're not breathing properly—and unfortunately, few of us do when it comes to public speaking. Add to that the lethargy that can come from sitting down,  indoors , for long periods without any physical activity, and it's no wonder you run out of gas.

If you can, take five minutes and practice this amazing exercise for focusing yourself and getting more oxygen in your system . In these days of frazzled attention spans after endless meetings, anything that will steady and focus you is well worth a few minutes! Alternatively, go in the other direction (alternate the two between video meetings?) and move ! 

When you move, your muscles require more oxygen, so this is another way to kick-start yourself into a more active state. That includes your mind. Your brain needs the oxygen increase to help you think on your feet . . . or on your seat in this case. And there's nothing like even a modest amount of exercise to clear away those video-cobwebs.   

Time to Get Creative in Your Next Zoom Meeting

Once your brain has been reactivated, you can get creative about how to start a meeting with more pep and pizzaz. Some ideas:

• Go with something other than "Hi, hello . . . how are you?" Even "What's new?" isn't going to elicit much, since everyone has been stuck at home in front of their laptops. What could  be new? How about some of the greetings you would use if you were in the office?
• Set a rule: Whoever is hosting the meeting has to start off with an interesting fact. 
• Or the host has to share something from their own life, and everyone has to say whether they think it's true or made up. 
• Make a rule that the first five or ten minutes is chat-time, before the team gets down to business. Especially if everyone is in back-to-back meetings, this can be decompression time, as well as an opportunity to actually look forward to the meeting.
• Use virtual backgrounds. The pro version of Zoom allows you to use photographs or video clips. Some of them are really fun and will wake up people's attention.
• Be on the lookout for visuals you can share with the attendees. Or even consider using the occasional slide to break up your part of the discussion. We all respond to visuals.
• Tell stories. We respond just as strongly to them as we do to visuals. Don't bring in long time-consuming tales. But include a personal anecdote, customer experience, or something the team would appreciate hearing. It should perk them up, right quick! 

[1] Cambridge Idioms Dictionary (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006). Quoted on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_show_must_go_on .

You should follow me on Twitter   here .

Gary Genard  is an actor, author, and expert in theater-based public speaking training. His company, Boston-based  The Genard Method  offers in-person and online training to help executives and teams become extraordinary communicators. In 2020 for the seventh consecutive year, Gary has been ranked by Global Gurus as  One of The World's Top 30 Communication Professionals . He is the author of  How to Give a Speech . His second book,  Fearless Speaking ,  was recently named as "One of the 100 Best Confidence Books of All Time."  Contact Gary here . 

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7 Dynamic Ways to Start a Presentation [With Examples]

Of course, we’ve all been there as a speaker. First, we design a powerful presentation. Then, we nervously walk out onto a stage or into the front of the room. The audience stares with skepticism written all over their faces. This stoic crowd has no patience for speakers who waste their time. And their demeanor is showing that fact right now. In a timid voice, we start with a simple, “Good morning.” We get no response from the audience — no warm welcome at all. As a result, our nervousness increases dramatically.

The good news is that your speech doesn’t have to start this way. Your first words will create first impressions.

So, in this session, I’m going to give you the best way to start a successful presentation so you can win over the audience members. Below are a few of my favorite ways to start a speech that will help you capture the attention of your audience and get even the most stoic crowd to want more from you.

Here is the list of effective presentation openers.

7 Dynamic Ways to Start Your Next Presentation.

• Give Your Presentation Summary and Conclusion First.
• Start the Presentation with a Compelling Story.
• Use a Startling Statistic to Start a Presentation.
• A Funny or Motivational Quote or One-Liner.
• Start with an Opinion Asking Question.
• Make a Powerful or Shocking Statement to Start a Speech.
• Arouse Curiosity with a Hook.
• A Bonus Way to Start a Presentation Is to Add Showmanship.

How to Start a Presentation and Help Your Audience Remember Your Content.

(1) give a summary and conclusion at the beginning of a presentation..

As a speaker, you have a lot going against you. The biggest challenge is that most of the people who are in your audience would really rather be somewhere else. So starting with the conclusion gives them a reason to tune in and pay attention to the content.

TV shows and movies do this a lot. The first scene in Titanic is 90-year-old Rose wheeling onto the salvage ship. Immediately, she asked the Captain to see her painting. “Wasn’t I a dish?”

We all know the story of Titanic, but by starting 70 years into the future, we already know that somehow, Rose was going to survive the tragedy. We pay attention because we want to see how she did it.

You probably also recall Netflix series that show a quick introduction and then a flashback to an earlier time.

You can create the same effect in your presentation introduction by making your title a conclusion that you want the audience to draw. Then, lay out each main point that will help them come to that conclusion.

For instance, “My topic today is Five Ways to Get Your Executives to Increase Your Department Budget, and the items we will cover are…” Of course, this technique works best when your title is a result that your audience really wants.

This is an easy way to start a presentation. You can use a single PowerPoint presentation slide as a visual aid to capture the audience’s attention right away! (FYI, you can also use this technique at the end of a presentation.)

More details about this are in Start with a Great Title .

(2) Start the Presentation with a Compelling Story

I taught a private presentation class for Mitsubishi once. And I could tell walking into the room that this was going to be a tough crowd. The culture of the predominately Japanese company is fairly quiet and conservative. Most often, when I introduce myself to class members, people are warm and friendly. Since I’m a guest in their office, most try to make me feel at home.

By the way, the Mitsubishi organizer did this here as well. However, as the participants came into the room, each walked in without saying a word. Each sat down, opened their laptops, and quietly began typing on their keyboards.

I did my best to try to get them to open up. But very few of them were laughing at my jokes or smiling at me as I asked them questions. (Tough crowd.)

So, when I started the class, I knew I needed something that would help the group relate to me. I decided to go into a fairly detailed version of an experience where I totally bombed a speech. I added a lot of self-deprecating humor to the story. Afterward, the mood in the room lightened quite a bit. It was an easy way to get the audience to feel more at ease and become more relatable to them.

Stories are easy additions to any speech. For instance, if you are giving a project report, you can start with a memorable event that occurred on the project since the last meeting. Or, if you are giving a financial report where profit is up, just give a great example of something that caused profit to increase.

(3) Or You Could Use a Startling Statistic to Start a Presentation.

By doing a little research, you can often find a good (and or startling) statistic that can capture attention quickly. You can also create a good introduction by phrasing the statistic as a provocative statement.

For instance, let’s say you are giving a financial presentation where revenue for your company was up 2.5% last quarter. You might look up the statistics for your industry as a whole in the same quarter. Then, you can start your speech with that data. “The electronics industry as a whole was up 3.4% last quarter. However, our company underperformed the industry with only a 2.5% increase in revenue.”

The easiest way to find statistics about your topic is to just do a Google search [Your Topic} followed by the word “statistic”.

Here Are a Few Examples of Using Google to Get Shocking Statistics.

I’ll give some examples. I just did a Google search for “Popular Ted Talks” and came up with an article about the Top 25 Most Shared Ted Talk videos . I just pasted the names of the talks into Google with the word “statistic” added and this is what I came up with.

• Does School Kill Creativity? According to the Adobe® State of Create global benchmark study , 8 in 10 people feel that unlocking creativity is critical to economic growth and more than half of those surveyed feel that creativity is being stifled by their education systems.
• Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are – We receive 82% of information from what we see, 11% from what we hear, and only 7% by all the other senses combined. ( The Body Language Info-graphic .)
• How Great Leaders Inspire Action – 84% of organizations anticipate a shortfall in leaders within the next five years. ( 13 Shocking Leadership Development Statistics .)

So, it is really easy to create compelling statistics to get your audience to think differently about your topic just as you begin to speak.

Bonus Tip: Combine More than One of these Intros for Even More Impact.

You can combine the last two tips for even more impact. Place a statistic along with a story of how you found the statistic at the beginning of your presentation. This is a great way to start your presentation. “I remember watching Jerry Seinfeld do a stand-up bit. He mentioned that the fear of public speaking was the number one fear in America. Then he looked down the list and saw that the fear of death was number five. So, you are five times more likely to rather be in the casket than up giving the eulogy at a funeral.”

The key to each of these first tips is that they increase the retention of information for your audience.

For instance, using the Summary technique, you give your audience an introduction with your presentation topic and key points. Then as you go through each point, they hear each one again. Finally, you summarize the points one more time at the end of your presentation. The audience is now more likely to remember your important points. because of this subtle repetition.

A good story will also increase retention. Stories have a way of creating visual images in the mind of the audience that is more memorable than just facts alone. A startling statistic gets the audience to think, “Is that really true?” so they pay attention more.

Quick Presentation Starters to Capture Attention

(4) a funny or motivational quote or one-liner..

“There are two types of speakers: Those who get nervous and those who are liars.” — Mark Twain

A powerful quote is an effective way to make a positive first impression. It also adds a little humor. You can find quotes like this for your presentations as well. Just like with statistics, you can Google your topic with the word “quotes” to get ideas.

• Does School Kill Creativity? – “Creativity is the greatest expression of liberty.” — Bryant H. McGill
• Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are. – “Language is a more recent technology. Your body language, your eyes, your energy will come through to your audience before you even start speaking.” — Peter Guber
• How Great Leaders Inspire Action. – “A leader is the one, who knows the way, goes the way and show the way” — John Maxwell

Bonus Tip: Reference a quote, and then add your own take to the quote.

Walt Disney once said, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” But have you ever thought to realize that every single invention ever created by man was once just an idea born from someone’s need?

(5) Start with an Opinion Asking Question.

“In a perfect world, if your team was able to present their ideas to your customers more effectively, what would they be doing that they are not doing now?”

This technique is more challenging for a presenter. You have to be able to take whatever your audience gives you and design a killer presentation on the fly. However, if you have done good research before the meeting, you shouldn’t be surprised by the answers you get.

Keep in mind that only the best presenters use this technique. So, when you add open-ended questions to your speech, you will increase your stature as a speaker as well.

By the way, the question should be open-ended, meaning that the audience is giving you their opinions. Rhetorical questions and show of hands questions can backfire. Your audience may think you are trying to manipulate them. So, the important thing to remember is to ask a question that asks for the opinion of the audience members. That way, as they answer, everyone can be correct..

(6) Make a Powerful or Shocking Statement to Start a Speech.

I will then follow this statement with a list of different tips that people try that don’t work really well. (Things like picturing your audience naked.)

The funny thing is that many of the people in the room will question the truthfulness of the statement the first time I say it. It is a bold claim. They don’t confront me, though. However, when I look around the room, I can see the distrust on their faces.

However, as I begin to list the crazy tips one by one, they begin to realize the truthfulness of the statement. Internally, the checklist sounds like this…

• To reduce nervousness, you should pretend your audience is naked. (Man, he’s right. I tried that. It doesn’t work.)
• You should memorize your speech word-for-word. Actually, if you lose your place when reciting the speech, you just get more nervous. (That one is true too.)
• You should practice in front of a mirror or record yourself speaking. Actually, you are your own worst critic. You will nitpick every little thing that you do wrong. (Yup, I’ve done that one too. Wow, maybe he’s right. Those things don’t work at all.)

Another shocking statement I use is to foreshadow a future behavior in the speech. When I lead team activities, I often have them play a game to divide into teams. So, I might start the presentation with, “In less than 15 minutes, some of you chivalrous men who opened a door for a young lady when she came into the room will actually be chicken-winging that woman to take something from her.” Of course, when something like that actually happens, everyone erupts in laughter.

(7) Arouse Curiosity with a Hook.

Talk radio, television news, and reality TV shows do this brilliantly.

I remember years ago watching season one of Survivor. The season winner was an eccentric guy named Richard Hatch, who was a good fisherman, so he fed the group. However, he also did things to keep the other contestants a little off their game. At the start of one of the episodes, Richard was walking along the beach buck-naked with his bottom blurred out by the producers.

I remember doing a double-take when the image came on the screen. (There are some things that you just can’t unsee.) I didn’t particularly ever want to see Hatch’s bare bum ever again. However, I had an eager want to find how the heck this happened.

Talk radio guys do this by saying, “At the bottom of the hour, we’re going to…” The technique is like a cliffhanger. Everyone wants to know how the story will end. Will Ross marry Emily, or will Rachel stop the wedding? Will Jon Snow die of his stab wounds? Ken Jennings has won 74 times in a row on Jeopardy. When will he get beaten? What is going to happen now that DEA agent Hank realizes his brother-in-law broke bad? And finally, who shot J.R.?

How to Easily Add a Hook into the Start of Your Presentation.

This is a fun technique to use when you start a presentation. And there are many different ways to do this, depending on the purpose of your presentation.

For instance, you could tell your compelling story, as I suggested earlier. However, don’t tell the ending. Stop right as you get to the climax. Then tell the ending in your conclusion. (More details about this in How to End a Speech .)

Or, the hook can be a cliffhanger or foreshadowing of something later in the presentation. “As we did this research, we uncovered a single habit that, once we change it, will generate an extra quarter of a million dollars for our company. And I will share that secret with you in my final point.”

I actually do this on my podcast as well. I might start the episode by saying something like, “In the last ten minutes of this episode, I’m going to share with you my best, overall, foolproof presentation opener.”

(Which, by the way, is right now…)

A Bonus Way to Start a Presentation Is to Add Showmanship. (Bonus… Not a Foolproof Way.)

For instance, one time, just after July 4th, my kids had some leftover fireworks. I also had some decorative mailing tubes left over from a failed marketing campaign.

The next morning, I was to speak at a business breakfast. I got to the hotel meeting room before anyone else and filled a trash can with water. Then, I left the can under the presentation table at the front of the room. I stuck one of the sparklers into the top of the mailing tube and waited until my time to speak. The emcee called my name, and I waited at the back of the room. She called my name one more time, and I waited just a bit longer. When she called my name the third time, I lit the sparkler and went rushing to the front of the room.

Of course, the visual aid looked like I was holding a stick of cartoon dynamite. I pulled the trash can from under the table and threw the prop into the can where it sizzled and smoked. The whole audience was looking around like, “What the heck?” I paused and then said, “Do you want to put some sizzle into your presentations?”

Okay, it was cheesy. It was over the top. But it got the whole audience laughing. Everyone in the room remembered who I was and what I did for a living.

A few less over-the-top ways of adding showmanship into your presentation might be…

• Use Boards Instead of Slides . Everyone expects a slideshow, but if you have a compelling board or poster that is in the front of the room when you start, you can create some curiosity about your topic.
• You Could Also Get the Audience to Participate in a Demonstration . I had a saleperson from the Riddell helmet company tell us about a football helmet face-mask that could detach with a simple pencil-like tool. He had a couple of men try to pull the face-mask off the helmet and when they failed, he used the tool to remove the mask with one hand. It was a vivid demonstration.
• Or Just Add a Funny Video . When I teach leadership classes, I often play segments from old Saturday Night Live skits that have the characters doing the exact opposite of what I’m teaching. For instance, I might start a session about avoiding criticism in the workplace with an episode of “Debbie Downer”.

Whatever method that you choose to start your presentation make sure to spend time on developing your content. You don’t want to spend a ton of time creating the perfect opener and then lose the audience with a lackluster presentation afterward.

If You Are Designing a Presentation and Need Help, Reach Out to Us!

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How to Record a Presentation on Zoom | Easy Step-by-Step

Table of contents:

Can you screen-record a presentation on Zoom?

How to easily record a presentation on zoom, how to record a presentation on zoom as a participant, is zoom your best option for recording a presentation, recording presentations with riverside, faqs on how to record a presentation on zoom.

It’s time to start capturing better recordings and transforming your Zoom presentations into fresh content opportunities. There’s so much that you can create. 

By learning how to record presentations on Zoom and achieve better audio and video quality, you can take control of your production strategy. You can capture Zoom recordings that allow you to clearly communicate important concepts and ideas with an audience. You can create video materials for use in training, marketing, communication, and more! 

Want to record your Zoom presentation but not sure how to start? We’ve put together this helpful step-by-step guide to help you along the way. Here’s everything you need to know about Zoom presentation recording. 

You can easily use Zoom’s screen-share feature and recording capabilities to capture a presentation. To record on Zoom, you’ll have to host the presentation meeting, or you’ll need special permissions. 

If you’re a participant and don’t have permission, then another option is to use external software. You can use your device’s in-built screen recording tools or another screen recording software platform to record Zoom presentations. 

Using a non-native recording tool to capture Zoom content can have some drawbacks. These recordings are likely to achieve a lower overall quality. In your final recording, the sound may be crackly, and video resolution may be low, reducing your content’s professional value. 

Recording a presentation on Zoom is easy when you know what you’re doing! In fact, as a presentation host, you can quickly and easily set up recording without ever leaving the Zoom app.

To get started with your Zoom presentation recording, follow these simple steps. 

Step 1: Open your Zoom account, and navigate to the ‘ Settings’ menu. Here, select ‘ Recordings’ , and ensure that ‘Local recordings’ are switched on. 

Step 2: Next, navigate to your home screen and launch a call by pressing the ‘New Meeting’ button. If prompted, select ‘ join with computer audio’ , or choose another microphone. 

Step 3: Before you begin, import and/or open any presentation materials you’ll need, such as slides or images. You can easily share presentation materials by using the ‘Share Screen’ option and selecting the relevant tab where your materials are located. 

Step 4: Check that you are unmuted . If you need to record video of yourself, ensure that your webcam is switched on, and select ‘Start Video’ from the bar menu at the bottom of your screen. 

Step 5: Ensure that everything you need for your presentation is working correctly before beginning your recording.   When you’re ready, select record from the bar at the bottom of your screen. 

Choose whether to do a Zoom local recording on your computer, saving your recording to your desktop, or record to the cloud, recording to your Zoom account.

Step 6: Start your presentation, and work through your materials while Zoom records. 

When your presentation is complete, press ‘ Stop Recording’ , and then press ‘End’ and ‘ End meeting for all’ to close off the recording. 

Step 8: Once your Zoom meeting has ended, locate your recorded files. If you chose to save files locally on your computer, you’ll find them on your desktop or in your device’s documents folder. If you recorded to the cloud, you’ll receive an email when your files are ready.

Step 9: Edit, trim, or refine your recording on your video editor of choice. Then prepare to share it as a training resource, marketing asset, or something else.

Generally, speaking, Zoom’s in-built recording tools allow meeting hosts to capture the call.

If you’d like to record a Zoom presentation as a call participant, you’ll need to obtain permission from the host of the call, or you’ll need to be invited as an alternative host. You’ll then be able to use the app’s standard recording tools. 

As a standard Zoom participant, it is unfortunately not possible to record content. In this case, it’s best to ask the call host to record content for you. Another option is to use external recording software. 

To record your Zoom presentation using an external screen recorder, follow these steps:

Step 1: Choose your software system.

Step 2: Launch your Zoom meeting, and set up your presentation.

Step 3: Follow your software’s instructions to record your screen.

Step 4: Once your presentation is complete, stop your recording and save your files.

Zoom offers great native recording features that can help you easily capture presentation content. However, that doesn’t mean that Zoom is the best recording tool on the market.

In some instances, Zoom recordings can be prone to low recording quality. This may compromise your professionalism, and make it difficult to see or hear your recordings clearly. This is usually because Zoom relies on internet connection for recording. If you have connection problems your resolution suffers. It’s also worth knowing that Zoom doesn’t offer separate video or screen-share tracks which limits your editing flexibility.

If you want to explore Zoom alternatives, there are plenty of great ones to choose from, with some tools offering a range of extra features and functionalities that will help you produce better presentations than ever before. 

We have a full guide on Zoom alternatives . Although, with recording files unaffected by your internet connection, and with high-quality resolution, Riverside is a risk-free bet. 

“Riverside is far better than Zoom for recording interviews.” - Seth Godin , author, entrepreneur and marketing leader.

Riverside offers a seamless presentation recording experience. This video recording software is best for high-quality audio and video, captured from any location. It’s got all the remote recording tools you need, and with a built-in editor plus separate tracks of your screen, video and audio, post-production becomes much easier. 

Riverside features and functionalities include:

• Studio-quality results, offering up to 4K video resolution and 48kHZ audio quality
• Local video and audio recordings which means everything is captured directly on your device and unaffected by unstable internet connection
• Separate screen, audio, and video tracks for each participant, providing better editing control  
• Up to 10 participants in one recording and up to 1,000 audience members
• Cloud storage, including automatic uploading, so that you can save time and keep files secure 
• User-friendly interface that anyone can use, regardless of skill level
• Desktop and mobile software versions, helping to record content anytime, anywhere
• Native editing tools for customized logos and backgrounds plus automatic audio fine-tuning
• Text-based video editing so you can create professional content as easily as editing a text transcript
• Magic Clips tool for turning your long-form recordings into multiple short clips at the tap of a button

To start experiencing all these benefits and more, start recording on Riverside!

How to record a video presentation with Riverside

Ready to give Riverside a try for your next recording? Follow these simple steps to get started. 

Step 1: Create a Riverside account , and start your journey. 

Step 2: Go to your Studios dashboard, and select ‘ + New Studio’ at the top right of your screen. Name your studio, and choose ‘Audio & Video’ as your recording type. 

Then you can either choose to adjust settings by selecting ‘Continue set up studio’ or you can select ‘Enter Studio’ to get recording. 

Step 3: On the next screen, check that you are joining as a host, and verify your chosen camera and microphone options on the right side of your screen. Select whether or not you’re using headphones. Then press ‘ Join Studio’ .

Step 4: If you haven’t already, invite your remote guests. 

To do this from the studio, simply select ‘ Copy link ’ or ‘Invite by email’ on the right Invite People tab.

If this doesn’t appear or you’d like to add more guests later on, select ‘ + Invite’ from the right Studio dashboard.

Step 5: Next, you can start preparing your presentation. 

At the bottom of your screen, use the menu bar to select ‘Share’ . Then select the open tab or window on your device where your presentation materials are located. 

Step 6: Once you’ve set up these details, select ‘Record’ from the bar menu at the bottom of your screen, and start recording your presentation. 

Step 7: Throughout your recording, use the ‘Mark Clip’ button to mark sections of your recording that stand out and could be used later to create short-form videos. 

Step 8: When your presentation is complete, press ‘Stop’ to end the recording. 

Step 9: Once the files have finished uploading, go to the right side of your screen, select ‘View recordings’ . 

Step 10: Here, use the ‘ Edit & create clips’ button to access Riverside's in-built editing tools. When you’re ready, choose ‘Export’ to save and download your recorded content.

You can also download your files as separate tracks for your own editing. To do this, don’t select Edit, but select the files you want to download and press ‘ Export’ . You’ll also have the option to download files directly into a Descript or PremierePro timeline-suitable format. 

Step 11: Prepare to share your presentation recording as part of your training process, marketing strategy, or something else entirely. 

Are you still wondering how to record a presentation with ease? Here are our answers to a few of our most frequently asked questions. 

How do I record myself presenting slides?

The good news is that you can easily capture your slides as part of your presentation recording! The simplest way to achieve this is by opening your slides in a separate window or tab on your device. Then you can use Zoom’s screen-share feature to record those slides, selecting the destination tab and sharing your screen for the duration of your call. 

Can you record a Zoom session if you are not the host?

Unfortunately, Zoom is not designed to allow call participants to record content. If you’re not the host of your call, you’ll need to request hosting or recording permissions from the person who is. Alternatively, you can ask the call host to record on your behalf or use external screen recording if you have the consent of other participants.

How do you record a presentation with camera?

You can integrate webcam footage as part of your presentation recording simply by using Zoom’s native video capture tools. However, if you are screen-sharing to present with slides, these will dominate the screen, with your video only taking up a small portion of the audience’s view. 

An alternative is Riverside, which records content on separate tracks so you can capture video and audio in full, then edit as required. 

Are you looking for an easy, intuitive way to record your next presentation? Record with Riverside , and capture all your content in high-quality seamlessly.

Kendall Breitman

leads Riverside's community. She has over ten years of experience in television and video production for places like NBC and Bloomberg News. You’ll find Kendall on our webinar, where she shares her expert insights on content production, branding, and more.

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