How to Create Better Digital Presentations

Last Updated: 

November 26, 2024

Do you find yourself putting together presentations regularly? Is PowerPoint among one of your most-used software tools? Whether you are presenting to co-workers, management, or even clients, it’s important to hit all your key points while delivering the kind of presentation that is informative and engaging. It’s not an easy task, and if you’re not reading the room correctly, your presentations could be falling short. Rather than continue down the same path, here are some tips that can help you create better digital presentations that pack in the key information while capturing your audience.

Key Takeaways: Enhancing Your Digital Presentations

  1. Short and Concise Presentations: The most effective presentations are often short and to the point. Be mindful of the length of your presentation as well as the duration each slide is displayed. It's beneficial to practice your presentation with a friend or family member and ask for their feedback on pacing and engagement.
  2. Avoid Information Overload: It can be tempting to cram as much information as possible into each slide, but this can lead to information overload for your audience. Keep your slides clear and concise to maintain your audience's attention.
  3. Interactive Elements: To boost engagement, consider incorporating interactive elements into your presentation, such as polls or word clouds. These activities can break the ice, increase participation, and make your presentation more engaging and enjoyable.
  4. Use of Multimedia: Diversify your presentation by including a variety of multimedia such as charts, images, videos, and audio clips. This can break up the monotony of text-heavy slides and re-engage your audience.
  5. Encourage Questions and Comments: Instead of waiting until the end of your presentation for questions, encourage your audience to ask questions or make comments throughout. This can lead to more engaging discussions and ensures that important points or queries aren't forgotten.

By incorporating these tips into your next digital presentation, you can ensure that your audience stays engaged and that your presentation effectively communicates your key points.

Online Business Startup

Keep the Presentation Short and Concise

One of the biggest mistakes people can make with a digital presentation is to try to pack too much into it and allow it to run too long. There is lots of conversation and debate about what the perfect length of time is for a presentation, and in reality, it comes down to several factors. Generally speaking, the shorter you can keep it, the better. And it's not just the total length of time, but also how long you leave each slide or chart up on the screen.

A good exercise is to deliver your presentation to a friend or family member and then ask for feedback. Get their input on how long they stayed interested and when they started to “check out”. You can also ask about your pacing; do you need to talk slower, faster, or is the pacing ideal?

To keep the presentation concise, be sure not to fall into the trap of packing too much onto a slide, as this will instantly turn off the audience as it becomes information overload.

Run a Poll and Create a Word Cloud

A big part of increasing the level of engagement is to get audience participation. The minute you ask people to participate it forces them to sit up, pay attention and engage. It can also help to break the ice and set the tone for the presentation.

Word cloud polls can be a fabulous way to increase interaction with your audience in a way that feels fun and unexpected. A live word cloud poll can be done and because results are almost instant, the audience can’t help but want to be involved. It’s simple, it’s fun and it can help make your presentation clearer and more effective.

Use Multimedia to Keep Things Fun and Unexpected

Your presentation shouldn’t just involve slide after slide of text; instead, you want to mix things up.That's why it's important to have persuasive speech topics in mind that you're interested in, which you can also make into fun slideshows. Throw in some charts, pictures/images, videos, audio and so forth. Breaking up the text changes the pace of the presentation which causes your audience to re-engage, sit up and pay attention. Using quality templates, such as those offered by Slideworks, can also enhance the visual appeal of your slides.

Pause to Ask If There Are Any Questions/Comments

There’s also no reason you need to wait until the end of the presentation for questions and comments. Let your audience know they can interrupt at any time. If you ask them to wait until the end, they may forget about key points that stuck out to them.

These tips will make it easy for you to create better digital presentations where your audience is more engaged, and the presentation is more effective overall.

People Also Like to Read...